NHL Recap February 17 2019
SUNDAY’S RESULTS – Home Team in Caps
- PITTSBURGH 6, NY Rangers 5
- St. Louis 4, MINNESOTA 0
- NEW JERSEY 4, Buffalo 1
- Philadelphia 3, DETROIT 1
- FLORIDA 6, Montreal 3
- ANAHEIM 5, Washington 2
OVECHKIN JOINS GRETZKY, LEMIEUX AND DIONNE WITH 40TH GOAL
Alex Ovechkin reached the 40-goal mark for the 10th time in his career, joining Wayne Gretzky (12), Mario Lemieux (10) and Marcel Dionne (10) as the only players to do so. Only two other active players have at least four such campaigns: Ilya Kovalchuk (6) and Steven Stamkos (4).
* Ovechkin, who shares the League lead with 28 even strength goals in 2018-19, is the first to 40 goals in a season for the eighth time in his career (in terms of date), the most first-to-40 seasons in NHL history. He hit the 40-goal mark two weeks (7 GP) before he did last season, when he tallied No. 40 during the 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series on March 3.
* With 23 Capitals games remaining in 2018-19, Ovechkin (0.69 G/GP) sets out to become the third player in League history to record 50 goals in a season at least eight times – Gretzky and Mike Bossy each retired with nine such campaigns.
* Ovechkin is the only player with at least 200 goals since the end of the 2012-13 campaign, in which the Capitals captain led the NHL with 32 goals over a 48-game schedule (matching the lowest goal total of his career). He has scored 43% of his career goals over the course of the five (nearly six) seasons since (276 of 647), hitting the 50-goal mark three times, winning four of five Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophies, climbing from 110th to 14th on the NHL’s all-time goals list and capturing the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy – all after celebrating his 28th birthday.
* Ovechkin’s average of 0.60 goals per game since the start of 2013-14 (276 G in 460 GP) is just shy of his career average prior to that season (0.62 from 2005-06 to 2012-13: 371 G in 601 GP). Of the 19 other players with at least 600 NHL regular-season goals, only three had a goals-per-game average better than 0.55 after age 28: Bobby Hull (0.65), Mario Lemieux (0.63) and Phil Esposito (0.63).
BINNINGTON, TARASENKO LEAD BLUES TO 10TH STRAIGHT VICTORY
St. Louis posted its third consecutive shutout – and second straight by Jordan Binnington (31 saves) – as Vladimir Tarasenko (1-2—3) extended his point streak to 12 games (11-11—22) and surpassed 400 career points in the Blues’ 10th straight win – equaling the longest win streak in the NHL this season and in franchise history.
* Binnington (2) and Jake Allen (1) have combined for three consecutive shutouts, the fifth time in franchise history that the club has posted such a streak in the regular-season. With the victory, Binnington set and matched franchise rookie records for longest win streak (8-0-0) and most shutouts in a season (4), respectively.
* Binnington joined Antti Niemi as the only goaltenders to post four shutouts through 14 career starts in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44 when the red line was introduced to speed up the game and reduce offside calls). Five other netminders have achieved the feat in NHL history, including three who did so before forward passing was permitted inside all three zones in 1929-30.
* Binnington, who has recorded 11 of his 12 NHL victories in regulation, became the sixth goaltender in League history to win at least 12 of his first 14 career starts. The others: Andrew Hammond (13-0-1), Patrick Lalime (13-0-1), Frederik Andersen (12-2-0), Bob Froese (12-1-1) and Wayne Thomas (12-1-1).
* Binnington became the 20th different rookie goaltender in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to record a shutout in consecutive appearances. He is the third to do so for the Blues, joining Allen (2014-15) and Ernie Wakely (1969-70), and the second to do so in the NHL this season (also Mackenzie Blackwood w/ NJD).
HART ALSO SHINES, MOVES INTO SHARE OF ROOKIE WINS LEAD
Carter Hart made 37 saves while making his second start in as many days to backstop the Flyers (28-24-7, 63 points) to their third straight victory and to a 12-1-1 record in their last 14 games. Philadelphia is tied with St. Louis for the most points in the NHL over that span (since Jan. 14).
* Hart, who registered his tenth victory in his past 11 appearances dating to Jan. 14, leads all netminders in wins during that stretch. At 13-6-1 overall this season (20 GP), Hart is tied with Sabres netminder Linus Ullmark (13-6-4 in 26 GP) for the most wins among rookie goaltenders this campaign, one ahead of Jordan Binnington (12-1-1 in 16 GP).
* Did You Know? With Hart (8-0-0 from Jan. 14 – Feb. 9) and Binnington, this marks the third season in NHL history that there have been multiple rookie winning streaks of eight or more games. Canadiens goaltender Bill Durnan did so twice in 1943-44 (9-0-0 and 10-0-0) and a pair of Flyers netminders accomplished the feat in 1982-83 (Pelle Lindbergh: 9-0-0 and Bob Froese: 8-0-0).
