NHL Recap February 28 2019
THURSDAY’S RESULTS – Home Team in Caps
- NY ISLANDERS 6, Toronto 1
- COLUMBUS 4, Philadelphia 3 (OT)
- BOSTON 4, Tampa Bay 1
- Edmonton 4, OTTAWA 2
- ARIZONA 5, Vancouver 2
- VEGAS 6, Florida 5 (SO)
- Dallas 4, LOS ANGELES 3 (OT)
CAPTAIN ANDERS LEE GUIDES ISLANDERS IN TAVARES’ HOMECOMING
In John Tavares’ first road game against his former team, it was current Islanders captain Anders Lee who scored the game-winning goal to help his club improve to 9-1-1 in its last 11 home games (including a 4-1-1 record at NYCB Live/Nassau Coliseum).
* Taking a two-point lead atop the Metropolitan Division standings – a position they have held since Jan. 18 – New York (37-19-7, 81 points) required 63 or fewer contests to reach the 80-point mark for the eighth time in franchise history.
* Lee leads the Islanders with 22 goals this season after pacing the club in goals in each of the past two campaigns (34 in 2016-17 and 40 in 2017-18). Five players in franchise history have at least tied for the team lead in goals in three consecutive seasons, including Tavares (3 straight from 2012-13 to 2015-16). The others: Mike Bossy (10 from 1977-78 to 1986-87), Pat LaFontaine (5 from 1986-87 to 1990-91), Ziggy Palffy (4 from 1995-96 to 1998-99) and Mariusz Czerkawski (3 from 1999-00 to 2003-04).
BRUINS DEFEAT LEAGUE LEADERS IN BATTLE OF STREAKING CLUBS
Entering the third period with a one-goal lead, the Bruins (38-17-9, 85 points) scored three goals in a span of 1:28 en route to extending their point streak to 15 contests (11-0-4) while also halting the League-leading Lightning’s win and point streaks at 10 and 14 games (12-0-2), respectively. Thursday marked the first game in NHL history in which two teams faced off while each owning a point streak of 14 or more contests.
* Boston completed a full calendar month without a regulation loss for the ninth time in franchise history and third time in 50 years to join Tampa Bay (13-0-1 in December) as the only teams to accomplish the feat this season. The 2018-19 campaign marks the 13th in NHL history – and ninth in the last 40 years – to feature multiple teams finishing a calendar month without a regulation loss (min. 8 GP).
* Tuukka Rask, who lost his shutout bid with just over six minutes remaining in regulation, extended his point streak to 16 consecutive decisions (13-0-3) dating to Dec. 29, 2018 (1.99 GAA, .931 SV%, 2 SO). Last season, Rask earned a point in 21 consecutive decisions (19-0-2).
* The winningest goaltender in franchise history is one of four netminders in NHL history to post multiple point streak of at least 16 decisions. Pete Peeters accomplished the feat with Flyers (27 GP in 1979-80) and Bruins (21 GP in 1982-83), while the others – like Rask – did so in consecutive seasons: George Hainsworth (18 GP in 1927-28 and 16 GP in 1928-29) and Ken Dryden (18 GP in 1977-78 and 16 GP in 1978-79), both with the Canadiens.
14-SEASON VETERAN NETS COYOTES’ FIRST FOUR-GOAL GAME IN 22 YEARS
Brad Richardson scored a career-best four goals to propel the Coyotes (31-28-5, 67 points) to their fifth straight victory. Arizona has outscored its opponents 19-10 during its current run and now sits one point shy of Minnesota (31-27-6, 68 points), which holds the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
* A 14-season NHL veteran, Richardson (34 years, 24 days) became the eighth player in the last 20 years to score four goals in a game at age 34 or older. The others: Patrick Marleau (Jan. 23, 2017), Martin St. Louis (Jan. 18, 2014), Alex Kovalev (Jan. 3, 2010), Mats Sundin (April 11, 2006), Scott Mellanby (March 6, 2003), Brett Hull (March 21, 2001) and Dave Andreychuk (Oct. 28, 1999).
* Richardson, who tallied his first career hat trick on Oct. 23, 2010 at Colorado, is the second player this season – and second in the past 10 days – to end a span of at least eight years between hat tricks (also Joe Thornton on Feb. 18 vs. BOS).
