Facts and Figures: Three more players reach 70 points

Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche (71 points; 21 goals, 50 assists in 47 games), Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames (71 points; 28 goals, 43 assists in 48 games) and Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers (70 points; 29 goals, 41 assists in 46 games) each found the scoresheet Wednesday to join NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lightning (75 points; 22 goals, 53 assists in 47 games) as the only players with 70 points so far this season.

This is the ninth season in NHL history with least four players reaching the 70-point mark through games played Jan. 16. It's the first since 1992-93, when four Hockey Hall of Famers (Mario Lemieux, Pat LaFontaine, Adam Oates and Mark Recchi) did so.
Rantanen, who had two assists in Colorado's 5-2 loss at the Ottawa Senators, became the second Avalanche player to have 70 points within the first 50 games of a season since the franchise relocated from Quebec in 1995, joining Joe Sakic in 2000-01 (70 points in 49 games). Rantanen is the third different player in Avalanche/Nordiques history to have at least 50 assists in 50 or fewer team games.
With a goal and an assist in Calgary's 4-3 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres, Gaudreau became the third-fastest player in Calgary/Atlanta Flames history to reach 70 points in a season, trailing Kent Nilsson (46 games played in 1980-81) and Bob MacMillan (47 games in 1978-79). With his 22nd multipoint game, Gaudreau also extended his point streak to nine games, one shy of matching his NHL career high set Oct. 27 to Nov. 20, 2017.

McDavid scored in the first period of the Oilers' 3-2 shootout win at the Vancouver Canucks to extend his goal streak to four games and leave him one shy of his third consecutive season with at least 30 goals. Eight players have scored at least 30 goals in a season at least three times for the Oilers, including five who've done it in at least three consecutive seasons: Jari Kurri (10), Wayne Gretzky (nine), Glenn Anderson (eight), Mark Messier (five and three) and Paul Coffey (three).

Another hat trick helps Flyers rally for win

Sean Couturier's first regular-season NHL hat trick helped the Philadelphia Flyers rally to defeat the Boston Bruins 4-3 at Wells Fargo Center for their third win in four games. It came two days after James van Riemsdyk scored three goals against the Minnesota Wild and marked the eighth time the Flyers have had hat tricks in consecutive games. The last such instance occurred when Recchi scored three goals Oct. 12, 2002, and John LeClair had a hat trick three days later.
Couturier's three-goal game was the sixth straight day the NHL has had at least one hat trick, a feat last achieved from March 3-8, 1999. The last hat trick streak longer than six days came from Oct. 11-19, 1988, when there was at least one each day for nine straight days. That's the longest such streak in NHL history.

Eichel, Sabres end Flames winning streak at five

Jack Eichel scored 1:10 into overtime to help the Sabres (24-17-6) end the Flames' five-game winning streak. Eichel's five regular-season overtime goals are one behind Derek Roy and Thomas Vanek for the most in Sabres history.
Rookie Rasmus Dahlin scored in the third period to extend his point streak to five games, matching the longest such run by an 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history. He joins Bobby Orr, who did it twice with the Boston Bruins in 1966-67, Aaron Ekblad of the Florida Panthers from Dec. 1-8, 2014, and Phil Housley, now Dahlin's coach, who did it with the Sabres from Feb. 12-20, 1983.

Ekman-Larsson, penalty-killers help Coyotes top Sharks

Oliver Ekman-Larsson was one of six Arizona Coyotes to score goals in a 6-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks at Gila River Arena. The loss ended San Jose's winning streak at seven games.
The goal was the 108th of Ekman-Larsson's NHL career, matching Teppo Numminen for the most goals by a defenseman in Coyotes/Winnipeg Jets history. Ekman-Larsson also had the 29th game-winning goal in the NHL, extending his Coyotes/Jets record among defensemen. He tied forwards Thomas Steen and Dale Hawerchuk for sixth-most in Coyotes/Jets history, regardless of position.
Richard Panik became the fifth different Coyotes player to score a shorthanded goal this season. Arizona's 12 shorthanded goals are second behind Calgary (14) and two more than the Coyotes scored in the previous two seasons combined (two in 2017-18, eight in 2016-17).
The Coyotes also have the best penalty-killing percentage at 88.2 percent (16 goals allowed on 136 opposition power plays). Since 1977-78, the first season that penalty-killing percentage is available, six teams have finished with a better PK percentage.

Duchene celebrates birthday, son's birth with big night for Senators

Matt Duchene returned after missing Ottawa's three-game California road trip for the birth of his first child and celebrated his 28th birthday with three points (two goals, one assist) in a win against the Avalanche, his former team.
Duchene scored a goal in his fourth consecutive game, dating to Jan. 2, the third four-game goal-scoring streak of his NHL career. The others came during his time with Colorado, all in consecutive team games: Nov. 24-30, 2010, and Feb. 11-18, 2013. Overall, Duchene has at least one point in each of his past five games (eight points; five goals, three assists) since New Year's Eve.