Following him was Edmonton Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner who had a perfect month going 9-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and .953 save percentage as he helped guide the Oilers on their current 16-game win streak. It’s been a remarkable turnaround for Skinner after he started the season with losses in seven of his first eight games.

Finally, Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson rounds out the top-3 as he finished January with 14 goals and seven assists in 13 games and he will be headed to Toronto for his fourth NHL All-Star Game this weekend.

In other afternoon notes:

• Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for January. The 21-year-old moved into the Calder Trophy conversation by posting two goals and 11 assists in 14 games during the first month of 2024 and averaged over 25 minutes of ice time per game. Faber became the first player in Wild history to take home the honor and led all NHL rookies in multiple statistical categories including points, time on ice, shots (with 31), blocked shots (with 38) and assists. Faber now has four goals and 25 assists in 49 games this season with the Wild.
• The Detroit Red Wings have assigned defenseman Brogan Rafferty to the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. The move was made this morning and is most likely a paper move to allow the Wings to bank cap space during the All-Star break after their 3-2 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators last night. The 28-year-old has been a healthy scratch during his recalls this season and hasn’t played an NHL yet this year. Rafferty has two goals and 14 assists in 38 AHL games this season.

In Muzzin’s place, Travis Dermott will be elevated to the second pair, an interesting assignment given how little the young defenseman has actually played this season. Despite suiting up in 15 games, Dermott has averaged just over 11 minutes a night, seeing no powerplay or penalty kill time. With rumors swirling about the Maple Leafs’ apparent interest in acquiring another top-six winger, Dermott’s name has come up in trade speculation. The 24-year-old will be an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this summer and has an opportunity now to really show what he is capable of.

• The St. Louis Blues will have Sammy Blais available to them tonight after he was previously placed on the COVID Protocol list. Blues head coach Craig Berube confirmed that it was a false positive that led to Blais’ placement there and he will be eligible to return this evening. The 24-year-old forward is expected to play on the second line alongside Brayden Schenn and Mike Hoffman. That’s quite the step up for Blais, who has just ten goals and 23 points in his 91-game NHL career. Jaden Schwartz and Colton Parayko will not dress as they continue to deal with injury.
• Hard to find a more dynamic trio than Auston Matthews, Connor McDavid, and David Pastrnak. Those are your NHL Three Stars of the week, with Matthews taking the top spot following his seven-goal output. The Maple Leafs forward leads the entire league in goals with 18 through his first 18 games this season, six ahead of McDavid and Brock Boeser who are tied for second. Pastrnak meanwhile has nine in his first nine games after starting the year on injured reserve, including a hat trick in last night’s Lake Tahoe game.

New York Rangers Mika Zibanejad and Boston Bruins David Pastrnak round out the second and third stars of the month. Zibanejad has led the Rangers to 11 February victories by tallying 11 goals and 20 points. The 26-year-old has already tied his career-high in goals scored with 30 and looks to be headed for a career year. Pastrnak scored 10 goals of his own in the month of February, padding his NHL-leading 47 goals. The 23-year-old had four game-winning goals in helping Boston win 11 games throughout the month.

• While not a true contender for the Calder Trophy, The Athletic’s Josh Yohe (subscription required) writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins are just 3-7-1 without rookie defenseman John Marino since the blueliner was hit in the face with a puck and required surgery. However, the scribe does add that Marino and teammate Brian Dumoulin (ankle) are both close to returning, possibly as early as Tuesday, which could be a big boost for the Penguins. Both players were full participants in practice on Thursday.
• Just two years ago, the Washington Capitals traded for Michal Kempny and got an incredible boost from the blueliner for the stretch run. Unfortunately, his play two years later hasn’t been particularly impressive. The Washington Post’s Samantha Pell writes that Kempny and Capitals head coach Todd Reirden had a long conversation about the 29-year-old’s play. Since the Capitals picked up Brendan Dillon from San Jose at the trade deadline, Kempny has seen himself go from the first pairing to the third. “We were honest with each other, all the time — [even] when I [first] got here,” Kempny said. “I told him how I feel, how I felt, and so we had a pretty good discussion and conversation. And I believe it is going to help me be myself, to be Michal Kempny, you know? The one everybody knows. There is no excuses for me. We had a good conversation, and it is going to help me for sure.”

The Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Chicago Blackhawks Patrick Kane round out the top three. MacKinnon ranked second in the NHL in points in November with 10 goals and 25 points in 14 games and did it while being without his two linemates, Mikko Rantanen and Gabriel Landeskog for most of that month. Kane, meanwhile, scored a point in all 15 games that he played, scoring 11 goals and 24 points.

• The NHL also announced the NHL ’Rookie of the Month,’ handing the award to Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who dominated the month of November. The 21-year-old led all rookies with seven goals, 16 points, three game-winning goals, +10 plus/minus and ATOI, averaging 21:25. Makar became the fifth rookie to score seven or more goals in a month and the last to do it since Brian Leetch did it in 1989. Makar beat out New York Rangers’ Adam Fox, Vancouver Canucks’ Quinn Hughes, Carolina Hurricanes’ Martin Necas, Buffalo Sabres Victor Olofsson and Pittsburgh Penguins’ John Marino.
• The Edmonton Journal’s Kurt Leavins writes that despite rumors that Edmonton Oilers forward Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had a surgical procedure last week on his hand, he did not. Instead, Nugent-Hopkins received an injection, suggesting that the injury is more pain-related than anything else. The Oilers hope to get the top-six forward back sometime later this week.

Aho had four goals and an assist in three games, including two game-winning goals. In the Hurricanes’ first game of the week, Aho had a hat-trick and assist, before scoring the winning goal on Friday against the Oilers and being held pointless on Saturday. In 51 games, the 2015 second-round pick has 16 goals and 31 points, good for sixth among rookies.

Granlund had three goals and six points in three games as the Wild went 2-1-0. After two assists in the first two games of the week, he too had a hat-trick plus assist in the third game of the week. Granlund currently leads the Wild in scoring with 48 points in 51 games.

Budaj won three of four games with a 0.930 SV%, 1.62 GAA, and two shutouts. After starting the season as the Kings’ third-string goaltender, he now leads the NHL in shutouts with seven and has a sparkling 0.920 SV% with 25 wins in 46 appearances. With Jonathan Quick out from opening night until March, Budaj has allowed the Kings to remain in a wildcard spot.

• The offensively-starved Flyers will be without last year’s rookie standout Shayne Gostisbehere yet again when the Blues come to Philadelphia tonight, but it’s not an injury or illness that’s keeping him out. Gostisbehere will be a healthy scratch for the third-straight game. After scoring 17 goals and 46 points in 64 games last year, he has just four goals and 21 points in 48 games this season. That’s a pace of 7-29-36 over 82 games, much lower than his 59-point-pace in 2015-16. While Gostisbehere will remain out of the lineup, rookie forward Travis Konecny will draw back in for Matt Read. When asked about the lineup, coach Dave Hakstol told NBC’s Jason Brough that he’s “trying to dress the best roster possible to win hockey games. Point blank.” Without Gostisbehere, the Flyers are 1-1, winning 3-1 and losing 1-0.
• In an appearance on TSN Radio in Edmonton, Bob McKenzie put forward the idea that Tampa Bay could look to move pending RFA center Tyler Johnson for defensive help. Despite Johnson’s lessened production this year (33 points in 53 games), McKenzie suggests a combination of “needing a defenseman and maybe having a surplus of forwards, and… the cap issues and maybe not being in a position to sign [Johnson] might make him more expendable over some of the other pieces.” Besides making a decision on potential rentals like Ben Bishop and Brian Boyle and RFA forwards Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat, and Johnson, McKenzie believes GM Steve Yzerman will be looking for a cost-controlled defenseman to make his team better going forward. Regardless of who he choses to keep, it’s going to be a stressful next few months for Yzerman.

Simmonds scored two goals in two games, including a game winner, in the abbreviated schedule before the All-Star weekend. He was then named MVP of the All-Star Game with three goals in two games as his Metropolitan Division won the weekend. Simmonds has 21 goals this season, good for ninth in the NHL.

Marleau began the week in spectacular fashion, scoring four goals in the third period of a 5-2 win over the lowly Colorado Avalanche. He is just the twelfth player in NHL history to accomplish that feat, and the first to do so since Mario Lemieux did it in January 1997. Marleau had another goal and assist in the Sharks 4-3 win over Winnipeg and 4-1 loss to Edmonton, respectively. He now has 17 goals on the season.

Andersen had back-to-back shutouts in his two appearances last week. He made 26 saves in a 4-0 blanking of the Calgary Flames and 22 saves in another 4-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Andersen has a 21-10-8 record to go with his 0.921 SV% and three shutouts in his first season with the Maple Leafs.

