Nathan MacKinnon busts out; young Wings wobble; more plusses, minuses

Marian Hoss's 1,000th career point, Nathan MacKinnon's breakout game, young Red Wings struggle, more NHL plusses and minuses of the week.

The week's most notable positives and negatives from around the NHL: 

Plus side

Power Rankings: Ducks hang on to top spot in battle with Kings

• Blackhawks veteran Marian Hossa became the 80th player in NHL history to reach 1000 career points on when he caught a good bounce to beat Senators goalie Craig Anderson on Thursday night. Skating in his old haunt in Ottawa, Hossa also became only the fourth to ever reach the milestone against his original team. The Senators chose Hossa 12th, one place behind Montreal's forgettable selection Jason Ward, in the 1997 draft. “It doesn’t get better than this, doing it where I started," Hossa said. "It took a little longer (17 seasons; 1,100 games) than I expected, but it happened in a special place.”

• Edmonton goaltender Ben Scrivens has had an up and down season, but he's done some good with the messages of hope he had drawn on his masks. Scrivens had four of them painted by four local artists who have been diagnosed with schizophrenia. He will wear each one during NHL games and then auction them off to benefit the Schizophrenia Society of Alberta. The first, painted by Richard Boulet, includes the words “empathy” and “hope” on both sides. Scrivens became interested in the affliction and the subject while studying at Cornell.

• Olli Maatta, the 20-year-old Penguins defenseman who has six points in his first nine games, has been playing courageously through the early part of the season despite receiving some scary news. During a preseason physical, Maatta was diagnosed with a potentially cancerous tumor. He'll have thyroid surgery next week and is expected to miss a month after he undergoes the procedure. Doctors have told him that the tumor is likely cancerous, but they do not expect him to need chemotherapy or radiation.

• Injured Jablonski to lead world's largest stick tap

Eye Test: Making sense of Alex Ovechkin, "The Great -35"

• Stop the presses. New Jersey’s NHL record slump of 18 straight shootout losses that included last year’s entire season finally ended on Thursday night when the Devils topped Winnipeg, 2-1. Jacob Josefson struck in the shootout, beating Jets goalie Ondrej Pavelec, and Cory Schneider turned off the Jets as New Jersey triumphed. Joked Devils coach Peter DeBoer after the game: “It was our first shootout win in what seemed like ten years.”

• The importance of the Devils' strong start

• Nathan MacKinnon's slump couldn’t last forever. The top pick in the 2013 draft scored twice in Colorado’s 5-0 victory against the suddenly wobbly Islanders. They were the first two goals of the season for last year’s Calder-Trophy winner, who scored 24 of them in his first NHL campaign. MacKinnon put an angle shot into the top corner for his first goal and went aggressively to the net to deflect Jarome Iginla’s centering pass for his second. Both were the kinds of tallies that a goal-scorer would find a way to get, so the Avalanche's biggest early-season worry shouldn’t be MacKinnon.

• Flyers pull off scary Halloween prank

Minus side

• The Sharks are actually fine for the first two periods. It’s the third one—the one that matters most—that earns them a place on the list. San Jose has now allowed 19 third-period goals, the most in the NHL and one more than the woeful Buffalo Sabres, who give them up in every period and maybe even between periods, too. The Sharks have outscored their foes 14-1 in 12 first periods this season. On Thursday night, San Jose blew a 3-1 lead with another late fold against Minnesota.

• If you had six games in the over-under on how many it would take Sharks winger John Scott before he got suspended for the first time this season, you lost. It was five. Scott received two games for leaving the bench on a legal line change to start a fight against the Ducks last Sunday night. This is nothing new for a guy who has generated three goals, four assists and 452 penalty minutes during his career of mayhem. Throw in his four playoff games—what was he doing in those?—and Scott has seven points and 474 PIMs in 245 games played. That’s a forward with 68 penalty minutes per NHL point. Here's an idea: send Scott out for a shift against Trevor Gillies. No puck is necessary. That should take care of both of them.

