Saturday nights mean lots of hockey, and subsequently plenty to discuss.

With that being said, here's five immediate takeaways from a busy night in the NHL.

Rangers making up for slow start

After a dreadful start to the season, the New York Rangers seem to be slowly pulling things together.

Kevin Shattenkirk's overtime marker against the Florida Panthers gave the Blueshirts their third win in a row, and fourth in five games. Perhaps more encouraging, though, is the Rangers have out-chanced opponents in each of those wins, and are one victory away from reaching a .500 mark that seemed unattainable a short time ago.

Pacioretty finally breaks through

(Photo courtesy: Action Images)

Max Pacioretty hadn't recorded a point on the power play since February 28 - an absurd 36-game span.

The Montreal Canadiens captain snapped out of his funk in a big way versus the Winnipeg Jets, recording an assist on the man advantage in regulation, then icing the game in overtime with a power-play conversion from the slot.

He also achieved some history in the process:

Goals, and lots of them

If goals are your thing, then Saturday was your night, as four different games ended with a 5-4 final, along with 6-4 and 5-1 finishes.

After the day's lone afternoon contest between the Ottawa Senators and Vegas Golden Knights, NHL Public Relations revealed that after 200 matches played this season, there's been an average of 6.2 goals scored per game. That's the league's highest mark since 2005-06 (6.4).

Duchene has big night

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

If Matt Duchene wants to use Friday's reportedly kiboshed trade as motivation to expedite his departure from Colorado, he did a good job Saturday, snapping a three-game pointless drought with a goal and an assist in a win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Duchene also eclipsed 20 minutes in ice-time for the second time this season, and set a season high with 30 shifts.

East's best put on show

The contest between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Columbus Blue Jackets - both leading their respective divisions - lived up to its game-of-the-night potential, with the Bolts ultimately earning a highly entertaining 5-4 shootout win.

Despite the high goal count, both Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy traded big-time saves, while the offensive star power between both teams was on full display, with Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Zach Werenski, and Seth Jones each scoring goals.

It's a long, long way away, but if these two teams end up meeting in a playoff series, it would be quite a spectacle.

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Max Pacioretty was the hero for the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, but should have probably been in the penalty box.

Moments before potting the overtime winner against the Winnipeg Jets, Pacioretty levelled Dustin Byfuglien in the offensive zone as the puck swung around the boards.

Byfuglien clearly wasn't pleased as he skated off.

Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck believes the call should have been made.

Byfuglien may have been interfered with, but he then failed to clear the puck, and that allowed the Canadiens to work it around for the decisive goal seconds later.

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Max Pacioretty was the hero for the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, but should have probably been in the penalty box.

Moments before potting the overtime winner against the Winnipeg Jets, Pacioretty levelled Dustin Byfuglien in the offensive zone as the puck swung around the boards.

Byfuglien clearly wasn't pleased as he skated off.

Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck believes the call should have been made.

Byfuglien may have been interfered with, but he then failed to clear the puck, and that allowed the Canadiens to work it around for the decisive goal seconds later.

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Anaheim Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano still hasn't missed a game in his 11-year career.

Not only is the 800-game mark a nice, round number, but it also puts Cogliano in some elite iron-man company. He is now the fourth player in NHL history to play 800 consecutive games, and the second player to achieve the mark from the very beginning of his career, according to NHL Public Relations.

As you can see, Cogliano isn't too far behind the all-time record. If his streak continues all of this season and all of next season, he will be sitting at 950 consecutive games. At that point, he will only need to play 15 straight games to begin the 2019-20 NHL season for the record to be his.

Heading into his 800th consecutive game, Cogliano had 148 goals and 194 assists.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

One of the fixtures of international hockey could be missing from the next Olympic competition.

Russia's participation in the 2018 Olympic hockey tournament in Pyeongchang is in question, sources told Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.

As many as 20 Western-based national anti-doping committees and some IOC members are believed to be pushing for a ban of all Russian athletes from the upcoming Games, and fears were raised in international hockey circles this week that such a ban could be coming, according to the report.

The IOC has been investigating evidence of state-sponsored doping by Russian athletes who took part in the 2014 Olympics in Sochi, following the findings of the McLaren Report in 2016.

