Dose: Panderin to Panarin

Let’s get crack-a-lacking.

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STARS 4, RED WINGS 1

-- John Klingberg notched two assists to give him 15 points in as many games. He probably stands out as one of the more obvious guys as far as excessively low draft rankings go. The Stars have a goofy contract or two, but the savings with Klingberg, Jamie Benn, Tyler Seguin and even Patrick Sharp make up the difference.

-- Dallas is off to a franchise-best 12-3-0 start. If you aren't a fan of a Central Division rival and enjoy hockey that doesn't seem like it's suspended in motion like Han Solo was that one time, then you should root for Dallas to make the playoffs, and maybe go far.

Part of the lure is the dream that other franchises may "copy" the Stars and go more aggressive. Sadly, I don't really expect that to happen in many cases - it's far too easy just to stall everything in cement - but a fella can dream.

-- Mike Green returned to the Red Wings' mix, and he wasn't exactly eased into action with 25:40 TOI. His -2 rating hurts, but his assist came on the PP, so that eases some of the sting. I expect him to improve post-injury after managing just two assists in his first seven games with the Detroit.

Maybe more than the PPP, the heartening thing is that Green actually shot the puck with three SOG. He only had six in those previous seven contests. That's basically a crime.

-- Detroit really has to hope that Pavel Datsyuk hits the ground running when he returns (which is expected to be fairly soon).

So far, this start is a testament to the notion that Mike Babcock was the guy to keep over Ken Holland, who really hasn't distinguished himself as that great of a GM. His signings have been shaky - though I do like the Green add - and many of the franchise's genius moments either pre-date him as a GM or haven't happened in quite some time.

If it was about giving more power to Babs or more to Holland, then Detroit erred. Of course, the Red Wings are probably happy to save all that money the Maple Leafs are paying Babs, so I guess it's really a moot point.

-- Jimmy Howard was banged up in this one after Jason Spezza bumped him. Jeff Blashill chalked it up to ... "contact issues" which allegedly isn't code for a concussion.

Believe that if you'd like, but it's just another push toward Petr Mrazek carrying more of the load.

-- Alex Goligoski gets plenty of ice time, yet he cannot manage many points even riding the locomotive that is the Stars' offense. Just one goal in his last seven games.

DEVILS 4, CANUCKS 3 (OT)

-- Didn't expect this game to be such a boon for PIM, but it sure was, as both teams combined for 83. The big kerfuffle came between Derek Dorsett and Jordin Tootoo, which may have been instigated by Alex Burrows.

Adam Larsson also got tossed for a hit on Jared McCann, so keep an eye out in case there are any suspensions or injuries.

-- Larsson's career high for PIM is 34, so this seems a little out of character (although maybe part of that was because he wasn't very engaged).

He's had a pretty quiet start offensively, which is a bit of a letdown since he was showing signs of improvement scoring-wise after the Devils ousted Peter DeBoer.

It's hard to believe he's still just 22.

-- Let's look at the season totals so far for the "actually relevant Devils scorers."

Adam Henrique: 11 points in 14 games.

Lee Stempniak: 12 points in 14 games, with five in his last four.

Michael Cammalleri: 14 in 14, with three in a two-game run.

Kyle Palmieri: 12 points in 14 games. He's really rising, with a three-game point streak (two goals, three assists) and only two games without a point since Oct. 22.

-- The Devils would make the playoffs if they began today, and they're just one point behind the Penguins for the Metro's third spot. Remarkably, the Devils, Penguins and Capitals are all 8-2-0 in their last 10 games (while the Rangers are 7-1-2). Maybe that division is getting it together?

-- My gut feeling is that the Ducks will grind their way to the second spot in the Pacific and a possible first-round series with the Canucks, who have a strange way of mixing "solid" with "weirdly irrelevant."

It says a lot about how lousy the Pacific is that the Ducks are just two points behind the Sharks for the third spot.

BLACKHAWKS 4, OILERS 2

-- Patrick Kane was involved in all four Blackhawks goals, so he's now tied with Tyler Seguin for the NHL points lead at 23. Just what the NHL wants! Can you imagine if he sweeps the major awards this season?

/Gary Bettman puts up Sidney Crosby's Bat Signal, desperately.

-- While Kane creates conflicted feelings, Artemi Panarin scores at a heck of a pace, and he's only owned in 59 percent of Yahoo hockey leagues. You should probably amend that if he's waiting there on your waiver wire with a basket full of bread puns.

(He has 15 points in as many games by the way.)

-- Kudos to Corey Crawford for stopping all 22 of the Oilers' second-period shots. Impressive.

-- Duncan Keith could be back as soon as this coming weekend. He also played through the Stanley Cup Final with the injury that's really bugging him now. (He won the Conn Smythe anyway.)

-- Jordan Eberle scored his first goal of the 2015-16 season in his second game back.

-- Tough go of things lately for Cam Talbot. It really IS tough not to look at the Oilers as a little desolate with Connor McDavid sidelined, even if Todd McLellan seems to be getting respectable efforts out of them.

BRUINS 2, ISLANDERS 1

-- Look, it's probably not fair to beat up on the Islanders too much being that Tuukka Rask needed to make 36 out of 37 stops to beat them on Sunday.

Still, between the Barclays Center being an even worse fit for hockey than expected and the team generally meandering its way out the gate, this team feels far too stale.

Honestly, I ask this repeatedly and never feel like I get an authoritative response either way: is Jack Capuano really that great? He hasn't accomplished much and this team has plenty of talent. How long are they willing to improve by baby steps?

John Tavares' contract won't be one of the NHL's craziest bargains forever, after all.

-- Only the mighty Montreal Canadiens' 59 goals for edges Boston's 47 goals in the East. Can't say I expected the Bruins to be a fairly explosive offense, but so far they've generated nice offense.

-- Looks like Tavares and Kyle Okposo are back together for the time being, while Ryan Strome was recently loaned to the AHL. Make sure to check your favorite line change resources (and of course Rotoworld NHL) to stay on top of what might be a fluid situation for a while.