* Richardson joined Keith Tkachuk as the just the second player in Coyotes team history to score four goals in a game – a list that grows to only seven different names when including the franchise’s time in Winnipeg (Tkachuk and Teemu Selanne each had two such performances).
JONES SETS FRANCHISE BENCHMARK IN OT WIN
Artemi Panarin (1-1—2) hit the 70-point mark for a fourth straight season and assisted on Seth Jones’ overtime winner to power the Blue Jackets (36-24-3, 75 points) ahead of the idle Hurricanes (34-23-6, 74 points) and Penguins (33-22-8, 74 points) into the third spot in the Metropolitan Division standings, where only seven points separate the top five seeds.
* Jones netted his eighth NHL overtime goal, seven of which have come in a Blue Jackets uniform – now a franchise record for any player. Additionally, only three defensemen in NHL history have tallied more regular-season overtime goals than Jones: Brent Burns (13), Scott Niedermayer (13) and Mike Green (9).
THE WILD, WILD WEST …
The Golden Knights (34-26-5, 73 points) and Stars (32-27-5, 69 points) each staged multi-goal comebacks to improve their positions in the Western Conference playoff picture:
* Reilly Smith (2-0—2) netted a highlight-reel goal to spark a comeback and help Vegas strengthen its grip on third place in the Pacific Division standings.
* Roope Hintz netted his first career overtime goal to lift Dallas ahead of idle Minnesota (31-27-6, 68 points) and Colorado (28-24-12, 68 points) into the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
* So far in 2018-19, 43.0% of games have been won by a team that trailed by at least one goal (426 of 990 GP) – the second-highest such percentage in League history behind 2005-06 (43.7%; 433 of 990 GP). The 426 comeback wins mark an 8.4% increase from the same point last season (393 of 990 GP).
* There now have been 114 multi-goal comeback victories this season. So far, 11.5% of games in 2018-19 have seen a team win despite trailing by multiple goals – the highest such percentage through 990 games in League history.
FRIDAY’S GAMES
| Pittsburgh@ Buffalo | 7:00 PM ET |
| Philadelphia@ New Jersey | 7:00 PM ET |
| Washington@ NY Islanders | 7:00 PM ET |
| Montréal@ NY Rangers | 7:00 PM ET |
| St. Louis@ Carolina | 7:30 PM ET |
| Nashville@ Winnipeg | 8:00 PM ET |
| Vegas@ Anaheim | 10:00 PM ET |
| Colorado@ San Jose | 10:30 PM ET |
PLAYOFF PUSH THE FOCUS AS MARCH OPENS WITH EIGHT-GAME SLATE
The month of March opens with eight games, including four head-to-head matchups between clubs in the thick of the playoff push:
* The Blues (34-23-6, 74 points) and Hurricanes (34-23-6, 74 points), two of the top four clubs since the calendar turned, face off in Raleigh. Carolina occupies a playoff spot at this stage of a campaign (min. 60 GP) for the second time in as many seasons and just the third time in the last nine years (also 2010-11). Meanwhile, St. Louis sits only five points back of first place in the Central Division (with three games in hand).
* Sticking with the Central Division, the two teams ahead of the Blues square off for the third of four meetings in 2018-19 when the Predators (37-24-5, 79 points) visit the Jets (37-22-4, 78 points). Either Nashville (72 of 139 days; 52%) or Winnipeg (67 of 139 days; 48%) has held the No. 1 seed in the division every day since Oct. 13, with one more regular-season meeting ahead of them after tonight (March 23 in WPG; both teams are 1-1-0 in season series).
* Another clash between the top-two teams in a division will pit the Islanders (37-19-7, 81 points) against the Capitals (36-21-7, 79 points). Washington is chasing its fourth consecutive division title (a feat they achieved in the Southeast Division from 2007-08 to 2010-11), while New York is pursuing its seventh first-place finish in a division and first in 31 years (they won the Patrick Division in 1987-88).
* The Penguins (33-22-8, 74 points) visit the Sabres (29-26-8, 66 points) as both clubs look to pull closer to the top eight in the Eastern Conference.
* Three other clubs that either hold or are within six points of a Wild Card spot are in action tonight: the Canadiens (34-23-7, 75 points), Flyers (30-26-8, 68 points) and Avalanche (28-24-12, 68 points).
Blues’ Binnington Named NHL ‘Rookie of the Month’ for February
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington, who led all netminders (rookies and veterans) with 10 wins and four shutouts in 11 appearances (10-1-0, 1.44 GAA, .945 SV%, 4 SO), has been named the NHL’s “Rookie of the Month” for February.
