Nathan MacKinnon hit a pair of plateaus and reclaimed the outright lead in the Art Ross Trophy race but the Flames overcame the Avalanche thanks to a pair of goals in 32 seconds and their fifth comeback win in their past seven games.
* A trio of young stars helped the Devils, Flyers and Stars skate to wins Monday as Luke Hughes and Matvei Michkov put up multi-point performances while Wyatt Johnston posted his second straight 30-goal season.
* A 10-game slate features the Blues looking to extend their win streak to 10 games, several teams engaged in a tightly contested Wild Card race in action as well as the latest instalment of The Gr8 Chase.
FLAMES MOUNT LATE COMEBACK WHILE MacKINNON HITS 110 POINTS, 80 ASSISTS
After Nathan MacKinnon (0-1—1) notched his 110th point of the season as well as his 80th assist to help the Avalanche build a 2-0 lead, the Flames surged back with two goals in 32 seconds in the third period en route to securing a crucial shootout win. Calgary (35-26-12, 82 points) earned its fifth comeback victory in its past seven games and its third multi-goal, third-period comeback win of the season – tied for second most behind Boston (4) – to move within five points of St. Louis (40-28-7, 87 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the West.
* MacKinnon became the 12th player in NHL history to record three straight 110-point seasons and just the second active skater to do so, following Connor McDavid. Additionally, he became the fourth skater in the past 30 years to record consecutive 80-assist campaigns, following McDavid (2 from 2022-23 – 2023-24), Nikita Kucherov (2 from 2022-23 – 2023-24) and Joe Thornton (2 from 2005-06 – 2006-07).
* MacKinnon also extended his home point streak to 25 games and became the fourth player in NHL history to record multiple runs of that length in their career. The others: Wayne Gretzky (4x; longest: 40 GP in 1988-89), Mario Lemieux (31 GP in 1995-96 & 26 GP in 1989-90) and Guy Lafleur (32 GP in 1978-79 & 27 GP in 1979-80).
YOUNG STARS LEAD DALLAS, NEW JERSEY AND PHILADELPHIA TO WINS
Stars forward Wyatt Johnston (1-0—1), Devils defenseman Luke Hughes (1-1—2) and Flyers rookie Matvei Michkov (0-2—2) each found the score sheet to help guide their respective teams to victory Monday.
* Johnston scored his 30th tally of the season and extended his goal streak to five games – his second run of that length this season (also 5 GP from Feb. 28 – March 8) – to help the Stars (49-21-4, 102 points) move within four points of the idle Jets (51-19-4, 106 points) for first place in the League standings. In the process, Johnston became the second Stars/North Stars player to post consecutive 30-goal seasons at age 21 or younger, following Brian Bellows (1982-83 – 1983-84).
* Twenty-one-year-old Hughes helped the Devils build two separate leads and 23-year-old Matt Boldy netted his 100th career goal in the third period to help the Wild draw even, but New Jersey prevailed in the shootout to earn its 40th win of the season. Hughes collected his 22nd career multi-point game and passed Scott Niedermayer (21) for the second most by a defenseman in franchise history before their 22nd birthday. He now sits one back of Barry Beck (23).
* Michkov recorded his 18th career multi-point game and tied Peter Zezel (1984-85) for the sixth most by a Flyers rookie in a single season. Michkov, who ranks second in the rookie scoring race, boosted his 2024-25 totals to 24-34—58 (74 GP) and tied Eric Lindros (1992-93), Larry Goodenough (1975-76) and Bill Barber (1972-73) for the ninth-most assists in a single season by a Philadelphia rookie.
