It’s a U.S. Thanksgiving edition of the NHL’s Best and Worst. Unlike the festive turkey, however, this season has been high-flying, with scoring at record levels and goalies more acrobatic than we’ve ever seen.
Here’s everything you missed — or need to see again — from the past week in hockey.
Goal of the week
Everything’s going right for the New Jersey Devils, who have lost just one game in their last 16 and look like the NHL’s number one contender through the quarter mark of the season. While all the attention for them has been on the triple-H trio of Hughes, Hischer, and Hamilton, their depth has also been a big part of their success to this point in the season. That includes underrated winger Tomas Tatar, who has bounced back in a big way from last year’s disappointment. He currently sits fifth on the team in scoring behind their big guns and looks like he’s gotten his mojo back.
This creative little goal Tatar scored against the Edmonton Oilers last Monday was a beauty.
Save of the week
Pyotr Kochetkov is a bad man for this one. Freshly inked to a four-year, $8 million extension, the Russian netminder looks like the future of the Hurricanes crease, and for good reason. With unbounded athleticism and an elite ceiling, Kochetkov is likely just scratching the surface of his NHL potential.
Even more impressive, at just 23-year-old, Kochetkov has been thrust into a significant role with the Hurricanes due to an injury to Frederik Andersen, and hasn’t looked out of place one bit, rocking a .913 save percentage through his first six games. This straight-up robbery on Coyotes forward Travis Boyd is a glimpse into the future for Canes fans, as he gives it everything he can to keep this puck out of the net.
Star of the week: Mitch Marner
Mitch Marner may not have the most points in the NHL over the past week — that would be the Stars’ Jason Robertson — but he deserves massive credit for what he’s been able to string together over the last little while.
After an up-and-down start to his and the Maple Leafs‘ season, the winger has found his groove in a big way, notching a point in sixteen straight contests while accumulating five goals and 17 assists over that time. His Saturday game against the Penguins looks to be the crescendo of that run, as the Leafs star notched an electrifying tally just seconds into the game, then later