No. 1 PICK LAFRENIÈRE SCORES FIRST CAREER GOAL
Alexis Lafrenière, the No. 1 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, scored with 2:13 remaining in overtime to record his first career goal and power the Rangers to a win over their intrastate rival. He became the first-ever No. 1 pick to score his first career NHL goal in overtime.



STARS, CAPITALS EXTEND STREAKS VIA HIGH-SCORING OUTINGS
Dallas and Washington scored seven and six goals, respectively, to earn wins and extend season-opening streaks:

* Denis Gurianov (1-2—3) and Miro Heiskanen (0-3—3) combined for 1-5—6 as the Stars scored seven goals in a game for the second time this season (also 7-0 W on Jan. 22) and improved to 4-0-0. Dallas, the only team without a loss of any kind in 2020-21, earned wins in each of its first four games in a campaign for the fourth time in franchise history and first since 2010-11 (4-0-0).

* The Stars have scored 19 goals through their four games in 2020-21 (4.75 G/GP), including 10 on the power play. Dallas’ 19 goals are its highest total through four games in a campaign since 1995-96 (also 19).



* Forty-three-year-old Zdeno Chara (1-1—2) capped a five-goal second period and 25-year-old Vitek Vanecek made 27 saves as the Capitals (5-0-3) erased a 3-0 deficit to rally and defeat the Islanders for the second time in as many games.

* The Capitals, who established the longest season-opening point streak in franchise history (8 GP), have recorded each of their last two five-goal periods against the Islanders (Jan. 18, 2020 & Nov. 5, 2013).

* Chara became the fifth defenseman in NHL history to register a multi-point game at age 43 or older, joining Doug Harvey (5x), Tim Horton (2x), Chris Chelios (Oct. 20, 2007) and Allan Stanley (March 20, 1969).

* Vanecek became the second Capitals goaltender and the NHL's 11th netminder in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to record a point in each of his first six career appearances.



CANADIENS RETURN HOME TO HEROES’ WELCOME, EXTEND POINT STREAK
After recording at least one point in all six games of their season-opening road trip, the Canadiens returned home to claim a win over the Flames at Bell Centre – nearly 11 months to the day since their last victory in the building (Feb. 29, 2020 vs. CAR). The Canadiens, who were welcomed to the ice virtually by a group of frontline healthcare workers, have a season-opening point streak of at least seven games for the 10th time in franchise history.

* Tyler Toffoli’s sixth goal of the season was the fifth shorthanded goal by Montreal in 2020-21 (7 GP), one shy of their total from last season (6 SHG in 71 GP). Only two teams in NHL history needed fewer games than the Canadiens to accumulate five shorthanded goals in a season.



* Nick Suzuki (2-5—7 in 7 GP) notched an assist to become the second Canadiens player in the last 32 years to post a season-opening point streak of at least seven games (also Andrei Markov: 0-10—10 in 7 GP in 2008-09).

SEVERAL STREAKS EXTENDED IN EDMONTON AND VANCOUVER
Several team and player streaks continued as the Maple Leafs edged the Oilers and the Canucks defeated the Senators:

* Leon Draisaitl tallied twice to extend his goal streak to five games (6-2—8) and pull Edmonton even after trailing 2-0, but Wayne Simmonds and Auston Matthews each scored third-period markers as Toronto (7-2-0, 14 points) triumphed to remain atop the NHL standings. The Maple Leafs, who face the Oilers again tomorrow night (7 p.m. ET on SN, NHLN), improved to 4-0-0 in their last four games, including a 3-0-0 mark in Alberta.

* Simmonds extended his goal streak to three games (3-0—3) after going without a point in each of his first six contests with Toronto – that’s his longest goal streak since having a run of equal length from Dec. 4-7, 2017 with Philadelphia (3-1—4 in 3 GP). Matthews has tallied a goal in each of his last four appearances (4-1—5).



* Braden Holtby made 36 saves as Vancouver defeated Ottawa for a third time through its three straight meetings, outscoring the Senators 16-3 in those contests. Holtby improved to 8-0-0 in his last eight appearances against Ottawa.

* Quinn Hughes skated in his 100th career NHL game (regular season & playoffs), collecting two assists. Hughes’ 83 combined points (11-72—83 in 100 GP) are the 10th-most in League history among defensemen through 100 games – his 72 assists are tied for the third most, trailing only Mark Howe (80) and Sergei Zubov (75).



MARLEAU, RUFF CLIMB ALL-TIME GAMES LISTS
Sharks forward Patrick Marleau and Devils head coach Lindy Ruff each climbed all-time games lists Thursday:

* Marleau skated in the 1,731st game of his NHL career and tied Ron Francis for fourth place on the League’s all-time list. The next player ahead of Marleau on his pursuit of NHL history is Jaromir Jagr (1,733), who he now trails by two.

* Ruff was behind the bench for his 1,500th career game as an NHL head coach. He became just the seventh in League history to reach the milestone.

Photo via @NJDevils

QUICK CLICKS

* Golden Knights-Blues Game Postponed
* 'The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers' trailer released by Disney+
* Jimmy Howard retires after 11 NHL seasons with Red Wings
* Bruins pledge over $100,000 to help injured high school hockey player
* Lightning's Steven Stamkos, Hurricanes' Steven Lorentz are former commercial co-stars

OLD FOES RENEW ACQUAINTANCES BEFORE BUSY WEEKEND ACROSS NHL
The lone game on today’s slate is set to feature the Blue Jackets and Blackhawks in their first head-to-head matchup as division rivals since March 14, 2013. Columbus was part of the Central Division – Chicago’s home since 1993-94 – for each of its first 12 seasons from 2000-01 to 2012-13. The Blackhawks won each of the last 11 matchups when they were in the same division and held a decisive edge overall in their games during that span.

* Friday presents a calm before what is slated to be the busiest weekend on the calendar this season. Twenty games are to be played over the next two days, tied with April 3-4 for the most hockey-heavy Saturday-Sunday combination on the schedule.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.