In his second game back after missing nearly a month with a lower-body injury, Vanek found a trailing Gustav Nyquist with a spinning no-look pass on a partial breakaway to give the Detroit Red Wings an early lead.
Vanek's gorgeous primary assist is his ninth in as many games this season.
Returning from a nine-game absence, Kris Versteeg immediately made his presence felt in Columbus. The 30-year-old took advantage of a Seth Jones giveaway, then beat the Blue Jackets with a lethal between-the-legs dangle, before setting up Troy Brouwer for a tap-in.
The goal - which gave Calgary a 1-0 lead - was Brouwer's fifth of the season, while the assist was Versteeg's fifth point.
Crosby had fully committed to the tussle, but an official came between the two combatants after Crosby ripped McDonagh to the ice, limiting him to a roughing minor.
The Toronto Maple Leafs rookie has seen his 13-game scoring drought come to an end with a pair of goals during the first period Wednesday in New Jersey.
The first came on some tough work in front of the net.
NHL teams, including the newly minted Vegas Golden Knights, have reportedly received the list of 66 players exempt from the expansion draft to be conducted in late June.
Four of them - the Flames, Sharks, Blues, and Capitals - aren't constricted in any fashion, as they're without a single full no-movement pact on their payroll. While others, namely the Blackhawks, essentially have their protected lists established by these conditions.
But it's not the number of exempt players set to punish teams at the draft. It's misses with these no-moves, and over-saturation of talent at certain positions on depth charts.
Here are four teams facing the toughest decisions - or who must pull the trigger on a trade sooner than later - based on the exemption list:
Anaheim Ducks
Kevin Bieksa's no-movement agreement will almost certainly see Vegas bag a valuable asset from Anaheim.
To protect the maximum 10 skaters, the Ducks must expose either Hampus Lindholm, Sami Vatanen, or Cam Fowler as a result of Bieksa's insurance policy. But if they choose to keep four defenders, they would in turn be limited to four protected forwards, meaning they would likely have to expose Jakob Silfverberg.
Solution: Move Fowler.
Winnipeg Jets
The Jets aren't being forced to protect a rapidly diminishing asset like Anaheim, but are in a similar position. With Dustin Byfuglien and Toby Enstrom safe, the Jets cannot max out their protected roster without leaving either Tyler Myers or Jacob Trouba vulnerable.
Tampa Bay could retain each forward in the event they hold on to Ben Bishop, and successfully use him as bait at the expansion draft. That, however, could backfire, as Vegas could overlook Bishop, pluck a top-six forward, then attempt to sign the Vezina-caliber netminder in unrestricted free agency.
Solution: Hold firm. Sure, explore those options to move Callahan or Filppula - perhaps in a package with Bishop. But winning a championship should be the Lightning's top priority.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Put simply, if the Penguins can't convince Marc-Andre Fleury to waive his no-movement clause to facilitate a trade at some point this season, Matt Murray will be wearing steel grey with his gold next season.
Now that they have a name, the focus will shift as to what the roster of the new Vegas Golden Knights will look like.
The NHL issued a memo Tuesday to all teams that noted which players will be forced to be protected by their clubs due to no-trade or no-movement clauses in their contracts or because of long-term injuries, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
As a reminder, each team has the option to protect seven forwards, three defensemen, and a goaltender, or eight skaters and one goaltender.
Here is the full list of the 66 players who are not likely to be members of the Golden Knights next season:
Team
Player
Ducks
Kevin Bieksa - Ryan Getzlaf - Ryan Kesler - Corey Perry
Coyotes
Alex Goligoski
Bruins
David Backes - Patrice Bergeron - Zdeno Chara - David Krejci
Sabres
Kyle Okposo
Hurricanes
Jordan Staal
Blue Jackets
Sergei Bobrovsky - David Clarkson - Brandon Dubinsky - Nick Foligno - Scott Hartnell
Blackhawks
Artem Anisimov - Corey Crawford - Niklas Hjalmarsson - Marian Hossa - Patrick Kane - Duncan Keith - Brent Seabrook - Jonathan Toews
Avalanche
Francois Beachemin - Erik Johnson
Stars
Jamie Benn - Jason Spezza
Red Wings
Frans Nielsen
Oilers
Milan Lucic - Andrej Sekera - Cam Talbot
Panthers
Keith Yandle
Kings
Anze Kopitar
Wild
Mikko Koivu - Zach Parise - Jason Pominville - Ryan Suter
Canadiens
Jeff Petry - Carey Price
Predators
Pekka Rinne
Devils
Ryan Clowe
Islanders
Johnny Boychuk - Andrew Ladd - John Tavares
Rangers
Dan Girardi - Henrik Lundqvist - Rick Nash - Marc Staal
With their team name unveiled, the Vegas Golden Knights now shift to the next steps of building an expansion franchise.
That includes preparing for next June's expansion draft. And, before that, hiring the team's first head coach.
"George (McPhee) has a list of six or seven primary candidates," Golden Knights owner Bill Foley told Sportsnet's David Amber. "A number of them are currently employed. We'll just see how the season ends and we'll see who is available or who we have permission to talk to and who is not under contract."
According to Foley, general manager McPhee expects to hire his bench boss by March or April.
In the meantime, Vegas will continue to host monthly mock selections in the leadup to next summer's expansion draft.
