NHL Recap February 25, 2024 – PATRICK KANE SCORES OVERTIME WINNER IN RETURN TO CHICAGO

It was a storybook ending at United Center as longtime franchise-cornerstone Patrick Kane (1-1—2) put on a show as he scored the overtime winner in his emotional return to Chicago, just hours after the Blackhawks retired Hockey Fall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios’ No. 7. Kane powered the Detroit Red Wings (32-20-6, 70 points) to their fifth straight win and helped the club earn their eighth overtime victory this season – the most among all teams.

• Kane became the sixth player in NHL history to score an overtime winner in his first game against his former team, joining Marty Reasoner (w/ ATL) on March 12, 2009 (at EDM), Neal Broten (w/ DAL) on Feb. 9, 1997 (vs. LAK), Dave Gagner (w/ CGY) on Jan. 7, 1997 (vs. TOR), Russell Oatman (w/ MMR) on Jan. 25, 1927 (vs. DCG) and Billy Boucher (w/ NYA) on Nov. 26, 1927 (at BOS).
• Kane recorded his 37th career overtime point (11-26—37), tying Johnny Gaudreau and Patrik Elias for the fourth most in NHL history. Alex DeBrincat factored on his overtime goal, returning the favor after Kane assisted on DeBrincat’s game-tying tally with less than five minutes left in regulation – the last time the pair factored on two goals at United Center was April 14, 2022.

Kane redeemed himself with his overtime performance Sunday after nearly scoring a buzzer beater in extra time of his final game as a Blackhawk at United Center on Feb. 21, 2023 with a shot that crossed the goal line after time had expired.

KUCHEROV SHINES AND BECOMES NHL’S FIRST 100-POINT PERFORMER IN 2023-24

Nikita Kucherov (1-3—4) factored on all four Lightning goals to open up a six-point cushion on Nathan MacKinnon in the Art Ross Trophy race and became the first player to reach the 100-point mark this season (38-64—102 in 59 GP). The Tampa Bay forward joined Sidney Crosby (6), Connor McDavid (6), Alex Ovechkin (4) and Leon Draisaitl (4) as the fifth active player with at least four career 100-point campaigns.

• Kucherov is the NHL’s first player to 100 points (outright or tied) for the second time in his career following 2018-19. Only eight other players in NHL history have achieved the feat multiple times: Wayne Gretzky (9), Mario Lemieux (6), Phil Esposito (6), McDavid (5), Jaromir Jagr (4), Guy Lafleur (3), Crosby (2) and Evgeni Malkin (2).
• The Lightning forward, who bested his own franchise record for games to 100 points in a season, became the eighth different player since 1992-93 to reach the 100-point mark in a single season in 59 or fewer contests; McDavid (53 GP in 2020-21 & 56 GP in 2022-23) is the only other active player to achieve the feat.
• Kucherov – in search of becoming the 16th player in NHL history to win multiple Art Ross Trophies – posted his fifth four-point game of the season with each performance coming as the visitor. The 2023-24 campaign is the second in his career in which Kucherov has recorded five road outings with four-plus points (also 5 in 2018-19). Only four other players in NHL history have also achieved the feat multiple times: Gretzky (7x), Lemieux (4x), Steve Yzerman (2) and Peter Stastny (2x).

CROSBY KINDLES PENGUINS OFFENSE IN LATEST BATTLE OF PENNSYLVANIA

The Flyers erased 2-1 and 4-2 deficits through 40 minutes, but Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (1-3—4) collected his fourth point of the game in the third period on one of his team’s three goals as Pittsburgh (26-21-8, 60 points) earned a win in the 10th rendition of the ‘Battle of Pennsylvania’ to feature the two clubs combine for at least a dozen goals.

• Crosby’s outing began with 1-1—2 in the first period as he posted his 244th career multi-point period to tie Mark Messier for the ninth most in NHL history. The only skaters with more: Wayne Gretzky (611), Mario Lemieux (362), Jaromir Jagr (299), Marcel Dionne (287), Phil Esposito (283), Steve Yzerman (263), Gordie Howe (258) and Ron Francis (249).
• Sunday marked his 17th career game with three or more points against the Flyers. Among active players with at least 10 career three-point games versus one franchise, the Penguins captain holds the three-highest totals (also 18 GP vs. NYI & 14 GP vs. BOS).
• Pittsburgh’s two straight wins moved the club within nine points of Tampa Bay (32-23-5, 69 points) for the second Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference playoff race. However, the Penguins hold five games in hand on the Lightning and three in hand on the Red Wings.

CONNOR SCORES OVERTIME WINNER
On Sunday the Blue Jackets halted the Rangers’ winning streak at 10 games, the Predators extended their win streak to five contests and Kyle Connor scored his second straight overtime winner to climb the Jets/Thrashers all-time list in that category. Only one player in NHL history has scored an overtime goal in more consecutive contests: Andrew Cogliano (March 7-11, 2008 w/ EDM).

WILL McDAVID AND DRAISAITL CONTINUE THEIR PROWESS ON THE POWER PLAY?

