NHL Rewind: Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov registers six-point game, Oilers’ Connor McDavid impressing as passer

Another week of the NHL season has come and gone, and it was filled with several heart-pounding moments. We’ve seen some stellar performances on the ice recently, and CBS Sports will catch you up on all of it with the weekly NHL Rewind.

The Tampa Bay Lightning got star goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy back during Friday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. However, it was the offensive onslaught of Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point that stole the show.

Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers continued to be a dynamic offensive unit, and Connor McDavid put together a performance for the ages Sunday against the Anaheim Ducks.

Let’s take a look at all of the biggest storylines and highlights from around the NHL.

Goal of the week: Mikael Granlund goes coast-to-coast

The San Jose Sharks have had their fair share of struggles throughout the opening two months of the 2023-24 season. However, Sharks forward Mikael Granlund produced one of the more impressive scoring plays we’ve seen up to this point of the season.

During Saturday’s game against the Vancouver Canucks, Granlund took the puck from one end of the ice to the other and completed a highlight-reel goal. The Sharks center took the puck from his own zone, weaved his way through the entire Canucks defense, and went backhand to forehand to beat Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko early in the third period.

It was Granlund’s first goal of the 2023-24 season, and he couldn’t have scored it in a better fashion. Teammate Mike Hoffman added a goal just over a minute later to help the Sharks come away with a 4-3 Saturday.

Robbery of the week: John Gibson records ridiculous stick save

Sometimes goaltenders need to use all means at their disposal to make a stop. That’s exactly what Ducks netminder John Gibson was forced to do against the Los Angeles Kings on Friday.

In the second period, it appeared as though Kings forward Pierre-Luc Dubois was going to have an easy goal. Instead, Dubois one-timed a shot at a wide-open net, but Gibson was able to make an insane save with his goalie stick to deny Dubois of the tally.

The hand-eye coordination of Gibson was on full display as he got his stick in the exact position it needed to be to deny the goal. While the Kings ended up winning the game, 5-2, Gibson still recorded one of the more amazing saves the league has seen this season.

Kucherov paces Lightning with six-point performance

The Lightning certainly had an offensive explosion in a 8-2 victory against the Hurricanes. Star forward Nikita Kucherov led the team with a six-point performance (two goals and four assists), while fellow forward Brayden Point added five points (three goals and two assists).

Kucherov became the first NHL player to register six points in a game since Buffalo Sabres star Tage Thompson racked up a goal and five assists against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 7, 2022. The 30-year-old also tied Doug Crossman’s franchise record for points in a game and became the first Lightning forward to achieve the feat.

Kucherov and Point also became the second pair of Lightning teammates to register five or more points in the same game. They joined Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis, who did so on Dec. 7, 2006 against the Atlanta Thrashers.

With his spectacular performance, Kucherov surged to the top of the NHL points list as he surpassed Vancouver Canucks teammates Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller, who both have 33 points this season. Kucherov has also tied for first with Canucks forward Brock Boeser for the league lead in goals (15).

After Stefan Noesen gave the Hurricanes a 1-0 lead in Friday’s game, Kucherov and company really began to take over. Kucherov earned an assist on Steven Stamkos‘ second-period goal and followed it up with a goal of his own.

With the Lightning on the power play early in the second period, Kucherov was able to get into the scoring column. Lightning winger Brandon Hagel dug the puck free and put a pass on the tape of Kucherov’s tape for a one-timer goal.

Kucherov finished off the game with a goal and an assist over the final 20 minutes to complete a ridiculous six-point evening.

The Lightning have been victorious in four of their last five games and are really beginning to hit their stride. With the team now having starting netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy back in the crease, Tampa Bay has a chance to continue to rise in the Atlantic Division standings.

McDavid dishes out four assists in Oilers win

It’s been a slow start for Oilers star Connor McDavid, but he’s really been on fire lately. McDavid had a stellar five-point performance in a 8-2 win against the Ducks on Sunday when he registered a goal and dished out four assists.

McDavid also made a bit of history in the process. McDavid recorded five points for the ninth time in his NHL career to pass Pittsburgh Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin for the most by an active player.

Additionally, the Oilers star recorded four-plus points in consecutive games for the second time in his NHL career after registering four assists in a 5-0 win against the Washington Capitals on Friday. In doing so, McDavid joined Wayne Gretzky, Jari Kurri and Paul Coffey as the only players to achieve the feat in team history.

