Top-5: Two points for Jack Hughes on his return to action

There were 13 games on the National Hockey League schedule last night, so there were plenty of highlights.

Without further ado, here’s what caught our eye yesterday.

1. Jack Hughes scores two points on his return to action

Jack Hughes was off to an almost historic start with the New Jersey Devils before suffering an injury.

The injury forced Hughes to miss his team’s final five games, which obviously sent him down the scoring chart.

Last night, however, Jack Hughes was back in action, and he doesn’t seem to have lost his rhythm, as he picked up a goal and an assist in the Devils’ 5-3 loss to the New York Rangers.

That one’s going to count!

The shot from Jack Hughes trickles in in his return to the lineup! pic.twitter.com/h52xt5Ij8o

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 19, 2023

It’s a weird goal, but Hughes will take it.

After this game, Hughes now has 22 points, including six goals, in 11 games.

That’s exactly two points per game, and he’s currently the 15th-highest scorer in the NHL.

He is only six points behind the NHL leaders (J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes at 28 points), although he has played seven fewer games.

In short, Jack Hughes is really back, and he’s continuing his incredible momentum.

2. Artemi Panarin dominates for Rangers

In the same game as Jack Hughes, on the other side of the Rangers, there’s also a very dominant player.

That player is Artemi Panarin.

The Russian winger is enjoying an excellent season so far, with 26 points in 15 games.

He also scored twice yesterday against the Devils, taking him to the ten-goal plateau.

Artemi Panarin is something else.

He sets a new @NYRangers record for points in 15 straight games to start the season! pic.twitter.com/pD8izE9u5Z

– NHL (@NHL) November 19, 2023

Let’s just say that the Rangers’ success is largely due to the excellent performance of Panarin, who set a new Rangers record with at least one point in his first 15 games of the season.

What’s more, Panarin has contributed 53.2% of the Rangers’ goals this season.

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Incredible.

3. Another defeat for the Oilers despite 40+ shots

After three wins in a row, the Oilers fell back into their bad habits and lost a game in which they allowed a lot of goals, even though they dominated.

The Oilers lost 6-4 to the Tampa Bay Lightning despite having the lead three times in the game, in addition to recording 43 shots.

Edmonton has a 0-6 record when directing more than 40 shots on net.

Ouch. This really shows that there’s a finishing problem, but more importantly, a goaltending problem.

In this game against the Lightning, Stuart Skinner was very ordinary, repelling only 18 of the 23 shots directed at him.

In short, Nikita Kucherov had fun with two goals and an assist against the Oilers.

In defeat, James Hamblin scored his first career NHL goal.

Welcome to the league!

James Hamblin scores his first NHL career goal. pic.twitter.com/dnFo7P2NTA

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 18, 2023

He dedicated his goal to his mother, who died of cancer in 2017.

It was very touching.

4. Three points for Hendrix Lapierre in his NHL comeback

The Quebecer was back in the Washington Capitals lineup, and let’s just say he made his presence felt, as he scored a goal and two assists in a 4-3 Caps win over the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Lapierre’s analysis of his goal is also very funny.

Hendrix Lapierre walking through his breakaway goal is one of the best things you’ll see all night. pic.twitter.com/ibszoBt565

– Sammi Silber (@sammisilber) November 19, 2023

In short, it’s Lapierre’s first NHL goal of the season, having started the season in the AHL.

He now has three points in five games.

Let’s hope he can build on this success and establish himself in the NHL.

5. Kyle Connor takes over as NHL’s top scorer

Every year, Kyle Connor shows us just what an elite marksman he is, and one of the best in the league to boot.

He’s talked about far less often than, say, Auston Matthews or David Pastrnak, but Connor is always very close to, if not ahead of, those two players in terms of goals.

Well, it’s the same thing again this season, with Connor racking up the goals as if nothing had happened.

In fact, he topped the NHL scoring charts last night with his 14ᵉ of the season with a blistering shot in a 5-2 Winnipeg Jets win over the Arizona Coyotes.

Kyle Connor goes top cheese to give the @NHLJets the lead! pic.twitter.com/MCyaOTZQ4M

– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) November 19, 2023

Here are the NHL’s current top scorers.

We’ve got ourselves a new League leader in goals! pic.twitter.com/LxvGgxZIs5

– NHL (@NHL) November 19, 2023

Could Connor win the Maurice Richard Trophy?

Stay tuned.

Extension

– The Ottawa Senators had to be imaginative and creative for a moment in Stockholm, when they had no puck for their warm-up.

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– He’s simply incredible.

– Here are yesterday’s results.

– Here are the night’s top scorers.

– Today’s NHL schedule: five games.