Connor McDavid (21-68—89 in 53 GP), Leon Draisaitl (28-43—71 in 55 GP) and the Oilers (33-20-2, 68 points) are one of eight teams in action on a four-game Monday. Edmonton owns a League-best 24.4 power-play percentage since McDavid debuted in 2015-16, which includes factoring on the same goal on the man advantage with Draisaitl 205 times. The duo now sits one instance shy of tying Wayne Gretzky and Jarri Kuri (206) for the third most among a pair of teammates in NHL history – Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby (252) rank first, while Daniel and Henrik Sedin (251) rank second.

The week ahead has 29 other national telecasts, highlighted by an ESPN broadcast featuring the third head-to-head meeting between Nathan MacKinnon and Connor Bedard this season:

Thursday, Feb. 29: Avalanche at Blackhawks (9 p.m. ET on ESPN)

• MacKinnon (34-62—96 in 59 GP) enters the week needing four points to reach 100 for a second straight season. He can become the fourth player in Avalanche/Nordiques history with 100 points in two or more consecutive campaigns, following Peter Stastny (6 from 1980-81 – 1985-86), Michel Goulet (2 from 1982-83 – 1983-84) and Joe Sakic (2 from 1989-90 – 1990-91), who all achieved the feat with Quebec.
• Bedard (17-23—40 in 45 GP) contested his 45th career game on Sunday before facing fellow No. 1 pick MacKinnon and the Avalanche on Thursday. MacKinnon had 15-14—29 through his first 45 career games en route to winning the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2013-14.

Saturday, March 2: Panthers at Red Wings (3 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+)

• Patrick Kane (463-802—1,265 in 1,207 GP) just made his return to Chicago and will guide his Red Wings (32-20-6, 70 points) into a crucial Atlantic Division clash against the Panthers (38-16-4, 80 points). Kane, with two of his four game-winning goals coming at Little Caesars Arena this season, has helped Detroit (17-8-5 at home) collect its second-most home wins through the first 30 contests of a season in nearly a decade (2014-15: 18-5-7 in 30 GP).

Kaprizov, Marner and Shesterkin Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov, Toronto Maple Leafs right wing Mitchell Marner and New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin – three players who participated in the 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend earlier this month – have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Feb. 25.

FIRST STAR – KIRILL KAPRIZOV, LW, MINNESOTA WILD

Kaprizov led the NHL with six goals and 12 points in four contests (6-6—12) to propel the Wild (28-24-6, 62 points) to a 3-1-0 week as they remained within four points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Kaprizov matched franchise records for points in a game and in a period, setting a career high with 3-3—6 overall (highlighted by 3-1—4, including his fourth career hat trick and 20th career game-winning goal, in the third period) in a 10-7 victory against the No. 1-ranked Vancouver Canucks Feb. 19. He then registered 1-1—2 in a 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets Feb. 20 before collecting an assist on the go-ahead goal in a 4-2 triumph over the Edmonton Oilers Feb. 23. Kaprizov finished the week with 2-1—3, his seventh three-point performance of 2023-24, in a 5-2 win versus the Seattle Kraken Feb. 24. The 26-year-old Kaprizov, who has 7-11—18 during an active eight-game assist/point streak dating to Feb. 9, paces Minnesota and sits 17th in League with 26-37—63 through 51 total appearances this season.

SECOND STAR – MITCHELL MARNER, RW, TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Marner shared the League lead with nine assists in four outings (1-9—10) as the Maple Leafs (33-16-8, 74 points) completed a perfect week to stretch their winning streak to seven games dating to Feb. 13. Marner posted three assists in each of his first two contests, a 4-2 triumph versus the St. Louis Blues Feb. 19 and a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes Feb. 21. He then notched two helpers in a 7-3 win against the Vegas Golden Knights Feb. 22 to become the first player in franchise history with multiple assists in six straight appearances (Feb. 10-22: 0-15—15) – and the first player on any team to achieve the feat since Steven Stamkos in 2021-22 (April 19-28: 6-13—19 w/ TBL). Marner closed the week with his seventh straight multi-point performance, recording 1-1—2 in a 4-3 triumph over the Colorado Avalanche Feb. 24. The 26-year-old Marner has played in 56 total games this season (23-49—72), ranking among the League leaders in assists (t-7th; 49), points (11th; 72) and plus/minus (t-11th; +22).

THIRD STAR – IGOR SHESTERKIN, G, NEW YORK RANGERS

Shesterkin made a League-high 119 saves (on 122 shots against), going 3-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average and .975 save percentage to lift the Rangers (39-17-3, 81 points) within one point of first place in the overall NHL standings. He stopped 41 shots, including all 17 he faced in the third period, in a 3-1 win versus the Dallas Stars Feb. 20. Shesterkin then made 39 saves in each of his next two starts, a 5-1 triumph against the New Jersey Devils Feb. 22 (during which he also collected his third career assist) and a 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Feb. 24 (during which the Rangers tied a franchise record with their 10th consecutive victory dating to Jan. 27). The 28-year-old Shesterkin, who has won six straight games dating to Feb. 9 (1.84 GAA, .951 SV%, 1 SO), shares fifth place in the League with 25 victories through 38 total appearances this season (25-12-1, 2.70 GAA, .909 SV%, 1 SO).

Hurricanes’ Kotkaniemi Fined for Elbowing

Carolina Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for elbowing Dallas Stars defenseman Joel Hanley during NHL Game No. 907 in Raleigh, N.C., on Saturday, Feb. 24. The incident occurred at 11:21 of the first period. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.