Three unbeaten teams entered on Saturday, and all three came out unscathed.
NHL Scores: Varlamov keeps Avs unbeaten, Dubnyk fails Oilers again
Colorado, St. Louis and San Jose all remain undefeated after Saturday’s action. Meanwhile, Edmonton has a goalie problem.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The Avalanche weathered a barrage of shots from the Capitals while dishing out some offensive damage of their own. St. Louis stormed out in front of the Rangers and never looked back even as New York crawled back into the game. And the Sharks lost their dynamic rookie forward to injury but kept chugging along towards victory.
These three teams are playing an a whole ‘nother level right now, and the league is just trying to keep pace.
All the NHL Scores
Bruins 3, Blue Jackets 1
Maple Leafs 6, Oilers 5 (OT)
Red Wings 5, Flyers 2
Avalanche 5, Capitals 1
Blackhawks 2, Sabres 1
Blues 5, Rangers 3
Wild 5, Stars 1
Canadiens 4, Canucks 1
Sharks 3, Senators 2
Five Questions
On Saturday we asked you five burning questions about the day’s games. These are you cool, soothing answers
1. Will Semyon Varlamov stick it to his old team?
Boy, did he. Look at the final score of Colorado's 5-1 win and you might say to yourself that the Avs' offense won the game. But consider that the Washington Capitals poured 41 shots on net on Saturday, and it becomes clear that Varlamov's performance was the backbone of the Avs' win. Colorado is now 5-0 for the first time in franchise history, and Varlamov is playing the best hockey of his career.
2. Can Tyler Seguin put together back-to-back multi-point nights?
The Wild's gameplan clearly was to shut down the Stars' top line, and they executed it to near perfection. Seguin, Jamie Benn and Rich Peverley struggled to find any offensive momentum all night long. Which was unfortunate for Dallas, because they needed another big night from Seguin after their defense so quickly fell apart.
3. Will the Canucks struggle in their own end without Alexander Edler?
The Vancouver blueline didn't play exceptionally well, but they didn't get any help from their goaltender. Roberto Luongo was guilty of giving up a couple of soft goals on Saturday, none more egregious than the own goal in the second period. The Canucks clearly missed Edler's stabilizing presence in their own end.
4. Can the Rangers give up less than five goals?
Nope. In fact, Martin Biron gave up four goals on just 17 shots before getting benched for Henrik Lundqvist during the third period. Coach Alain Vigneault blamed fatigue for his team's continued poor performance, but it's not like it gets any easier. The Rangers have four more road games before they finally play at home later in the month.
5. Can the Flyers overcome the loss of Scott Hartnell and Vincent Lecavalier?
Even if Philadelphia had both veterans, I'm not sure it would help them right now. The Flyers continued their parade to the penalty box on Saturday, allowing an 0-for-10 Red Wings power play to score three times en route to a 5-2 win. The Flyers have now been shorthanded 33 times this season, by far the most in the league.
Impact Moment
The play or story from Saturday’s games that will be making headlines over the next couple of days
What will the Edmonton Oilers do in goal? Devan Dubnyk let in another six goals on Saturday and played the largest part in the late-game collapse by the Oilers. His .839 save percentage is by far the worst in the NHL among goalies with three or more starts. The Oilers now have to decide whether or not to ride out the slump with Dubnyk or turn things over to Jason LaBarbera full time. Not an enviable position.
Stat of the Night
Lots of franchise records were broken on Saturday. The Avs have never been 5-0 to start a season. The Blues are 4-0 for the first time in their franchise's history. The Minnesota Wild scored in the first 12 seconds against Dallas, the fastest goal in franchise history.
And then there are the Flyers, who have scored just eight goals through six games. A franchise record.
Post to Post
- Tomas Hertl left Saturday's game with an undisclosed injury.
- The USHL postponed a game between Cedar Rapids and Dubuque when Dylan Chanter suffered a seizure on the ice after a fight. Thankfully, he tweeted that he was alright.
- The Dallas Stars are still haunted by the second games of back-to-backs.
- Nathan MacKinnon scored his first NHL goal for Colorado, quickly followed by Seth Jones in Nashville. And Matthew Dumba in Minnesota.
- Oh, and Sidney Crosby scored a hat trick. Ho hum.
More from SB Nation NHL:
See More:
