OVECHKIN CLIMBS ALL-TIME GOALS LIST, PULLS AHEAD IN ROCKET RACE

Alex Ovechkin (1-2—3) scored his 44th goal of the season and 602nd of his career to regain sole possession of the goals lead in 2017-18 and surpass Jari Kurri (601) into 19th place on the NHL’s all-time list.

* Ovechkin, who has averaged 0.60 goals per game in 2017-18, sits six goals shy of 50 with nine games remaining. Should he hit the mark, he would join Mike Bossy (9) and Wayne Gretzky (9) as the only players in NHL history with at least eight 50-goal campaigns.

* The 32-year-old forward aims to become just the second player in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to lead the League in goals at age 32 or older; Phil Esposito achieved the feat in 1973-74 and 1974-75, campaigns that ended mere days before his 33rd and 34th birthday, respectively.

* The Capitals (42-24-7, 91 points) opened a four-point lead over the Penguins (41-27-5, 87 points) in the battle for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The clubs close their season series on April 1 at PPG Paints Arena (PIT: 2-1-0, WSH: 1-2-0) – what is expected to be Ovechkin’s 1,000th career game.

MACKINNON EXTENDS STREAK, CLOSES IN ON POINTS LEAD

Nathan MacKinnon notched two assists to extend his point streak to 13 games (13-13—26) and lift the Avalanche (40-25-8, 88 points) to within two points of the Wild (41-24-8, 90 points) for third place in the Central Division.

* The Avalanche have posted a 9-2-4 record in 15 games since Feb. 20 to move from five points outside the postseason picture to having a four-point buffer on the first team below the playoff line.

* MacKinnon (38-53—91 in 65 GP) moved within three points of the League lead while becoming the first Avalanche player to hit the 90-point mark since JoeSakic tallied 36-64—100 in 2006-07 (82 GP).

* MacKinnon leads the NHL with 1.40 points per game in 2017-18 (min. 2 GP). Only three players in the past 12 seasons finished with at least 1.40 P/GP while playing in at least 50 contests: Sidney Crosby (1.52 in 2006-07), Alex Ovechkin (1.51 in 2009-10) and Evgeni Malkin (1.45 in 2011-12).

BLUE JACKETS EXTEND WIN STREAK, CLIMB METROPOLITAN

Artemi Panarin tallied 3-1—4 to power the Blue Jackets to their ninth consecutive victory, matching the second-longest win streak in franchise history. Columbus posted 16 straight wins in 2016-17 for the second-longest win streak in NHL history, behind Pittsburgh’s 17-game run in 1992-93.

* At 41-28-5 (87 points), the Blue Jackets leapfrogged the Flyers (37-25-12, 86 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They have recorded more than 41 wins three times: 50 in 2016-17, 43 in 2013-14 and 42 in 2014-15.

* The Blue Jackets became the third team to win at least nine straight games in 2017-18 – the Avalanche (Dec. 29 – Jan. 22) and Predators (Feb. 19 – March 8) each had 10-game streaks earlier this season. Only two campaigns in NHL history have featured at least three teams with a 10-game win streak: 2015-16 (3) and 2016-17 (4).

* Panarin registered the second hat trick of his career, with the other also coming against the Rangers. He leads Columbus with 25-43—68 this season, including 7-8—15 during the team’s win streak – tied for second in the NHL in that span (since March 4).

FLORIDA CLUBS FLEX OFFENSIVE MUSCLE IN WINS

Both Florida-based clubs earned wins on Tuesday, with the Lightning (50-19-4, 104 points) scoring four unanswered goals to erase a 3-0 deficit and the Panthers (37-27-7, 81 points) compiling at least seven goals for the fourth time this season to move within one point of a playoff spot.

