Another mid-week has passed in the NHL as the regular season continues to fly by. Playoff pictures continue to unfold, but there is still a lot to uncover. Buckle up, as the fun in this league is just beginning.
Wednesday night in the NHL brought us five games in a busy night. We saw one Atlantic Division matchup and four intra-conference games.
Each game brought its own excitement, and we will be doing a full review of what exactly went down on this night of great hockey action.
The night started with an Atlantic Division battle between the Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens.
These division opponents have met three times already this season, with Montreal winning two of them. The Sabres looked to get revenge in the final matchup of the year, and they did just that.
It was a quiet game with five goals in total, which started off with just one goal by Montreal in the first period in front of the home crowd. The second period is when the scoring ramped up.
The Sabres tied the game up under five minutes into the second period before the Canadiens regained the lead a few minutes later. Buffalo then kicked things up a notch, scoring two more goals to end the period with a 3-2 lead.
In a spirited third period, there were no goals scored, resulting in a 3-2 win for Buffalo on the road. Their big three-goal second period got the job done. A close game indeed, but near the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings, there wasn't much at stake here.
Read more: 2023/24 Vezina Trophy odds
The Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks also went to battle on Wednesday. These historic franchises were meeting for the first of two matchups this season.
Only four goals were scored in this game. The game started off very close, with both the Blackhawks and Flyers trading goals.
Then, Philadelphia dominated a weaker team by scoring two second-period tallies. A scoreless but hard-fought third period resulted in a 3-1 road win for the Flyers.
This was another game that didn't have huge storylines. However, the Flyers earned two crucial points in their Metropolitan Division standings battle, while the Blackhawks remain near the bottom of the NHL.
In a highly-anticipated game, Connor McDavid and his Edmonton Oilers faced Brad Marchand and his Boston Bruins.
Taking place at TD Garden, it was a matchup between two powerhouses of different conferences, which would play out as an elite Stanley Cup Final.
The game itself started off very close and entertaining, as the Oilers and Bruins both scored a first-period goal. However, in the second, the Bruins took off, outscoring Edmonton 3-1 in the frame. This was leading to a highly competitive third period.
The third period brought the fireworks we were all hoping for, as Edmonton outscored the Bruins 3-1, making it a 5-5 game that needed overtime to finish.
This spectacle then ended with a Charlie McAvoy overtime-winning goal.
This was comfortably the best game of the night between two of the best teams in the league. Both rosters were challenged and put through their paces and were up to the task.
In the home state of Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies, the Toronto Maple Leafs travelled to Arizona to take on the Arizona Coyotes. Arizona has played Toronto well over the years, but tonight brought a different story.
The red-hot Maple Leafs opened the period with a quick goal, and a second was scored shortly after but was called back due to being offside.
This was just the beginning, as local boy and NHL goal leader Matthews scored his 50th goal of the season. Later on, Toronto would score yet again. This was a period in which the Maple Leafs won 3-0 with five power plays.
The pure dominance by Toronto was then halted in the second after the Coyotes scored two unanswered goals to make it 3-2. The teams then traded one more goal (including Matthews' 51st), leading to an exciting finish.
The game finished with Toronto dominating again, with two more third-period tallies. It was an electric game, with the Maple Leafs eventually winning 6-3 as they recorded their fifth-straight win.
In their second game in as many nights, the Columbus Blue Jackets entered an opponent's building, this time taking on the Anaheim Ducks.
This was a matchup between two teams who will finish near the bottom of the NHL standings, but even with that being the case, the Blue Jackets came out flying, scoring three goals in the first period, and taking a 3-0 lead into the second frame.
The offensive show would not end there, as it ramped up with five total goals in the second period. To keep things simple, after the whirlwind of a period, the Ducks stormed back and made it 4-4 heading into the final frame.
In the third period, the Blue Jackets got things back together and matched what they did the first period, winning the third 3-0 and the game 7-4.
This was a surprisingly entertaining game with a ton of goals between two teams who could be in the hunt for the first overall pick in this year's draft.