The most productive player
Five forwards reached the seven-point mark this week. Filip Forsberg of Nashville, Jason Robertson of Dallas and Connor McDavid of Edmonton recorded a four-goal, three-assist record, the Swede needed only three games, the Canadian one more. Utah's Clayton Keller had a goal and six assists in three games too.
McDavid uncharacteristically added 15 penalty minutes and was one of the biggest rebounders of the week. The last absentee from the list is veteran Matt Duchene, who helped Dallas with two goals and five assists.
Goaltender of the Week
Logan Thompson continues to surprise, and not just in Washington. Last week, he only conceded once from 62 shots that went at him over three games.
Pittsburgh's Bryan Rust ended his scoreless streak after 198 minutes and 22 seconds, the longest in the NHL this season and the third-longest in Capitals history. With him in the lineup, Washington earned 44 of a possible 50 points on the season.
Highlight of the week
Pittsburgh is not doing well this season and the crease is one of the places where there is the most uncertainty. Fortunately, sometimes they get it right. On Friday, Alex Nedeljkovic proved it with an unconventional performance, becoming the first goalie in NHL history to record a goal and an assist in a 5-2 win over Buffalo.
"I've always enjoyed playing with the puck. It's been a part of my game since I was a kid. Growing up, I watched two champions who could handle the puck - Marty Turco and Martin Brodeur. I learned a lot from them how they worked with the puck," he said.
Even though he managed to get two points this season, he is not the most productive goalie. Dustin Wolf of Calgary and Pyotr Kochetkov of Carolina have three assists. The American is also not the first goaltender to net this season, as Filip Gustavsson of Minnesota scored in October.
And the comparison with the field players? For example, his teammate Ryan Graves hasn't scored a point in 32 games this season and the same is true for Vancouver's Noah Juulsen.
Stat of the Week
It was only a matter of time before it happened. The unstoppable goal scorer Alexander Ovechkin holds a new NHL record, having outshot 179 different goalies during his career, tying him with Jaromir Jagr. The last person he surpassed was Ottawa rookie Leevi Merilainen, who was out-shot by the Russian forward in overtime to give Washington a 1-0 victory in the extra session.
From social media
Henrik Lundqvist has been enjoying a well-deserved rest on the slopes for a couple of years after his career ended. In Bad Gastein, Austria, he happened to meet a Czech snowboarder wearing his jersey right on the slopes. And he went to meet him.
Photo of the week
The number of fights in the NHL may be decreasing, but when the sharp guys decide to throw down the gloves, you have to beware. That's how Minnesota's Marcus Foligno and Nashville's Luke Schenn fought on Saturday in a game that saw three fights in the first period.
Ladislav Smid's view
"Goaltender Jakub Dobes is having an amazing start to his career in Montreal, picking up five wins in his first five games. And for the Canadiens, one of hockey's biggest brands ever! I've seen some of his games and he's been great, his height and athleticism helps a lot.
"He can't win forever, of course, but you can see that the players are confident with him in the back. As a young team, having a goalie behind you that you can rely on is a huge help.
"The pressure probably isn't being felt as much right now, although of course it's always been there and will be there more and more in Montreal. Hockey is never easy in Canadian cities. Hopefully, Jakub has his head on straight and will focus on hockey. He's obviously a very good goalie.
"In general, we have a lot of goalies in the NHL now and it proves that the goalie school has always been strong in the Czech Republic. At one time it dropped off a bit, but now we can lean on young promising goalies again. I think something is going well in the Czech Republic. The whole of Czech hockey can be happy about that."
