Most productive player
Finnish speedster Roope Hintz of Dallas scored nine points in three games - scoring two goals and assisting seven. He has seriously supported the Stars' devastating offensive attack in recent days, as the Texan franchise scored 16 goals in the aforementioned games.
Hintz first contributed four assists in the win over Los Angeles and then delivered a goal and three assists against the Blues. His average ice time was not even 17 minutes per game.
Goaltender of the Week
Tampa Bay is starting to get into the type of form that makes them a side that no one wants to face. And masked man Andrei Vasilevskiy has also been fantastic, only allowing two goals in three games. He didn't have an easy opponent either, stopping strong Edmonton and Washington sides and not even conceding a goal against Calgary.
He added 71 saves for his fourth clean sheet of the season and 38th of his career. His goals-against average over the three games was an eye-popping 0.67.
Highlight of the week
They were supposed to be one of the dark horses of the season, but instead the Nashville Predators are a beleaguered team at the bottom of the table. This despite acquiring the extremely sought after offensive trio of Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault and Brady Skjei over the summer.
By the start of the last quarter of the regular season, they have only 152 goals scored - only Anaheim are worse, and only by one goal.
"It's not easy, it's hard to say anything," defenceman Luke Schenn, one of the most experienced men in the booth, told Main Street Nashville. "I've probably never been part of a group that just couldn't score goals," sighed the man who has 1,056 starts in the competition.
Marchessault and Stamkos have combined for just 35 goals, and the latter is off to the worst scoring year of his career. He should finish the season with only 45 points by current calculations. All of this was topped off on Saturday when the Predators were down 6-4 to the New York Islanders and the experienced Canadian sent the puck into his own empty cage during the final power play. The goal was then credited to goalie Ilya Sorokin.
The Russian goalie became just the 17th to score in the NHL. "It was lucky, if I would have scored the puck myself, I would probably have had a little bit different feelings. I don't even know if I was the last one to touch the puck," he told NHL.com after the game.
Stat of the week
The new all-time leading scorer in Winnipeg Jets history is Canadian forward Mark Scheifele, who surpassed Russian forward and former No. 1 overall draft pick Ilya Kovalchuk, who scored 328 goals for the organization.
What's interesting about the record? Kovalchuk never donned a Winnipeg jersey, last playing for the team in February 2010 back when it was still called the Atlanta Thrashers.
Social media highlight
It's a wonder it hasn't happened before... Two McDonald's restaurant chains have renamed their restaurants in honour of Connor McDavid, the man who scored Canada's winning goal at the Four Nations Tournament, to pay tribute to the Edmonton star.
Photo of the week
Buffalo defenceman Bowen Byram wanted to take a shot at Carolina's Seth Jarvis, but in the end, it was Jarvis who won the battle.
Ladislav Smid's view
"The transfer deadline is around the corner and it's a joy for fans to watch. One of the last big trades was moving star defenceman Seth Jones from Chicago to Florida and I think that will help the Panthers a lot. The reigning champions have acquired a top 4 defenceman, but that may not be overloaded thanks to the presence of Aaron Ekblad or Gustav Forsling.
"It will be a new challenge for him, he is physically fit, can score and skates well. The Blackhawks have made room under the salary cap again, plus they acquired young goalie Spencer Knight. A fair trade for both sides. The Panthers have stepped up a lot, they need to be counted on again, they are playing great.
"I'm also curious about the Mikko Rantanen situation, Carolina offered him a $100 million contract and no concrete answer came. If I were the Hurricanes general manager, if the signing didn't happen by the deadline, I'd probably trade him again so I wouldn't risk losing him.
"It's a precarious situation. Also high on the list of players in demand is Brock Nelson of the New York Islanders, a proven goal scorer with plenty of NHL experience.
"And Vancouver's Carson Soucy, a defensive back who can play long minutes in tight battles, will be a good fit for the playoffs. Another name mentioned a lot is Philadelphia's Rasmus Ristolainen, who has been criticized a lot in recent years, yet he's a well-built physical back and a very solid skater. Big and consistent defensemen are always a target before elimination fights."
