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Anze Kopitar - LA Kings - In Play! magazine
Anze Kopitar set the mark for the most road points in Kings history and moved within two points of capturing the franchise record for points as Los Angeles jumped into the final Wild Card position in the Western Conference. File Photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
14
Mar

NHL MARCH 13, 2026 – NHL’S MILESTONE NIGHT FEATURED NEW FRANCHISE MARK, MULTI-GOAL COMEBACKS

The League reached its 70,000th game in NHL history (regular season & playoffs combined) Friday and did so with much excitement as Kings captain Anze Kopitar continued his pursuit of a franchise record and set a new benchmark while the Blues earned a multi-goal third-period comeback win.

BLUES OVERCOME MULTI-GOAL DEFICIT IN THIRD PERIOD TO WIN IN OVERTIME

After the Oilers took a 2-0 lead, Pius Suter (1-0—1) and Cam Fowler (1-1—2) found the back of the net in the third period to pull St. Louis even and Robert Thomas (1-0—1) scored with nine seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Blues to their first multi-goal third period comeback win since Oct. 10, 2024 (5-4 OTW at SJS).

  • St. Louis, which overcame a one-goal deficit to defeat Carolina on Thursday, earned a comeback win in consecutive days for the fifth time in the past decade and first time since March 19-20, 2021.

KOPITAR INCHES CLOSER TO FRANCHISE RECORD IN KINGS WIN

Anze Kopitar (1-0—1) scored one of his team’s three goals to set a Kings mark for most road points and move within two of capturing the franchise record for most points as Los Angeles (27-23-15, 69 points) defeated the NY Islanders (37-24-5, 79 points) at UBS Arena. The Kings leapfrogged the idle Kraken (29-26-9, 67 points) and Sharks (31-26-6, 68 points) for the final Wild Card position in the Western Conference.

STORYLINES ARE APLENTY AHEAD OF 14-GAME SATURDAY, HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

The Bruins (36-23-6, 78 points) and Capitals (33-27-7, 73 points) meet on ABC Hockey Saturday for the second time in as many weeks with crucial points in the Eastern Conference playoff race on the line. Boston is six points back of obtaining home-ice advantage in the First Round and second-place Tampa Bay in the Atlantic Division but only owns a five-point cushion on Washington – one of four teams within striking distance of a Wild Card position.

  • David Pastrnak continues to be the catalyst for the Bruins offense and sits within four assists of 500 in his career thanks to four helpers in his past four games. Pastrnak (24-54—78 in 60 GP) owns a 21-point advantage on his next-highest scoring teammate (Morgan Geekie: 34-23—57) and is closing in on becoming the first Bruins player to lead the team in scoring in four consecutive seasons since Adam Oates (4 from 1992-93 – 1995-96).
  • Jakob Chychrun (23-28—51 in 65 GP) leads all defensemen in goals and game winners (7) this season as the Capitals pursue their third consecutive postseason appearance. Chychrun, who owns the third-most goals through 65 games in a season by a Washington defenseman (Mike Green: 30 in 2008-09 & Kevin Hatcher: 26 in 1992-93), sits one game-winning goal shy of tying the most by a defenseman in a single season in NHL history.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR ON HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

Six of seven Canadian teams are in action on a 14-game Saturday, including three during the Hockey Night in Canada broadcast with significant implications on the line:

  • The Maple Leafs (28-27-11, 67 points) and Atlantic Division-leading Sabres (40-20-6, 86 points) reignite the “Battle of the QEW” and will do so after Tage Thompson caught the attention of social media Thursday evening with four 90+ mph shots in a 14-second span. Buffalo is averaging an NHL-best 4.20 goals per game (min. 2 GP) on home ice since the League returned from the Olympic break on Feb. 25 and continue their quest toward their first-ever Atlantic Division crown and fourth division title in the past 44 years (also 2009-10, 2006-07 & 1996-97). Second-place Tampa Bay owns two games in hand.
  • Macklin Celebrini (33-58—91 in 63 GP) and the Sharks (31-26-6, 68 points), one of several teams in the mix for the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference, are on Hockey Night in Canada (at MTL) for the first time since his record-setting performance for Team Canada at the Olympics. Celebrini, one point shy of overtaking Dale Hawerchuk (40-51—91 in 1982-83) for the eighth-most points by a teenager in a single season in NHL history, owns a 12-point cushion on sixth-place Kirill Kaprizov in the NHL’s scoring race in 2025-26. Did You Know? Only three teenagers in NHL history have concluded a campaign among the top five in scoring: Sidney Crosby (1st in 2006-07), Wayne Gretzky (2nd in 1979-80) and Ted Kennedy (5th in 1944-45).
  • Lane Hutson and the Canadiens (36-18-10, 82 points) are amidst the logjam that is the Atlantic Division – they have four points and two games in hand on the Sabres but are also just three points ahead of the Wild Card 1-seeded Red Wings. Hutson (11-55—66 in 64 GP) has assists in each of his past five games and needs five helpers to reach 60 for the second time in as many seasons (60 in 82 GP, 2024-25) – he can become the third defenseman in NHL history with multiple 60-assist seasons at age 22 or younger, alongside Paul Coffey (3x) and Bobby Orr (2x).
  • Renée Racine is the Canadiens’ sports dietitian and will be highlighted ahead of Montreal’s game as part of the Women in Hockey presented by Canadian Tire spotlight. Racine works with players to optimize their nutrition for performance and recovery – she supports individual and team needs through menus for the rink, hotels and flights.
  • The Flames (26-32-7, 59 points) travel to UBS Arena to clash with Matthew Schaefer and the Islanders (37-23-5, 79 points), who occupy third in the Metropolitan Division due to the fewer games played tiebreaker with the second-place Penguins. The No. 1 pick in the 2025 NHL Draft looks to continue his record-setting rookie campaign: after conquering the most goals by an 18-year-old defenseman on Feb. 26, Schaefer inches closer to claiming the most goals by a rookie defenseman in NHL history (four to set new record; one to pass Dion Phaneuf for third most).

Ducks’ Gudas Suspended Five Games for Kneeing

Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas has been suspended for five games, without pay, for kneeing Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews during NHL Game No. 1029 in Toronto on Thursday, March 12. The incident occurred at 15:43 of the second period. Gudas was assessed a major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Gudas will forfeit $104,166.65. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

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Guest Writer