What was the most impressive performance of the weekend?
Craig Custance: I'm giving the nod to Auston Matthews for scoring the goal of the weekend, with that ridiculous backhand that beat Carolina Hurricanes goalie Cam Ward on Sunday night. The goal pulled Matthews even with Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets for the rookie lead at 28 goals. Those two are going to eclipse 30 goals this season, a feat only six rookies have accomplished in the last decade. It's a great Calder race, one that Zach Werenski (one goal and three points on Sunday) of the Columbus Blue Jackets continues to hang in on. Matthews' goal also helped spark a win over the Hurricanes, helping the Toronto Maple Leafs claw back into a playoff spot. If those two rookies crack 40 goals, both the Leafs and Jets might make the playoffs.
Joe McDonald: Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk's 37-save performance in a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday is my pick. He's inching closer to a Vezina and he leads the league with 32 wins. Overall, he's 32-10-3 with a 1.97 goals-against average and a .934 save percentage. The Wild have the potential for a deep Stanley Cup playoff run and Dubnyk should lead the way. This team has been so close to breaking through and now we're seeing its full potential. Dubnyk is the type of player who gets better the more he plays, and it was once again on display this weekend.
Scott Burnside: Let's be honest. The Detroit Red Wings are cooked. They are 15th in the Eastern Conference and have an ugly minus-26 goal differential. But over a 30-hour period this weekend, they reminded me of the glory of the winged wheel as they knocked off the NHL's best team, the Washington Capitals, in a shootout on Saturday afternoon and then completed their David-versus-Goliath weekend by whipping the Pittsburgh Penguins on the road 5-2, ending a nine-game points streak by the Penguins. Goalie Petr Mrazek was terrific in both games. The math says the Wings have very little chance of extending their magnificent playoff streak -- they have 23 games remaining and seven teams to climb over -- but if anything, the weekend's stellar work against top-notch competition was a reminder that maybe the future isn't so far away from this storied club.