Greatest Moments of NHL Season … So Far: first round, matchup 23

The 2019-20 NHL season had many incredible moments before it paused on March 12 due to concerns surrounding the coronavirus, and now fans can decide which one was the best.

The Greatest Moments of the NHL season … So Far have been placed into a bracket of 64 entries, and fans will vote on one matchup per day, ultimately deciding the greatest moment up until this point.

Fans can vote on Twitter and Instagram each day from noon until 10 a.m. ET the next day. Each day, the winner of that matchup will be revealed, and a new set of moments will go head-to-head.

Though fans will have the ultimate say, two NHL.com staffers will weigh in on the matchup each day to give his or her opinion on which one should advance to the next round.

In the matchup Tuesday, Anthony Mantha scoring four goals in one game for the Detroit Red Wings defeated the New York Rangers mounting the fifth four-goal comeback of the NHL season.

The matchup Wednesday pits the Tampa Bay Lightning honoring living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor on Oct. 23 and the Pittsburgh Penguins and Vancouver Canucks combining to score eight third-period goals Nov. 27.

Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

The greatness of Evgeni Malkin gets eclipsed at times through no fault of his own. The Penguins center is an elite player of his generation -- of any generation for that matter -- yet finds himself understandably overshadowed by a pair of likely Hockey Hall of Famers, teammate Sidney Crosby and Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin. On this night, though, he reminded us that he's likely to be inducted one day too. With Crosby out because of a core muscle injury, Malkin dominated with five points (two goals, three assists). Three of those points (two goals, assist) came in a span of 13:43 during a five-goal outburst by the Penguins that turned into an 8-6 victory against the Canucks after they trailed 6-3 in the third period. Malkin put the exclamation mark on the win by scoring the final goal with one second left. Great comeback spearheaded by a great player.

Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

Great players like Malkin are what makes the NHL so wonderful. But sometimes there's a moment that's even bigger than the game, and that's what happened when 46 of the 70 living Congressional Medal of Honor recipients walked out on the ice at Amalie Arena before the Lightning played the Penguins. Some of the game's best gladly took a back seat to these brave men and women including Hershel W. "Woody" Williams, who at 96 is the second-oldest living recipient of the Medal of Honor for his bravery in World War II and who dropped the ceremonial first puck. "To see all of the guys and to get the chance to do the puck drop was pretty neat, and to get to shake their hands... they did tremendous things for this country," Lightning captain Steven Stamkos said. "It was pretty cool." And a remarkably memorable night.