The Top Highlights of the 1st Month of the 2015-16 NHL Season

With a month of NHL hockey in the books, there have been plenty of highlights hitting the airwaves on a nightly basis. But the top highlights of the first month of the 2015-16 NHL season aren't limited to pretty goals or jaw-dropping saves.

There are those, of course. But there are also some impressive personal achievements, themes and milestones of sorts to consider.

With so many to choose from, it's next to impossible to rank the best of the best. But here's an offering of a collection of the ones that have made the biggest impression on us from a positive definition of the word highlight—so you won't find anything about that Connor McDavid injury here.

Click ahead to see what made the cut, and add your own in the comments section.

Karri Ramo's Opening-Night Spurning of the Sedins

I'm a sucker for a great blocker save—especially when the odds of making it are so stacked against the goaltender. That was the case for the Calgary Flames' Karri Ramo, who stared down a two-on-one against the Sedin twins and managed to come out on top thanks to a windmill swing of the right arm.

The diving defender's job is to stop the pass, and Flames blueliner Kris Russell failed to do so on Henrik's pass to Daniel. Daniel drilled the saucer pass out of the air and toward the empty side of the net, but Ramo managed to get across in the nick of time and perfectly deflect the puck over the bar and out of play.

It was a scoreless game midway through the first period on opening night, one the Flames ultimately lost. Ramo was also sent to the AHL just a couple of weeks later. But it might be one of only three strong saves Flames goalies have made all season, along with Ramo's leaping blocker bat to take away what seemed certain to be an Alex Ovechkin goal and Jonas Hiller's desperate, twisting paddle rejection of Edmonton Oilers rookie Connor McDavid.

Evgeny Kuznetsov Is a Triple Threat

It was one heckuva night for Washington Capitals rising star Evgeny Kuznetsov when the Caps battled the Edmonton Oilers on Oct. 23. The slick center scored his first NHL hat-trick and had a five-point showing in a 7-4 victory.

But the goal he scored in the second period to make it 4-3 to the Caps was emblematic of what makes him so dangerous on his own, never mind as a setup man for Alex Ovechkin. Kuznetsov showed off his blazing speed, and he made a pair of Oilers look like they were stuck in sludge as they turned to chase.

The finish on goalie Anders Nilsson was perfect too.

Alex Ovechkin Russian to Tie Sergei Fedorov's Record

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

We already knew Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin was an incredible player who scores exciting goals at a ridiculous rate. But blowing Sergei Fedorov out of the water by tying the Hall of Famer for most NHL goals by a Russian-born player in 476 fewer games than his compatriot sort of put it all into perspective.

Ovechkin scored his 483rd goal in his 772nd regular-season NHL contest on Nov. 6. It was meaningful in that it tied the game against the Toronto Maple Leafs in the second period, but he didn't stop there. The 30-year-old looked like he passed Fedorov in the same contest with the potential winner with less than three minutes to play in regulation.

A coach's challenge for goaltender interference negated that one, but Ovechkin did score the decisive shootout goal. Too bad that one didn't count for the Russian record—at least Maple Leafs fans could have had something to remember.

Ovechkin has scored more goals than any player since entering the league in 2005. Interestingly, he also provided the only assist on Fedorov's 483rd goal on April 7, 2009, just before the longtime Detroit Red Wings star retired following a final season with the Caps.

The Montreal Canadiens' Record Start

Eric Bolte-USA TODAY Sports

The way the Montreal Canadiens stormed out of the gate this season was impressive—maybe even a little surprising. 

They didn't rely on Carey Price's heroics to win nine straight games to start the season in the way they depended on the defending Hart Trophy winner to win the Atlantic Division title and get into the second round of the playoffs last year.

On top of the typical Price performances, the Canadiens got plenty of offense, scoring at least three goals in every game while allowing just 12 against in total—including just two in the first and third periods.

Fourteen of the 18 skaters who dressed for every game scored at least one goal. Dale Weise is scoring frequently, which may be a sign of the coming Apocalypse.