McDavid also joined Nicklas Backstrom, Leon Draisaitl, Sidney Crosby and Blake Wheeler as the only active players to record four-plus assists in at least six career games.

The Ducks received a pair of opening-period goals from forward Max Jones and held a 2-1 lead just over six minutes into the contest. At the 9:29 mark of the first period, McDavid began his historic outing when he scored his lone goal of the evening on a three-on-one opportunity in which he snapped the puck past Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal.

McDavid proceeded to showcase his skills as an incredible facilitator for the remainder of the contest. Late in the first period, McDavid won a face-off in the offensive zone, and he ended up getting the puck back on his stick. McDavid made his way into the slot, but dished off a beauty of a pass to a wide-open Zach Hyman for the goal.

The Oilers captain also assisted on Hyman’s second goal of the game at the 7:20 mark of the second period. McDavid ended up earning the primary assist on three of his four assists. 

McDavid is currently riding a four-game point streak and has amassed 12 points across those four games. The Oilers star currently has 25 points (seven goals and 18 assists) on the season.

Wild fire head coach Dean Evason amid slow start

It has been a rough start to the 2023-24 season for the Wild. Actually, that is probably an understatement. Minnesota has lost seven straight games, and its 5-10-4 record is good for 14th in the Western Conference. The Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks are not good company to keep.

The Wild expected to be a playoff team when the puck dropped on opening night, and given this disastrous start, general manager Bill Guerin decided to make a change. On Monday, the Wild announced they were firing head coach Dean Evason, who had been with the team for parts of five seasons. He exits with an overall record of 147-77-27 and an 8-15 record in the postseason.

According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, Evason will be replaced by John Hynes, who previously served as the head coach of the New Jersey Devils and Nashville Predators.

It’s not hard to see why the Wild made a coaching change, but it’s also hard to believe a coaching change alone will cure what ails Minnesota. After an otherworldly season in 2022-23, Filip Gustavsson has come down to Earth this year. His -7.11 goals saved above average rank 73rd in the NHL, per Natural Stat Trick. Marc-Andre Fleury’s -6.72 goals saved above average rank 71st. That type of goaltending will sink any team.

Aside from the complete lack of saves, the Wild have been plagued by a lack of offense, which isn’t exactly new for the team. What is new is that Kirill Kaprizov is having a down year, at least by his standards. He is on pace for 25 goals, and his shooting percentage is 8.8%, well below his career average. That said, it would be unfair to lay the blame for this offensive mess solely on Kaprizov’s shoulders. As a team, Minnesota is creating 2.41 xGF/60 at five-on-five, good for 28th in the league. Can John Hynes fix that on the fly? The Wild can only hope so.

Appointment viewing this week

Golden Knights at Oilers: Tuesday, Nov. 28: The Oilers have laid a beating on each of their last two opponents, but their quest to get back on track ramps up in difficulty Tuesday night. The defending Stanley Cup champs are coming to town, and if Edmonton wants to prove it has gotten rid of its early-season woes, this is a great opportunity to do it.

Red Wings at Rangers: Wednesday, Nov. 29: The Red Wings have been on a roller coaster so far in 2023-24. They started out hot, cooled off substantially, and now they have started to warm up again. We’ll see exactly how hot they are against the New York Rangers, one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference so far.

Wild at Predators: Thursday, Nov. 30: We’ve got a John Hynes revenge game, folks! After being unceremoniously jettisoned by the Predators more than a month after the 2022-23 season, Hynes was just hired by the Wild to replace Dean Evason. One of his first games as the bench boss in Minnesota happens to be against the Preds in Nashville.

Golden Knights at Canucks: Thursday, Nov. 30: Some people (me) have been hesitant to really buy into this Canucks team, but it’s tough to argue for the results. Vancouver is third in the Pacific Division, and it can silence the doubters with a strong showing against Vegas on Thursday.

Bruins at Maple Leafs: Saturday, Dec. 2: It’s tough to ignore this rivalry game when it pops up on the schedule. The Bruins are once again sitting atop the Atlantic Division, and the Maple Leafs haven’t gotten off to an ideal start. That should make for a heated battle this weekend as Toronto tries to send a message to its bitter rival.