CROSBY, LETANG, MALKIN LEAD PENGUINS’ SCORING SURGE
Sidney Crosby (0-3—3) posted his third three-point performance in four games while Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin each scored twice as the Penguins tallied three times during a five-goal third-period en route to victory. Pittsburgh earned two points to improve its record to 31-21-7 (69 points), moving back into a playoff position.
* Crosby improved his career totals to 436-752—1,188 (920 GP) to briefly match Alex Ovechkin in career points, but Ovechkin later pulled ahead again with his goal in Anaheim (647-542—1,189 in 1,061 GP). The last time Crosby finished a game day with more career points than Ovechkin was Jan. 5, 2011, a lead he held for three days until Ovechkin tallied two points on Jan. 8, 2011.
* Letang and Malkin each posted multiple goals in the same game for the first time (724 GP), including regular season (607 GP) and playoffs (117 GP).
DUCKS RETIRE NIEDERMAYER’S NUMBER AS FOWLER CLAIMS ONE OF HIS RECORDS
After watching the No. 27 of former Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer find its place in the Honda Center rafters, Cam Fowler notched his 205th career assist to surpass him as the franchise leader among defensemen.
* Niedermayer, who ranked second among NHL blueliners in points during his tenure with the Ducks and helped the club capture its first Stanley Cup in 2007, remains Anaheim’s all-time leader in goals (60), points (264) and game-winning goals (13) by a defenseman – though Fowler is nearing him in each category.
MONDAY’S GAMES
| Arizona@ Calgary | 4:00 PM ET |
| Tampa Bay@ Columbus | 7:30 PM ET |
| Ottawa@ Chicago | 8:30 PM ET |
| Vegas@ Colorado | 9:00 PM ET |
| Boston@ San Jose | 10:00 PM ET |
| Washington@ Los Angeles | 10:30 PM ET |
Kucherov, Tarasenko and Crosby Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko and Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Feb. 17.
FIRST STAR – NIKITA KUCHEROV, RW, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Kucherov recorded multiple points in all three of his appearances, totaling 3-7—10 to propel the League-leading Lightning (44-11-4, 92 points) to a perfect week and their fifth straight win overall. Kucherov opened the week with consecutive four-point performances, collecting 1‑3—4 in both a 6-3 triumph against the Calgary Flames Feb. 12 and a 6-0 victory over the Dallas Stars Feb. 14. That marked the second time this season that Kucherov has posted four-plus points in consecutive team games (also Dec. 22-27: 2-7—9 in 2 GP) – the only two such instances in franchise history. He added 1-1—2 (including the winning goal) in a 3-0 victory against the Montreal Canadiens Feb. 16, Kucherov’s fourth straight multi-point outing overall (5‑8—13). The 25-year-old Maykop, Russia, native owns a seven-point lead atop this season’s Art Ross Trophy Race, pacing the NHL with 27-67—94 in 59 games. Kucherov, who led the League with five power-play points last week (1‑4—5), also has an NHL-best 37 power-play points in 2018-19 (11-26—37).
SECOND STAR – VLADIMIR TARASENKO, RW, ST. LOUIS BLUES
Tarasenko also registered multiple points in each of his contests, compiling 4-6—10 in four games to help the Blues (31-22-5, 67 points) match a franchise record with their 10th straight victory overall. Tarasenko posted his fourth career three-assist performance – and first since Dec. 9, 2016 (0-3—3 at NJD) – in an 8-3 win against the New Jersey Devils Feb. 12. He then scored twice, his fifth multi-goal outing of the season, in a 4-0 triumph over the Arizona Coyotes Feb. 14. Tarasenko capped the week with the winning goal in each of his final two contests, posting 1-1—2 in a 3-0 victory against the Colorado Avalanche Feb. 16 and 1-2—3 in a 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild Feb. 17. In doing so, the 27-year-old Yaroslavl, Russia, native eclipsed the 400-point milestone (204-197—401 in 478 GP), requiring the fifth-fewest games in franchise history to achieve the feat. Tarasenko ranks second on St. Louis with 26-25—51 overall this season (57 GP), highlighted by 11-11—22 during a career-high 12-game point streak.
THIRD STAR – SIDNEY CROSBY, C, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Crosby notched 2-8—10 in four outings to lift the Penguins (31-21-7, 69 points) to a trio of wins and into the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. He recorded 1-2—3 in a 4-1 victory against the Philadelphia Flyers Feb. 11, upping his totals to 40-57—97 in 65 career contests against Pittsburgh’s intrastate rival. Crosby then picked up one assist in a 3-1 triumph over the Edmonton Oilers Feb. 13. He finished the week with back-to-back three-point performances, registering 1-2—3 in a 5-4 loss to the Calgary Flames Feb. 16 and 0-3—3 in a 6-5 win over the New York Rangers Feb. 17. The 31-year-old Cole Harbour, N.S., native and two-time Art Ross Trophy winner ranks eighth in the NHL with 25-47—72 in 56 total games this season, his sixth straight 70-point campaign.