Although they fell short of the NHL record of 10 consecutive wins to start a season—previously accomplished by both the 1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs and 2006-07 Buffalo Sabres—the Canadiens did set a new mark for nine straight games won in regulation to start a season. That broke the Sabres' record of eight that had stood since 1975.

Rise of the Rookies

While Sidney Crosby struggled, the league's young stars provided much of the excitement over the first month of NHL hockey.

Rookies like Max Domi and Anthony Duclair in Arizona, Dylan Larkin in Detroit, Oscar Lindberg of the New York Rangers, Artemi Panarin in Chicago, Colton Parayko and Robby Fabbri of the St. Louis Blues and, of course, the top two picks from last June's draft—Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers and the Buffalo Sabres' Jack Eichel—all have hit the highlight reels over the first four weeks.

They've shown some serious speed and skill that has helped make this one of the most exciting early Calder Trophy races not limited to the preseason favorites. McDavid's awful shoulder injury is certainly making that race even closer now. We'll miss plays like the one he made on Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek above.

Fortunately we still have the likes of Eichel showing off his impressive sniping abilities. And Calgary Flames rising star Sam Bennett's dangling.

The 1st 3-on-3 Overtime Finish

The play itself was a beauty. Valtteri Filppula played some soccer with the puck along the boards to start the rush. Showing off some speed, defenseman Jason Garrison took a nice dish from Alex Killorn and fast-tracked his way to the net on a breakaway.

Garrison made no mistake with the nifty five-hole deke, looking like, as the announcer said, "a 50-goal scorer.

Why it made this list among the many pretty plays so far this NHL season was the significance. Not only was it an overtime winner, but it was the first overtime winner of the year under the new format of three-on-three action, which is preventing plenty of shootouts. 

The river-hockey format may be about as team-oriented as the showdown philosophically, but the most traditionalists will enjoy seeing games end that way as opposed to via one-on-ones.

King Henrik Robs Ryan Johansen

There is something spectacular about a sure goal turning into an unbelievable save. In the case of Henrik Lundqvist versus Ryan Johansen, things looked bleak for the New York Rangers goalie on the night of Oct. 10.

Lundqvist looked helpless as the dump in caromed off the corner boards, off the post and and right back in front of the net for the sure-handed Columbus Blue Jackets sniper. But King Henrik never quit on the play and lunged forward, paddle first, to bat the puck away just as Johansen got the shot off.

It was somewhat miraculous, but anyone who thinks the save was lucky is underestimating the hand-eye coordination of the goaltender and the effort to put himself in position to make the save in the first place after the unlucky bounce of the puck.

Jonathan Toews Refuses to Be Denied

Sometimes a player just wills the puck to go in. That's what happened in the Stanley Cup rematch between the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning on Oct. 24, when Jonathan Toews decided he was going to end the game 17 seconds into the overtime after a scoreless regulation to give the defending champs the victory.

The Blackhawks captain split defending Bolts Valtteri Filppula and Anton Stralman and fought his way to the front of the net, where he quickly regained control of the puck after it was pokechecked off his stick by goalie Kristers Gudlevskis, batting it into the net as he was being shoved past the goal line.

The display of determination and impact of it as a game-winner made it one of the best goals of the first month of hockey.

#RoarBacon: The Birth of a Great Hashtag

If you want proof that social media is just about as important as the games and plays themselves these days, look no further than #RoarBacon.

A typo that turned roar back into roar bacon during the St. Louis Blues' amazing comeback against the Chicago Blackhawks on Nov. 4—a 6-5 overtime victory for the Blues after a seemingly insurmountable deficit of 5-2 in the second period—became a Twitter trend and resulted in a pig being brought into the Blues locker room by captain David Backes.

Piggy Smalls may be the greatest name ever for a pet pig, and the fact it soiled coach Ken Hitchcock's office is one of the many super side stories to the whole deal.

Of course, the comeback itself was amazing and a sure highlight from the first month. The pig visit was just that much better. That's a tough one to top in the sometimes all-too-serious world of pro sports.

All stats via NHL.com.