CAPITALS TOP MAPLE LEAFS TO REMAIN PERFECT OUTDOORS

Nicklas Backstrom (1-2—3), Evgeny Kuznetsov (1-2—3) and John Carlson (1-2—3) each matched the record for most points in an outdoor game as the Capitals earned a victory over the Maple Leafs in front of 29,516 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland in the 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series.

* Backstrom recorded all three of his points in the opening frame, matching Martin Havlat (1-2—3 in first period of 2009 WC w/ CHI) for the most points in a single period of an outdoor game.

* Washington improved to 3-0-0 and remain undefeated outdoors, adding to victories at the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh (3-1 W. vs. PIT) and the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Nationals Park in Washington (3-2 W vs. CHI).

* The Capitals (36-21-7, 81 points) now sit alone atop the Metropolitan Division, two points ahead of the Flyers (34-20-11, 79 points).

ANOTHER 40-GOAL SEASON FOR OVECHKIN

Alex Ovechkin notched a first period goal to become the first player this season to hit the 40-goal milestone. This marks the seventh time Ovechkin has been the first player in the League to hit 40 goals in a season (in terms of GP), breaking a tie with Bobby Hull (6 times) for the most first-to-40 seasons in NHL history.

* Ovechkin, in pursuit of his seventh Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, is the sixth player in NHL history to record at least nine 40-goal campaigns and now sits just two tallies shy of 600 in his career.

STADIUM SERIES QUICK HITS

* Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik and Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk tied a record by appearing in their fifth regular-season outdoor NHL game.

* Maple Leafs forward Tomas Plekanec – who played with the Canadiens in December’s 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic – became the first player in NHL history to participate in outdoor games with multiple teams in the same season.

* There now have been 25 total regular-season outdoor NHL games: 10 Winter Classics, nine Stadium Series, four Heritage Classics, one Centennial Classic and on NHL100 Classic.

* Teams that score first improved to 15-7-3 in League’s outdoor games, including a 10-1-1 record in the last 12 such contests.

ICYMI: STADIUM SERIES EDITION

* More than 500 U.S. Naval Academy midshipmen attended the 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series, including those who flanked the ice surface for pre-game ceremonies following a procession march onto the field.

* Members of the U.S. Men’s Curling Team drew a stone to center ice in a unique ceremonial opening face-off.

* The gold medal-winning U.S. Women’s Hockey Team were honored in a special ceremony during the second intermission.

STAMKOS SPARKS LIGHTNING RALLY WITH FIVE-POINT NIGHT
Captain Steven Stamkos (2-3—5) posted a career-high five points and scored the decisive marker in the shootout to help the League-leading Lightning (45-17-4, 94 points) rally from 1-0, 3-1 and 5-3 deficits en route to extending their point streak to seven contests (6-0-1).

* Tampa Bay overcame at least two multi-goal deficits to win for the third time in franchise history (also Nov. 18, 2010 at PHI and Mar. 29, 2013 vs. NJD), the second team to accomplish the feat this season (also NSH: 6-5 W at WPG on Feb. 27).

* Stamkos joined Alex Killorn (2-3—5 on Feb. 1 at CGY) as the second Lightning player to register a five-point performance this season. In fact, he posted the NHL’s 21st five-point game of 2017-18 and second in as many days (Nathan MacKinnon: 2-3—5 vs. MIN) – the most in a single season since 2007-08 (24).

* Victor Hedman notched 2-2—4 to match a single-game career high originally accomplished on Oct. 13, 2014 vs. MTL (1-3—4). He became the seventh defenseman to collect at least four points in a game this season.

* Nikita Kucherov collected 0-3—3 in his return to the lineup after missing two games due to injury. Kucherov, who continues to lead all players with 33-52—85 in 64 GP this season, matched his career high for points (40-45—85 in 2016-17) while also reaching the 50-assist mark for the first time in five NHL seasons.

WORKING OVERTIME
The Bruins (40-15-8, 88 points), Stars (37-23-5, 79 points) and Penguins (37-25-4, 78 points) all secured victories in overtime to earn crucial points in their respective playoff races:

* Brad Marchand scored 2:06 into overtime to lift the Bruins to their fourth straight win at TD Garden and keep pace with the Lightning in the Atlantic Division standings. Marchand, who is one of six players with three overtime goals this season, moved into a tie with Dit Clapper (10) and Glenn Murray (10) for the most regular-season overtime goals in Bruins franchise history.

* Alexander Radulov (1-0—1) tied the game with 2:56 remaining in regulation and Jamie Benn (1-1—2) scored in overtime to lift the Stars (37-23-5, 79 points) into third place in the Central Division. Benn, who snapped an 11-game goalless drought, capped the game-winning tally with a unique celebration.

* Derick Brassard (1-0—1) tied the game in the third period with his first goal since being acquired by the Penguins on Feb. 23 and captain Sidney Crosby (1-0—1) scored with 1:12 remaining in the extra frame to move the Penguins within one point of the Flyers (34-20-11, 79 points) for second place in the Metropolitan Division. Crosby tallied the 12th overtime goal of his NHL career to tie teammate Evgeni Malkin atop the franchise list.

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION

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PREDATORS, PANTHERS LOOK TO EXTEND WINNING STREAKS

The Western Conference-leading Predators (41-14-9, 91 points) look to push their winning streak to eight games and thePanthers (31-25-6, 68 points) – who sit one point back of the Hurricanes for the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference – aim to stretch their winning streak to six contests.

* Nashville’s current seven-game run is the longest active winning streak in the League and one shy of the franchise record. ThePredators also take an 11-game road point streak (8-0-3) into Sunday’s contest against the Avalanche (35-24-5, 75 points) at Pepsi Center.

* The Panthers, who host the Flyers (34-20-11, 79 points) at BB&T Center, look to win six consecutive games for the fifth time in franchise history and first since a 12-game stretch from Dec. 15, 2015 – Jan. 10, 2016 (12-0-0). Aleksander Barkov enters the contest on a five-game point streak (4-4—8) and leads all Panthers skaters with a career-high 62 points (24-38—62 in 61 GP).

the information above was supplied by the NHL PR department