* Nikita Kucherov became the fifth player in the past 30 years to record 130 or more points in a single season and bested his own franchise record in the process as the Lightning defeated the Maple Leafs.
* Jason Robertson helped the Western Conference-leading Stars establish a franchise record with their eighth straight win while Quinn Hughes set a franchise mark of his own as the Canucks kept pace in second place.
* The Rangers earned a comeback win and maintained the top spot in the NHL standings as they continued to push for their first Presidents’ Trophy since 2014-15.
* A nine-game Thursday will feature pivotal matchups in both the Eastern and Western Conference Wild Card races, including the 69th all-time regular-season head-to-head between Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, with the Penguins captain entering the night just three assists shy of 1,000.
KUCHEROV BESTS HIS OWN FRANCHISE RECORD IN LIGHTNING VICTORY
Nikita Kucherov (42-88—130 in 74 GP) assisted on three of his team’s four goals and established a Lightning record for most points in a single season – besting his own mark set in 2018-19 (41-87—128 in 82 GP) – as Tampa Bay (42-26-7, 91 points) defeated Toronto (43-23-9, 95 points) to move within four points of the club for third place in the Atlantic Division. In the process, Kucherov opened a three-point lead over idle Nathan MacKinnon (47-80—127 in 75 GP) for first place in the 2023-24 Art Ross Trophy race.
* Kucherov recorded his 20th three-point outing of 2023-24 and became the fifth player over the past 30 years with as many in a season. The others: Connor McDavid (22 in 2022-23), Mario Lemieux (29 in 1995-96), Jaromir Jagr (25 in 1995-96) and Sergei Fedorov (22 in 1993-94).
TOP TWO TEAMS IN WESTERN CONFERENCE PICK UP WINS
Jason Robertson (0-1—1) and Wyatt Johnston (1-1—2) each hit season milestones to help the Stars (48-19-9, 105 points) establish a franchise-record eight-game winning streak and maintain a three-point lead atop the Western Conference standings, while Quinn Hughes (1-1—2) climbed multiple franchise lists for the second-place Canucks (47-21-8, 102 points).
* Johnston scored his 30th tally of 2023-24 and joined Brian Bellows (35 in 1982-83 & 41 in 1983-84) as the second player in Stars/North Stars history to record a 30-goal season prior to their 21st birthday.
* Robertson notched his second consecutive 50-assist season and became just the sixth player in franchise history to accomplish the feat, joining Bobby Smith (4 from 1979-80 – 1982-83), Dennis Hextall (3 from 1972-73 – 1974-75), Mike Ribeiro (2 from 2007-08 – 2008-09), Neal Broten (2 from 1989-90 – 1990-91) and Craig Hartsburg (2 from 1981-82 – 1982-83).
* Hughes (42-285—327 in 359 GP) passed Mattias Ohlund (93-232—325 in 770 GP) for sole possession of the second-most points by a Canucks defenseman while his 16th goal of 2023-24 moved him up the franchise list for most in a campaign among blueliners. The Vancouver captain also hit the 70-assist plateau to establish a single-season record by a Canucks defenseman, besting his own mark set in 2022-23 (69), and became just the second player in franchise history to post a 70-assist campaign after Henrik Sedin (3x; most: 83 in 2009-10).
RANGERS MAINTAIN LEAD ATOP THE LEAGUE STANDINGS
Artemi Panarin (1-1—2) added to his team-leading goal total and Chris Kreider (1-0—1) scored the game winner as the Rangers (51-21-4, 106 points) earned a comeback win to maintain their lead atop the NHL standings ahead of the Stars (48-19-9, 105 points) and Bruins (44-17-15, 103 points). New York is chasing its first Presidents’ Trophy since 2014-15, a season in which it went on to make an Eastern Conference Final appearance.
* Panarin scored his 45th goal of 2023-24, which is the fifth most by a Rangers player over the past 30 years. His 45 tallies are also the most in a campaign by an undrafted player since Adam Oates in 1992-93 and tied for the fourth-highest goal total by an undrafted skater in the past 35 years.
* Kreider recorded his 43rd career game-winning goal, which broke a tie with Bill Cook for sole possession of the third most in franchise history. Only Rod Gilbert (52) and Jean Ratelle (46) have more.
MOORE SPOTLIGHTED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates highlighted a number of players with notable performances as the Rush to the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs continued Wednesday, including Trevor Moore who netted a hat trick to help the Kings (39-25-11, 89 points) – currently in the final Wild Card spot – move within three points of the idle Golden Knights (42-25-8, 92 points) for third place in the Pacific Division.
* Moore, a native of Thousand Oaks, Calif., who grew up an avid Kings fan, moved within one of his first career 30-goal campaign. Should he hit the mark against the Sharks on Thursday, the 2023-24 season would become the fourth in NHL history to feature multiple California-born players score 30 goals – Auston Matthews and Jason Robertson have combined for the other three instances (2022-23, 2021-22 & 2017-18).
QUICK CLICKS
* Capitals to face Penguins in ‘our biggest game of the year,’ Spencer Carbery says
* CHEL Intel: Updates from the EA SPORTS NHL 24 World Championship
* Artemi Panarin steals Darren Pang’s drinks again during game, scores goal
* NHL, Body by Jake team up to fight childhood obesity through Governor’s Fitness Council
* MultiVersus NHL Face-Off between Avalanche, Golden Knights premieres April 14 on truTV
CRUCIAL WILD CARD SHOWDOWNS HIGHLIGHT NINE-GAME SLATE
Pivotal head-to-head matchups in the Eastern and Western Conference playoff races highlight a nine-game Thursday when the Penguins (34-30-11, 79 points) clash with the Capitals (36-28-10, 82 points) – who occupy the second Wild Card spot – and the Blues (40-31-4, 84 points) continue to chase the Predators (43-28-4, 90 points) in a contest broadcast nationally on ESPN+ and Hulu.
* The Blues sat seven points back of the Predators for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference entering March, but have since gone 10-5-1 and moved within five points of the Kings (39-25-11, 89) for the position. Only three teams have posted more victories than St. Louis since March 1: Carolina (11-3-1), Dallas (11-2-0) and New York (11-4-1).
* Pittsburgh, 4-0-2 in its past six games, sat nine points behind Detroit for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and 12 points back of Philadelphia for third in the Metropolitan Division before its point streak began on March 24. The Penguins now find themselves three points shy of the Capitals for the final playoff spot and four behind the Flyers (36-29-11, 83 points) for third in their cohort with a game in hand. Crosby’s club will play four of their seven remaining games against clubs directly involved in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race (April 4 at WSH, April 6 vs. TBL, April 11 vs. DET & April 17 at NYI).
* Sidney Crosby (589-997—1,586 in 1,265 GP) and Alex Ovechkin (848-696—1,544 in 1,418 GP) are ready for their 69th all-time regular-season meeting, with the former closing in on both 1,000 career assists and Phil Esposito (717-873—1,590 in 1,282 GP) for 10th place on the NHL’s all-time points list.
* The duo are among the NHL’s best in the regular season throughout the month of April in their careers (Crosby: 48-78—126 in 89 GP & Ovechkin: 66-54—120 in 104 GP) and stand as two of only four players in League history with 120 career points in the month behind Jaromir Jagr (49-93—142 in 124 GP) and Teemu Selanne (67-59—126 in 116 GP).
