LATE-TYING GOALS, OT THRILLERS HIGHLIGHT THURSDAY’S ACTION
Eight games required extra time on Thursday, including two that saw a team score a game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation to force overtime (Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner at 59:04 vs. CAR and Philadelphia’s Jakub Voracek at 59:42 vs. LAK) and another two that saw a team score late to force extra time (Colorado’s Colin Wilson at 57:53 vs. WSH and Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson at 58:08 vs. CHI).

* The eight games requiring extra time tied the highest single-day total in NHL history originally set on Feb. 22, 2007 (8 of 12 games) and matched on Nov. 27, 2015 (8 of 12 games).

* Six of the eight games requiring extra time ended in the five-minute overtime period, one shy of the highest single-day total in NHL history set on March 27, 2004 (7).

* 27 score-tying goals have been scored in the final minute of regulation in 2018-19, with teams holding a 13-0-14 mark in those contests (0-0-2 on Thursday).

* 85 score-tying goals have been scored in the final 5:00 of regulation in 2018-19, with teams registering a 36-4-43 mark in those contests (0-0-4 on Thursday).

MORE NOTES FROM THE EIGHT OT CONTESTS

* Jordan Binnington made 32 saves to improve to 8-1-1 in his first 10 career starts and help the Blues (25-22-5, 55 points) leapfrog the Canucksinto the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Binnington became the 31st netminder in NHL history to win eight or more games in his first ten career starts and the first since Andrew Hammond in 2014-15 (9-0-1 w/ OTT).

* The Kings survived a late-tying goal from the Flyers before Tyler Toffoli ended the game in the sixth round of the shootout to allow Los Angeles to collect its third straight victory. They became the first team to defeat Philadelphia since Jan. 12, ending the Flyers win streak at eight games.

* Miro Heiskanen (10-14—24 in 54 GP) scored the 10th goal of his campaign to become the third rookie defenseman in Stars / North Starsfranchise history to reach the mark. Phil Housley (45 GP), Bobby Orr (48 GP), Zach Bogosian (48 GP) and Larry Murphy (49 GP) are the only teenage defensemen in NHL history to reach 10 career goals in fewer appearances.

* Elias Pettersson notched the game-tying goal in the final two minutes to boost his career totals to 25-23—48, joining an elite list of 10 other players who have scored at least 25 goals in 44 games played before their 21st birthday.

AMERICAN DUO LEAD BLACKHAWKS TO SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN
Alex DeBrincat (2-0—2) and Patrick Kane (0-1—1) each found the score sheet to help the Blackhawks (22-24-9, 53 points) extend the League’s longest active win streak to six contests and move within two points of the Blues (25-22-5, 55 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

* Kane’s assist on DeBrincat’s opening tally extended his assist and point streaks to 12 and 13 games, respectively. Kane, who became the sixth player to record a point in at least 13 consecutive games this season, trails only Stan Mikita (14 GP from Nov. 26 - Dec. 25, 1967) for the longest assist streak in Blackhawks franchise history.

* Additionally, the Blackhawks leading scorer (32-47—79) joined Carolina’s Sebastian Aho (4-13—17 from Oct. 4-30, 2018) as the second player to collect at least one helper in 12 consecutive contests this season. The 2018-19 campaign marks the eighth NHL season to feature multiple assist streaks of at least 12 contests.

* DeBrincat, meanwhile, also extended his point streak to seven contests dating to Jan. 17 (5-7—12) and became the fourth player in Blackhawksfranchise history to record multiple point streaks of seven or more games in the same season prior to his 22nd birthday (also Oct. 4-20, 2018).

PRICE, KOTKANIEMI LEAD CANADIENS TO ANOTHER VICTORY
Carey Price recorded 32 saves and 18-year-old Jesperi Kotkaniemi found the back of the net for the fourth straight game as the Canadiens (31-18-6, 68 points) reclaimed the third seed in the Atlantic Division.

* Price, who improved to 7-0-0 dating to Jan. 12 (1.43 GAA, .955 SV%), became the fourth goaltender in Canadiens franchise history to post a seven-game win streak on five separate occasions, joining Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden and Michel Larocque. Only two active netminders have posted more such outings: Marc-Andre Fleury (8x) and Sergei Bobrovsky (6x).

* Kotkaniemi (18 years, 216 days) became the 13th different 18-year-old player in NHL history to record a goal in four or more consecutive games and fifth since 2001-02: Sean Monahan (2013-14), Jordan Staal (2006-07), Sidney Crosby (2x in 2005-06) and Ilya Kovalchuk (2x in 2001-02).

* Additionally, each of Kotkaniemi’s 10 NHL goals have come at the Bell Centre. He is one of six players in NHL history to score each of his first 10 career goals on home ice, and third to do so with at least some of those goals coming with the Canadiens - Bobby Sheehan (13: 8 w/ Canadiens, 5 w/ Golden Seals) and Sheldon Souray (11: 4 w/ Devils, 7 w/ Canadiens).

McDAVID JOINS KUCHEROV WITH 80 POINTS IN 2018-19

Oilers forward Connor McDavid (31-49—80 in 53 GP) recorded a pair of assists to join Nikita Kucherov (22-59—81) as the second player to reach the 80-point mark this season. Kucherov (Feb. 22, 2018) and McDavid (March 5, 2018; tied) were also the first and second players to reach 80 points last season.

* This marks just the seventh time in NHL history the same two players have been the first and second, respectively, to reach 80 points in consecutive seasons. The others: Phil Esposito/Bobby Orr (1969-70 to 1970-71 and 1973-74 to 1974-75), Guy Lafleur/Bryan Trottier (1977-78 to 1978-79), Wayne Gretzky/Jari Kurri (1983-84 to 1984-85), Jaromir Jagr/Mario Lemieux (1995-96 to 1996-97) and Alex Ovechkin/Evgeni Malkin(2007-08 to 2008-09).

BURNS FACTORS ON QUICK GOALS AS SHARKS CLAIM DIVISIONAL CLASH
Brent Burns (1-2—3) factored on two of three goals in a span of 85 seconds as the Sharks (32-16-7, 71 points) collected their fourth straight win and moved within two points of the Flames (34-15-5, 73 points) for first place in the Western Conference.

* Burns (11-50—61 in 55 GP), who is averaging 1.11 points per game in 2018-19, is on pace to record the first 90-point season by a defenseman since Ray Bourque in 1993-94 (20-71—91 in 72 GP). In fact, the Sharks leading scorer became just the seventh blueliner in NHL history to collect 50 assists in 55 team games or fewer.

QUICK CLICKS

* The Glorious Sons to perform at NHL Stadium Series on Feb. 23

* Black History Month spotlight: Dustin Byfuglien wins Cup with Blackhawks

* Girls and Women in Sports panel connects with audience

* Record 30 teams to compete in 2019 USA Hockey Sled Classic

* Golden Knights sled team following lead of NHL counterparts

* Maple Leafs take subway to outdoor practice in full gear

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION

the information above was supplied by the NHL PR department