NHL April 1 2019 – MAPLE LEAFS CLINCH BERTH
MONDAY’S RESULTS – Home Team in Caps
- FLORIDA 5, Washington 3
- NEW JERSEY 4, NY Rangers 2
- Toronto 2, NY ISLANDERS 1
- Tampa Bay 5, OTTAWA 2
- ST. LOUIS 3, Colorado 2 (SO)
- Winnipeg 4, CHICAGO 3 (OT)
- VEGAS 3, Edmonton 1
- Calgary 7, LOS ANGELES 2
MAPLE LEAFS CLINCH BERTH IN 2019 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
John Tavares scored the game-winning goal at 3:50 of the third period as the Maple Leafs (46-26-7, 99 points) defeated his former team to clinch a berth in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Toronto will make its third consecutive postseason appearance, a first since a run of six straight playoff berths from 1999 to 2004.
* The Maple Leafs aim to win a playoff series for the first time in 15 years. Their last series victory came in the 2004 Conference Quarterfinals against the Senators, with Joe Nieuwendyk scoring twice and Ed Belfour making 36 saves in a Game 7 win.
SETTING UP SECOND STRAIGHT FIRST ROUND MEETING WITH BRUINS
The Maple Leafs will now face the Bruins (47-23-9, 103 points) in the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in as many seasons. These two teams have met in consecutive postseasons on three previous occasions: 1935 Semifinals (TOR W) and 1936 Quarterfinals (TOR W), 1938 Semifinals (TOR W) and 1939 Stanley Cup Final (BOS W), as well as the 1948 Semifinals (TOR W) and 1949 Semifinals (TOR W).
* The Maple Leafs hold an 8-7 edge in the all-time series, but the Bruins have won each of the last five playoff matchups between the clubs dating to 1969 – including Game 7 triumphs in the last two postseason meetings between the clubs (BOS: 4-3 W in 2013 CQF and 4-3 W in 2018 FR).
* Boston staged dramatic Game 7 victories in each of the previous two playoff meetings between the clubs. In 2013, the Bruins became the first team in NHL history to overcome a three-goal, third-period deficit to win a Game 7; in 2018, they became the first team in NHL history to overcome three separate deficits to win a Game 7 in regulation (three clubs have done so en route to overtime wins).
* The Canucks and Flames (3x from 1989 to 2004) and Rangers and Capitals (3x from 2012 to 2015) are the only clubs to go to Game 7 in three consecutive head-to-head series.
LIGHTNING BECOME THIRD TEAM IN NHL HISTORY TO REACH 60-WIN MARK
The Lightning (60-15-4, 124 points) defeated the Senators to become the third team in NHL history to reach the 60-win mark in a season, joining the Red Wings in 1995-96 (62-13-7, 131 points) and Canadiens in 1976-77 (60-8-12, 132 points).
* If the Lightning go 3-0-0 through their remaining three games, it would mark the second time in the last three years that a major North American professional sports team set a single-season wins record in their respective league. The Golden State Warriors went 73-9 in 2015-16 to establish an NBA record for most wins in a season, eclipsing the previous high of 72 set by the Michael Jordan-led Chicago Bulls in 1995-96 (72-10).
* Nikita Kucherov (0-3—3) leads the League with a franchise-record 125 points in 2018-19 (39-86—125 in 79 GP), the most by a player in a season since Joe Thornton in 2005-06 (29-96—125 in 81 GP). Kucherov can become the second player in franchise history to win the Art Ross Trophy; he would join Martin St. Louis, who did so in 2003-04 (38-56—94 in 82 GP) and again in 2012-13 (17-43—60 in 48 GP).
BINNINGTON MATCHES FRANCHISE RECORD AS BLUES CLIMB CENTRAL DIVISION
Jordan Binnington made 24 saves through 65 minutes and turned aside three shootout attempts to earn his 22nd win of the season and help the Blues (43-28-8, 94 points) defeat the Avalanche. St. Louis moved passed Nashville (44-29-6, 94 points) for second place in the Central Division standings and remained two points back of Winnipeg (46-29-4, 96 points), which also secured a win on Monday.
* Binnington improved to 22-5-1 through 30 appearances in 2018-19 (1.85 GAA, .928 SV%, 5 SO) and matched the franchise record for most wins in a season by a rookie goaltender, a mark set by Jake Allen in 2014-15 (22-7-4; 2.28 GAA, .913 SV%, 4 SO). His goals-against average of 1.85 is the lowest in a season by a rookie goaltender (min. 20 GP) since Toronto’s Al Rollins in 1950-51 (1.77).
FLAMES REACH 50-WIN MARK FOR SECOND TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY
The Flames (50-23-7, 107 points) scored seven or more goals in a game for the eighth time this season to become the second team to reach the 50-win mark in 2018-19, joining the Lightning. Calgary, which clinched first place in the Western Conference standings on Sunday, reached the 50-win mark in a season for the second time in franchise history and first since 1988-89 when it had 54 en route to capturing the Stanley Cup (54-17-9, 117 points).
