4. Kochetkov Turns the Season Around (December 12 at Ottawa)
The Carolina Hurricanes were at rock bottom when they visited Canada's capital in mid-December. They were coming off four straight regulation losses in Western Canada and things were looking bleak. On this night in Ottawa, Pyotr Kochetkov put the team on his back to snap the streak. In the first two periods, Kochetkov made a pair of incredible stops on Mathieu Joseph and Drake Batherson to help keep the Canes ahead after 40 minutes.
While those stops were incredible, the moment we'd all remember from this night came in the third period when Brady Tkachuk earned a penalty shot after Kochetkov was accused of throwing his stick. Tkachuk put his head down long enough for Kochetkov to come flying at him with a poke check, sending Tkachuk into the boards. The Ottawa captain got up in Kochetkov's face, and the Canes' goalie didn't back down. Carolina's 4-1 win turned their season around, with Kochetkov playing a major part in the story.