[youtube:http://youtu.be/CzBiCtZlm5M]

• With seven points in his first nine games, Oliver Ekman-Larsson's production numbers are actually pretty good (2-5-7 in 9 games) but the Coyotes’ fifth-year defenseman has been making a ton of mistakes in his own end. Entering this season, Larsson was +2 in 258 games, but so far he is already -11 on a struggling Arizona team that has won just three games. As he and goalie Mike Smith go (Smith's play has been up and down), so go the Yotes and so might coach Dave Tippett if they don't start to play better. The Western Conference is way too competitive for a team to get left in the dust and catch up in time to make the playoffs.

• After a fantastic first 75 games of the 2013-14 regular season, St. Louis had hoped to shake off last spring's disappointing first-round playoff loss to Chicago with another strong and healthy start this season. Instead, although the Blues have won three straight as of this writing, their injury list is growing. The signed the summer’s star free agent in forward Paul Stastny, but he suffered a shoulder injury after just four games, and now two of the club’s top forwards, David Backes and T.J. Oshie, are both out with concussions. On Tuesday night, Backes whacked his head on the ice after getting caught up with Dallas defenseman Trevor Daley, and Oshie ran into a goalpost in the same game.

Report: Wild's Thomas Vanek tied to money laundering, gambling scandal

• Winger Tomas Tatar, 23, was supposed to be one of Detroit’s great weapons this season. But after a respectable 39-point campaign during his first full year in the NHL, he's been held to a goal and no assists through the team’s first nine games. Red Wings coach Mike Babcock has switched Tatar's linemates twice this season. Most recently he's been skating with Gustav Nyqvist and Riley Sheehan, who are also battling a kiddie funk along Tomas Jurco (two assists). With all four struggling, it's no wonder the Wings have been scrounging for goals.“Tats and (Riley) Sheahan and Jurco they’re all in that process, and so is (Gustav) Nyquist of understanding how difficult the league is and how hard you’ve got to play and that’s why they call it a pro,” coach Mike Babcock said this week. “A good pro knows that and does it.” Tatar's answer: "I think just keep shooting." Something's bound to go in eventually, right?

GALLERY: Week's coolest photos on and off the ice

Snap Shots: Week's Cool NHL Photos On And Off The Ice

Mike Smith

Christian Petersen/Getty Images

The Coyotes' otherwise reliable goaltender, here taking the ice at Glendale, Arizona's Gila River Arena for a game against Florida, has been a shadow of his old self during the season's first month. On this night (Oct. 25, 2014) he shone, winning 2-1 in OT.

Cam Atkinson and Ryan Kesler

Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images

A close shave: The Blue Jackets' forward was gashed in the face by Kesler's skate blade when the Ducks' center lost his balance during their game at Anaheim's Honda Center on Oct. 24, 2014. Atkinson needed stitches to close a three-inch cut across his right eyelid and down his cheek, but he was not seriously injured.

Ben Lovejoy vs. Joe Pavelski

Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images

This Duck's head was apparently bitten off by a Shark during a scrap at Anaheim's Honda Center on Oct. 26.

Nick Foligno

Harry How/Getty Images

The Blue Jackets forward lies hors de combat on the ice after hitting his head on an official in a collision along the boards during a game against the Kings at Staples Center in L.A. on Oct. 26, 2014. Foligno left the ice on a stretcher, part of a wave of injuries that hit Columbus.

Boston Bruins

Darren McCollester/Getty Images for Boston Children's Hospital

Looking as lovely as ever, (L-to-R) Kevan Miller, Dougie Hamilton, Matt Fraser, Seth Griffith, Matt Bartkowski, and Torey Krug brought the Halloween Spirit to a patient named William at Boston Children's Hospital on Oct. 27, 2014.

Jeff Carter and Drew Doughty

Harry How/Getty Images

Carter's That 70s Line (so named because he and wingers Tyler Toffoli and Tanner Pearson all wear jersey numbers in the 70s) has been nothing short of a smash during the season's first month. Here, Carter is greeted by one of his fans after scoring against the Blue Jackets at LA's Staples Center on Oct. 26, 2014.

Joel Ward

Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images

As baseball season wound down, the Capitals' forward was winding up before a game against the Canucks at Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Oct. 26, 2014. Caps coach Barry Trotz plans to use Ward as a situational reliever, especially when he needs to get a right-hander out.

