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NHL Review April 21, 2021

PENGUINS HANG ON TO WIN WILD GAME OVER DEVILS, ACHIEVE NHL FIRST

The Penguins built a 6-0 lead and withstood a six-goal, third-period rally by the Devils to hang on for a 7-6 win in a wild game at PPG Paints Arena. Pittsburgh (29-14-3, 61 points) occupies third in the MassMutual East Division and remains one-point back of the second-place Islanders, who also won on Tuesday.

The Penguins became the first team in NHL history to win a game despite allowing six goals in the third period (regular season or playoffs). Clubs owned an all-time record of 0-135-2 under that criterion entering Tuesday’s games.

The Devils nearly became the second team in League history to tie a game after overcoming a six-goal deficit – they would have joined the the Detroit Red Wings, who did so against the Penguins on Feb. 23, 1989. An NHL club has never won a game after trailing by six or more goals.

There have been 11 instances in which a team earned a win after overcoming a five-goal deficit, with 10 occurring in the regular season and one in the playoffs. The last regular-season instance was on Oct. 12, 2009, while the only time it has happened during the postseason was in the “Miracle on Manchester”.

DIVISION-LEADING HURRICANES, SECOND-PLACE PANTHERS REACH 30-WIN MARK

The Discover Central Division-leading Hurricanes (30-10-5, 65 points) and second-place Panthers (30-12-5, 65 points) defeated the Lightning and Blue Jackets, respectively, to reach 30 wins on the season:

Nino Niederreiter had 1-1—2 as Carolina rebounded from a 3-2 overtime loss to Tampa Bay on Monday with a 4-1 win. The Hurricanes required the second-fewest games in franchise history to reach 30 wins (45 GP) – in 2005-06, they hit the mark in 44 contests en route to capturing the Stanley Cup (30-10-4, 64 points).

Spencer Knight made 33 saves to win his NHL debut and Sam Bennett (2-0—2) found the score sheet for the third time in as many games since joining Florida (3-2—5). Knight (20 years, 1 day) became the first goaltender in franchise history to earn a victory in his League debut and the youngest to record a win at any point during his tenure with the Panthers, eclipsing the previous mark set by Roberto Luongo (21 years, 235 days) on Nov. 25, 2000.

OTHER U.S.-BORN YOUTH SHINE ON TUESDAY

In addition to Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight (Stamford, Conn.), Stars forward Jason Robertson (Arcadia, Calif.) and Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) also left their mark on games:

Robertson recorded 1-1—2 to extend his point streak to five games (3-5—8) and help Dallas (19-14-12, 50 points) move within one point of idle Nashville (25-21-1, 51 points), which occupies fourth place in the Discover Central Division. Robertson (14-21—35 in 40 GP) climbed within two points of Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov (18-19—37 in 44 GP) for the rookie scoring lead this season.

Hughes (3-28—31 in 39 GP) had 1-2—3 to eclipse 30 points on the season and help the Canucks improve to 2-0-0 since returning to action, with both wins coming against the Scotia North Division-leading Maple Leafs. Hughes reached the 30-point mark in two games fewer than his illustrious rookie season, which saw him become the third defenseman in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to top all rookies in scoring (outright or tied).

ISLANDERS, BRUINS INCH CLOSER TO IDLE CAPITALS IN DIVISION STANDINGS

The Islanders (29-13-4, 62 points) and Bruins (26-12-6, 58 points) each collected two points to inch closer to the MassMutual East Division-leading Capitals (29-13-4, 62 points), who were idle on Tuesday:

Anthony Beauvillier (1-3—4) factored on four of the Islanders’ six goals and matched a single-game career high for points (also 3-1—4 on Nov. 15, 2018) as New York became the first team to record 40 home points this season (19-2-2, 40 points).

The Islanders and Capitals own identical records, but Washington holds the advantage in regulation wins (WSH: 24, NYI: 21).

Brad Marchand scored the game-winning goal and Tuukka Rask turned aside all 32 shots he faced as the Bruins, who occupy fourth place in the division, strung together five consecutive wins for the second time season (also Feb. 1-12).

Marchand scored his 11th goal since April 1 (11-8—19 in 12 GP), the most among all players over that span. He is three goals from matching the most by a Boston player in a single month of April, a mark set by Phil Esposito during the same year in which he guided the franchise to its first Stanley Cup since 1941.

LEAGUE-LEADING GOLDEN KNIGHTS LOOK TO EXTEND WINNING STREAK

The League-leading Golden Knights (32-11-2, 66 points) look to extend their winning streak to eight games when they host the NHL’s new all-time leader in regular-season games played Patrick Marleau and the Sharks again at T-Mobile Arena.

Vegas can match its franchise record for longest winning streak (8 GP), a mark set from Dec. 14, 2017 to Jan. 2, 2018 and equaled from Feb. 13-28, 2020. The lengthiest by any team this season is nine games, achieved by the Islanders from Feb. 28 to March 14.

Mark Stone has multiple points in each of his last five games (5-5—10), including two goals versus San Jose on Monday. Stone, who leads the team in scoring this season (17-35—52 in 44 GP), can become the first Golden Knights player with six straight multi-point games.

MORE #NHLSTATS TO WATCH FOR ON WEDNESDAY

The Predators (25-21-1, 51 points), who occupy fourth in the Discover Central Division, are set to face the sixth-place Blackhawks (21-20-5, 47 points) again in the second of three straight head-to-head games. Nashville has 11 wins since Roman Josi returned to the lineup on March 23 (11-4-0, 22 points), the most in the NHL over that span.

The Wild (28-13-3, 59 points), who rank third in the Honda West Division, look to extend their winning streak to five games when they visit the fourth-place Coyotes (20-21-5, 45 points) at Gila River Arena. Kirill Kaprizov leads the team with 18 goals this season (18-19—37 in 44 GP) and needs one to establish a single-season franchise record for most by a rookie, in which he would eclipse Marian Gaborik’s mark from 2000-01 (18-18—36 in 71 GP).

The Oilers (27-15-2, 56 points), who sit third in the Scotia North Division, can extend their home winning streak to nine games when they host the fourth-place Canadiens (19-15-9, 47 points) again at Rogers Place. League scoring leader Connor McDavid (24-50—74 in 44 GP) needs one point to reach 75 on the season.

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