NHL Recap January 21, 2024 – ATLANTIC DIVISION PLAYOFF RACE SHUFFLES AGAIN SUNDAY

Atlantic Division playoff positions continued to shuffle Sunday as the Maple Leafs (23-14-8, 54 points) reclaimed third place after the Red Wings (24-17-5, 53 points) bested the Lightning (24-18-5, 53 points) to move into the first Wild Card spot.

• Dylan Larkin factored on Detroit’s opening goal to improve his season totals to 18-23—41 (40 GP) and match his personal best for points through his first 40 games of a campaign (also 41 in 2021-22). The last Red Wings player to post more points through their first 40 contests in a season was Henrik Zetterberg a decade ago (44 in 2013-14).
• Auston Matthews opened the scoring with his League-leading 38th goal of the season to help the Maple Leafs defeat the Kraken. Matthews, who is set to captain one of four teams in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, is on pace to conclude 2023-24 with 70 goals and can become the first NHL player to do so since 1992-93, when Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny had 76 with the original Jets and Sabres, respectively.

RANGERS ROAR BACK IN THE THIRD TO STRENGTHEN LEAD ATOP METRO
After falling into a two-goal deficit in the first period against the Ducks, the Rangers roared back with five unanswered tallies – including four in the final frame – to earn their seventh third-period comeback win of the season, trailing only the Flames, Avalanche and Red Wings for most in the NHL (all w/ 8). New York (29-15-2, 60 points) built a four-point lead over idle Philadelphia (25-16-6, 56 points) atop the Metropolitan Division.

• Adam Fox (0-2—2) recorded his 45th career multi-assist game and moved within one of Brad Park (46) for the second most by a Rangers defenseman before age 26. The list is topped by Brian Leetch (69).

ISLANDERS, WILD CONTINUE TO PURSUE WILD CARD POSITIONS
The Islanders (20-15-11, 51 points) and Wild (20-21-5, 45 points) both picked up wins Sunday as they continued to pursue Wild Card positions:

• Mathew Barzal, who is set to represent New York in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, and Noah Dobson both put up multi-assist performances to guide their team to an overtime victory in Patrick Roy’s first game as head coach of the Islanders – he became the eighth head coach to earn a win in his debut with the franchise (see full list here). New York kept pace in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race and remains just two points back of the final spot.
• Kirill Kaprizov, who is set to skate in the 2024 NHL All-Star Game, netted his third career regular-season hat trick and Brock Faber extended his point streak to four games as Minnesota moved within six points of Nashville (25-20-1, 51 points) for the final Wild Card position in the Western Conference standings. Faber tied the franchise record for longest point streak by a rookie defenseman, set by Filip Kuba and matched by Willie Mitchell during the Wild’s inaugural season in 2000-01.

Maple Leafs’ Timmins Fined for Cross-Checking

Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Conor Timmins has been fined $2,864.58, the maximum allowable under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, for cross-checking Seattle Kraken forward Brandon Tanev during NHL Game No. 723 in Seattle on Sunday, Jan. 21. The incident occurred at 2:12 of the first period. Timmins was assessed a minor penalty for cross-checking. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

Kaprizov, Pastrnak and Thompson Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov, Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak and Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Jan. 21, 2024.

FIRST STAR – KIRILL KAPRIZOV, LW, MINNESOTA WILD

Kaprizov shared the League lead in points and goals last week with 5-3–8 in four games, helping the Wild (20-21-5, 45 points) win three of four starts and move within six points of the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. He tallied points in all four games, beginning with an assist in a 5-0 win vs. the New York Islanders Jan. 15 to help Marc-Andre Fleury record his 552nd career NHL win. He later registered an assist in a 7-3 loss at Tampa Bay Jan. 18, tallied 2-1–3 including the game-winning goal in a 6-4 win at Florida Jan. 19 and notched his third career hat trick in a 5-2 win at Carolina Jan. 21. The fourth-year Wild star became the fourth player in franchise history with 3+ career hat tricks, joining Marian Gaborik (9), Zach Parise (3) and Matt Boldy (3). Kaprizov, who is set to skate in his third consecutive and career NHL All-Star Weekend when he heads to Toronto Feb. 1-3, leads Minnesota in scoring this season with 42 points (18-24–42) in 39 games. He increased his career goal tally with the Wild to 132, tied with Jason Zucker for fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list.