• The second year of the new All-Star Game format was very popular, according to NBC Sports. In a series of tweets, NBC Sports PR reported the ratings were up dramatically over the 2015-16 edition of the game. The NHL switched from the previous format of two voted captains picking teams out of the players selected to a three-on-three tournament with all four divisions facing off for the prize money. Prior versions included Eastern Conference vs Western Conference and North America vs World.
• Fear not, NHL jersey purists. The NHL is not considering putting ads on jerseys, despite having ads on the shoulders of the jerseys at September’s World Cup of Hockey. However, Commissioner Gary Bettman believes there’s a difference between the jerseys at the World Cup and the NHL teams’ sweaters. Bettman commented on the issue during All-Star Weekend, saying “it’s not an active discussion among NHL clubs. I always said we wouldn’t be first… The NBA is doing it. But it would take an unusual circumstance – which I would define as ‘a lot of money that I’m having trouble comprehending right now’ – for us to even be thinking about it.” Puck Daddy’s Greg Wyshnyski writes that Bettman “understands the levels of fan backlash if the advertising became too ungainly.”

The undrafted Sheary had six goals and nine points in four games as the Penguins went 4-0-0. He had two three-point games to bookend the week. He had two goals, including the overtime winner, in the Penguin epic 8-7 win over Washington, and the same statline in the Penguins 5-1 win over Boston. Sheary now has 17 goals and 34 points in 39 games this season, a significant increase over his 10-point rookie season.

Greiss had two shutouts and an overtime loss in a week where he had a 0.971 SV%.  The Islanders shutout the Bruins 4-0 then fired head coach Jack Capuano the next day. They followed the firing with a 3-0 shutout of the Stars and a 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers. Greiss is 12-7-3 with a 0.928 SV% so far this season, taking over the starting job from Jaroslav Halak.

Oshie had three goals and three assists in three games as the Capitals went 2-0-1 last week. Three of those points came in the 8-7 OT loss to the Penguins. The pending-UFA has 31 points in 38 games for the Capitals, and ranked fourth on PHR’s Top 20 UFA list.

• The Calgary Flames are facing a crisis of confidence after being hammered by their division rivals, writes Mark Spector. The organization is facing some big questions, notably surrounding their top players’ ability to lead a championship team. Are Sean Monahan and Sam Bennett, with 30 and 18 points respectively, a Stanley Cup-calibre one-two punch up the middle? Does Johnny Gaudreau have the speed and temperament to get past the tight coverage? Who is the starting goalie of the future? The Flames are a fragile team, with Edmonton speeding past them in the rebuilding process and tonight’s opponent, Toronto, looking like they’re on a much better path back to the playoffs.
• It’s not looking good for the Tampa Bay Lightning. After their 5-3 loss to the lowly Arizona Coyotes, the Lightning are currently last in the Eastern Conference. Tampa Bay Times writer Joe Smith tweeted a bleak stat for Lightning fans: since 1993-94, only two teams have made the playoffs after sitting last in their conference on January 22. The 1997 Ottawa Senators and 2009 St. Louis Blues are the only two teams to accomplish the feat.

Grabner has been a pleasant surprise for the Rangers this season, having scored 18 goals for 26 points in 41 games. His goal total through the first half of this season equals his total point output from last season. Grabner scored five goals and added two assists in three games, including his fourth hat-trick of his career (second of the year).

Maroon scored five goals and six points in four games for the Oilers last week. He scored his first career hat-trick in a 4-3 win over Boston and added another two in last night’s loss in Ottawa. Maroon has 16 goals and 23 points in 42 games this season. He was acquired by the Oilers at the 2016 trade deadline for failed prospect Martin Gernát and a fourth-round pick. The trade is already a clear win for the Oilers, as the Ducks retained 25% of Maroon’s bargain $2MM-per-season contract, and Gernát is now in the Czech league. Maroon is already four goals past his career high, and is on pace for 30-plus goals. He has 24 goals and 37 points in 58 games in Edmonton, quickly becoming a fan-favorite.

Hotby went 2-0-0 in three appearances, following up a poor game versus the Maple Leafs with back-to-back shutouts over the Blue Jackets and Senators. He made 29 saves in the 5-0 win over Columbus, which ended their 16-game winning streak. Holtby is 18-8-4, with a 0.931 SV % and a 1.93 GAA this season. He also five shutouts, which ties him for tops in the NHL.

