NHL Morning Skate for January 26

* Mitchell Marner scored the game winner just 19 seconds into the extra frame while Sebastian Aho hit the 200-goal mark as the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes both rallied to overtime victories.

* Jared McCann became the first player to tally 50 career goals with Seattle as the Kraken eclipsed their 2021-22 point total in just 47 games.
* The Bruins and Lightning will each put lengthy win streaks on the line when the Atlantic Division foes face off during Thursday's nine-game slate.

MARNER, AHO SHINE IN MAPLE LEAFS, HURRICANES OVERTIME VICTORIES

Mitchell Marner and Sebastian Aho each shone in their respective team's overtime victories Wednesday as Toronto (30-11-8, 68 points) strengthened its grip on second place in the Atlantic Division and Carolina (30-9-8, 68 points) leapfrogged past idle New Jersey (31-12-4, 66 points) for top spot in the Metropolitan Division:
* Timothy Liljegren (1-1-2) tied the game for Toronto (30-11-8, 68 points) with 4:11 remaining in regulation and set the stage for 2023 NHL All-Star Marner (1-0-1) in overtime, who skated past three Rangers players to pot the winner just 19 seconds into the extra frame while soaring through the air in Bobby Orr-like fashion.
* Aho achieved a couple of milestones Wednesday, becoming the sixth player in Hurricanes/Whalers history to score at least 200 goals with the club while also tying Eric Staal for the most shorthanded tallies in franchise history with his 16th career goal on the penalty kill. That set the stage for Martin Necas, who netted the fifth overtime winner of his career - one back of Aho for the most by a Hurricanes skater since Necas' NHL debut in 2017-18.

McCANN HITS 50-GOAL MARK WITH KRAKEN AS SEATTLE SCORES SIX

Jared McCann (1-2-3) matched his single-game high and became the first player to score 50 career goals with the Kraken as Seattle (28-14-5, 61 points) surpassed both Los Angeles (27-17-6, 60 points) and Vegas (29-17-3, 61 points) to take over first place in the Pacific Division.
* Seattle scored at least six goals in a game for the fifth time this season, trailing only Buffalo (11 GP), Edmonton (10 GP), NY Rangers (8 GP), Pittsburgh (7 GP) and Boston (6 GP) for the most such performances. The Kraken's goal-per-game mark of 3.66 ranks fourth in the NHL - more than one goal per game higher than the club's scoring rate during its inaugural season (2.60; 28th).

ROOKIES, VETERANS SPOTLIGHTED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

The Wednesday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured a number of noteworthy performances, including rookies Kirill Marchenko (1-0-1) and Kent Johnson (1-0-1) each finding the score sheet in the Blue Jackets' win as well as veteran Claude Giroux (1-1-2) putting up a multi-point performance at Canadian Tire Centre.
* Marchenko scored in the third period to erase a 2-1 deficit, making way for Johnson to net the winner in overtime as Columbus snapped Edmonton's six-game win streak. Marchenko's 11 goals in 2022-23 (11-0-11) are tied with Matt Calvert (11-4-15 in 2010-11) for the most by a Blue Jackets rookie through 25 games played in a season.
* Giroux factored on both of his team's goals, including scoring the winner, to record his 13th multi-point game of 2022-23 as Ottawa defeated New York. He trails only Tim Stützle (14 GP) for the most among all Senators players this season.

QUICK CLICKS

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Matt Nieto, Ryan Merkley traded to Avalanche by Sharks
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Senators assistant coach Bob Jones diagnosed with ALS
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Corey Seager performs ceremonial puck drop before Stars game
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Mailbag: Timo Meier of Sharks trade option for Devils
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NHL prospects prepare to take stage at Beanpot

TEAM STREAKS ON THE LINE IN ATLANTIC DIVISION SHOWDOWN

Among Thursday's nine-game slate is a clash between a pair of streaking Atlantic Division foes when the League-leading Bruins (38-5-4, 80 points), who have won seven consecutive road contests, visit the Lightning (30-15-1, 61 points), who have earned victories in 10 straight home games at AMALIE Arena.
* Boston has a 16-4-1 (33 points) record as the visitor this season and its road points percentage of .786 ranks second only to New Jersey (.864). The Bruins (7-0-0 dating to Dec. 28, 2022) can register a road win streak of eight or more games for just the fourth time in franchise history (9 GP in 2013-14, 8 GP in 1992-93 & 8 GP in 1971-72).
* Should the Bruins extend their road win streak to eight games, they would mark the sixth time in NHL history a team had a road win streak of eight or more contests and a home win streak of eight or more outings in the same season - a list they are already all over. The other teams to do so: Columbus in 2016-17, Boston in 2013-14, Detroit in 2001-02, Montreal in 1977-78 and Boston in 1971-72.
* The Lightning have won 10 consecutive home games dating to Dec. 8, 2022, with the Bruins' season opening 14-game run the only longer such streak this season. With a victory tonight, they would match the franchise record for longest home win streak (11 GP in 2019-20).
* DYK? Pierre-Edouard Bellemare is the most recent player to be featured in the Not One Path series, highlighting unconventional roads to the NHL. Despite facing challenging financial circumstances and growing up in a non-traditional hockey market, Bellemare (Le Blanc-Mesnil, France) made his NHL debut in 2014-15 - he is one of only 12 French-born players in League history.

ALL-STARS HAYES, KAPRIZOV GO HEAD-TO-HEAD ON ESPN+

In a contest that will be featured exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu, 2023 NHL All-Star representatives Kevin Hayes (15-29-44 in 48 GP) and Kirill Kaprizov (27-30-57 in 46 GP) will be on opposite ends of the ice when the Flyers visit the Wild.
* Hayes, who has been selected to appear in an All-Star Game for the first time, leads all Flyers skaters in assists (29) and ranks second on the club in goals (15) and points (44). Kaprizov, meanwhile, will make his second consecutive All-Star Game appearance and has already set new franchise records for longest goal streak (7 GP), longest assist streak (9 GP) and longest point streak (14 GP) so far in 2022-23.