* K’Andre Miller factored on four of six first-period goals to achieve a franchise first as the Rangers joined rare company in NHL history with a second consecutive high-scoring shutout win.
* A trio of hat tricks highlighted the NHL schedule for the second time in as many days and pushed the League total to seven though the past three days – the most through a three-day span since 2010-11.
* The Bruins scored at least seven goals for the fourth time this season en route to their franchise record-tying 26th road win of 2022-23.
MILLER MATCHES NHL RECORD AS RANGERS SCORE SIX FIRST-PERIOD GOALS Three days after the Panthers erupted for seven goals in their opening period against the Canadiens, K'Andre Miller (2-2—4) factored on four of six first-period goals for the Rangers in the opening 13:36 en route to a franchise first and another high-octane shutout victory at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers have now scored 15 consecutive goals through three games dating to March 16 which also includes a 6-0 victory against the Penguins on Saturday.
* Miller became the first defenseman in Rangers history to record four points in a single period and matched the NHL record for most by a blueliner in any period – a feat four others have accomplished in the past 10 years (Mikhail Sergachev: Nov. 13, 2022, Morgan Rielly: Oct. 15, 2019, Brandon Montour: Dec. 12, 2018 & Rostislav Klesla: March 28, 2013). * New York, which also tied the franchise mark for most goals in an opening frame and did so for the first time since Dec. 15, 1999 (6 in P1 vs. LAK), matched the second-longest run of consecutive goals in Rangers history (also 15 from Jan. 26 – Feb. 2, 1949). The franchise benchmark is a 25-goal stretch from Feb. 3-11, 1973.
HAT TRICKS HELP CLUBS SKATE TO VICTORIES IN HIGH-SCORING AFFAIRS Jack Eichel (3-0—3) and Matt Boldy (3-0—3) netted their second career hat tricks with the Golden Knights (43-21-6, 92 points) and Wild (40-22-8, 88 points), respectively, while Jesper Bratt (3-0—3) recorded his first career three-goal outing for the Devils (45-18-7, 97 points) as a trio of teams in playoff positions benefited from high-scoring performances.
* The trio of three-goal performances Sunday came on the heels of three hat tricks Saturday (Brandon Hagel, Sebastian Aho & Evander Kane) as well as a St. Patrick’s Day hat trick from Owen Tippett. It marks the most such performances (7) through a three-day span since Oct. 21-23, 2010. Of note, there must be one hat trick on each day in question.
* On the same night Alex Pietrangelo (0-4—4) matched the Golden Knights single-game record for assists and points by a defenseman, Eichel joined William Karlsson (Dec. 31, 2017, March 18, 2018 & Feb. 23, 2020) and Jonathan Marchessault (Dec. 3, 2019 & Jan. 19, 2019) as the third player with multiple three-goal performances for Vegas.
* Since the five-game absence of Minnesota’s leading scorer, Kirill Kaprizov, began on March 9, 14 different skaters have risen to occasion and scored a goal for the Wild – tied with the Oilers for the second most and trailing only the Golden Knights (16) for the highest total through that span. In comparison, only eight different Wild players scored during the five games before Kaprizov’s injury.
* Boldy (22-29—51 in 70 GP) opened the game with his 20th goal of the season and concluded the contest with second career hat trick en route to eclipsing the 50-point mark for the first time in his career. He became just the second player in Wild history to score at least 20 goals in a season before age 22, joining Marian Gaborik (30 in 2001-02 & 2002-03).
* Bratt (30-33—63 in 70 GP) reached the 30-goal mark after captain Nico Hischier (30-36—66 in 69 GP) also did so earlier in the contest, joining Jack Hughes (37-44—81 in 66 GP) as the second and third Devils skaters to do so this season. New Jersey captured its 23rd comeback win of 2022-23 – tied with 2017-18 for the most in a single season in franchise history; the most in a single season in NHL history is shared by the Panthers (29 in 2021-22) and Lightning (29 in 2018-19).