Matt Nieto and Frederik Andersen

Debora Robinson/NHLI via Getty Images

Stick with it: A Shark and a Duck collide during their tilt at Anaheim's Honda Center on Oct. 26, 2014.

Dale Weise and John Moore

Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images

In what appears to be a Three Stooges routine, on-ice officials help extricate Dale Weise's glove from Ranger John Moore's head during a game at Montreal's Bell Centre on Oct. 25, 2014.

O Canada

Gregory Shamus/NHLI via Getty Images

The Flyers took on the Penguins at Pittsburgh's Consol Energy Center on Oct. 22, the Canadian National Anthem was performed in honor of the Ottawa shooting victims. O Canada is not usually played before games between two American-based teams.

Daniel and Henrik Sedin

Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images

The Canucks' rejuvenated Sedin Twins have been making their presence felt, as Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner learned during a game at Rogers Arena in Vancouver on October 26, 2014.

Blackhawks jerseys

Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images

The team's distinctive warm-up threads hang in honor of "Hockey Fights Cancer Night" at Chicago's United Center on Oct. 26, 2014.

Maple Leafs and Bruins

Claus Andersen/Getty Images

Between slumps and injuries, it's been a rough first month for the Maple Leafs and Bruins, who did battle at Toronto's Air Canada Centre on Oct. 25, 2014.

Gin Blossoms

Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images

Arizona's own deliver bit hits such as "Hey Jealousy" and "Found Out About You" to wake up the crowd after a 2-1 OT snoozefest between Panthers and Coyotes at Gila River Arena in Glendale on Oct. 25, 2014.

P.K. Subban and Rick Nash

Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images

The Canadiens defenseman and the Rangers' red hot winger pursue that ever elusive puck at Montreal's Bell Centre on Oct. 25, 2014.

Coyotes vs. Panthers

Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images

In the line of fire: Panthers defenseman Dylan Olsen and Coyotes forward Shane Doan prepare to pay the cold, hard price as winger Mikkel Boedker (foreground) unleashes a shot during a game at Gila River Arena on Oct. 25, 2014.

Senators and Blue Jackets

Jamie Sabau/NHLI via Getty Images

The teams exchanged pleasantries at Nationwide Arena in Columbus after Blue Jackets defenseman Artem Anisimov was sent to the ice by a head shot during their game on Oct. 28, 2014.

Braden Holtby

Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images

The spitting image. The Capitals' goaltender tries to douse the Flames during a game at Calgary's Scotiabank Saddledome on Oct. 25, 2014.

Canadian Tire Centre

Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images

The Senators' home arena was aglow on Oct. 25 as part of a tribute held simultaneously in Montreal and Toronto to Canadian soldiers slain in shooting incidents.

Carey Prices

Francois Lacasse/NHLI via Getty Images

Save and a beauty. As October drew to a close, the Canadiens and their keeper were off to an 8-2-0 start that was tied with the Ducks for the league's best record.

Zach Parise

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Minnesota's star winger sported the result of an encounter with a high stick during a game against the Rangers at New York's famed Madison Square Garden on Oct. 27, 2014.

Kyle Okposo

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The upstart Islanders' rugged forward uncorks a slap shot during warmups before a game against the Dallas Stars at New York's Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Oct. 25, 2014.

Zdeno Chara and John Tavares

Jim Davis/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

This knee-on-knee collision at Boston's TD Garden ended up hurting the bigger man the most. The Bruins' towering captain injured his knee, was sent to the hospital and was told he'd be out of action for four-to-six weeks.

Hockey Fights Cancer Night

Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images

The Blackhawks and their linemates from the Make-a-Wish Foundation and Bear Necessities' Bears Hugs Program stood tall at Chicago's United Center before a game against the Ottawa Senators on Oct. 26, 2014.

Matt MacPherson

Jeff Vinnick/NHLI via Getty Images

Winging it: The linesman gives the all-clear after falling to the ice during a game between the Washington Capitals and the Canucks at Vancouver's Rogers Arena on Oct. 26, 2014.