It was the slowest shot of the game that cracked Carey Price's impenetrable armor.

The broken stick of Aaron Ekblad's overtime slap shot sealed the deal for the Panthers on Tuesday, shattering Price's - and the Canadiens' - attempt to make history.

Price entered the contest with a 10-0-0 record, one win shy of matching a Habs' record for consecutive wins.

Meanwhile, Montreal fell one win shy of joining the 1963-64 Blackhawks as the only team to win its first 11 home games.

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Oh right, not all Toronto Maple Leafs are highly touted rookies.

Veteran winger James van Riemsdyk made his presence felt in Tuesday's win over the Nashville Predators, recording the second hat trick of his career.

The trio of Van Riemsdyk, Mitch Marner, and Tyler Bozak proved to be a highly effective unit in the 6-2 win:

For Van Riemsdyk, the four points marked a single-game career high.

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It doesn't get any prettier than that.

Zach Werenski continued his rapid ascent to NHL superstardom Tuesday, notching the 13th point of his rookie season on an impeccable wrist shot over the left shoulder of Braden Holtby.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning will be hoping for the best after Steven Stamkos exited Tuesday's game in Detroit with an apparent lower-body injury.

Stamkos fell awkwardly after an innocent-looking collision along the boards, and could be seen clutching his right knee.

The Lightning made the following announcement after Stamkos did not return to the bench for the second period:

Stamkos had recorded his ninth goal of the season earlier in the game, moving into a tie for first in the NHL with 20 points.

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Count this as the final installment of the November tradition that is the Chicago Bulls' and Blackhawks' so-called "Circus Trip."

For several years, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus has been moving into the United Center at this time of year, forcing the Bulls and Blackhawks into fortnight-long road trips. That apparently ends now, as the arena will cease their contract with "The Greatest Show on Earth."

"The reason we're doing this is twofold. One is that in future years the Bulls and Blackhawks no longer have to endure two two-week road trips, and a subset of that is that those trips had resulted in a compression of our home schedules," United Center vice-president of operations Terry Savarise told the Chicago Tribune's Chris Kuc. "There were times when you'd have four home games in a one-week period, which fans didn't like."

The Blackhawks are on a seven-game western road trip, while the Bulls head west as well for five games before a stop in Philadelphia.

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Stopping the puck from behind the net is difficult. Petr Mrazek knows that now.

The Red Wings' netminder coughed up a brutal turnover to the red-hot Nikita Kucherov to open the scoring Tuesday.

Kucherov registered a goal and an assist Monday versus the Islanders, and is now up to 20 points on the season.

(Video Courtesy: NHL.com)

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Mitch Marner is on a roll.

The Toronto Maple Leafs rookie forward, who scored one goal in nine October appearances, recorded his fifth goal in the past six games Tuesday courtesy of a wicked wrist shot that eluded Marek Mazanec of the Nashville Predators.

With the goal, Marner passed Auston Matthews and William Nylander in the rookie scoring race, as well as for the team lead in points, for the time being at least.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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The NHL implemented some much-needed excitement into extra time by introducing 3-on-3 overtime last season, and now changes to the shootout process could be on the horizon.

During the general manager meetings in Toronto on Tuesday, Doug Armstrong of the St. Louis Blues suggested the NHL look into switching to international shootout rules, reports ESPN's Pierre LeBrun.

IIHF rules permit a team to cycle through any player they wish after their first three shooters, a la T.J. Oshie scoring four times on six attempts for Team USA at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, which Armstrong used as an example for his pitch, says LeBrun.

The NHL doesn't permit a player to record multiple attempts until every skater gets a chance, and this idea could allow more time for the league's superstars in the spotlight, ideally making shootouts shorter and more exciting.

The discussion will pick up again when general managers reconvene in March, according to LeBrun.

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Mike Babcock is expecting something nice under the tree this year.

After reflecting upon the first 15 games of Auston Matthews' NHL career, the Toronto Maple Leafs head coach is expecting the 19-year-old to be a top player at his position before the calendar turns to 2017.

"We need him to be a dominant, dominant center for us (and) we think he's going to be by Christmastime," Babcock said Tuesday, per TSN. "We think he's a very good player already, but we think he can be lights out both with and without the puck."

Babcock's statement comes as Matthews is mired in a nine-game scoring drought, albeit with 22 shots on goal in six November games, suggesting a breakout is coming.

Babcock said he showed Matthews clips of Sidney Crosby and Henrik Zetterberg, and believes Matthews can handle the rigors of starting out in the middle as opposed to transitioning from the wing, where life can be easier for rookies.

Matthews likes to have the puck, Babcock noted, and is already showing signs of the kind of dominant possession game that comes with both handling and tracking the puck.

The 2016 first overall pick sits in a tie for second among rookies in points with 12, and, according to Babcock, is just getting started.

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The owner could not stay silent.

In the wake of a decision from the Canadian government that will keep the Ottawa Senators from realizing the dream of hosting a game on Parliament Hill, the suggestion has been made that the club should look to the city's football stadium as an alternative.

On Tuesday, in fact, an Ottawa Citizen editorial outright stated Senators owner Eugene Melnyk should endorse an outdoor game at TD Place, asserting, "an outdoor game in Ottawa that celebrates the 100th anniversary of the first NHL game played here, and of the league itself, is simply too good an opportunity to pass up."

Melnyk decided to write an editorial of his own in response, taking exception to the claim that he would be foregoing his title as a "smart business man" by passing on a "cash cow" that is an outdoor game.

Melnyk cited his ability to bring world-class events and facilities to the city since taking over as owner, as well as his current bid to bring "a new, multipurpose major event centre" to the downtown area.

He then stated an outdoor game is not a cash cow for the team, wrapping things up with the following:

Running the Ottawa Senators is not an easy business. Consider the fact that the team is currently eighth overall in the NHL and the second-best performing Canadian team, and yet we are far from sellouts at our home games.

Through my ownership of the Ottawa Senators, I do so much to support the city in ways that go far beyond hockey. In this instance, I ask everyone to understand and respect the fact that bringing an NHL outdoor game to any city is a monumental task requiring an enormous investment of time, money, and people.

Inevitably, more stories will be written by this paper and other media outlets who would simply like to point blame and accuse me of shortchanging the city for not jumping immediately to commit to another venue for an NHL outdoor game.

It is unjust, unfair, and misrepresents everything that my ownership and the Senators mean to this city.

A game on Parliament Hill would have been one to remember, to be sure.

The aftermath of the decision to reject the idea is turning into a spectacle unto its own.

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