OVECHKIN, KREIDER CONTINUE RACE TO 30 GOALS

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin (29-29—58) and Rangers forward Chris Kreider(29-13—42), who are tied for the NHL lead in goals, will continue their race to 30 tallies when they each make home appearances Monday. In just a couple of weeks, the two League leaders will get the chance to play alongside one another while representing their team on the Metropolitan Division roster for the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Game.

* Ovechkin sits one marker shy of his 16th career 30-goal season – the only player with more is Hall of Fame forward Mike Gartner (17). Ovechkin has been the first player to 30 goals in a season five of the 15 times he has reached the benchmark.

* Kreider, meanwhile, is on the verge of the first 30-goal campaign of his 10-season career after surpassing his previous career high with a hat trick Saturday (28 in 2018-19 and 2016-17). No Rangers player in the modern era (since 1943-44) has led the League in goals at season’s end – the most recent player in franchise history to do so was Lynn Patrick in 1941-42.

SUNDAY'S RESULTS
The Kraken(13-24-4, 30 points) closed out the weekend with a win over the NHL-leading Panthers(28-9-5, 61 points) on a five-game Sunday.

FAST GOALS PROPEL PENGUINS, KRAKEN TO VICTORY
The Penguins and the Kraken both benefitted from quick goals Sunday as each club skated to their respective victories:

* After Saturday saw an NHL record-tying five teams post multi-goal comeback wins, the Penguins followed suit Sunday with a third-period multi-goal comeback victory of their own. Kasperi Kapanen and Jeff Carter scored nine seconds apart in the final frame to help Pittsburgh (26-10-5, 57 points) earn its seventh straight victory at home – their longest such run since 2017-18 (11 GP).

* Twelve different Kraken players found the score sheet Sunday, including Yanni Gourde and Colin Blackwell who scored 17 seconds apart, while Philipp Grubauer (28 saves) held the NHL’s highest-scoring team to three goals as the Kraken (13-24-4, 30 points) earned a win against the League-leading Panthers (28-9-5, 61 points). Seattle swept its two-game season series against Florida after halting the Panthers’ home win streak to start 2021-22 at an NHL-record 11 games (also 11 GP for CHI in 1963-64) in their first-ever match up.



BLUES MOUNT ANOTHER COMEBACK WITH WIN IN VANCOUVER
Vladimir Tarasenko (0-2—2) found the score sheet in his ninth straight appearance (6-9—15) and Ville Husso (38 saves) extended his win streak to five games (1.20 GAA, .963 SV%, 1 SO) as St. Louis (25-11-5, 55 points) earned its NHL-leading 15th comeback win of the season. The victory vaulted the Blues, who are 6-1-0 in their last seven games, past the idle Predators (26-14-3, 55 points) and into second place in the Central Division.



COLOR OF HOCKEY: JAPANESE-BORN HIRANO SCORES FIRST AHL GOAL
Yushiroh Hirano made history this weekend as he became the first Japanese-born player to score a goal in the American Hockey League on Saturday, according to the AHL’s Abbotsford Canucks. Hirano hopes to build on the legacy of players of Japanese heritage that includes 2017 Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Paul Kariya, Canadiens forward Nick Suzuki and Oilers forward Kailer Yamamoto. Read more about Hirano in his Color of Hockey feature.



QUICK CLICKS 

* A statement from the National Hockey League
* Alex Ovechkin having fun in 17th NHL season
*Keith Yandle cites 'love for the game' in pursuit of NHL ironman record
* Bruce Boudreau talks reaching 1,000 NHL games, Canucks in sit-down with NHL.com
* Emergency goalie Rylan Toth backs up for Canucks against Blues

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.