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates – March 31
* Nikita Kucherov, Roope Hintz and Connor Hellebuyck named NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week
* Matthew Tkachuk resumes skating for Panthers, still ‘a ways away’ from returning
* Devils invite young fans to rink to celebrate Autism Acceptance night
* Ryan Leonard signs entry-level contract with Capitals, expected to join team on Tuesday
BLUES LOOK TO HIT ANOTHER HIGH NOTE WITH 10TH STRAIGHT WIN
The Blues (40-28-7, 87 points) put the NHL’s longest active winning streak on the line (9-0-0 since March 15) when they welcome the Red Wings (34-33-6, 74 points) – in the midst of a Wild Card race of their own – to Enterprise Center. The latter is one of five playoff hopefuls in the Eastern Conference separated by three points, which also includes the Islanders (32-31-10, 74 points), who host the Lightning (43-25-5, 91 points) in a clash on ESPN+, Hulu, SN360 and Disney+.
* Robert Thomas’ 16 points (2-14—16 in 9 GP) since the Blues started their streak on March 15 are the second most among all players during that span and includes a stretch of four consecutive multi-assist games. He can become the first player in franchise history with two or more assists in five consecutive outings and the fourth with five straight multi-point performances since 2000-01 (Doug Weight: 7 GP in 2002-03, Vladimir Tarasenko: 5 GP in 2018-19 & Pavel Demitra: 5 GP in 2000-01)
WHERE WE STAND IN THE EASTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD RACE
The Canadiens (34-30-9, 77 points), Blue Jackets (33-30-9, 75 points), Red Wings (34-33-6, 74 points) and Islanders (32-31-10, 74 points) are four of five teams separated by three points for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and will each take to the ice as the Rush to the Stanley Cup Playoffs continues.
* The Canadiens occupy the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference and have found themselves there with the help of three wins against the reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers this season, which includes a tightly contested victory on March 30. Montreal, which benefited from Lane Hutson’s 14th multi-assist game of 2024-25, is one of two teams to defeat Florida three times this season (also WSH: 3-0-0) and have done so by an 11-3 margin.
* Zach Werenski (20-52—72 in 71 GP) has been crucial to the Blue Jackets’ postseason push in 2024-25 as the franchise looks to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2019-20. The defenseman’s success this season can be attributed to 19 multi-point outings; he can become the fourth player in franchise history to register at least 20 in one campaign, following Artemi Panarin (25 in 2018-19), Rick Nash (24 in 2008-09) and Johnny Gaudreau (20 in 2022-23).
* Lucas Raymond (26-47—73 in 73 GP) netted the game-winning goal for the Red Wings in their most recent outing and can become the first player, age 23 or younger, with 80 or more points in a season for the franchise since Sergei Fedorov (34-53—87 in 1992-93). In fact, he can also be the third Detroit skater to average a point-per-game pace in one campaign in the past decade (min. 50 GP), following Dylan Larkin (1.01 in 2023-24) and Pavel Datsyuk (1.03 in 2014-15).
THE FINAL FIVE: ALEX OVECHKIN APPROACHING HISTORIC GOAL 895
Alex Ovechkin has nine more chances in 2024-25 to complete The Gr8 Chase before embarking on his 16th appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with one of six buildings having the chance to witness history before the regular season wraps. Ovechkin is tracking to break the record on the road against either the Islanders on April 15 (based on his 2024-25 season 0.65 G/GP rate) or Penguins on April 17 (based on his career 0.60 G/GP rate).https://foco.vegb.net/c/3065197/1608989/10075
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* Ovechkin has 16 regular-season goals at TD Garden in Boston (33 GP), where the Capitals play tonight; 31 goals at Lenovo Center in Raleigh (45 GP; at CAR April 2); three goals at UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y. (5 GP; at NYI April 6 & April 15); 13 goals at Nationwide Arena in Columbus (23 GP; at CBJ April 12); 15 goals at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh (28 GP; at PIT April 17); and 435 in front of home fans at Capital One Arena in Washington (738 GP; where the club hosts three more games including Friday against Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks).
* Ovechkin has scored three times in nine games on April Fools’ Day, most recently in 2016 (also 2009 & 2008). No joke: There have been 25 hat tricks all-time on April 1, most recently in 2023 when there were five tallied, including one by Bruins forward David Pastrnak.
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