A highlight-reel goal showed a glimpse of Alexander Burmistov's talent during his rookie season. As the season wore on, those goals became distant memories. He re-established himself with a good start this year and has been the best forward in Winnipeg.

Eventually, those highlight goals were hard to come by. Despite all the hopes that the then-Atlanta Thrashers had for Burmistrov, he lit the lamp just six times, assisting on 14 more goals to wrap up the season with 20 points.

Not too bad for his first year in the league, but it was obvious that he could do so much more. He became a popular candidate to have a breakout season his sophomore year. So far he is.

In 11 games, Burmistrov is Winnipeg's second-leading point scorer with three goals and six assists, including a two-point performance last Thursday against Philadelphia. In that wild 9-8 victory, he scored the Jets' seventh goal and assisted on their sixth.
At nine points, Burmistrov already has almost half his point total from last season. If he continues on his current trajectory, he could easily top 40 points this season and possibly more.

Coach Claude Noel is excited about Burmistrov's virtuoso talents finally being put on display, especially after moving him to Winnipeg's top line.

"He's been our best forward since the season started. A 19-year-old player is our best player," Noel told the Winnipeg Free Press. "He's the one guy I'm happy with. Every time he's on the ice he's dangerous and he creates stuff. You certainly can't fault what he's brought to the table."

So what has changed since last year? According to defenseman Mark Stuart, Burmistrov is spending much more time in an offensive role and now has better opportunities to create scoring chances. "He's been doing a better job of moving forward and when he does turn up, he finds people," Stuart said to the Free Press. "He sees the ice real well and when the puck is on his stick it seems like it's on a string."

But Burmistrov remains humble in the face of the praise. He attributes his recent success to the fact that he's more comfortable, and not quite as starstruck by opponents. "I have one season passed already," Burmistrov told reporters. "I understand how to play in this league. I know what level is here right now and what players play here.

"Last year, when I stepped on the ice, I looked for the stars and it was 'Oh my God.' These guys, I play against them and I'm like, shaking, you know. Now I'm just trying to be better than these players, and to work hard."

Notes

The Washington Capitals defeated the Anaheim Ducks in a 5-4 overtime thriller Tuesday to maintain a perfect record at home. The Capitals improved to 6-0 on home ice, rallying from a 3-0 deficit. Cody Eakin made his NHL debut in the game, skating on the second line with Marcus Johansson and Alexander Semin. He ended up with an even rating and played just over 13 minutes of ice time. Nicklas Backstrom was awarded the first star of the game after scoring both the game-tying goal in the last minute of regulation as well as the overtime winner. Backstrom scored the tying goal while Alex Ovechkin was on the bench. Television cameras caught him cursing but a day later in practice he sounded fine with the move. ... The Carolina Hurricanes recalled LW Drayson Bowman from the Charlotte Checkers on Wednesday after activating Zac Dalpe from injured reserve and assigning him to Charlotte. ... The Hurricanes passed Tampa Bay in the Southeast Division standings to move into third place Tuesday after defeating the Lightning 4-2. Jeff Skinner and Chad LaRose each had two goals. It was Skinner's sixth career multi-goal game and LaRose's eighth. ... The Florida Panthers are in second place in the Southeast, bolstered by several free agents signed over the summer. Four roster players have 10 or more points through the first 11 games, led by Kris Versteeg and Brian Campbell, who are averaging a point per game. ... Tampa Bay Lightning rookie Brett Connolly scored his first NHL goal on Cam Ward on Tuesday in a loss to Carolina. Despite the Lightning's recent struggles, coach Guy Boucher hinted to the St. Petersburg Times that Connolly is one of his most reliable players, and that he will only get better with more experience.
Photos by Getty Images

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