lippsman
FoxDen Hall of Famer
Registered: Dec 2005
Posts: 10835
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Predators down Jets with late goal flurry
Nashville rallied from a 5–3 deficit to beat the Jets on third-period goals by Craig Smith (10:55), Ryan Johansen (13:57), and Ryan Hartman (19:00), who was making his debut for the Predators after being acquired on Monday in a trade with the Blackhawks. This was the third time in franchise history that the Predators won a game in regulation time after trailing by two goals in the final 10 minutes of their third period. Nashville’s two other wins of that kind were at Detroit on Nov. 8, 2003 (4–3) and at Minnesota on Jan. 31, 2012 (5–4).
Nearly all goals lead back to Roman
Defenseman Roman Josi tallied five assists for the Predators in their 6–5 victory against the Jets in Winnipeg. The only other time a defenseman recorded five assists in an NHL game over the last 10 seasons was also against Winnipeg, when Kris Letang assisted on every goal by the Penguins in a 5–3 victory over the Jets in Pittsburgh on Jan. 27, 2015.
With his five assists on Tuesday, Josi tied Nashville team records for assists and points by a player (at any position) in one game. The three other five-point performances for the Predators were by defensemen Marek Zidlicky (0–5–5 on Feb. 18, 2004 vs. San Jose) and Dan Hamhuis (1–4–5 on March 4, 2004 at Pittsburgh), and winger J.P. Dumont (1–4–5 on Oct. 22, 2009 at Ottawa).
Hall on point
Taylor Hall tied a Devils franchise record for most consecutive team games in one season with at least one point when he assisted on New Jersey’s first goal in its 3–2 win at Pittsburgh. Hall, who scored a goal later in the game, has produced a point in each of the Devils’ last 15 games, tying the club record for longest single-season point streak set by the Bureau’s all-time favorite NHL player, Patrik Elias, in 1999–2000, and previously matched by Brian Gionta in 2005–06. Since 2012–13, there have been only two other official single-season point streaks of 15 games or longer and they were both in 2015–16, by Patrick Kane (26 games) and Flyers defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (15 games).
(Hall has scored at least one point in each of the last 22 games he’s played, but since he sat out New Jersey’s last three games before the All-Star break due to a thumb injury, according to NHL policy his point streak is considered to be 15 games.)
Staal and Zucker lead Minnesota to big win
Eric Staal (three goals, two assists) and Jason Zucker (one goal, four assists) each racked up five points as the Minnesota Wild tied their team record for goals in one game with an 8–3 win against the Blues at Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. Staal and Zucker are the first pair of Wild players to each score at least five points in the same game.
The North Stars had that happen twice during their 26 seasons in Minnesota. Bobby Smith (seven points) and Dino Ciccarelli (five) did that in a 15–2 rout of the original Winnipeg Jets on Nov. 11, 1981, and Ciccarelli and Tom McCarthy each tallied five points in an 8–5 win versus Toronto on Nov. 2, 1983. Staal and Zucker are only the second pair of NHL teammates to each score five points in the same game over the last four seasons. Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino each posted five points for the Penguins in their 7–2 victory at Detroit on March 26, 2016.
McAvoy’s OT goal
Rookie Charlie McAvoy’s first overtime goal in the NHL gave the Bruins a 4–3 win in their game against the Hurricanes. At age 20, McAvoy is the youngest defenseman ever to score an overtime goal for the Bruins, regular season or playoffs. He broke the mark set by Dougie Hamilton, who was 21 years old when he scored in OT to beat the Jets in Winnipeg on Nov. 28, 2014.
Nash notches 800th point
Rick Nash recorded the 800th point of his NHL career (and his first point for the Bruins) when he scored Boston’s first goal in its 4–3 overtime win against the Hurricanes. Nash’s highest single-season point total in his 15-year NHL career is 79, a standard he set with Columbus in 2008–09. He’s the only one of the 16 current NHL players with 800 or more career points who has never had a season in which he scored 80 points or more. The most notable names among the 13 retired players with 800-plus career points but no 80-point season are Maurice Richard and Dave Keon.
Oilers can’t stop Pavelski
Joe Pavelski scored a goal and assisted on three others in the Sharks’ 5–2 win over the Oilers on Tuesday, giving him four goals and five assists in three games against Edmonton this season. Pavelski is tied with four other players for the most points against one team this season. The others with nine: Mathew Barzal against the Rangers, Nikita Kucherov against the Red Wings, Mitch Marner against the Bruins, and Jason Zucker against St. Louis.
Bishop quells Flames
Ben Bishop posted his fifth shutout of the season with a 38-save 2–0 win for the Stars against the Flames on Tuesday. His save total is the highest by a Stars goaltender in a shutout since Kari Lehtonen stopped 40 shots in a 2–0 Dallas win at Los Angeles on March 21, 2013. Bishop, who was traded to Dallas by the Kings in May 2017, is the third goaltender to post at least five shutouts for the Stars (Minnesota or Dallas) in his first season with them. Cesare Maniago notched six shutouts for the North Stars in 1967–68 (the team’s inaugural season), and Ed Belfour racked up nine shutouts for Dallas in 1997–98, his first season after signing with the Stars as a free agent.
Barkov has bite
Alexsander Barkov scored the first goal as the Florida Panthers closed out their February schedule with a 3–2 overtime win against the Maple Leafs. Barkov led the Panthers with 16 points in February (six goals, 10 assists in 12 games). That matches the highest point total any Panthers player has produced in one calendar month over the last eight seasons: Jonathan Huberdeau’s 16 points in March 2015 (four goals, 12 assists in 15 games).
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