Hockey

Top-5: a nine-goal avalanche destroys the Oilers at home
Mathis Therrien
Top-5: a nine-goal avalanche destroys the Oilers at home
Credit: Twitter screenshot

Yesterday was a very busy day in the National Hockey League, with 13 games scheduled across the Bettman circuit.

There was plenty of action in the various clashes, but a few highlights caught the eye.

Here they are.

1. Avalanche score nine goals against the Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers, off to another slow start to the season, were at home to the NHL's top team, the Colorado Avalanche.

And let's just say that the Avalanche lived up to its name last night, as it was literally an avalanche that fell on the Oilers.

The Avalanche won 9 (!!!) to 1 in Edmonton.

Nathan MacKinnon (four points) and Cale Makar (two goals) were among the entertainers in a game to forget for the Oilers.

For MacKinnon, it's a 30th career four-point NHL game, which ranks third in Avalanche history.

In short, the Avalanche completely dismantled the Oilers, who saw their defense and their two goaltenders (Skinner and Pickard) picked apart.

2. Third win in a row for the Sharks

For the first time in a few years, the San Jose Sharks didn't have a horrible start to the season.

Even better, the Sharks are having a good time at the start of the season, winning games to give them a 7-6-3 record, which is anything but bad for the Sharks.

In fact, last night's 3-1 win over the Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers gave the Sharks their third consecutive victory.

Macklin Celebrini, the NHL's leading scorer, scored his 10th goal of the season.

Things are going really well for the Sharks, and in addition to Celebrini, Yaroslav Askarov is doing well too, turning aside 38 of the 39 shots he faced last night.

3. Three points for Jonathan Drouin

There's a lot of talk about Emil Heineman on the New York Islanders, a former Canadiens player who's doing well this season, but we're also forgetting that Jonathan Drouin is having a great season so far.

Indeed, the Habs' former Québécois player is contributing offensively with the Islanders, scoring three points yesterday in a 5-0 Islanders victory over the New York Rangers.

In addition to this fine Québécois connection, Drouin also served up a magnificent pass to Bo Horvat.

In short, with his three points, Drouin now has 10 points, including two goals, in 14 games, as does Heineman (6-4-10 in 15 games), who registered an assist in this victory.

4. Bruins beat Leafs for sixth straight win

After an anticipated poor start to the season for the Boston Bruins, they've been on fire for several days now, as last night they glued together a sixth consecutive victory with a 5-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

They were 4-7-0, but now they're 10-7-0, second in the Atlantic Division in points.

This is surprising, given that we all expected to see the Bruins at the bottom of the standings, but so far, so good.

David Pastrnak is obviously one of the main reasons for the Bruins' success, scoring a superb goal last night against the Leafs.

It was a tough loss for the Leafs, especially since their former prospect, Fraser Minten, scored the late insurance goal on his return to Toronto.

5. Three points for Leo Carlsson

We're obviously talking about Macklin Celebrini and Connor Bedard, but we mustn't forget the excellent Leo Carlsson, who is also dominating this season.

The Anaheim Ducks' Swedish center has been on fire this season, and he added to it yesterday with three points, including two goals, extending his point streak to nine games.

The Ducks won 4-3 in overtime against the Golden Knights, and remain in first place in the Pacific Division with a record of 10-3-1, giving them 21 points.

Carlsson now has 23 points, one behind NHL leaders Celebrini and MacKinnon.


Extension

– First NHL goal for Charles-Alexis Legault.

– Here are all yesterday's results.

– Here are yesterday's top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Today's NHL schedule: eight games.

(Credit: Google/NHL)
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