* Patrick Kane continued to make an impact for the Red Wings as the 35-year-old extended his point streak to nine games in a contest that saw Detroit score eight goals in a contest for the first time in six years.
* The Golden Knights snapped the Maple Leafs’ winning streak at seven games, became the fastest franchise to 300 wins and eclipsed the previous mark by 28 contests.
* Sidney Crosby climbed another NHL all-time list after he recorded his 1,000th career even-strength point in a Penguins comeback overtime victory.
* Connor McDavid will continue his come-from-behind pursuit of a fourth consecutive Art Ross Trophy when the Oilers host the Blues on a national broadcast in both the U.S. and Canada.
RED WINGS ERUPT FOR EIGHT GOALS IN BALANCED-SCORING EFFORT
Lucas Raymond (1-2—3) and Patrick Kane (0-2—2) were two of seven Red Wings players with multiple points as Detroit scored eight goals in a game for the first time since Nov. 15, 2017. A sixth straight victory, the longest active streak in the League (tied w/ NSH), helped the Red Wings (33-20-6, 72 points) create some separation from the Lightning (32-24-5, 69 points) for the first Wild Card spot and moved the club within two points of the Maple Leafs (33-17-8, 74 points) for third in the Atlantic Division.
* Raymond (17-34—51) joined Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat as Detroit’s third 50-point scorer in 2023-24 (59 GP) – the first campaign the franchise has featured at least three such players prior to the team’s 60th game of a season since 2008-09 (Pavel Datsyuk, Marian Hossa & Henrik Zetterberg).
* Tuesday also marked the ninth time the 21-year-old has potted a three-point game for the Red Wings in his career. He tied Alex Delvecchio and Dale McCourt for the fifth most by a player age 21 or younger in franchise history; Steve Yzerman (27), Marcel Dionne (16), Gordie Howe (14) and Sergei Fedorov (12) top the list.
* Kane, fresh off creating a viral moment in his return to United Center, extended the League’s second-longest active point streak to nine games (5-9—14 since Feb. 10). The 35-year-old, with the longest point streak by a player in their first season with the club since Hossa (9 GP in 2008-09), also became the oldest player with a stretch of at least nine straight contests since Nicklas Lidstrom in 2010-11 (11 GP).
2023 STANLEY CUP FINALISTS DEFEAT SABRES, MAPLE LEAFS
The Panthers (39-16-4, 82 points) and Golden Knights (33-19-7, 73 points) both earned wins to increase their chances of clinching a playoff berth after squaring off in the Stanley Cup Final last year:
* Brandon Montour (1-2—3) and Matthew Tkachuk (1-1—2) combined for 2-3—5 as Florida fended off Buffalo to move past Boston (34-12-14, 82 points) and New York (39-17-3, 81 points) for first place in the Eastern Conference standings. Tkachuk (16-24—40 in 22 GP) is one of four players in the NHL to tally 40 points since Jan. 1.
* The Golden Knights snapped the Maple Leafs’ winning streak at seven games and reached the 300-win milestone with the help of William Karlsson (1-1—2), whose 20th goal of the season was one of six the club scored against Toronto. Karlsson became the fourth player to record three 20-goal seasons with the franchise, joining Jonathan Marchessault (6x), Max Pacioretty (3x) and Reilly Smith (3x).
BEST IN THE WEST PICK UP WINS
The Jets (37-15-5, 79 points) and Avalanche (36-19-5, 77 points) – two of the top four teams in the Western Conference standings – skated to victories Tuesday:
* Kyle Connor became the first player in franchise history with three consecutive game-winning goals and Josh Morrissey (0-2—2) recorded his fourth straight multi-assist performance as the Jets moved into first place in the Central Division. Winnipeg faces second-place Dallas on Thursday (8 p.m. ET on BSSW, TSN3).
* Nathan MacKinnon (1-1—2) collected an assist on Mikko Rantanen’s first-period goal to extend his season-opening home point streak to 29 games (23-38—61) as the Avalanche earned their NHL-leading 23rd victory as hosts in 2023-24. Colorado, which already eclipsed its number of home wins from 2022-23, has collected 77 such victories since 2021-22 – the second most among all teams.
