* The Penguins pushed their point streak to nine games to match the idle Red Wings (Wild Card 2) at 84 points. Pittsburgh will watch Tuesday as the other six teams in the Eastern Conference playoff race hit the ice, including a pivotal showdown between the Capitals and Red Wings on ESPN (7 p.m. ET).
* A Canucks comeback win against the Golden Knights featured noteworthy performances from their top scorers as J.T. Miller recorded his first 100-point season and Brock Boeser notched his first 40-goal campaign.
* Auston Matthews continued his quest to the 70-goal milestone by scoring his 65th of 2023-24, tying Alex Ovechkin for the most in a season among active players.
* The Predators and Kings can clinch playoff spots, while the Rangers, Stars and Bruins can secure division titles.
10 DAYS TO DETERMINE...
A snapshot of what will be determined over the 74 remaining games and final 10 days of the regular season:
* Five playoff spots (three in the West, two in the East)
* All eight First Round matchups
* The Presidents’ Trophy winner
* The No. 1 seed in both conferences
* The No. 1 seed in all four divisions
* Home ice in the First Round for five clubs
* An Art Ross Trophy winner in a race that features a trio of 130-point scorers
* A Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner with a 65-goal scorer as the frontrunner
MILLER, BOESER AND HUGHES HELP CANUCKS WITHSTAND BACK-AND-FORTH AFFAIR The trio of J.T. Miller (0-3—3), Brock Boeser (1-1—2) and Quinn Hughes (1-1—2) contributed in critical moments offensively for the Canucks (48-22-8, 104 points), who erased 2-0 and 3-2 deficits to edge the Golden Knights (42-27-8, 92 points) and prevent the club from moving past the idle Kings (41-25-11, 93 points) for third in the Pacific Division.
* Miller, who reached the 100-point mark for the first time in his career, joined Auston Matthews (65-37—102) as the second U.S.-born player with 100 points in 2023-24 – the third consecutive season in which multiple U.S.-born players hit triple digits. The most in a single season is four (1992-93).
* The Canucks forward became the sixth player in the past 40 years, and second this season, to record his first 100-point campaign at age 31 or older. He joined Artemi Panarin (2023-24), Erik Karlsson (2022-23), Steven Stamkos (2021-22), Martin St. Louis (2006-07) and Daniel Alfredsson (2005-06).
* Boeser became the 10th different player in Canucks history to score 40 goals in a season and the first since Daniel Sedin and Ryan Kesler achieved the feat in 2010-11 (both w/ 41). Boeser also became the second U.S.-born player to reach the mark in 2023-24 after Matthews (65).
* Hughes’ 71st helper of 2023-24 helped initiate the Canucks comeback and lifted the 24-year-old among several all-time single-season assists lists. He tied Henrik Sedin (71 in 2006-07) for the third-highest total in a single campaign in Canucks history and established the fourth highest in a season by a U.S.-born defenseman in NHL history, behind Brian Leetch (80 in 1991-92 & 72 in 1990-91) and Phil Housley (79 in 1992-93).
MATTHEWS, MAPLE LEAFS PREVENT PENGUINS FROM CLIMBING INTO WILD CARD SPOT After five straight days of Wild Card 2 having a different owner, the Red Wings managed to stand pat overnight thanks to a 1-1—2 effort by Toronto’s Auston Matthews that included his 65th goal of the season (tied with Alex Ovechkin for the most goals in a single season by an active player). Penguins captain Sidney Crosby collected his 998th career assist on a third-period tying goal to help his club salvage a point and extend its point streak to nine games (6-0-3).
* Matthews’ 36th home goal of the season helped the Maple Leafs forward extend a goal streak to five games for the 10th time in his career and join Ovechkin (14x) and Steven Stamkos (12x) as the third active player with a double-digit count. Already with the most home goals in a single season in franchise history, he became the fourth player in the past 30 years with at least 36 home goals in a campaign (also Stamkos: 36 in 2011-12; Mario Lemieux: 44 in 1995-96; & Brett Hull: 37 in 1993-94).
