NHL scores: Stamkos, Crosby among shining stars on Saturday

The NHL’s elite came out to play on Saturday night.

Oct 19, 2014, 1:00 PM UTC

Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday night was a great evening if you enjoy NHL stars creating a ton of offense. There was plenty of that going around from the East Coast all the way to Vancouver.

Let's start out West, where the NHL's best goal scorer put on a show. Honestly, Steven Stamkos might finally score 70 goals this season. This could be the year. He jumped to second in goals scored this year after potting two in Vancouver, and looks just as lethal as he did early last season before suffering a knee injury. If he stays healthy there's no reason to think he couldn't breach that legendary 70-goal mark.

In Dallas, the NHL's newest Art Ross threat continued racking up points. Stars center Tyler Seguin registered four points in the Stars' 6-5 overtime loss to Philadelphia. He now has eight points in his last three games and is in the top three in the league in the category. He and Jamie Benn have led a rampage on NHL goaltending in the first week of the season and his ability to create and score is only matched right now by a certain fellow in Pittsburgh.

That guy also kept up his torrid pace against the New York Islanders on Saturday. Sidney Crosby assisted on two of the Penguins goals in their 3-1 win over the Islanders. He has points in every game this year and multiple points in all but one.

The race for the NHL scoring title is a marathon, but those three stars are certainly going to be threats right up to the end.

All the NHL Scores

Flyers 6, Stars 5 (OT)

Blackhawks 2, Predators 1 (OT)

Blues 6, Coyotes 1

Lightning 4, Canucks 2

Bruins 4, Sabres 0

Canadiens 3, Avalanche 2

Senators 3, Blue Jackets 2

Red Wings 1, Maple Leafs 0 (OT)

Sharks 4, Devils 2

Penguins 3, Islanders 1

Capitals 2, Panthers 1 (SO)

Three Things We Learned

1. The Avalanche are probably worse defensively than we thought. We’ve all seen the advanced stats: the Avs are a terrible possession team and relied on a ton of luck last season that helped them overcome a mediocre defensive core. But man, the fall back to Earth has been brutal. Watching them flail around the net and in their own zone against the Canadiens was embarrassing, and they just can’t seem to get out of their own way right now. Patrick Roy has a lot of issues to sort out before this team goes completely off the rails.

2. Jonathan Toews joined the goal-scoring club in style. It took four games, but the Chicago Blackhawks captain finally got his first goal of the year on Saturday. And he did it in typical Toews style, stealing the puck at center ice while shorthanded and scoring the game-winner on a breakaway. On a night when they struggled to get going offensively, the Blackhawks could count on their captain in the end.

3. Philly and Dallas need to get their defenses in order. Good Lord, what a game in Big D. That’s not a compliment; the Stars and Flyers played hot potato with the lead all night while playing some truly horrendous defense. The Stars get a slight pass because they were playing with five defensemen, but even that’s no excuse for blowing a 4-2 lead in the third period. On one hand, all-out offensive games like this are pretty exciting. On the other hand, it’s a big reason why these two clubs are going to be fighting for their respective conference’s wild card berths instead of one of the top seeds.

Impact Moment

I bet some Avs fan is reading this and thinking that using the term "embarrassing" up there was a bit harsh. Well, I humbly request you watch this P.K. Subban goal again. Really look at it, specifically the defensemen falling down and failing to cover the wide open Norris Trophy winner with the puck two feet in front of the net.