That escalated quickly.

The puck, that is, fired from the back of T.J. Oshie's stick and past Kari Lehtonen of the Dallas Stars for quite the impressive goal.

The tally was Oshie's 25th of the season, bringing the Washington Capitals winger to within one of his career high.

It also brought Washington to within one in an eventual 4-2 loss.

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This would be the bowling equivalent of picking up a spare.

Dustin Byfuglien was the human bowling ball Monday night, taking out two San Jose Sharks as well as teammate Toby Enstrom.

Marcus Sorensen and Justin Braun were the opponents who ended up in the heap, and somehow, everyone emerged unharmed.

To think, Byfuglien was actually trailing the play when the Sharks broke into the Jets' zone.

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Brad Marchand is turning into an elite goal-scorer.

For the second season in a row, the Bruins winger has scored 30 goals, a feat not achieved in Boston in more than a decade.

His 30th this season came on the power play Monday in Ottawa in what ended up being a loss for the Bruins.

Marchand scored 37 goals in 77 games last season, a mark he could match or even top in the final 16 games.

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Braden Holtby will have to wait until next season to finally beat the Dallas Stars.

The Washington Capitals goalie, who's posted a victory over every other NHL team, entered Monday's action in search of his first career win against Dallas.

Instead, Holtby found himself on the bench in the second period after allowing three goals on 11 shots, continuing a run of poor play in games against the Stars.

In fairness, Devin Shore's opening goal came after a lengthy interference review, and Radek Faksa scored off an egregious turnover in front of the net.

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It's Swedish Heritage Night at Verizon Center in Washington, so what better way to honor the Scandinavian nation than to put together a dresser?

The Capitals had fans assemble furniture, IKEA-style, before their game against the Dallas Stars on Monday night.

Swedish ambassador to the United States, Bjorn Lyrvall, was on hand for the festivities, and the Tre Kronor spirit was well-represented.

The Capitals boast a trio of Swedes - forwards Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, and Austrian-born Swedish national Andre Burakovsky - while the Stars have three of their own: defensemen John Klingberg and Patrik Nemeth, and forward Mattias Janmark.

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The Vegas Golden Knights will gladly take a player the Minnesota Wild chose not to keep.

In fact, the experience of being drafted in 2014 but not signed to an entry-level contract should serve Reid Duke well, says general manager George McPhee.

Related: 3 things to know about Reid Duke

Duke, a 21-year-old forward, became the first player signed by the Golden Knights after agreeing to terms on an entry-level deal Monday. He's well-acquainted with assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon, who owns Duke's junior team, the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings.

In 306 junior games in Brandon and Lethbridge, Duke recorded 113 goals and 137 assists for a point-per-game average of 0.82.

"It’s pretty amazing, everything that’s gone on in the last years of my junior career leading up to this moment," Duke added, according to the team's Twitter account. "I’m just a part of everything going on. It’s exciting for everyone involved."

A big day for Vegas, but plenty of work yet to do.

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There's no such thing as a bad idea.

That appeared to be the theme of the first day of general manager meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., where the group of 31 gathered Monday to talk about the future of the NHL.

Here are some of the things that were discussed:

1. Placing one faceoff circle in each offensive zone: "One of our comments is a lot of times the puck's won and now it's all of a sudden a board battle," said Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving, according to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet. "But if you put one faceoff circle right in the middle of each end zone - you're right in front of the net."

2. Eliminating the loser point: Toronto Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello proposed reverting back to the old point system.

3. Rule changes to increase offense: Many ideas were bounced around, such as increasing zone and net size, but a big one appears to have been making it illegal to leave your feet to block a shot.

"That was mentioned a long time ago by Bob Gainey," said New Jersey Devils GM Ray Shero. "Everybody thought he was crazy. But that's what you try to do - look 15, 20 years ahead. What is good for the game? The quality of the game is most important."

The GMs will gather again Tuesday and it's expected they'll talk in more concrete terms about the offside rule, the length of video reviews, and bye weeks.

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The Ottawa Senators have acquired defenseman Brandon Gormley from the New Jersey Devils in exchange for future considerations, the Senators announced on Monday.

Gormley has not suited up for the Devils this season, instead spending the year with the club's America Hockey League squad in Albany where he has contributed just two goals and 10 points in 35 games.

Despite last week's trade deadline, it's important to note that teams can still complete trades post deadline, but players moved cannot play for their respected teams this season or in the playoffs.

Gormley was originally drafted in the first round, 13th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in 2010.

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The expansion Vegas Golden Knights made history Monday, agreeing to terms with free-agent Reid Duke.

The 21-year-old plays for the Brandon Wheat Kings of the Western Hockey League. After signing with the Golden Knights, the next step is for the young forward to attend the team's upcoming development camp.

Here are three things to know about the first-ever Golden Knight:

Wheat King Connection

Reid won't be the only Wheat Kings alumni making his name in the Vegas desert. Already with the team is Kelly McCrimmon, the new assistant general manager of the Golden Knights and longtime owner of the Wheat Kings. McCrimmon was also previously the general manager and coach in Brandon before accepting his new gig in Nevada.

That connection put Reid on the radar for the Golden Knights. McCrimmon said in a statement, "I think what's impressive with Reid is a real high skill level and yet a guy that's able to play a big, strong, heavy game."

Knowing Nolan

With a little lottery luck, Reid could be followed to Vegas by another Brandon forward. The Golden Knights have the third-best odds at the upcoming draft lottery, where the winner of the top pick could select Wheat Kings center Nolan Patrick.

Patrick is the favored first overall pick in the 2017 entry draft. The 18-year-old has had an abbreviated campaign after missing three months with a upper-body injury, but that hasn't stifled his production since his return. Patrick has registered 42 points in 28 games with Brandon this season.

Several other players who formerly sported the black and yellow for the Wheat Kings have stepped into the NHL in recent seasons, including Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov, drafted seventh overall in 2015, and Flyers teammate Brayden Schenn, selected with the fifth pick in 2009.

Wild about the Draft

This isn't Duke's first crack at the NHL. The center was drafted in the sixth round by the Minnesota Wild in 2014. Duke spent that season with the WHL's Lethbridge Hurricanes, where he finished third in team scoring with 15 goals and 25 assists in 62 games.

This campaign marks a career-best for Duke since he made his WHL debut in 2011. In 54 games with the Wheat Kings this season, Duke has tallied 35 goals and 32 assists, while his 71 penalty minutes also ranks fourth on the team.

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Welcome to Las Vegas, Reid Duke.

The Vegas Golden Knights signed the free-agent forward to an entry-level contract Monday, the team announced.

Duke, 21, plays for the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings. The center has recorded 35 goals and 32 assists with the Wheat Kings this season.

The Wheat Kings are owned by Kelly McCrimmon, who serves as assistant general manager of the Golden Knights.

"When we project Reid, we think his game will evolve as he becomes a pro," McCrimmon said. "We believe he's going to be an NHL player."

Duke was originally drafted by the Minnesota Wild in 2014.

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