NHL 3 Stars: Yegor Sharangovich's last second goal lifts New Jersey Devils over Boston Bruins
Saturday night was full of rookies scoring their first-career goals and teams exploding late in games for big wins.
Yegor Sharangovich of the New Jersey Devils and Tim Stützle of the Ottawa Senators both scored and Ilya Sorokin made his NHL debut for the New York Islanders after Semyon Varlamov was a late scratch.
The Nashville Predators had 11 players record a point against the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Minnesota Wild is off to its first 2-0 start since 2015.
First star
Yegor Sharangovich, LW, New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils rookie Yegor Sharangovich became the second player in franchise history to score his first-career goal in overtime. It came with less than two seconds left.
Sharangovich was slotted into the first line to start the season and is taking advantage of the opportunity.
He’s also having fun which brings a smile to everyone's face.
SharanGOALvich!!!
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) January 16, 2021
?: Sharangovich
?: Severson
?: Palmieri pic.twitter.com/QqTcbW9E4h
Second star
Dylan Larkin, C, Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings named Dylan Larkin the 37th captain in franchise history on Jan. 13, and he scored his first two goals wearing his new letter on Saturday.
In a back-and-forth contest against Carolina, Larkin gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead and then sealed the 4-2 win with an empty netter.
He won 55 percent of the face-offs he took and led Detroit in 20:47 of ice time.
His first as Captain.
— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 17, 2021
Just how @Dylanlarkin39 drew it up. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/KqstAfUd1H
Third star
Ryan Suter, D, Minnesota Wild
Ryan Suter logged over 24 minutes of ice time and changed the outcome of a game with less than two seconds in regulation.
Suter sent the Minnesota Wild into overtime against the Los Angeles Kings with a fluttering goal off Jonathan Quick’s shoulder.
The Wild completed the comeback when Marcus Johansson scored in overtime.
SPEECH.#mnwild pic.twitter.com/wT2eF62b2d
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 17, 2021
Dishonourable Mention
Vegas Golden Knights
All that glitters is gold and the Vegas Golden Knights were definitely sparkling on the ice Saturday night.
In their second game of the season, the Golden Knights debuted their new gold sweaters. The survey is still out on social media but some Vegas media says they look better in person.
In the meantime, Max Pacioretty lived up to the shine with a flashy goal in overtime to down Anaheim for Vegas’ second-consecutive win. It was the fastest goal to start a period in franchise history and all he needed was seven seconds.
What a look, @GoldenKnights. ?#VegasBorn | ?? pic.twitter.com/O8wCHUpD31
— NHL on NBC Sports (@NHLonNBCSports) January 17, 2021
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings had 3-1 leads on Thursday and Saturday against the Minnesota Wild. They lost both games in overtime.
Seriously, the Kings put Jonathan Quick in a position to make 63 saves in two games and couldn’t reward him with a win.
"Quite frankly I'm disappointed right now just like the rest of the group."
— LA Kings (@LAKings) January 17, 2021
Todd McLellan after his club fell again in OT ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/G2yXkRrrwI