Avalanche heat up; Jarry carries Penguins

The Avalanche and Senators both put up huge numbers on Monday, providing multiple NHL player of the night nominees. Truly, it’s difficult to decide between the three players listed above.

• Zach Sanford generated a hat trick, yet the Senators lost. Sparingly played in his previous 15 games for the Senators, Sanford came into Monday’s NHL action with just three points (2G, 1A) on the season.

• Nazem Kadri collected more points than Sanford, producing a goal and three assists.

• Cale Makar arguably made the biggest impacts. The superstar defenseman scored two goals, and fired a whopping nine shots on goal (to go with two blocked shots and two hits).

Really, you could go with any of Kadri, Makar, or Sanford for Monday’s NHL player of the night. Either way, tough to top anything from that zany Avalanche – Senators game. More on that (at least the Avs) in a moment …

Highlights from the NHL on Monday

Watch the Avalanche squeak by the Senators in a wild 7-5 game (one of those goals being an empty-netter):

If you want a single goal from the Avalanche beating the Senators in their return from COVID hiatus, Alex Newhook’s game-winner was pretty:

In their last, goal-filled game, the Sabres suffered a last-second defeat to the Rangers. During Monday’s NHL action, the Sabres generated a last-second goal of their own. It wasn’t enough in a goal-filled loss to the Blue Jackets. Still, the Sabres seem scrappy and fun, if messy?