On Saturday, KHL president Dmitry Chernyshenko threatened to "respond accordingly" if all Russian athletes are banned from Pyeongchang, presumably by preventing all KHLers from taking part, which would affect more than just the Russian roster because the league also features players from Canada, the United States, and elsewhere.

However, IIHF president Rene Fasel said a KHL withdrawl is prohibited under the IIHF rules the league has agreed to.

The 2018 Olympic tournament will already be without NHL players, and if the Russian squad or all KHL players - or both - are absent from South Korea, it would further reduce the level of talent at the already depleted tournament.

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Copyright © 2017 Score Media Ventures Inc. All rights reserved. Certain content reproduced under license.

A resolution has reportedly been reached in the Vadim Shipachyov saga.

The Russian forward will file retirement papers with the NHL to ensure his departure from the Vegas Golden Knights, via Sportsnet's Eric Engels.

Once the 30-year-old retires, his NHL rights will belong to Vegas until he's 35, Engels adds.

TSN's Pierre LeBrun was first to report that the NHL and NHLPA had agreed to a solution to facilitate Shipachyov's exit, and he added that it's expected to come Monday.

The NHLPA reportedly got involved in the process because it did not want Shipachyov to repay his $2-million signing bonus in the event he was claimed on waivers or signed by another NHL club.

He apparently went back to Russia after the Golden Knights suspended him for leaving their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves.

Vegas signed Shipachyov to a two-year, $9-million contract in May.

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The winner of the 2018 draft lottery will earn the right to add a franchise talent - and right now, that talent is projected to be blue-liner Rasmus Dahlin.

The Swede got top billing in the top 31 draft rankings that ISS Hockey issued for November. Here's a look at all five players currently atop the 2018 class.

Rasmus Dahlin

Turning heads since he was 16 years old, Dahlin is the undisputed selection to lead off the 2018 draft. The 6-foot-2 defender plays in all situations and is already making his mark in the ultra-competitive Swedish League as a teenager.

"He defends like (Nicklas) Lidstrom. He skates like (Erik) Karlsson," TSN's Ray Ferraro told Viasat. "His potential is limitless."

North American hockey fans got their first look at Dahlin in last year's World Junior Championship, where he picked up a goal and an assist across seven games. He's an exceptionally dynamic talent who could quickly become a franchise's most valuable player.

Andrei Svechnikov

A natural goal-scorer, the hulking Russian winger (and the brother of Detroit Red Wings prospect Evgeny Svechnikov) led the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks with 29 goals and 58 points in 48 games in 2016-17. He's now skating in his second season in North America with the OHL's Barrie Colts.

However, scouts won't have an opportunity to get another look at him until at least December as he recovers from a broken hand. He was tied for second in league scoring at the time of the injury.

Brady Tkachuk

The bloodline picks could continue at No. 3, as the son of Keith and the brother of Calgary Flames winger Matthew Tkachuk is another projected top selection.

In fact, Brady could have followed in Matthew's footsteps by lacing up for the OHL's London Knights, but he later committed to Boston University. The NCAA club has developed a handful of upper-echelon talents in recent years, including Charlie McAvoy, Clayton Keller, and Jack Eichel.

The 18-year-old Tkachuk missed last year's draft cutoff date by one day, but that offers him more time to build his game. With his gritty style, he has the makings of a budding power forward.

Filip Zadina

The Halifax Mooseheads have produced no shortage of talent in recent seasons, from Colorado Avalanche superstar Nathan MacKinnon to more recent selections Nikolaj Ehlers and last year's No. 1 pick, Nico Hischier.

The dynamic Zadina's had little trouble adjusting to the North American game after spending the past two seasons in the Czech League. The junior rookie has taken the Quebec League by storm and holds a seven-point lead on the second-highest scoring freshman.

Zadina's ability to create high-level offense will make his selection a priority as scouts prepare for the 2018 draft.

Oliver Wahlstrom

Rising star Wahlstrom could ultimately be the top center available in this year's class. A powerful skater with an impressive ability to carry the puck, Wahlstrom is built to play the possession-based game the NHL has moved toward.

The Massachusetts native also holds Swedish citizenship, but attended Team USA's world junior summer showcase and is a good bet to make the final cut come December. The National Team Development Program skater is committed to Harvard for 2018-19.

The 2018 NHL Draft will be held June 22-23 in Dallas.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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