CANADIAN CLUBS COLLECT CRUCIAL WINS IN LOGJAMMED PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY RACE

The Jets (39-16-5, 83 points) rallied from two separate deficits to briefly climb into first place in the Western Conference standings before the Canucks (39-17-7, 85 points) edged the Ducks to shuffle back into top spot – a position they’ve held since Jan. 18. The two Canadian clubs are among a group of six teams, separated by three points, with eyes on the Presidents’ Trophy and jockeying atop the NHL standings.

* Quinn Hughes (0-1—1) factored on one of two goals with his NHL-leading 59th assist among defensemen and helped Vancouver maintain its position in first place in the Western Conference for the 65th day this season; the only other teams with as many days atop their conference are Boston (90) and Vegas (70). There are only two other seasons to witness the Canucks spend more time atop their conference: 1991-92 (108 days) and 2010-11 (99 days).

* Vancouver, which has already eclipsed its entire point total from 2022-23 (38-37-7, 83 points), eyes its third Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history and can join the 1993-94 Rangers and 1969-70 Black Hawks as the third team in the expansion era to finish first in the League standings after failing to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs the season before.

* Josh Morrissey (1-1—2) chipped in on Winnipeg’s two game-tying tallies and has collected 2-19—21 since the turn of the calendar. He ranks eighth in scoring among defensemen since Jan. 1, while his 19 assists through that span trail only Noah Dobson (26), Roman Josi (25) and Hughes (24).

QUICK CLICKS

* Jonathan Quick signs 1-year contract with Rangers

* Jagger Burns cashes in on bragging rights with Hurricanes

* Evgeny Kuznetsov clears waivers, loaned to AHL by Capitals
* Coyotes set to sell before Trade Deadline, continue rebuild

* Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, Make-A-Wish thrill 14-year-old Austria-born fan

Photos via: @Capitals

PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY RACE TAKES CENTER STAGE ON BROADWAY, SPORTSNET

First place in the NHL standings could change hands when two of the League’s top three clubs face off on Broadway as the Panthers (41-16-4, 86 points) visit the Rangers (40-17-4, 84 points), while two other clubs among the top eight in the NHL standings will meet for an Original Six matchup on Sportsnet and TVA Sports when the Bruins (35-13-14, 84 points) visit the Maple Leafs (35-17-8, 78 points).

* New York needs a regulation win to overtake Florida for the No. 1 seed. The Panthers displaced the Rangers for the top spot with their victory Feb. 29 as the clubs are among a group of four teams to have held the position over the past 10 days.

* As the standings sit entering play Monday, Boston and Toronto would meet in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The clubs have met in 16 series all-time, tied for the fourth-most in League history behind Boston-Montreal (34x), Detroit-Toronto (23x) and Chicago-Montreal (17x). The others at 16 are Chicago-Detroit, Montreal-Toronto and Montreal-NY Rangers.

NHL BIG CITY GREENS CLASSIC HIGHLIGHTS 25-GAME SLATE OF NATIONAL TELECASTS

For the second time in as many seasons, the NHL will hit the animated streets of “Big City” as the League is teaming up with ESPN and Disney Branded Television to bring fans the second NHL Big City Greens Classic, a live, animated NHL game telecast featuring the Penguins and Bruins on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET. The traditional telecast will be available as part of a doubleheader on ABC and ESPN+, while the live, animated telecast will be carried on ESPN+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+.

* The alternate presentation of the Penguins-Bruins game will feature real-time virtually recreated animation of NHL players and teams modeled after characters on Disney Channel’s hit animated series “Big City Greens” - with Gramma set to coach the Bruins and her grandson, Cricket, behind the bench for the Penguins. Gramma tallied a highlight-reel alley-oop assist in last year’sNHL Big City Greens Classic between the Capitals and Rangers – a first-of-its-kind live volumetric animation presentation – while playing the role of New York goaltender IgorShesterkin.

* Click here for more highlights ahead of this year’s animated telecast, which will blend two types of tracking technologies: NHL EDGE positional data (NHL Puck and Player tracking) and Hawk-Eye Innovations optical tracking.

Other notable games on the national slate this week:

Wednesday, March 6: Sabres at Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET on TNT, Max, SN, TVAS)

* William Nylander enters the week with an active 10-game point streak (8-10—18 in 10 GP), with a chance to extend Monday against Boston before Toronto hosts Buffalo on Wednesday for a national telecast on both sides of the 49th parallel. Nylander (3x) already has the most point streaks of at least a dozen games in Toronto franchise history and can become the sixth active NHL player with at least four in his career – he would join Connor McDavid (8x; could be 9x by Wednesday), Nathan MacKinnon (7x), Patrick Kane (6x), Leon Draisaitl (5x) and Sidney Crosby (4x) on that list.

Wednesday, March 6: Red Wings at Avalanche (9:30 p.m. ET on TNT, Max, SN360, ALT)

* Nathan MacKinnon (37-64—101 in 62 GP) enters the week four points back of the League lead as he pursues the second Art Ross Trophy win in franchise history and first in more than 20 years (Peter Forsberg in 2002-03). MacKinnon enters the week with an active home point streak of 29 games, the second-longest from the start of a season in NHL history behind the 40-game run by Wayne Gretzky in 1988-89 (which spanned the entire campaign), with a chance to keep that streak alive tonight when the Avalanche host Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks (9 p.m. ET on NBCSCH, ALT).

Saturday, March 9: Maple Leafs at Canadiens (7 p.m. ET on SN, CBC, TVAS)
* A three-game Hockey Night in Canada slate includes the 845th all-time meeting between the Maple Leafs and Canadiens (including playoffs) when Montreal captain Nick Suzuki leads his team against the Toronto duo of Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews, who both carry lengthy road point streaks into the week. Marner (4-18—22 in 13 road GP) already owns the longest road point streak in franchise history and the lengthiest by any player in the NHL this season, while Matthews (13-6—19 in 11 road GP) is currently tied for the second longest in 2023-24 and third-longest in Toronto history (behind Marner and Doug Gilmour: 12 GP in 1993-94).

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.