* Cale Makar (0-1—1) also found the score sheet in Colorado’s five-goal outing, assisting on one of his club’s three tallies in the middle frame, and boosted his career totals to 78-230—308 (293 GP). The 25-year-old, already the franchise leader in goals by a defenseman, surpassed Tyson Barrie (75-232—307 in 484 GP) for the most points by a blueliner in franchise history; he now sits three assists shy of establishing a franchise record for assists among the position.
PAIR OF METROPOLITAN DIVISION CLUBS CLOSE IN ON WILD CARD SPOTS
The Devils (30-25-4, 64 points) and Penguins (27-21-8, 62 points) both earned wins to move within five and seven points, respectively, of the Lightning (32-24-5, 69 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, following Tampa Bay’s regulation loss to Philadelphia:
* Nico Hischier (1-3—4) and Jack Hughes (1-2—3) shone for a Devils team that scored seven goals in a game for the second time this season (also 7 vs. BUF on Nov. 25, 2023). Hughes, with his first outing of three or more points since Dec. 29, joined Kirk Muller (11 in 1987-88), Aaron Broten (10 in 1987-88) and John MacLean (10 in 1988-89) as the fourth player in franchise history with at least 10 three-point games in a single season.
* Sidney Crosby (0-2—2) factored on two goals and Erik Karlsson scored the overtime winner as the Penguins earned a comeback victory against the League-leading Canucks. In the process, Crosby became the ninth player in NHL history to record 1,000 even-strength points while Karlsson became the fifth defenseman in NHL history to score 10 or more career overtime goals.
WESTERN CONFERENCE CLUBS KEEP UP WILD CARD RACE
Two of five teams in action Tuesday that either hold a Western Conference Wild Card spot or are within six or fewer points of one picked up crucial wins:
* Roman Josi (2-1—3) factored twice in the opening period for his 66th career multi-point frame and surpassed Victor Hedman (65) for the third most among active defensemen behind Erik Karlsson (84) and Brent Burns (74). He then added another goal and tied Viktor Arvidsson for the fourth-most multi-goal outings in franchise history as the Predators (33-25-2, 68 points) moved into a tie with the Kings (29-19-10, 68 points), who hold the first Wild Card spot, in terms of standing points.
* The Flames (29-25-5, 63 points), who own a game in hand on the Predators, kept pace in the Western Conference Wild Card race thanks to a third-period, go-ahead goal from Yegor Sharangovich (21-18—39 in 59 GP) and a 20-save performance from Jacob Markstrom. Sharangovich is one of four Flames in the past decade with 21 or more goals in their first season with the franchise (also Nazem Kadri: 24 in 2022-23, Elias Lindholm: 27 in 2018-19 & Sean Monahan: 22 in 2013-14).
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates – Feb. 27
* Goal of the Season? Tyson Foerster goes between legs for backhand goal
* Matt Rempe instant ‘presence,’ fan favorite for Rangers
* Jets have 'strong NHL market' in Winnipeg, Gary Bettman says
* Manon Rheaume thrilled to see more opportunities for girls across youth hockey
McDAVID CONTINUES ART ROSS PUSH ON TNT, SN, TVAS
Connor McDavid (21-70—91 in 54 GP), who on Monday reached both the 90-point and 70-assist benchmarks, will continue his come-from-behind push for a fourth consecutive Art Ross Trophy and sixth overall when the Oilers host the Blues on a national broadcast in both the U.S. and Canada. McDavid currently trails Nikita Kucherov (38-65—103 in 60 GP) and Nathan MacKinnon (35-63—98 in 60 GP) for the NHL’s points lead in 2023-24 and enters Wednesday’s contest with five and four games in hand on Kucherov and MacKinnon, respectively.
* McDavid is on pace for 134 points this season and can become the seventh different player to post consecutive campaigns of 130 points or more and first since Mario Lemieux from 1991-92 to 1992-93.