• T.J. Oshie will miss Monday night’s game with an upper-body injury, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan. Oshie took a big hit from Dion Phaneuf on Saturday night and appeared to be favoring the same shoulder he had injured earlier this season. Oshie has 20 points in 32 games so far.
• The Calgary Flames have recalled Brett Kulak from Stockton, according to Roger Millions of Sportsnet. Kulak has split this season beteween the NHL and the AHL, with three points in 15 NHL games and five points in 11 AHL games. He’s not expected to be in the lineup tonight when the Flames visit Winnipeg.
• Some interesting news is coming out this morning about the NHL’s upcoming jersey-provider switch. Reebok has made the NHL’s jersey’s since 2005-06, but now their parent company, Adidas, is taking over. Michael Russo of the Minnesota Star Tribune cites multiple sources that all 18 teams with third jerseys will be dropping them to make the switch easier. Notable changes that have been leaked so far include the New Jersey Devils getting a full makeover, the Oilers dropping their current blue home uniforms in favor of their current orange thirds, and the Wild leaning towards using a re-designed green jersey as the home uniform.

Panarin had three goals and seven assists for 10 points in four games. He bookended two thee-point performances with a pair of two-point nights as the Blackhawks continued their five-game winning streak. Panarin now has 34 points in 34 games this season

This week marks the second consecutive week with a New York Rangers goaltender as the second star. Last week, Antti Raanta was the second star as he temporarily took over the starting role from Lundqvist, but now the man they call The King has taken back over. Lundqvist went 3-0-0 and allowed just three goals to go with his 0.967 SV%. He and Raanta combined for a shutout when Lundqvist was forced to leave a game after being run over by Cody Eakin (for which he was suspended).

Staal had four goals and five points in three games as part of a 3-0-0 week. The Wild have now won seven straight and Staal is leading the team in goals, assists, and points; he has 24 points in 30 games in his first year in Minnesota.

• Hockey Canada has named its leadership core for the upcoming World Junior Championships. Arizona Coyotes prospect Dylan Strome will wear the C for Canada, while Mathew Barzal and Thomas Chabot will serve as alternate captains. All three players played for Canada at last year’s tournament and appeared in the NHL at the start of the season. While they combined for just 10 games and one assist in the NHL, all three are 2015 first-round picks and dominant CHL players. Strome has 295 points in 191 games with the Erie Otters; Islanders sixteenth-overall pick Barzal has 281 points in 174 games with the Seattle Thunderbirds; Chabot, a defenseman picked eighteenth overall by Ottawa, has 128 points in 182 games with the Saint John Sea Dogs.
• The Vancouver Canucks most recent first-round pick, Olli Juolevi has been named captain of Team Finland. Juolevi had nine assists in seven games in last year’s tournament, as Finland won gold. So far, Juolevi has 21 points in 26 games with the London Knights.
• Today marks 21 years since the Calgary Flames acquired Jarome Iginla from the Dallas Stars for Joe Nieuwendyk. The trade worked out pretty well for both teams: the Stars won the Stanley Cup four years later with Nieuwendyk playing a key role, and Iginla became the face of the Flames franchise. Nieuwendyk was in the prime of his career, while Iginla was an eleventh-overall pick playing for the Kamloops Blazers. Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com tweeted that Iginla initially thought he had been traded to the WHL’s Calgary Hitmen. After turning pro, Iginla scored 1095 points in 16 years with the Flames, leading them to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2004. He’s bounced around between Pittsburgh, Boston, and Colorado in the four years since he was traded. Iginla could be on the move again this year, as the Avalanche are one of the worst teams in the NHL and he could want to go to a contender for the end of his career.

Jakub Voracek had nine points in four games (3-6-9) as the Flyers went 4-0-0 as they continue their incredible nine-game winning-streak. The high point of the week was a four-point game in the Flyers 6-5 win over the Oilers. Voracek is now third in NHL scoring with 32 points in 31 games behind only Vladimir Tarasenko (32 points in 29 games) and Connor McDavid (39 points in 31 games).

Antti Raanta went 3-0-0 with two shutouts as he temporarily takes the net over from Henrik Lundqvist. His back-to-back shutouts marked the first time that a Rangers goaltender earned back-to-back shutouts since 2003 when Mike Dunham did it. Raanta now has an 8-1-0 record with a sparkling 0.943 SV%.

