NHL NEWS MARCH 16, 2023 – OVECHKIN CLIMBS ANOTHER ALL-TIME LIST

Alex Ovechkin scored one of Washington’s three goals in the third period to help the Capitals (33-29-7, 73 points) earn a multi-goal, third-period comeback win and remain within five points of the Islanders (35-27-8, 78 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. It marked Washington’s sixth multi-goal comeback victory this season – only three teams have more: Chicago (8), Vancouver (7) and New Jersey (7).

• Ovechkin scored his 402nd home goal to overtake former Capitals forward Mike Gartner for sole possession of fourth place on the NHL’s all-time list. He required the second-fewest home contests (664 GP) to reach the mark, following Wayne Gretzky (481 GP).
• Ovechkin scored his 37th goal of 2022-23 and moved within three of surpassing Gretzky (12) for the most 40-goal seasons in NHL history.

MINNESOTA SCORES EIGHT IN A WILD NIGHT FOR THE WILD

A total of 13 different Wild players found the score sheet as Minnesota overcame a multi-goal deficit spurred by John Klingberg, Oskar Sundqvist and Mason Shaw scoring 118 seconds apart – marking the fastest three goals by the club in over a year (last 95 seconds on Jan. 14, 2022). The Wild (39-21-8, 86 points), who established a franchise record for longest point streak as they extended their run to 14 games (11-0-3), moved within one point of the idle Stars (37-18-13, 87 points) for top spot in the Central Division.

• An offensive outburst in the second period marked the fifth time in franchise history that the Wild have scored five or more goals in a single period. The only time they recorded more was on Feb. 22, 2015 (6 in P3 vs. DAL).
• Minnesota matched a franchise record for most goals in a game by scoring eight – a feat they last achieved on Jan. 24, 2022 (vs. MTL) – and became the 10th club this season to do so.

RANTANEN SCORES GOAL NO. 44

Mikko Rantanen (1-0—1), Nathan MacKinnon (0-1—1) and Cale Makar (0-1—1) combined on the Avalanche’s only goal in regulation as Colorado improved to 60-14-3 when the trio all find the score sheet in the same contest.

PREDATORS CONTINUE TO CHASE FINAL WILD CARD SPOT THURSDAY

A national broadcast on HULU and ESPN+ will feature the Predators (34-24-7, 75 points) aim to gain ground on the Jets (38-27-3, 79 points) in the Western Conference Wild Card race when they host the Blackhawks (23-38-6, 52 points) at Bridgestone Arena. Nashville enters Thursday four points back of Winnipeg – which is also in action – with three games in hand.

• The Predators have earned at least a point in each of their past 16 contests against the Blackhawks dating to Jan. 9, 2020 (13-0-3) – the longest active point streak by a franchise versus a single opponent. Roman Josi leads all current Nashville skaters in goals and points against Chicago over their run with 5-5—10.

FAMILIAR FOES MEET FOR SECOND INSTALMENTS OF THEIR THREE-GAME SERIES

An 11-game Thursday will feature the Rangers (38-19-10, 86 points) and Devils (44-17-6, 94 points) hosting the Penguins (34-23-10, 78 points) and Lightning (40-22-6, 86 points), respectively. New York and Pittsburgh meet for the second of three contests in the span of a week, while New Jersey and Tampa Bay, who last met March 14, will face off in the middle contest of three head-to-head games over six days.

• While the Penguins and Lightning have never faced the same opponent three times over a span of seven or fewer days in the regular season (excluding 2020-21), the Rangers have previously competed in five such stretches and the Devils have done so once prior (NJD vs. NYI: 3 GP over 7 days from March 4-10, 2012).

Blues’ Binnington Suspended Two Games for Roughing and Unsportsmanlike Conduct

St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington has been suspended for two games, without pay, for roughing and unsportsmanlike conduct against Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman during NHL Game No. 1078 in St. Louis on Wednesday, March 15, 2023. The incident occurred at 12:25 of the second period. Binnington was assessed a match penalty. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and, based on his average annual salary, Binnington will forfeit $64,864.86. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Video gives a full explanation of the decision.