AVALANCHE GIVE FANS A SHOW EARLY, TAKE DIVISION LEAD...
The Avalanche welcomed fans to Ball Arena for the first time this season and wasted no time giving them something to cheer about as Joonas Donskoi scored the first of three first-period goals 4:04 into a wild opening frame that saw the teams combine for seven goals – including six in a span of 3:27. With the victory, the Avalanche (23-8-4, 50 points) leapfrogged the Golden Knights (24-9-1, 49 points) – who fell to the Kings on Wednesday – for first place in the Honda West Division.



* Donskoi netted his three goals in the first 7:31 of the opening frame, marking the fastest hat trick from the start of a game in Avalanche/Nordiques history. He eclipsed the previous mark held by Alain Cote (15:46 on April 1, 1982 w/ QUE).

* From Donskoi’s opening goal to the completion of his first-period hat trick, the Avalanche scored five goals in a span of 3:27 – the second-fastest five goals in franchise history behind Quebec’s five in a span of 2:42 on Feb. 22, 1981. It also stands as the 11th fastest five goals by one team in NHL history.

* In total, the Avalanche treated their fans to nine goals – tied with the Rangers (9 on March 17 vs. PHI) for the highest single-game total by a team this season. It marked the third time Colorado has scored eight or more times in a game this season – the Rangers (twice) and Oilers (once) are the only other teams with eight or more goals in a game in 2020-21

* Philipp Grubauer made 28 saves to improve to 12-2-1 in March (1.56 GAA, .933 SV%, 3 SO) and tie the NHL mark for most wins by a goaltender in a calendar month.



… WHILE MAPLE LEAFS STRENGHTEN GRIP ON FIRST PLACE IN SCOTIA NORTH
Jack Campbell made 26 saves to improve to 7-0-0 through his first seven appearances this season as the Maple Leafs (23-10-3, 49 points) defeated the Jets (22-13-2, 46 points) to strengthen their grip on first place in the Scotia North Division.



* Toronto’s trio of Mitch Marner (0-2—2), Auston Matthews (1-1—2) and Zach Hyman (1-1—2) each collected multi-point games. Marner, who has at least one point in each game against the Jets this season (3-5—8 in 5 GP), registered his 13th multi-point game of 2020-21. Only three players have recorded more: Connor McDavid (20), Patrick Kane (14) and Leon Draisaitl (14).

SABRES SNAP 18-GAME WINLESS STREAK AS MONTOUR MAKES HISTORY
After the Sabres gave up a 3-0 lead in the third period on Monday against the Flyers to see their winless streak push to 18 games (0-15-3), they entered the third period against Philadelphia on Wednesday with another three-goal lead – but this time built on it with a pair of shorthanded goals from defenseman Brandon Montour (2-0—2) to earn the victory.

* Montour's two shorthanded goals came just 37 seconds apart in the final frame – including the first one that was scored into an empty net. It marked the fastest two shorthanded goals by a defenseman in NHL history and the 12th fastest by any player in the regular season. The previous fastest two shorthanded tallies by a defenseman was a mark also held by a Buffalo blueliner: Alexei Zhitnik (6:13 on March 19, 1998).



KINGS, SHARKS END RIVALS STREAKS IN HONDA WEST
Los Angeles snapped Vegas’ six-game home winning streak and San Jose earned its second consecutive win over Minnesota to end the Wild’s point streak at four contests. With the victories, the Kings (14-14-6, 34 points) and Sharks (15-16-4, 34 points) moved within four points of the Blues (16-13-6, 38 points) for fourth place in the Honda West Division.

QUICK CLICKS

* Oilers’ Connor McDavid fined for Elbowing
* Wednesday’s Flames/Canucks game was postponed
* Thatcher Demko receives five-year contract from Canucks
* Women making mark in hockey equipment industry
* College free agents signing with NHL teams

TOP FOUR TEAMS IN MASSMUTUAL EAST DIVISION IN ACTION TONIGHT
The top four teams in the MassMutual East Division will be front and center as part of Thursday’s nine-game slate when the top-seeded Capitals (23-8-4, 50 points) face the second-seeded Islanders (22-10-4, 48 points) at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, while the Penguins (23-11-2, 48 points) and Bruins (18-9-5, 41 points), who rank third and fourth in the division, respectively, meet at TD Garden in Boston.



* The Capitals own a 3-0-0 record in head-to-head games with the Islanders this season, claiming each victory in regulation while outscoring them by a 12-6 margin. It has been 10 years since Washington has won four or more games over the NY Islanders in one season (4-0-0 in 2010-11).

* Alex Ovechkin has scored 40 goals in 59 career regular-season games against the Islanders (1-1—2 in 1 GP in 2020-21) – more than any active NHL player has tallied against New York. The Islanders are one of five franchises that Ovechkin has scored 40+ career goals against.



* Boston welcomes Pittsburgh to TD Garden where they have won 10 consecutive regular-season home games against the Penguins dating back to Dec. 16, 2015 – their longest active home winning streak against one opponent. The Penguins enter the showdown on a four-game winning streak overall and own a 3-1-0 mark in their last four contests on the road.

STREAKING PREDATORS LOOK TO EXTEND CURRENT RUNS
The Predators (19-17-1, 39 points) have climbed to fourth in the Discover Central Division on the back of a six-game winning streak dating to March 21 – they ranked sixth in the Division and four points out of fourth at the start of the current run. Nashville has strung together a win streak of seven or more games three times in franchise history: 2017-18 (10-0-0), 2005-06 (8-0-0) and 2009-10 (7-0-0).

* Leading the way offensively for the Predators on the winning streak has been rookie Eeli Tolvanen, who has a six-game point streak that coincides with the current run (3-6—9 in 6 GP). With another point tonight, Tolvanen would be the first rookie to put together a seven-game point streak since Vancouver’s Elias Pettersson in 2018-19 (7 GP).

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.