Yesterday's Newsmakers in the NHL: Ryan O'Byrne Scores On Own Goal

Montreal Canadiens defenseman Ryan O'Byrne has yet to score a goal this season, and thus far, only has one in his brief NHL career. Unfortunately for Montreal, the 24-year old rearguard scored on his own net with just under five-minutes to play in regulation on Monday night, sending the game to overtime. The own-goal proved to be costly for Montreal, as the Islanders took the game in a shootout, 4-3, picking up the extra point and winning for the fifth time in their past six games.

The O'Byrne gaffe happened on a delayed penalty call, which led to Canadiens goalie Carey Price heading to the bench for the extra-attacker. O'Byrne, unfortunately, sent the puck backwards toward the yawning net -- as seen in the above video -- tying the game at three, much to the chagrin of the Bell Centre crowd.

Seriously, that's just painful to watch. O'Byrne instantly covered his face and looked like he wanted to dig a hole in the ice and crawl out of the arena. What do you even say after that?

Islanders forward Bill Guerin was credited for what will surely be the easiest goal of his career.

Richard Park and Trent Hunter scored the other goals for the Islanders, while Steve Begin, John Gorges and Maxim Lapierre scored for Montreal.

Minnesota Builds Big Lead, Has to Hold on for Win

In a rare offensive explosion, the Minnesota Wild found themselves with a 4-0 lead with less than six minutes to play in the third period. When you combine the suffocating Wild defensive system, and the brick wall that is Niklas Backstrom, you had to think the game is, at that point, over. Obviously, that would be a dangerous assumption.

The Washington Capitals weren't interested in giving up, as they managed to score three goals in the final five minutes, pushing the Wild to the brink of an epic meltdown on their home ice. The Washington rally ultimately fell short, as the Wild held on for the 4-3 win.

Cal Clutterbuck opened the scoring with his first NHL goal in the first period, and then added his second tally later in the game. Marek Zidlicky and James Sheppard also scored for Minnesota.

Alex Ovechkin picked up his ninth goal of the season during the late rally, while the Capitals also received goals from Matt Bradley and Nicklas Backstrom.

The Capitals were once again without forwards Alexander Semin and Sergei Fedorov, while defenseman Mike Green was also out of the lineup.

Henrik Lundqvist Makes 35 Saves In Win

The Phoenix Coyotes lost their sixth game in a row Monday night, as they fell, 4-1, to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Phoenix opened the scoring just four minutes into the game when Enver Lisin scored his second goal of the season. Unfortunately for the Coyotes, they failed to slip another shot behind Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who turned aside 35 shots in the win.

The Rangers received goals from Blair Betts, Brandon Dubinsky, Daniel Girardi and Scott Gomez, while forward NIkolai Zherdev picked up three assists in the win.