New York Islanders forward Mathew Barzal played a leading role in Thursday's big matchup against the league-leading Colorado Avalanche, factoring in half of his team's goals in a 6-3 victory. He had two assists before scoring the Islanders' fifth goal on the power play late in the second frame. Barzal had recorded only one point in his previous five outings. Recently, Barzal has struggled to make an impact, but his season has gone well in general. The 28-year-old is the Islanders' second-highest scorer, with 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) through 27 outings. As a member of the top six and the first power-play unit, Barzal averages over 21 minutes of ice time. His scoring rate could significantly improve if the Islanders sort out their power play, which is currently one of the worst in the league at 13.8 percent.

Boston Bruins center Elias Lindholm showed off his creative side in Thursday's 5-2 victory over the St. Louis Blues, logging three assists. He already had two helpers after the opening period and ended up setting up three different teammates for goals. Lindholm's final assists came on the power play late in the second period. It was Lindholm's third multi-assist game in four contests. He has begun to make up for lost time, having missed 10 games with a lower-body injury in November. Lindholm is close to averaging a point per game for the first time since 2021-22. After 19 appearances, he boasts four goals and 12 assists. Last season, Lindholm had only 47 points (17 goals, 30 assists) in 82 outings, so it's looking like a really nice bounce-back campaign for him.

Edmonton Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl contributed a goal and three assists during Thursday's high-scoring 9-4 victory over the Seattle Kraken. The German superstar finished with three power-play points, scoring Edmonton's third goal. Draisaitl had his 28th career four-point game, surpassing Mark Messier on Edmonton's all-time list to take the fourth spot. Connor McDavid also had four points (three goals, one assist) on Thursday, so the Oilers' leaders really stepped up in this game. The challenge is now to produce a similar effort on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets. Draisaitl will head into the weekend with 16 goals and 35 points through 28 games.

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid finished Thursday's 9-4 win over the Seattle Kraken with four points, including his 13th career hat trick. McDavid lit the lamp in each period and had two power-play goals totie Mark Messierfor thefourth most hat tricks in franchise history. Overall, McDavid had three power-play points in the contest. The Oilers captain became the third player in the league this season to reach 40 points. He has recorded 14 goals and 26 assists in 28 appearances. After a slow start by his standards, McDavid is firmly on track for his sixth consecutive 100-point campaign.