* Jason Robertson found his name all over the score sheet Friday – an evening that featured his 10th game with three or more points, his 100th career goal and joining elite company among active players in the process.
* Twenty-one-year-old Devon Levi had an NHL debut to remember, backstopping the Sabres past the playoff-bound Rangers to keep their own postseason hopes alive with eight contests remaining in their schedule.
* Two potential First Round matchups in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs highlight a 13-game Saturday schedule with a showdown between the Bruins and Penguins, as well as the Stars and Avalanche.
* The Flames overcame three separate deficits, including an early 2-0 hole, to record the NHL’s 138th multi-goal comeback win of the season – tying 2018-19 for the most in a single campaign in League history.
ROBERTSON BOOSTS DALLAS’ PLAYOFF PUSH WITH 100TH CAREER GOAL Jason Robertson (1-3—4) notched his second career four-point game to help the Stars (41-20-14, 96 points) move within one point of the idle Wild (44-22-9, 97 points) for top spot in the Central Division. Robertson (42-53—95 in 75 GP), closing in on 100 points in 2022-23, netted his 100th career goal in only his 203rd outing.
* Friday marked his 10th game with three or more points this season. The only players with more are Connor McDavid (21 GP), Leon Draisaitl (14 GP), Matthew Tkachuk (13 GP GP), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (12 GP), Nikita Kucherov (11 GP) and Tage Thompson (11 GP).
* Meanwhile, Miro Heiskanen (0-3—3) recorded his 16th multi-assist game of the season and concluded the month of March with 4-19—23 (15 GP) – surpassing Craig Hartsburg (3-17—20 in Jan. 1982) for the most points in a month by a Stars/North Stars defenseman. His 23 points tied John Carlson (23 in Oct. 2019) for the second most in a calendar month among active defensemen and trails only Roman Josi (28 in March 2022).
LEVI’S 31-SAVE NHL DEBUT KEEPS BUFFALO IN THE HUNT FOR A WILD CARD SPOT Devon Levi backstopped the Sabres with a 31-save performance in his NHL debut – which saw the 21-year-old make 19 of those in the third period – to help Buffalo withstand a New York comeback while also keeping its playoff hopes alive. The victory propelled the Sabres (79 points, 74 GP) to within five points of the Penguins (84 points, 75 GP) for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and within eight of the Islanders (87 points, 76 GP), who occupy the first Wild Card position.
* Levi matched the third-most saves by a rookie goaltender in a single period for the Sabres (since 1997-98 when saves by period began being tracked). Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (21 in P3, Dec. 19, 2022) and Ryan Miller (20 in P1, March 18, 2006) are the only ones with more.
* Buffalo plays six of its remaining eight games on the road, including a tilt in Florida (38-31-7, 83 points) on April 4 – the team one spot ahead of them in the Wild Card race. The Sabres own a .643 point percentage as visitors this season – the fifth highest among all Eastern Conference teams behind the Bruins (.757), Devils (.757), Hurricanes (.694) and Rangers (.671) – all of whom having already clinched a spot in the postseason.
WEST’S WILD CARD HOPEFULS SECURE CRUCIAL WINS The race for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference failed to produce any additional clarity Friday after the Jets (42-31-3, 87 points) and Flames (35-26-15, 85 points) each picked up victories. Calgary trails Winnipeg by two points, with each club holding six games left in the regular-season schedule – including a crucial head-to-head meeting on April 5 at Canada Life Centre.
* Winnipeg netted six goals at Canada Life Centre thanks in part to multi-point performances by seven different players – including Mark Scheifele (1-1—2), who set a single-season career high for goals and moved within one of becoming the sixth player in Jets/Thrashers history to record a 40-goal campaign and second in as many seasons (Kyle Connor: 47 in 2021-22).
* The Flames overcame 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3 deficits before Tyler Toffoli (2-0—2) scored with 1:33 remaining in overtime to lift Calgary to its third straight win. The Flames recorded the NHL’s 138th multi-goal comeback win of the season, tying 2018-19 for the most in a single campaign in League history.
PAIR OF POTENTIAL PLAYOFF MATCHUPS HIGHLIGHT 13-GAME SATURDAY
The second-last Saturday of the 2022-23 season features 13 games, including two that would be First Round matchups should the Stanley Cup Playoffs start Saturday – the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Bruins (58-12-5, 121 points) clash with the Penguins (37-28-10, 84 points) on ABC, ESPN+, and Sportsnet One, before the second-seeded Stars (41-20-14, 96 points) visit the third-seeded Avalanche (44-24-6, 94 points) in a Central Division clash.
* Pastrnak can also become just the seventh active skater with 50-plus goals and 100-plus points in a single campaign – he would join Alex Ovechkin (4x, last: 2009-10), Leon Draisaitl (2x, last: 2021-22), Connor McDavid (2022-23), Auston Matthews (2021-22), Evgeni Malkin (2011-12) and Sidney Crosby (2009-10).
* The Avalanche will contest their second game against a divisional opponent in as many games after facing the Central Division-leading Wild on Wednesday. Colorado will have the opportunity to move within one point of Minnesota for first, with the Wild also in action Saturday. The Avalanche’s 25 wins since Jan. 1 – when they sat outside a playoff position – trail only the Bruins for the most among all teams, while the Wild have 23 through that span and Dallas has 18.
* Mikko Rantanen (48-40—88 in 74 GP) sits one multi-goal game – something he has done nine times this season – away from becoming the third player to reach the 50-goal mark this season and the first Avalanche player to do so in exactly 20 years.
Thanks 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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