Sam Gagner may be the best value contract (non entry-level) in the NHL, with 19 points in 25 games for just $650K. He had six points in three games this past week (3-3-6) as the Blue Jackets added to their six game winning streak. He has already surpassed his point totals from last season (16 points in 53 games with an AHL demotion).

• The Metropolitan Division is the best division in hockey right now, writes NBC Sports’ Jason Brough. The New York Rangers are tied for first in the NHL, but just below them are the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins, the Philadelphia Flyers who have won nine games in a row, the Columbus Blue Jackets who have won 11 of 16 and six in a row, and the reigning President’s Trophy winners in the Washington Capitals. All those teams are four points apart. They’re at least seven points up on the Devils, Hurricanes, and Islanders. The latter has gone 6-1-1 in their last eight, but are still ten points behind the fifth place team. Those top five teams are all in the top eight of the NHL.
• Patrik Laine is leading all rookies in goal scoring and is third in the entire NHL with 17 goals in 32 games, but he had a rough go last night. With the Jets and Oilers tied at two in the last ten minutes of the third, Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck kicked a Mark Letestu shot into the slot and Laine one-timed the puck into his own net, in an apparent attempt to clear the puck. It stood up as the winning goal. New Jets captain Blake Wheeler did a good job consoling Laine on the bench and Laine got another shot-on-goal as the Jets fought to tie the game.

Mason went 4-0-0 with a 0.945 SV% and a 1.71 GAA. He made 120 saves in those four games. Mason’s great week has boosted the Flyers back into a wildcard spot. He’s one win away from tying his career-best winning streak. Mason now has a 9-8-3 record with a 0.908 SV% and a 2.76 GAA for the season. Prior to his hot week, he had a save percentage of 0.892, which is not good for a starting goalie.

Tarasenko had four goals and five points in four games as the Blues earned five of six possible points. He scored the overtime winner against Dallas on November 28th, and then potted a hat-trick on December 1 against the Lightning. His four points against Tampa Bay matched his career high. Tarasenko now has 27 points in 25 games, good for third in the NHL behind only Connor McDavid (34 points) and Nikita Kucherov (29 points).

Jones had a 3-0-0 record with a 0.962 SV% and a goals-against of 1.01. He allowed just one goal in each appearance, as the Sharks passed Edmonton for first in the Pacific Division. Jones is tied for second among goalies with 13 wins, and has a sparkling 0.924 SV% and 1.99 GAA with two shutouts.

• The New York Rangers will be without Michael Grabner on Tuesday night. After the speedy winger practiced on the fourth defense pair with Adam Clendening, NHL Live host Jim Cerny tweeted that Grabner had a death in his family and will be a scratch against the Islanders. Grabner has been lights-out this year, with 13 goals in 26 games so far.
• Wild captain Mikko Koivu had a tremendous game on Sunday night. He scored the overtime winner, dangling around Oilers goalie Jonas Gustavsson, but also won an astounding 91.3% of his face-offs (21/23). In a league where a face-off percentage higher than 50% is considered good, Koivu had an unreal night. He’s currently sitting at 55% on the season.

3. Backstrom had four goals and four assists in four games. Five of those points in the Capitals’ 7-1 win over the Penguins, which represented a career-high for Backstrom. He now has 17 points in 20 games.

2. Ward went 3-0-0 last week, with a 0.964 GAA and one shutout. He’s on a four-game winning-streak, which is his longest since the 2014-15 season. Thanks to Ward’s efforts, the Hurricanes are climbing out of the Eastern Conference basement and are just three points out of a wildcard spot.

1. Carter scored the winning goal in all three of the Kings’ victories last week, as they went 3-1-0. Carter had four goals and six points in those four games, and scored the winning goal in three consecutive games against Edmonton, New Jersey, and Anaheim. He cracked 600 career points with his second-period goal against the Ducks on Sunday. Carter now leads the NHL with five game-winning goals this season.

