OVECHKIN OVERTAKES ESPOSITO ON ALL-TIME GOALS LIST
A day after netting career goal No. 717, Alex Ovechkin (1-1—2) scored for the 718th time in his regular-season career to move past Phil Esposito for sole possession of sixth place on the NHL’s all-time list. Ovechkin, who has a four-game goal streak and at least one tally in five of his last six games, is now 14 goals shy of surpassing Marcel Dionne (731) for fifth place.



* This marks the 46th time in Ovechkin's regular-season career that he has scored a goal on consecutive days, totaling 130 of his 718 goals over those 92 games (1.41 G/GP in back-to-back sets).

* With a 0.61 goals-per-game pace in his NHL career, he required the second-fewest contests to reach 718 career goals, behind only Wayne Gretzky (925 GP).



* While Ovechkin moved past Esposito on one list, he also inched closer to him on another by scoring the 114th game-winning goal of his regular-season career, four back of tying Esposito for third place in NHL history.

* With an assist on the opening goal, Ovechkin (718-583—1,301 in 1,177 GP) became the 35th player in NHL history to reach the 1,300-point milestone. Only one other active player has hit the benchmark (Joe Thornton: 423-1,098—1,521 in 1,654 GP), though Sidney Crosby (473-819—1,292 in 1,012 GP) needs only eight points to join the club.

KAHKONEN, VASILEVSKIY EACH EXTEND WIN STREAKS TO NINE GAMES
Minnesota rookie Kaapo Kahkonen kept pace with Tampa Bay veteran Andrei Vasilevskiy on Tuesday as each goaltender pushed his win streak to nine games. Only two other netminders have won more than five consecutive appearances in 2020-21 (Sergei Bobrovsky of the Panthers and Ilya Sorokin of the Islanders, who each have active six-game win streaks).

* Kahkonen (31 saves) posted his second shutout of the season (each in his last three appearances) as Minnesota earned its eighth consecutive win at Xcel Energy Center. Kahkonen is one of 10 different rookies in NHL history to post a win streak of nine or more games; Jordan Binnington is the only other to do so in the last 37 seasons, en route to winning the Stanley Cup in 2018-19.



* Andrei Vasilevskiy (24 saves) equaled the second-longest win streak of his career and Victor Hedman (0-1—1) recorded his 500th regular-season point as Tampa Bay edged Dallas in a 2020 Stanley Cup Final rematch to re-claim top spot in the League standings (20-6-2, 42 points). The Lightning hit the halfway mark of their season (28 GP) with a .750 points percentage; only eight defending Cup champions had a higher rate than Tampa Bay at the midway point of their campaign.

CAPITALS, RED WINGS PLAY STREAK BUSTERS
The Capitals and Red Wings each ended their opponent’s lengthy win streak on Tuesday:

* Ilya Samsonov made 21 saves to improve to 4-0-0 in his last four starts to backstop the Capitals to their sixth straight victory – the longest active run in the NHL – and snap the Islanders’ nine-game win streak. Washington improved to 19-6-4 (42 points) and overtook Tuesday's opponent for first place in the MassMutual East Division standings.

* Filip Hronek (1-2—3) scored his first goal since Jan. 14, 2020 and matched a career high with three points to help the Red Wings halt the Hurricanes’ win streak at eight games. It was the 13th time that Detroit defeated an opponent who entered with a win streak of eight or more games; the last such instance was in 2011-12 when they stunted the Bruins’ 10-0-0 run.



AVALANCHE NET EIGHT IN ANOTHER MULTI-GOAL COMEBACK WIN VS. DUCKS
After the Avalanche and Ducks traded multi-goal comeback wins in back-to-back meetings earlier this month, Colorado staged yet another rally on Tuesday by claiming an 8-4 victory after trailing 4-2.

* Nathan MacKinnon scored for a third straight game – his first winning goal of 2020-21 – and Nazem Kadri (2-2—4) had his second straight multi-point outing as the Avalanche netted at least eight goals in a game for the second time this season (the only team to do so multiple times).

* The Avalanche-Ducks season series is one of two so far in 2020-21 to feature at least three multi-goal comeback wins – the Lightning (2) and Blackhawks (1) also have combined for three. Prior to 2020-21, the last time a single head-to-head matchup included as many multi-goal comeback victories was 2014-15 when there were two such season series – coincidentally involving Colorado (3 vs. DAL) and Anaheim (3 vs. CGY).



VLADAR CLAIMS FIRST NHL WIN AS BRUINS END PENGUINS’ WIN STREAK
After making his League debut during the 2020 postseason, Bruins goaltender Dan Vladar made 34 saves to become the 20th netminder in franchise history to win his first career regular-season NHL appearance.

* Vladar also became the ninth goaltender in League history to claim his first NHL victory against an opponent on a winning streak of six or more games.



QUICK CLICKS

* Halfway Mark: 2020-21 NHL Season
* Chie Chie Yard perseveres on path from hockey Olympian to prominent role in NHL
* Artemi Panarin has 'nothing to hide,' wants to focus on Rangers till season ends
* Phil Esposito’s message to Alex Ovechkin
* Flames wear mismatched socks for World Down Syndrome Day

NATIONAL DOUBLEHEADERS IN CANADA, U.S. TO CLOSE WITH BATTLE OF ALBERTA
Twelve teams are in action on St. Patrick’s Day including nationally broadcasted doubleheaders in Canada on Sportsnet and TVA Sports and in the U.S. on NBCSN – with all featuring the latest installment of the ‘Battle of Alberta’ in the second game.



A ST. PATRICK’S DAY POT OF GOLD COURTESY OF #NHLSTATS
The Golden Knights won their only showing to date on St. Patrick’s Day – a 6-3 victory in 2019 against the Oilers – but the Senators hold the best points percentage in NHL history among clubs to contest at least five games on March 17.



* The Senators (.731) and Canucks (.688) are the only clubs playing tonight that are among the top five in NHL history for points percentage on St. Patrick’s Day (min. 5 GP). Only the Capitals and Ducks, both at .700, sit between Ottawa and Vancouver.

* The Flyers and Rangers will meet on St. Patrick’s Day for the first time in 20 years and fifth time overall. Philadelphia has won each of the last three such games in 2001, 1987 and 1984, while New York won the first in 1982.

* The 248th regular-season rendition of the ‘Battle of Alberta’ will be the first contested on St. Patrick’s Day as the Flames aim for a season-high four-game win streak when they take on the Oilers. Calgary’s current streak was set in motion March 11, coinciding with Darryl Sutter’s return behind the bench as head coach.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.