* The Flames scored seven or more goals in a game at least eight times in a season (including shootout-deciding goals) for the first time since 1992-93 (8x). Calgary’s 287 goals for in 2018-19 are its most in a campaign since 1993-94 (302), while their goal differential of +66 would be its highest single-season total since 1990-91 (+81).
* The Flames have scored 118 goals in the third period in 2018-19, the most in a season by a team since 1992-93 when the Nordiques (124), Canucks (119) and Flyers (118) each recorded as many.
TUESDAY’S GAMES
| Nashville@ Buffalo | 7:00 PM ET |
| Boston@ Columbus | 7:00 PM ET |
| Carolina@ Toronto | 7:30 PM ET |
| Tampa Bay@ Montréal | 7:30 PM ET |
| Pittsburgh@ Detroit | 7:30 PM ET |
| Winnipeg@ Minnesota | 8:00 PM ET |
| Philadelphia@ Dallas | 8:30 PM ET |
| Edmonton@ Colorado | 9:00 PM ET |
| San Jose@ Vancouver | 10:00 PM ET |
| Los Angeles@ Arizona | 10:00 PM ET |
ALL EYES ON EASTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD RACE
The Blue Jackets (45-30-4, 94 points), Hurricanes (43-29-7, 93 points) and Canadiens (42-29-8, 92 points) – who are separated by two points in the Eastern Conference standings – are all in action Tuesday as each team looks to gain ground in the tightly-contested Wild Card race.
* Columbus occupies the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference standings and looks to extend its win streak to six games when they host Boston (47-23-9, 103 points) at Nationwide Arena. Sergei Bobrovsky is 5-0-0 in his last five appearances with a 0.80 goals-against average, .971 save percentage and three shutouts in that span.
* Carolina, which occupies the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference standings, aims to get back in the win column when it visits Toronto (46-26-7, 99 points) at Scotiabank Arena. The Hurricanes will face Eastern Conference opponents in each of their remaining three games (also April 4 vs. NJD and April 6 at PHI).
* Montreal looks to reclaim a postseason position when it takes on Tampa Bay (60-15-4, 124 points) in a potential matchup for the First Round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Lightning are 8-0-2 in their last 10 games against the Canadiens dating to Dec. 28, 2016 (MTL: 2-5-3), including five consecutive wins.
PENGUINS LOOK TO STRENGTHEN GRIP ON THIRD IN METROPOLITAN
The Penguins (43-25-11, 97 points) look to strengthen their grip on third place in the Metropolitan Division standings when they visit the Red Wings (31-38-10, 72 points) at Little Caesars Arena.
* The Penguins, who are pursuing their 34th postseason berth in franchise history, have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of their last 12 seasons dating to 2007 – the longest active run in the NHL. The Red Wings, meanwhile, reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 25 consecutive seasons from 1991 to 2016, tied for the third-longest run of consecutive postseason appearances in NHL history.
STARS CLOSE IN ON FIRST PLAYOFF BERTH SINCE 2016
The Stars (41-31-7, 89 points) host the Flyers (37-34-8, 82 points) at American Airlines Center as they close in on their 32nd postseason appearance in franchise history and first since 2016. Dallas, which occupies the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings, have allowed the fewest goals against in the NHL this season (194).
* The Stars tandem of Ben Bishop (45 GP) and Anton Khudobin (39 GP) are competing with the Islanders duo of Thomas Greiss (42 GP) and Robin Lehner (45 GP) in the tightly-contested race for the 2018-19 William M. Jennings Trophy. Bishop and Khudobin can become the third and fourth goaltenders in Stars/North Stars franchise history to win the award; they would join Ed Belfour and Roman Turek, who combined for the feat in 1998-99 en route to capturing the Stanley Cup.
COYOTES AIM TO GAIN GROUND IN WESTERN CONFERENCE STANDINGS
The Coyotes (38-33-8, 84 points) aim to extend their point streak to four games and gain ground in the Western Conference standings when they host the Kings (29-41-9, 67 points) at Gila River Arena. Arizona, which is pursuing its first postseason berth since 2012, is two points back of Colorado (36-29-14, 86 points) – which suffered a shootout loss on Monday and occupies the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings.
* Darcy Kuemper went 7-5-3 through 15 appearances in March with a 1.73 goals-against average, .943 save percentage and three shutouts. His goals-against average and save percentage were the best in a calendar month by a Coyotes goaltender (min. 10 GP) since February 2012, when Mike Smith went 11-1-0 through 12 appearances (1.54 GAA, .947 SV%, 2 SO).
