HAT TRICKS APLENTY AS THE CAPITALS MOVE CLOSER TO A WILD CARD SEED
The Capitals came out victorious in a thrilling back-and-forth contest against the Hurricanes that featured six tying goals and dueling hat tricks, with Sonny Milano – who potted a highlight-reel goal – and Sebastian Aho netting the 100th and 101st hat tricks of the season. Washington (34-26-9, 77 points) moved within one point of Detroit (36-28-6, 78 points) for the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.

* With a power-play goal, Alex Ovechkin recorded his 1,540th point and surpassed Joe Thornton (1,539) for 13th place on the NHL’s all-time points list. Click here to see how NHL EDGE was used to break down his goal.

TOP OF THE CENTRAL DIVISION STAYS TIGHT

The Avalanche (45-20-5, 95 points) took top spot in the Central Division from the idle Jets (44-20-5, 93 points), yet there is a tie in terms of standings points once again as the Stars (43-19-9, 95 points) also earned a win.

* Nathan MacKinnon (1-1—2) factored on two of the Avalanche’s six goals to extend his home point streak to 33 games and help Colorado improve to 8-0-0 over its past eight contests – tied for their sixth-longest winning streak in franchise history. MacKinnon surpassed Guy Lafleur (32 GP in 1978-79) and tied Wayne Gretzky (33 GP in 1985-86) for the second-longest run in NHL history – Gretzky holds the record with a point in 40 consecutive home games in 1988-89.

* Joe Pavelski opened the scoring with his 25th goal of the season to help the Stars earn their third straight win against the Penguins. Pavelski reached the 25-goal mark for the 12th time in his career, the third most among U.S-born players behind only Keith Tkachuk and Mike Modano (both w/ 13). He also moved within one of becoming the first player since Jaromir Jagr in 2015-16 to reach the 60-point plateau at age 39 or older. Jagr achieved the feat as a 44-year-old member of the Panthers.

WEEKLY PODCAST ROUNDUP

* NHL Fantasy on Ice (3/18): Fantasy waiver wire pickups: Week 23
* NHL Fantasy on Ice (3/20): NHL | Action Network collaboration: Wild card races
* NHL @TheRink (3/20): Cotsonika joins; GM Meetings recap, Preds rolling, Best in West?
* La Tasse de Café LNH (3/20): L'arrivée de Reinbacher à Montréal et le futur des Penguins
* NHL Fantasy on Ice (3/21): Fantasy mailbag: Week 23

QUICK CLICKS

* #NHLStats: Live Updates from Friday
* Capitals’ Tom Wilson suspended 6 games for high-sticking
* Unasked: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen finding footing in net with Sabres
* Zach Hyman reaching 50 goal-mark for Oilers at Maple Leafs 'would be special'
* First Episode of NHL Hat Trick Trivia presented by New Amsterdam Vodka

McDAVID VS. MATTHEWS, PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY RACE HEADLINE SATURDAY’S SLATE

More than 12 hours of hockey will air Saturday with a number of marquee matchups taking place, including Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews set for their 18th all-time meeting, two of the Eastern Conference’s best clubs – the Panthers and Rangers – battling on ABC and ESPN+ as well as Wild Card hopefuls looking to solidify their playoff positioning.

* McDavid and Matthews enter Saturday’s contest coming off four- and five-point performances, respectively. Matthews (57-32—89 in 67 GP) is a hat trick away from his second career 60-goal season as he looks for his third Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy, while McDavid (26-86—112 in 65 GP) currently sits third in the Art Ross Trophy race. The Oilers captain has posted 3-9—12 in his past five games, but still finds himself 10 points back of first-place Nikita Kucherov (41-81—122 in 68 GP), who is also in action Saturday and can become the first player since Steve Yzerman (3 GP in 1992-93) with three straight four-point games.

* The Panthers (45-20-4, 94 points) and Rangers (46-20-4, 96 points), both vying for the 2023-24 Presidents’ Trophy, are set to face off at Madison Square Garden on Saturday. New York can overtake Boston (41-15-15, 97 points), which faces Philadelphia in a matinee matchup on NHL Network and TVA Sports, for top spot in the League standings for the first time since Feb. 28 with a combination of a point and a Bruins loss. Elsewhere, the Canucks (44-18-8, 96 points) have a shot at moving into the top spot should they defeat the Flames on Sportsnet, TVA Sports and CBC.

* The Panthers-Rangers matchup on ABC and ESPN+ will feature Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov who has an ongoing partnership with the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital Foundation. Barkov donates $1,600 for each goal he scores and $800 for each assist during the regular season and playoffs as part of his #BarkovScores4JoeD initiative. Since 2019, he has contributed $313,600 to the children’s hospital foundation which supports kids and their families, as well as programs at the pediatric facility in Hollywood, Florida. Last season, his contributions helped fund an expansion of the hospital's pediatric facility, allowing them to treat more complex and critical conditions. In addition to visiting the hospital, Barkov provides a suite at each Panthers home game for those connected to the hospital.

PIVOTAL MATCH UP BETWEEN TWO WILD CARD HOPEFULS
The Predators (41-25-4, 86 points), who sit in the West’s first Wild Card spot, will look to extend their franchise-record point streak to 17 games (14-0-2 since Feb. 17) when they face an Eastern Conference Wild Card hopeful in the Red Wings (36-28-6, 78 points). Detroit will look to make it three straight wins and strengthen its grip on a Wild Card spot in the East as it chases its first postseason berth since 2015-16.

Saturday, March 23, 2024, will mark the 30th anniversary of Wayne Gretzkypassing Gordie Howe for the most goals in NHL history. Gretzky tallied his 802nd regular-season goal on March 23, 1994, while playing for the Kings, netting a 2-2 tying goal in an eventual 6-3 defeat against the Canucks at the Great Western Forum in Los Angeles. The last goal that night was scored by Canucks forward Pavel Bure, who tallied his 50th goal of 1993-94 en route to his second career 60-goal season.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.