Flames - Mikael Backlund
To a man inside the Flames dressing room, they admit they were not at their best, collectively, Tuesday in a 3-2 loss to the Canadiens. However, one Calgary forward had a remarkably good night considering how the game played out, and was the reason the Flames got back within a goal with a better third-period push. Backlund played north of 17 minutes, had two helpers, three shots, a team-high five attempts, and was 9-5 (64%) in the faceoff circle. Above all, his 5-on-5 play was among the best of anyone on the ice, out-chancing the opposition 8-2 (80%) in even-strength situations. Backlund now has five points in his last five games, and as Matthew Tkachuk described it during his post-game interview, No. 11 was one of the players "laying it out there" to help Flames claw back from a multi-goal deficit.
Penguins - Sidney Crosby
Indeed, the 'Greatest Player' debate is once again the talk of the National Hockey League, and rightfully so after a showing like that. Crosby entered Tuesday's contest against the Oilers without a goal on his 2018-19 resume. A notoriously slow start for one of the greatest ever to lace 'em up, yes, but prior to puck drop, there was an overwhelming sentiment that something Crosby-esque was going to go down in the rare, head-to-head match with fellow generational talent, Connor McDavid. Sure enough, it did. Crosby scored twice - including his highlight-reel overtime winner - to lift the Penguins to a madly entertaining 6-5 victory up in the Alberta capital. The goal? Teammate Patric Hornqvist, who himself had a pair in the barn-burning effort, called it the "nicest goal of his career," according to PittsburghPenguins.com. One on one with Edmonton's Ryan Strome, he turned the flat-footed Oiler inside out before cutting across the goalmouth and hoisting home the backhand from an impossible angle. Just another day at the office for No. 87.