Binnington edged Toronto Maple Leafs left wing Andreas Johnsson (9-5—14 in 14 GP), Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (3-8—11 in 14 GP) and Chicago Blackhawks center Dominik Kahun (3-7—10 in 13 GP) for the honor.
Binnington became the ninth rookie goaltender in NHL history to earn 10-plus wins in a calendar month – and the first to achieve the feat since Detroit’s Jimmy Howard in March 2010 (12-2-1). He also became the 10th rookie netminder in League history to post a nine-game winning streak (Jan. 23 – Feb. 19) as well as the fourth to win each of his first seven home starts (Jan. 10 – present), joining Frank McCool (8), Ken Dryden (8) and Wayne Thomas (7).
Kucherov, Kane and Tarasenko Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ For February
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane and St. Louis Blues right wing Vladimir Tarasenko have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the month of February.
FIRST STAR – NIKITA KUCHEROV, RW, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING
Kucherov led the NHL in assists and points with 8-17—25 in 15 games, helping the Lightning (49-12-4, 102 points) post a 12-1-2 February record that increased the team’s lead atop the NHL overall standings to 13 points. Tampa Bay recorded at least one point in each of its first 14 games of the month (12-0-2), including a franchise-record, 10-game winning streak from Feb. 9-27. Kucherov tallied multiple points in five consecutive games during the record streak (7-11—18), highlighted by back-to-back 1-3—4 outings in home victories over CGY (Feb. 12) and DAL (Feb. 14) and a five-point effort (2-3—5) in a win at CBJ (Feb. 18). He tallied a goal in a win vs. BUF (Feb. 21), hitting 100 points in his 62nd game of 2018-19 to become the fastest player to the century mark since Mario Lemieux in 1996-97 (61 GP). He tallied three assists for his NHL-best 30th multi-point game of the season in a win at NYR (Feb. 27), helping the Lightning improve its record when Kucherov records a point to 42-4-3. The 25-year-old Maykop, Russia native leads the NHL with 30-74—104, already the second-highest single-season points total in franchise history and the most ever by a Tampa Bay right wing. He is on pace for 131 points, aiming to become the first NHL player to break 130 points since Lemieux (161) and Jaromir Jagr (149) in 1995-96.
SECOND STAR – PATRICK KANE, RW, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Kane ranked second in the NHL with 11-12—23 in 13 outings to lift the Blackhawks (27‑28-9, 63 points) to a 9-4-0 February and within five points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Kane found the scoresheet in all but one of his appearances during the month, including each of his first 11 to run his overall point streak to 20 games (Jan. 3 – Feb. 22: 17-26—43). In doing so, he became the seventh player in League history to record multiple point streaks of at least 20 contests (also Oct. 17 – Dec. 13, 2015: 16-24—40 in 26 GP). Kane – who registered multiple points seven times in February – also scored in nine games, capped by the winning tally with 16.1 seconds remaining in regulation Feb. 27 at ANA. That vaulted Kane to his second career 40-goal season (also 2015-16: 46-60—106 in 82 GP), making him the seventh player in Chicago history with multiple such campaigns. The 30-year-old Buffalo native sits second in the NHL in both goals (40) and points (94) through 63 games this season, aided by a League-best 18-26—44 in 23 outings during the calendar year.
THIRD STAR – VLADIMIR TARASENKO, RW, ST. LOUIS BLUES
Tarasenko placed third in the NHL with 10-12—22 in 14 games to help the Blues (34‑23‑6, 74 points) go 12-1-1 in February and match a franchise record for wins in a calendar month (also April 2013: 12-3-0). Tarasenko collected points in 12 of his 14 appearances, highlighted by six multi-point efforts. That included his fourth career hat trick Feb. 10 at NSH, sealed in overtime by his 200th NHL goal. Tarasenko scored in seven total contests during the month, topping the League with four game-winners: Feb. 2 at CBJ, Feb. 10 at NSH, Feb. 16 at COL and Feb. 17 at MIN. The 27-year-old Yaroslavl, Russia, native ranks second on St. Louis with 27-27—54 in 62 outings this season. That includes 16-16—32 in 25 games since Jan. 3 to lift the Blues (19-5-2) from last in the NHL standings to third place in the Central Division.