In other news around the NHL:

• The Penguins have placed 37-year-old winger Chris Kunitz on Injured Reserve. Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said Kunitz is considered week-to-week with a “lower-body injury.” To fill Kunitz’s roster spot, the Penguins have recalled Jake Guentzel from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the AHL. Guentzel has 17 points in 16 games with the AHL Penguins. Kunitz was initially hurt against Washington on Wednesday, but played in both of the team’s games over the weekend, posting three assists.
• Toronto Maple Leafs winger Josh Leivo is still not ready to return to the lineup, according to coach Mike Babcock (via James Mirtle of the Globe and Mail). Leivo was recalled from a conditioning stint with the Marlies and practiced with the NHL club on Monday morning, but has not been cleared to play yet. Leivo will continue to practice with the Maple Leafs but as a non-roster player. Because Leivo would require waivers to be sent down to the Marlies, the Maple Leafs appear content to temporarily leave him in limbo rather than lose a good young player. When a Twitter follower asked how Leivo can be healthy enough to play five games in the AHL but not healthy enough to play in the NHL, Mirtle just shrugged. Leivo has 8 points in 28 career NHL games (none this season), and 124 points in 171 AHL games.

Rask went 4-0-0 with a 0.970 SV% and a 0.75 GAA. He had two shutouts, and has now won 10 of his first 11 games, making him the second Bruins goalie in their 92-year history to do so. Bruins legend Gerry Cheevers is the only other Bruins goalie to do so. Boston is proving to be rather dependent on Rask; they’re 0-5 without him and 10-1 with him.

Scheifele scored 3 goals and 6 points in 4 games, pushing him into a first place tie for the NHL scoring lead. The Jets earned 7 out of a possible 8 points during the week, bumping them to second in the Central Division.

Rinne went 3-0-0 during the week, with a sparkling 0.976 SV% and a 0.67 GAA to go alongside one shutout. Rinne has five wins so far this season, as Nashville makes their way back into playoff contention after a tough start.

• It’s not looking great for NHL fans hoping to see their favorite players in the 2018 Winter Olympics. Commissioner Gary Bettman has admitted that he has explored the idea of the NHL skipping 2018 in Pyeongchang but returning in 2022 in Beijing. The NHL has participated in every Winter Olympics since Nagano 1998. Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly noted the International Olympic Committee’s decision not to pay the NHL for what they have in the past has not changed. Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston points out that the NHL and NHLPA have “stated unequivocally that they’re unwilling to start paying the estimated $10-million while also interrupting the season.” That money is for player travel and insurance.
• Meanwhile, the KHL is considering trimming the number of franchises in their league. League president Dmitry Chernyshenko told R-Sport that they’re planning to talk about “an optimization of the number of clubs taking part.” Chernyshenko suggesting it’s possible that “the league could contract.” The KHL just expanded to China for this season, but Kunlun Red Star has struggled to attract fans. As well, the floundering price of oil has hurt the league’s funding in Russia.

Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews have been dominant to start the year, and they’ve been named the NHL’s first and second stars of the week. Veteran goaltender Roberto Luongo has been named third star.

The newly-minted youngest captain in NHL history scored 3 goals and 6 points in three games. McDavid had three points in each of the Oilers’ first two games before being held pointless in Sunday night’s 6-2 loss.

Matthews scored four goals in his NHL debut on Wednesday, breaking the record for most goals in an NHL debut. He was also held pointless on Saturday night, but his debut showing was more than enough to secure the second star of the week.

The Panthers are 2-0-0, and Luongo has been a major part of that. He’s won both games, allowing just two goals; he’s sporting a sparkling 0.957 SV% and a 0.98 GAA.

• After getting blown out by the injury-plagued Buffalo Sabres on Sunday night, the Edmonton Oilers are in need of a shake-up. They’ve postponed their CBA-mandated day off from Monday to Wednesday. Coach Todd McLellan told the media after the game that “we took [a day off] today, so we’ll skate tomorrow.” Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported the NHLPA is reviewing the decision.
• Oilers winger Benoit Pouliot has always had a penchant for taking poor penalties. While he’s usually been able to draw penalties to make-up for them, he’s not done well the last two games. He was benched for the second period on Friday after taking three bad penalties in a short period of time, but returned and played well in the third. On Sunday night, he took another two penalties in the first period and was stapled to the bench for the final 40 minutes. TSN’s Ryan Rishaug told TSN 1260 that he thinks Pouliot could find himself in the press box on Tuesday night. “I think they’re going to healthy-scratch him. That’s what I would be doing. At least one, if not more games. Because enough has to be enough. The message needs to be sent … I could see Todd [McLellan] coming down really, really heavy.”
• Carey Price will miss the Canadiens home opener with the flu. New backup Al Montoya will get the start against the Penguins on Tuesday night. Price did skate with goaltending coach Stephane Waite before team practice.