BERGERON, DeBRUSK SPARK A SEVEN-GOAL BRUINS BARRAGE With an assist from Jake DeBrusk (1-3—4), Patrice Bergeron (1-2—3) needed only 15 seconds into the contest to begin Boston’s seven-goal barrage – their fourth outing with seven or more goals in a game this season. The Bruins improved to 53-11-5 (111 points) and now sit 10 wins back of setting the single-season NHL record.
* The Bruins, who also improved to 26-9-4 as the visitors this season and matched a franchise record for road wins (also 26 in 1971-72), have 13 games remaining to surpass the 2018-19 Lightning (62-16-4) and 1995-96 Red Wings (62-13-7) for the NHL record for most wins in a season.
* The 2022-23 campaign is sixth in the past 20 years to feature the Bruins register at least four performances of seven or more goals. The others: 2017-18 (4 GP), 2011-12 (4 GP), 2010-11 (6 GP), 2008-09 (5 GP) and 2002-03 (5 GP).
KUCHEROV’S THIRD CAREER 100-POINT SEASON FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured Nikita Kucherov (28-72—100 in 71 GP) finding the back of the net just 3:26 into the contest to become the third player to reach the 100-point mark in 2022-23. Kucherov became the sixth active player with at least three 100-point seasons. The others: Connor McDavid (6x), Sidney Crosby (6x), Leon Draisaitl (4x), Alex Ovechkin (4x) and Evgeni Malkin (3x).
REIGNING PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY WINNERS LOOK TO SPRING INTO PLAYOFF SPOT
With the start of Spring, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs exactly four weeks away, Monday’s slate will include the Panthers (35-27-7, 77 points) looking to move into a Wild Card spot, the Flames (31-24-15, 77 points) aiming to move within two points of one in the West and three clubs pursuing the No. 1 seed in their division.
* A doubleheader on TVA Sports opens with the Panthers aiming to move into a playoff spot for the first time since Feb. 22. That was the last of three straight days during which the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners displaced Pittsburgh from the second Wild Card spot. Florida has held a playoff spot for only four days since approximately mid-November (Dec. 3 & Feb. 20-22). Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov needs one point to take sole claim as the highest-scoring player in franchise history.
* While the Panthers and Red Wings battle in Detroit, another high stakes Eastern Conference matchup will be taking place in Pittsburgh where the Penguins (34-25-10, 78 points) and Senators (33-31-5, 71 points) will clash. Pittsburgh can leapfrog the idle NY Islanders (36-7-8, 80 points) for the first Wild Card spot while Penguins captain Sidney Crosby is one away from his 11th career 30-goal season.
THE WEST IS WIDE OPEN: TOP SEEDS FAR FROM DECIDED
The largest lead held by a division leader in the Western Conference entering Monday is two points, with three teams in action within eyeing the top spot in either the Central or Pacific Division.
* The Avalanche (40-22-6, 86 points) – who trailed the No. 1 seed by as many as 14 points this season – are three points back of first place in the Central Division thanks to an active five-game winning streak and a 20-5-3 run since Jan. 14 – during which they share the NHL lead in points (43; tied with BOS). NathanMacKinnon ranks second in the NHL in scoring over that span, with his 19-28—47 (28 GP) trailing only the 21-31—52 posted by Connor McDavid (26 GP) since Jan. 14. During that span, MacKinnon has a four-point game, four games with three points, 11 outings with two points, nine one-point showings and only three contests when he has been held off the score sheet.
* While the third-seeded Oilers (39-23-8, 86 points) look to gain ground on a top-two spot in the Pacific Division, McDavid (58-76—134 in 70 GP) will have his eyes set on reaching the 60-goal mark. He can require the fewest games to score 60 goals in a season since Mario Lemieux in 1995-96 (62 GP w/ PIT).
* The Kings (40-20-10, 90 points) enter Monday on a 10-game home point streak (8-0-2) dating to Feb. 11 and can match the second-longest run in franchise history (11 GP in 2001-02 & 1990-91) when they host the Flames. With a win, Los Angeles would move into a tie in points with Vegas (43-21-6, 92 points) atop the Pacific Division standings.
hanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.
Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.
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