SECOND STAR – DAVID PASTRNAK, RW, BOSTON BRUINS

Pastrnak tied Kaprizov and Toronto center Auston Matthews for the League lead in goals last week and tallied multiple points in each contest (5-2–7 in 3 GP), helping the Bruins (28-8-9, 65 points) post three consecutive wins that stretched their lead atop the Eastern Conference to five points. He tallied a goal and an assist in a 3-0 win over the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 15 to reach the 60-point mark in his 43rd game, matching his pace from the 2022-23 season that ended in a career-best 113 points. Pastrnak opened the scoring just 44 seconds into Boston’s game vs. the Colorado Avalanche on Jan. 18 and added two more in a 5-2 win, marking his 16th career hat trick – only Phil Esposito (26) has as many three-goal games in Bruins history. He concluded the week with another one-goal, one-assist effort in a 9-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens Jan. 20. Pastrnak, who ranks third in the NHL in both goals (30) and points (66), will represent the Bruins at 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend and participate in 2024 NHL Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook.

THIRD STAR – LOGAN THOMPSON, G, VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Thompson posted wins in all three starts with a 1.34 goals-against average and .956 save percentage, helping the Golden Knights (27-14-5, 59 points) conclude their five-game homestand with a 4-1-0 mark. He started the week allowing one goal in consecutive contests, turning aside 34 of 35 shots in a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators Jan. 15 and making 29 saves in a 5-1 win over the New York Rangers Jan. 18. The win over the Rangers came in the 500th game in franchise history (293-161-46, 632 points) — the most wins and points among all franchises through the benchmark. Thompson concluded the week with 23 saves in a 3-2 comeback win over the Pittsburgh Penguins Jan. 20. The 26-year-old, signed by the Golden Knights as a free agent in July 2020, improved his season record to 16-9-3 (2.61 GAA, .910 save pct.) in 29 appearances.

MONDAY FEATURES TWO OF THIS WEEK’S 27 NATIONAL BROADCASTS
Monday’s six-game slate is highlighted by a doubleheader on Sportsnet and TVA Sports, which opens with the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins (28-8-9, 65 points) hosting the Central Division-leading Jets (30-10-4, 64 points) and closes with the Blackhawks (14-30-2, 30 points) visiting the League-leading Canucks (31-11-4, 66 points).

The week ahead has 25 other national telecasts, highlighted by an NHL on TNT game featuring Boston and a Hockey Night in Canada contest involving Winnipeg:

Wednesday, Jan. 24: Hurricanes at Bruins (7:30 p.m. ET on TNT, MAX)

• The Bruins and Hurricanes open their three-game season series during an NHL on TNT doubleheader that closes in Seattle when the Blackhawks visit the Kraken at 10 p.m. ET (TNT, MAX & SN1). David Pastrnak enters Monday with a seven-game home goal streak, which matches his NHL career high achieved in 2019-20.

Saturday, Jan. 27: Maple Leafs at Jets (7 p.m. ET on SN)

• Winnipeg and Toronto close out a home-and-home set on Hockey Night in Canada after contesting the first half at Scotiabank Arena on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET on SN, TVAS). The Jets enter the week after allowing three goals against or fewer in each of their last 34 games dating to Nov. 4, which is tied with the 1928-29 New York Americans (34 GP) for the third-longest streak in NHL history behind the 1928-29 Bruins (44 GP) and 2014-15 Wild (35 GP).