MATTHEWS REACHES 100 POINTS WITH 64TH GOAL
Auston Matthews (64-36—100 in 75 GP) extended his goal streak to four games and overall point streak to 10 contests as he continued his chase to reach 70 goals in 2023-24. His 64th tally of the season helped the two-time Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner become the third player in franchise history with multiple 100-point campaigns (also 106 in 2021-22).

* Matthews, who recorded his fourth career 10-game point streak and first since an 11-game stretch in 2021-22, moved into a tie with teammates Mitch Marner and William Nylander for the second-most double-digit point streaks in franchise history. Darryl Sittler (6x) is the only player with more than four.

* The Maple Leafs forward is one of only three players in NHL history with at least 60 goals at the time of their 100th point of a season. The others: Brett Hull (66 in 1990-91, 64 in 1991-92 & 62 in 1989-90) and Alexander Mogilny (63 in 1992-93).

PENGUINS, ISLANDERS CONTINUE PUSH TO PLAYOFFS
The Islanders (35-27-15, 85 points) and Penguins (36-30-11, 83 points) continued their Rush to the Stanley Cup Playoffs as both Eastern Conference clubs earned wins. For New York it meant strengthening its grip on third in the Metropolitan Division, while for Pittsburgh it meant moving past Philadelphia (36-31-11, 83 points) for the second Wild Card spot.

* Noah Dobson scored the game winner and reached the 10-goal mark in a season for the third time in his career, which tied Nick Leddy for the third most by a defenseman in franchise history – he trails Denis Potvin (14) and Tomas Jonsson (4). Dobson also finished the night as the third defenseman in Islanders history with a game winner in consecutive games, joining Potvin (2 GP from Jan. 28-29, 1975 & Jan. 3-7, 1978) and Roman Hamrlik (2 GP from Feb 22-24, 2001).

* Evgeni Malkin (2-1—3) and Sidney Crosby (1-0—1) helped their club withstand the Lightning’s three-goal, third-period rally as the Penguins moved into a playoff spot for the first time since Nov. 14 after facing a standings deficit of at least nine points for nearly one-third of the month of March (10 of 31 days) and as recently as last week. Should Pittsburgh eventually clinch a postseason berth, its nine-point deficit would mark the largest a team has ever overcome within the final 11 contests.

DRAISAITL HELPS OILERS CLOSE IN ON CANUCKS IN PACIFIC

Leon Draisaitl helped Edmonton (47-24-5, 99 points) skate to victory in the final chapter of the “Battle of Alberta” in 2023-24 and did so by reaching the 40-goal mark for the third straight season and fifth time in his career. The Oilers moved within three points of the Canucks (47-22-8, 102 points) for first place in the Pacific Division, who suffered a regulation loss Saturday.

* Draisaitl reached the 40-goal mark with his 20th power-play tally of the season and joined Sam Reinhart (27) as the second player with at least 20 goals on the man advantage in 2023-24. Overall, the Oilers forward became the fourth active player with at least five career 40-goal seasons (also Alex Ovechkin: 13, Auston Matthews: 6 & Steven Stamkos: 6).

The Bruins (46-17-15, 107 points), Jets (47-24-6, 100 points) and Kings (41-25-11, 93 points) all earned wins Saturday to improve their standings points with the first two clubs moving towards securing their First Round matchups, while the latter continued to push towards a postseason spot.

* With the Panthers (48-24-6, 102 points) hot on their tail for top spot in the Atlantic Division, the Bruins earned a crucial win against Florida courtesy of an overtime goal by Jesper Boqvist. If the postseason started today, the Bruins would face the Lightning, the first Wild Card seed, in the First Round yet that could change as they are now within one point of the idle Rangers (52-21-4, 108 points) for first place in the League standings. Boston recorded its 11th win since March 1, which trails Dallas, Carolina, NY Rangers and Edmonton (all w/ 12) for the most among all teams.

* Vladislav Namestnikov (1-2—3) helped the Jets (47-24-6, 100 points) defeat the Wild and move within two points of the idle Avalanche (48-23-6, 102 points) for second place in the Central Division – the club they’d face in the First Round if the playoffs started today. Winnipeg reached the 100-point mark for the second time in franchise history – the first was in 2017-18, when it recorded 114 points en route to a Western Conference Final appearance which was also their deepest run to date.

* Adrian Kempe tallied 1-2—3 to help Los Angeles leapfrog Vegas (42-26-8, 92 points) and Nashville (44-29-4, 92 points) into third place in the Pacific Division. The Kings earned their sixth straight victory at Crypto.com Arena dating back to March 11, marking their longest home winning streak since April 4-27, 2013 (7-0-0).

BLUE JACKETS BLUE LINE BOOSTS CLUB TO WIN

Zach Werenski (2-1—3), Damon Severson (2-0—2), Erik Gudbranson (1-0—1) and Nick Blankenburg (1-0—1) accounted for all six Blue Jackets goals to help Columbus play spoiler to Philadelphia. Saturday marked the first time in franchise history four different defensemen scored a goal in the game and is the first instance by any team in more than a year (last: CAR on Jan. 12, 2023 w/ 4).

* Werenski (9-43—52 in 65 GP) moved past James Wisniewski (51 in 2013-14) for the second-most points in a season by a defenseman in franchise history – a list topped by Seth Jones with 57 points in 2017-18.

Youth was on display throughout the latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates, including a hat trick performance from 21-year-old William Eklund (3-0—3) and another game-opening goal from 18-year-old Connor Bedard.

* St. Louis tied the game with 2:29 remaining in regulation, but Eklund sealed a Sharks victory and joined Tomas Hertl (Jan. 8, 2022 & Jan. 22, 2019) as the second player in Sharks history to complete a regular-season hat trick with an overtime goal.

* Bedard became the first rookie in franchise history to score seven game-opening goals in a single season and Seth Jonespotted the winner to help the Blackhawks celebrate Tommy Hawk’s Birthday Party with a win in the first-ever local animated real-time sports telecast.

QUICK CLICKS

* Referee Steve Kozari stretchered off during Penguins-Lightning game
* Evgeni Malkin parents tear up after Penguins forward scores two goals against Lightning
* ‘Puck Cancer’ charity game features Blues, NHL alumni, country music stars
* William Eklund wears Sharks straw hat giveaway after 1st NHL hat trick
* Barry Trotz receives warm welcome back from Islanders fans

BUSY NINE-GAME SLATE SET FOR SUNDAY
The second-last Sunday of the season features pivotal playoff races in both the Eastern and Western Conferences as the Red Wings (37-31-8, 82 points) take to the ice on MAX and NHL on TNT, the Capitals (36-30-10, 82 points) host the Senators and a showdown between the top two teams in the Central Division close out the night on ESPN and Sportsnet when the Stars (48-20-9, 105 points) travel to Colorado to face the Avalanche (48-23-6, 102 points).

* The Capitals currently own the tiebreaker over the Red Wings in the Eastern Conference standings because of regulation wins (WSH: 28, DET: 26) and can climb back into the second Wild Card spot should both teams secure victories Sunday.

* Alex Ovechkin, who owns the most career regular-season game-winning goals in the month of April in NHL history (11), has found the back of the net in each of his past two games and sits one tally of another 30-goal campaign (29-33—62 in 73 GP). An 18th career 30-goal season for the Capitals captain will break a tie with Mike Gartner (17) for the most in League history.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.