* The 25th annual Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada featured a three-goal comeback win during the latest edition of the NHL’s oldest rivalry, a thrilling matinee in the nation’s capital as well as the Flames and Canucks collecting crucial wins in the Western Conference’s Wild Card race.
* The Maple Leafs and Senators accounted for two of the NHL’s seven comeback wins Saturday, which boosted this season’s total to 321 – tied for the second most at this stage of a campaign in League history behind 2018-19 (327 through 735 GP).
* Sunday’s slate features four Eastern Conference teams in the thick of a tightly-contested Wild Card race, with NHL Network carrying the first two games and Sportsnet broadcasting the finale.
Maple Leafs mount comeback against Montreal on Hockey Day in Canada
Auston Matthews (1-0—1) and Mitch Marner (0-2—2) helped the Atlantic Division-leading Maple Leafs (29-16-2, 60 points) score seven unanswered goals and rally from a 3-0 deficit to defeat the Canadiens during their Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada game. Toronto tallied seven straight goals in a game against Montreal for the fourth time in franchise history and first time in more than 82 years (also Nov. 21, 1942, March 7, 1936 & Jan. 21, 1919).
* Matthews (2-8—10 in 9 GP) and Marner (4-6—10 in 8 GP) became the first Maple Leafs players with 10 career points during Hockey Day in Canada games. Matthews scored his first career shorthanded goal, while Marner (14-50—64 in 47 GP) became the second-fastest player in franchise history to reach the 50-assist mark behind Doug Gilmour (44 GP in 1992-93).
FLAMES, SENATORS and CANUCKS ALSO WIN HOCKEY DAY IN CANADA GAMES
The Flames (22-16-7, 51 points), Senators (23-18-4, 50 points) and Canucks (20-15-10, 50 points) also earned wins during Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada, which was held in Canmore, Alta., where Lightning forward Brayden Point played for the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s Eagles:
* Blake Coleman (1-2—3) posted three points and Dustin Wolf made 38 saves to help the Flames defeat the Western Conference-leading Jets and keep hold of the second Wild Card spot. Wolf became the eighth rookie goaltender in franchise history to record that many saves in a win and the third in the past 30 years, following David Rittich (41 on Jan. 12, 2018) and Jean-Sebastien Giguere (39 on Nov. 8 ,1998).
* After the Bruins overcame a multi-goal deficit and took a two-goal lead of their own, the Senators surged back with Josh Norris (2-0—2) netting the tying tally in the final 12 seconds of the contest – the latest game-tying goal by the club since March 18, 2023 (59:49) – setting the stage for Ottawa to overtake Boston (22-19-6, 50 points) for the Eastern Conference’s final Wild Card spot. The Senators earned a win after overcoming a two-goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation for the third time in franchise history, following Feb. 13, 2023 and Nov. 5, 1993.
* Quinn Hughes had two power-play markers to record his fifth career multi-goal game as the Canucks held on against the Oilers and kept pace with the Flames. Leon Draisaitl (8-3—11 in 9 GP) also recorded a multi-goal game of his own by scoring his seventh and eighth career tallies during Hockey Day in Canada contests, which moved him into a tie with Jarome Iginla for the most in NHL history.
* Point (27-22—49 in 39 GP) potted his 27th goal of the season to move into a tie for second place in the NHL and Nikita Kucherov (341-600—941 in 767 GP) reached the 600-assist milestone as Tampa Bay (25-16-3, 53 points) defeated Detroit. Members of Point’s former team joined the 12.5-hour marathon broadcast before facing the Drumheller Dragons at Canmore Rec Centre, where the Sportsnet panel set up shop for the night.
MAKAR ECLIPSES 100-GOAL MILESTONE, Chychrun matches Murphy
Cale Makar (101-287—388 in 362 GP) tallied twice to eclipse the 100-goal milestone and help the Avalanche (28-18-1, 57 points) close the gap on the third-place Stars (28-16-1, 57 points) in the Central Division, while Jakob Chychrun tied Larry Murphy (13 in 1983-84) for the most markers by a defenseman in their first campaign with Washington. Makar (15-37—52 in 47 GP) matched Zach Werenski (15-36—51 in 46 GP) for the most goals among blueliners this season, while Chychrun (13-18—31 in 41 GP) ranks third with the League-leading Capitals (31-10-5, 67 points).
* Makar became the sixth-fastest defenseman in League history to reach the 100-goal milestone, behind George Boucher (223 GP), Bobby Orr (299 GP), Paul Coffey (300 GP), Ray Bourque (329 GP) and Denis Potvin (348 GP). Of note, Baldy Northcott hit the milestone in 302 career games but skated several contests as a forward.
COOLEY HITS 50 ASSISTS, KELLER TALLIES FOUR POINTS IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
A 15-game Saturday produced a number of notes in the latest #NHLStats: Live Updates, including ones from Clayton Keller (1-3—4) and Logan Cooley (1-2—3) who helped Utah Hockey Club (19-19-7, 45 points) move within six points of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference as well as Jaden Schwartz scoring a hat trick as the Kraken (20-24-3, 43 points) kept pace. With every hat trick this season, AstraZeneca will donate $3,000 to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation up to $300,000.
QUICK CLICKS
* Washington Capitals Quarter-Century Teams unveiled
* Linus Ullmark’s kids make homemade signs for Jeremy Swayman
* Henrik Lundqvist meets fan wearing jersey during ski trip
* Kings-Flames game rescheduled to April 17 at Crypto.com Arena
* Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award nominations open
SUNDAY’S SLATE HAS NHL NETWORK two-pack, RED WINGS-STARS ON SPORTSNET
Sunday’s three-game slate opens with an NHL Network doubleheader featuring Tim Stützle and the Senators (23-18-4, 50 points) squaring off with Jack Hughes and the Devils (26-16-6, 58 points) as well as Nick Suzuki and the Canadiens (22-19-4, 48 points) clashing with Artemi Panarin and the Rangers (22-20-3, 47 points). That contest is followed by Lucas Raymond and the Red Wings (21-20-4, 46 points) visiting Matt Duchene and the Stars (28-16-1, 57 points) on Sportsnet.
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