NHL NEWWS APRIL 3, 2023 – KINGS CLINCH STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS BERTH, REACH 100-POINT MARK

Anze Kopitar assisted on the tying and winning goal while Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves as Los Angeles (45-22-10, 100 points) earned a victory versus Vancouver to clinch a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

• The Kings will look to bring another Stanley Cup to Southern California with a roster featuring franchise cornerstones in Kopitar and Drew Doughty as well as new faces like Korpisalo.
• Los Angeles reached the 100-point mark for the sixth time in franchise history and required its second-fewest games to hit the milestone (76 GP in 1974-75: 40-16-20, 100 points).

BRUINS BEAT BLUES TO BECOME FOURTH 60-WIN TEAM IN NHL HISTORY

Linus Ullmark (35 saves) turned aside all three of St. Louis’ shootout attempts after the Blues erased a three-goal deficit to help the NHL-leading Bruins (60-12-5, 125 points) become the fourth team in League history to reach the 60-win mark in a single season.

• Boston, which also improved to 29-8-2 (60 points) as visitors in 2022-23 and moved within two road victories of tying the most in a single season in NHL history, reached the 60-win milestone nearly four years after Tampa Bay last achieved the feat on April 1, 2019.
• The Bruins need three wins and eight points over their final five games to establish new single-season NHL records. It would mark the second time in seven years that a major North American pro 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).
• Ullmark earned his League-leading 38th win of the season and tied Tiny Thompson (38 in 1929-30) for the second most by a Bruins goaltender in a single campaign. Pete Peeters (40 in 1982-83) holds the franchise record.

PANARIN PROPELS RANGERS TO ANOTHER 100-POINT CAMPAIGN

Mika Zibanejad scored his 20th power-play goal of the season and Artemi Panarin registered his sixth three-assist game of 2022-23 to help the Rangers (45-21-11, 101 points) record consecutive 100-point campaigns for the third time in franchise history (also 3 from 2014-15–2016-17 & 1970-71–1972-73).

• Panarin (25-62—87 in 77 GP), with 98 multi-point games since joining the Rangers, reached the 60-assist mark for the third time with New York (also 74 in 2021-22 & 63 in 2019-20). He joined Brian Leetch (70 in 1995-96, 80 in 1991-92 & 72 in 1990-91) as the second player in franchise history with three such campaigns.

WILD CARD CLUBS COLLECTING CRUCIAL WINS

The Penguins (38-29-10, 86 points) foiled the Flyers to leapfrog the idle Panthers (39-31-7, 85 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference and the Jets (43-31-3, 89 points) defeating the Devils to move within one point of the idle Kraken (41-26-8, 90 points) for the first Wild Card position in the Western Conference. Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang skated in the 1,000th contest of his NHL career and was honored in a pre-game ceremony alongside his family as well as longtime teammates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

THREE-GAME MONDAY FEATURES MORE PLAYOFF BERTHS ON THE LINE

A pair of Central Division clubs could clinch a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs on home ice when the Wild (44-23-9, 97 points) and Stars (41-21-14, 96 points) host the Golden Knights (47-22-7, 101 points) and Predators (38-29-8, 84 points), respectively, during a three-game Monday.

Vasilevskiy, Draisaitl and Pastrnak Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy, Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl and Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending April 2, 2023.

FIRST STAR – ANDREI VASILEVSKIY, G, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Vasilevskiy stopped 99 of the 100 shots he faced last week, posting a 3-0-0 record, 0.33 goals-against average, .990 save percentage and two shutouts, as the Lightning (45-26-6, 96 points) outscored the opposition 14-1 in their three wins and clinched a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Vasilevskiy made 31 saves in blanking the Hurricanes 4-0 on March 28, turned aside 30 of 31 shots in a 5-1 win over the Capitals March 30 and stopped 38 shots in the Lightning’s playoff-clinching 5-0 win over the Islanders April 1, ensuring their franchise-record sixth consecutive postseason appearance. The Lightning’s all-time leader in goaltender appearances, wins and shutouts improved his season record to 34-20-4 with a 2.57 GAA, .918 save percentage and four shutouts. Vasilevskiy will enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 63-38 career postseason record, second among active goaltenders in playoff wins behind Minnesota’s Marc-Andre Fleury (92-73), in an attempt to reach the Stanley Cup Final for a fourth consecutive season and capture his third Stanley Cup.

SECOND STAR – LEON DRAISAITL, C, EDMONTON OILERS

Draisaitl shared the League lead in goals (five) and points (eight) last week, helping the Oilers (45-23-9, 99 points) post a 4-0-0 record, finish March with their highest single-month wins total in franchise history (12-2-1) and clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Draisaitl began the week by tallying 1-1—2, highlighted by his 300th career goal, in a 5-4 win over the Coyotes March 27 and notched 1-1—2 for a third consecutive game in a 7-4 victory over the Golden Knights March 28, including his 29th power-play goal of the season — the most by any player since 1995-96 (Mario Lemieux: 31). He recorded an assist in a 2-0 win over the Kings on March 30 and finished the week with a hat trick, hitting 50 goals for the third time in his career, in the Oilers’ playoff-clinching 6-0 win over the Ducks April 1. Draisaitl extended his active point streak to 12 games and pushed his season points total to a career-high 120 (50-70—120), second in the League to teammate Connor McDavid (62-84—146). Draisaitl will enter the Stanley Cup Playoffs scoring at a career 1.59 points-per-game mark in the postseason (18-41—59 in 37 GP) — tops among active players and third in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky (1.84) and Lemieux (1.61).

THIRD STAR – DAVID PASTRNAK, RW, BOSTON BRUINS

Pastrnak tied for the NHL goals lead (5-1—6), including a pair of game-winners, as the Bruins (60-12-5, 125 points) won three of four starts, clinched the Presidents’ Trophy and corresponding no. 1 overall seed in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs and set more milestones in a record-breaking season. After scoring Boston’s lone goal in a 2-1 loss to the Predators March 28, Pastrnak scored the overtime winner against the Blue Jackets March 30 that gave the Bruins a franchise-record 58th win of the season and clinched the Presidents’ Trophy. He later tallied twice to eclipse the 100-point mark and completed the hat trick via a go-ahead goal with 2:26 remaining in regulation in a 4-3 win over the Penguins April 1, lifting the Bruins to a franchise record for standings points. He closed the week by notching an assist in a 4-3 shootout win vs. the Blues April 2, helping Boston become the fourth team in League history to reach the 60-win mark in a single season. Pastrnak increased his 2022-23 totals to 56-47—103, single-season career highs in all three categories. He ranks second League-wide in goals and fourth in points.