* Ilya Samsonov (50-16-12 in 80 GP) earned his fifth straight victory and required the second-fewest games by a goaltender to collect 50 career wins with the franchise, behind Jack Campbell (75 GP). He also became the first Toronto netminder since Frederik Andersen (3x in 2018-19; longest: 6 GP) with multiple five-game runs in a single season (also 6 GP from Feb. 7-24).
NOT ONE PATH: MARCO ROSSI
Marco Rossi is the most-recent player to be featured in the Not One Path series, where we highlight unconventional routes to the NHL – for Rossi, that meant driving between countries to play hockey. Rossi and the Wild will face the Avalanche tonight on ESPN (9:30 p.m. ET).
A handful of clubs involved in the Eastern Conference playoff race are in action, including a national telecast on ESPN between the Red Wings (38-31-8, 84 points) and Capitals (36-30-11, 83 points) at Little Caesars Arena. Washington trails Detroit by one point for the second Wild Card spot and the NY Islanders (35-27-15, 85 points) by two points for third in the Metropolitan Division.
* Veterans AlexOvechkin and PatrickKane both enter the contest one goal shy of a milestone: Ovechkin just one shy of setting an NHL record with an 18th career 30-goal season and Kane one back of matching Mike Modano (16) for the most 20-goal seasons by a U.S.-born player in NHL history.
* The Islanders host the Rangers (53-21-4, 110 points) for the first of two remaining regular-season meetings between the rivals, who could meet in the First Round and have their first playoff meeting in 30 years. Noah Dobson (10-58—68 in 77 GP) has shone offensively for the Islanders this season and enters the contest two points shy of becoming the third defenseman in franchise history with 70 in a single season (Denis Potvin, 7x; most: 101 in 1978-79; & Jean Potvin: 72 in 1975-76).
* The Flyers (36-31-11, 83 points), taking to the road in Montreal, are in the mix for both third place in the Metropolitan Division and a Wild Card position. Owen Tippett (28-23—51 in 74 GP) is in the midst of a career season and sits two goals shy of joining Travis Konecny (31 in 72 GP) as the second 30-goal scorer for Philadelphia in 2023-24 – a feat the franchise has seen once in the past 12 seasons (Claude Giroux: 34 & Sean Couturier: 31 in 2017-18).
KINGS, PREDATORS CAN CLINCH PLAYOFF SPOTS; CLUBS CAN SECURE DIVISION TITLES
While the Kings (41-25-11, 93 points) and Predators (45-29-4, 94 points) can lock up the sixth and seventh playoff spots in the Western Conference, a trio of teams can secure division titles when the Rangers (53-21-4, 110 points), Bruins (46-17-15, 107 points) and Stars (49-20-9, 107 points) take to the ice.
* The Kings need to win in any fashion during the latest edition of the “Freeway Face-Off" to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the 33rd time in franchise history and third consecutive season.
* The Predators can clinch a postseason berth with at least one point Tuesday as Roman Josi leads his club against the Jets in a crucial Central Division clash. Winnipeg (47-24-6, 100 points) owns a six-point cushion on Nashville for third in their division, with Nashville needing a regulation win to keep its hopes alive for moving up higher than a Wild Card spot.
* The Rangers (53-21-4, 110 points) would establish a franchise record for wins in a season if they defeat the Islanders. A Rangers victory and a Hurricanes regulation loss would give New York its first division title since 2014-15 – the campaign before its 2023-24 leading scorer, Artemi Panarin, made his League debut.
* Two of the League’s top four teams will go head-to-head when the Hurricanes (4th; 49-22-7, 105 points) visit the Bruins (3rd). Carolina is on the verge of becoming the only team with an active streak of three consecutive 50-win campaigns, while Boston will clinch the Atlantic Division title if they defeat the Hurricanes in any fashion AND both of the following occur: (1) the Maple Leafs lose to the Devils in any fashion; (2) the Panthers lose to the Senators in regulation.
* The Stars (49-20-9, 107 points) will have a shot at recording the franchise’s fifth 50-win season and first since 2015-16 (50) when they host the Sabres. The 2015-16 campaign was also the last time Dallas was the top seed in the Central Division – an achievement it can repeat tonight with a victory of any kind alongside regulation losses by both Colorado and Winnipeg. Overall, the franchise has claimed its division 10 times.
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.
From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.
Create an Account
In order to leave a comment, please create an account.