* The Lightning received goals from four different players – including League points leader Nikita Kucherov (37-57—94) – to match their franchise record for wins in a season (50-24-8 in 2014-15) and pull within two points of the Predators (48-14-10, 106 points) for the League lead. Andrei Vasilevskiy (27 saves) established a franchise record with his 41st win of the season as theLightning erased a three-goal deficit to win for the first ninth time in their 25-season history. Vasilevskiy aims to become just the third goaltender in the past 30 years – and 12th in NHL history – to lead the League in wins before his 24th birthday (Chris Osgood in 1995-96 and Carey Price in 2010-11).

* The Panthers had seven different players find the back of the net – including EvgeniiDadonov (1-1—2) – as they improved to 11-2-1 since Feb. 22. Dadonov and AleksanderBarkov (0-2—2) have paced Florida’s offense during that stretch, recording 8-11—19 and 6-13—19, respectively. Barkov leads the Panthers with 26-47—73 overall this season, marking the fifth-highest single-season total in club history. Florida moved within a point of the Devils (37-28-8, 82 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and holds games in hand on New Jersey (2), Philadelphia (3), Columbus (3) and Pittsburgh (2) – all teams they are within six points of in the playoff race.

ROOKIES CONNOR, BARZAL GUIDE CLUBS TO VICTORY

Rookies Kyle Connor (WPG) and Mathew Barzal (NYI) registered multiple points to guide their respective clubs to victory:

* Connor (2-0—2) tied the game in the second period and scored in overtime as the Jets (44-19-10, 98 points) established a franchise record for wins in a season and moved within two points of the first 100-point campaign in club history. Connor ranks second among NHL rookies with 27 goals, trailing Vancouver’s Brock Boeser (29). Only two Jets/Thrashers rookies have scored more goals in a season: Patrik Laine (36 in 2016-17 w/ WPG) and Ilya Kovalchuk (29 in 2001-02 w/ ATL).

* Barzal (1-1—2), meanwhile, registered his 17th multi-point game of 2017-18 to boost his totals to 20-55—75 in 73 games this season. Barzal (1.03 P/GP) is one of 22 players – and the only rookie – to average at least one point per game in 2017-18 (min. 50 GP). Only three rookies in the past 24 years have finished a season at or above that benchmark: Alex Ovechkin (1.31) and Sidney Crosby (1.26) in 2005-06 and EvgeniMalkin (1.09) in 2006-07.

EXPANSION GOLDEN KNIGHTS INCH CLOSER TO 100-POINT MARK

Four different players scored and Marc-Andre Fleury (7 saves) was credited with the 402nd win of his career as the expansion Golden Knights (47-21-5, 99 points) moved within one point of 100 on the season.

* The current benchmark for fewest NHL seasons to reach 100 points is three, set by the Oilers in 1981-82 (after they joined the League from the WHA). Excluding teams to merge from the WHA, the record for fewest seasons to reach 100 points is four, set by the Islanders in 1975-76.

* The Golden Knights rank second in the NHL with 248 goals (including shootout-deciding goals), the third-most ever by a team in its inaugural season behind the Whalers (303) and Oilers (301) during their 80-game campaign in 1979-80.

* Vegas ranks second this season with 3.40 goals per game. Only three franchises in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) finished their first season averaging at least three goals per game, all in 1979-80 (HFD: 3.79; EDM: 3.76; and QUE: 3.10).

SHARKS EXTEND WIN STREAK, STRENGTHEN GRIP ON SECOND IN PACIFIC

Six different skaters found the back of the net as the Sharks extended their win streak to a season-high five games. At 41-23-9 (91 points), San Jose sits second in the Pacific Division, four points ahead of Los Angeles (40-27-7, 87 points).

* Logan Couture (1-0—1) reached the 30-goal mark for the third time in his NHL career (all w/ SJS), joining Patrick Marleau (7) and Joe Pavelski (4) as the only Sharks with at least three 30-goal seasons.

* Reigning Norris Trophy winner Brent Burns (10-48—58) tallied three assists to move within three points of Washington’s John Carlson (15-46—61) and Dallas’ John Klingberg (7-54—61) for the points lead among NHL defensemen. Carlson and Klingberg each collected two points on Tuesday.

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SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION

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