Blues’ Binnington Named NHL ‘Rookie of the Month’ for March
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, who went 6-3-0 with a 2.37 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in nine appearances, has been named the NHL’s “Rookie of the Month” for March.
Binnington edged Blues teammate Robert Thomas (4-8—12 in 15 GP), Tampa Bay Lightning center Anthony Cirelli (5-6—11 in 13 GP), Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (6-4—10 in 14 GP), Minnesota Wild center Ryan Donato (3-7—10 in 15 GP) and Anaheim Ducks right wing Troy Terry (2-8—10 in 15 GP) for the honor.
Binnington – who also was named the NHL’s Rookie of the Month for February – allowed three or fewer goals in eight of his nine appearances to spark the Blues (43-28-8, 94 points) to their seventh playoff berth in eight seasons, rising from the bottom of the League standings on Jan. 2 to second place in the Central Division through games of April 1.
Binnington, who made his first NHL start Jan. 7, has gone 22-5-1 (1.78 GAA, .931 SV%, 5 SO) since that date to help St. Louis return to the postseason following a one-year absence. His 22 wins in that span are tied for first in the League (w/ Andrei Vasilevskiy), while his 1.78 goals-against average paces all goaltenders with a minimum of 20 appearances.
The 25-year-old Richmond Hill, Ont., native earned his 20th victory in his 25th career start March 23 vs. TBL (39 SV). Only four other goaltenders in NHL history have accumulated as many wins through their first 25 career starts: Ross Brooks (21), Andrew Hammond (21), Frederik Andersen (20) and Bill Durnan (20).
A third-round selection (87th overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft, Binnington joins Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (October and December) as a multiple Rookie of the Month winner in 2018-19. He also is the first goaltender to earn Rookie of the Month honors in consecutive months since Steve Mason achieved the feat with the Columbus Blue Jackets in November and December 2008.
McDavid, Bobrovsky and Marchand Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ for March
Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the month of March.
FIRST STAR – CONNOR McDAVID, C, EDMONTON OILERS
McDavid led the NHL with 20 assists and 27 points in 14 games (7-20—27) to power the Oilers (34-36-9, 77 points) to a 7-5-2 month. McDavid found the scoresheet in 12 of his 14 March appearances, highlighted by 11 multi-point performances. That included an eight-game multi-point streak to open the month (March 2-17: 3-15—18), the longest such run by any NHL player since Nov. 3-19, 2007 (Vincent Lecavalier: 7-14—21 in 8 GP w/ TBL). McDavid collected two assists March 13 vs. NJD to reach the 100-point milestone for the third consecutive season, becoming the fifth player in League history to achieve the feat three times before his 23rd birthday (following Sidney Crosby, Wayne Gretzky, Dale Hawerchuk and Mario Lemieux, each with four). The Edmonton captain also scored seven times, including his seventh career overtime goal March 16 at ARI and 40th goal of 2018-19 March 28 vs. DAL. The 22-year-old Richmond Hill, Ont., native ranks second in the NHL with a career-high 74 assists and 115 points in 75 total contests this season (41-74—115), while sharing the League lead with nine game-winning goals.
SECOND STAR – SERGEI BOBROVSKY, G, COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
Bobrovsky topped the NHL in wins (t-9) and shutouts (4) in 13 appearances, compiling a 1.74 goals-against average and .940 save percentage to backstop the Blue Jackets (45-30-4, 94 points) to a 9-6-1 March and into the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Bobrovsky yielded two or fewer goals in nine of his 13 starts during the month, highlighted by shutouts March 15 vs. CAR (46 SV), March 24 at VAN (21 SV), March 26 vs. NYI (26 SV) and March 31 at BUF (38 SV). In doing so, Bobrovsky established a career high and moved into first place in the NHL with nine overall shutouts this season. The 30-year-old Novokuznetsk, Russia, native and two-time Vezina Trophy winner – who on Monday was named the NHL’s “First Star” for the week ending March 31 – has played in 60 total games in 2018-19, sharing second in the League with 36 wins to go along with a 2.55 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.
THIRD STAR – BRAD MARCHAND, LW, BOSTON BRUINS
Marchand placed third in the NHL with 9-14—23 in 15 games to propel the Bruins (47‑23‑9, 103 points) to a 9-6-0 March and their third consecutive playoff berth. He registered points in 12 of his 15 outings, including a quartet of three-point performances: March 7 vs. FLA (0-3—3), March 12 at CBJ (2-1—3), March 21 at NJD (0-3—3) and March 27 vs. NYR (0-3—3). Marchand shared the League lead in power play (3-6—9) and shorthanded (1-3—4) scoring during the month, capped by his 26th career shorthanded goal March 31 at DET – the most in Boston history. He also scored his 15th career overtime goal March 16 vs. CBJ, extending another franchise record. The 30-year-old Halifax, N.S., native – who has established career highs in assists and points – ranks fifth in the NHL with 35-63—98 in 78 total games this season.