Colorado Avalanche forward Nazem Kadri recorded an assist on both of the team's goals in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout loss to Dallas. He set up Gabriel Landeskog and Brock Nelson. With this effort, Kadri boosted his total to five assists this season. While he hasn't yet scored in seven outings, the veteran forward has played a big role on offense. Nathan MacKinnon is the only Avalanche player with more assists this season. Kadri continues his search for his first goal of the year Saturday against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Lane Hutson was in top form Wednesday night in a special matchup against his brother, Cole, and the Washington Capitals. He finished an entertaining 5-4 loss with a goal and an assist. Hutson scored an even-strength goal in the first period and set up a power-play goal in the third. With three multi-point games already this season, Hutson is tied for fourth in scoring among defensemen. He has notched eight points (two goals, six assists) in seven games. The 22-year-old has enjoyed back-to-back multi-point outings. Hutson will try to stretch the streak to three games on Saturday against Buffalo. So far, he has registered two three-game multi-point streaks in his young career.

Washington Capitals winger Alex Tuch led the offense in Wednesday's 5-4 victory over Montreal. He scored two goals, including a short-handed tally, and added one assist. This was Tuch's second multi-point performance of the season. The 30-year-old has been inconsistent in his new gear, but Tuch's overall productivity has been fine. After seven games, he leads the Capitals with five goals and is tied for the scoring lead with six points. In Saturday's tilt against New Jersey, Tuch will attempt to record points in back-to-back games for the first time since joining the Capitals.

Dallas Stars forward Oskar Back (upper body) joined the team's growing list of absentees in Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win over Colorado. He was on the ice for only five shifts before being ruled out for the rest of the contest with an upper-body injury. Back has one assist in seven outings this season. He generally doesn't see much action, but Back's ice time has grown in recent games because of Dallas' lineup issues. Up front, the team has lost two key contributors: Matt Duchene (abdomen) and Wyatt Johnston (illness). Dallas hopes to have Johnston back on Saturday against Chicago. Johnston will likely fill Back's spot in the lineup if he can't play.