* Sidney Crosby joined Alex Ovechkin as just the second active player to reach the 500-goal milestone and the second Penguins player to do so, joining franchise legend Mario Lemieux.
* Alex Ovechkin recorded his 156th career multi-goal game and surpassed the 30-goal mark in a season for the 16th time in his career, the second most in NHL history behind Mike Gartner (17).
* Joe Pavelski (2-2—4) recorded his fourth outing of four-plus points in 2021-22 to reach the 20-goal mark for the 12th season of his career and surpass 50 points. The Stars handed the Avalanche their first regulation loss in 62 days, as well as their first at Ball Arena in 113 days.
* Jack Eichel is set to make his debut in a Golden Knights uniform in the second game of a doubleheader on TNT when Vegas (28-17-3, 59 points) hosts Colorado (34-9-4, 72 points) at T-Mobile Arena.
CROSBY SCORES 500TH CAREER GOAL AGAINST FAMILIAR FOE
With his parents in attendance, Sidney Crosby (500-871—1,371 in 1,077 GP) scored his 50th career goal against the Flyers and joined Alex Ovechkin (761-621—1,382 in 1,246 GP) as just the second active player to reach the 500-goal milestone. The Penguins captain, mobbed by teammates in the moment, was congratulated by franchise icon Mario Lemieux shortly after reaching the benchmark.
* Pittsburgh became the sixth franchise to feature multiple scorers with 500-plus goals. The others: Montreal (Maurice Richard: 544, Guy Lafleur: 518 & Jean Beliveau: 507), Chicago (Bobby Hull: 604 & Stan Mikita: 541), Detroit (Gordie Howe: 786 & Steve Yzerman: 692), Los Angeles (Luc Robitaille: 557 & Marcel Dionne: 550) and NY Islanders (Mike Bossy: 573 & Bryan Trottier: 500).
* Crosby and Ovechkin (50 vs. WPG/ATL) are also tied together in another elite category, as Crosby joined his longtime rival as the only active players to score at least 50 career goals against a single franchise.
OVECHKIN REACHES 30-GOAL MARK, ACHIEVES ANOTHER MILESTONE
Alex Ovechkin (2-0—2) scored twice to reach and eclipse the 30-goal mark (31-31—62 in 49 GP) as Washington earned a win against Nashville at Bridgestone Arena. Among players to begin a season at age 36 or older, Ovechkin tied Teemu Selanne (2006-07 w/ ANA) for the fewest games in NHL history to reach 30 goals in a single campaign.
* The Capitals captain inched closer to climbing a pair of all-time lists, recording his 156th career multi-goal game – two instances shy of tying Brett Hull (158) for the second most in NHL history. He also boosted his career goal total to 761, just five away from matching Jaromir Jagr (766) – who celebrated his 50th birthday Tuesday – for third place on the League’s all-time list.
* Meanwhile, Peter Laviolette also reached a milestone against his former club Tuesday, claiming his 700th career win as a head coach. He became the 10th head coach in NHL history to reach the mark – the only active head coaches with more victories are Barry Trotz (894) and Lindy Ruff (772).
PAVELSKI LEADS DALLAS, STARS STOP STREAKING AVALANCHE
Joe Pavelski (2-2—4) powered the Stars with his fourth four-point outing of the season and Jake Oettinger made 46 saves as Dallas became the first team to beat Colorado in regulation since Dec. 16, 2021 and the first team to do so at Ball Arena since Oct. 26, 2021. The Stars improved to 26-19-2 (54 points) and moved within one point of Edmonton (26-18-3, 55 points), which occupies the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
* Pavelski (37 years, 219 days) improved his season totals to 21-31—52 (47 GP) and became the third Stars/North Stars player to record a 20-goal season at age 37 or older (age at time of 20th goal), joining Minnesota’s Dean Prentice (39 years, 166 days in 1971-72 & 40 years, 125 days in 1972-73) and Mike Modano (37 years, 297 days in 2007-08).
* Among players to begin a season at age 37 or older, Pavelski became the fifth in the past 40 years to require 47 or fewer games to reach the 50-point mark. The others: Mario Lemieux (26 GP in 2002-03), Martin St. Louis (40 GP in 2012-13), Joe Sakic (46 GP in 2006-07) and Teemu Selanne (47 GP in 2010-11).
TEAMS ON THE MOVE: A SHAKE UP IN THE NHL STANDINGS
The Flames (27-13-6, 60 points), Blues (28-14-5, 61 points), Oilers (26-18-3, 55 points) and Lightning (32-11-6, 70 points) each earned wins Tuesday to make moves up the NHL standings:
* Tyler Toffoli scored in his debut in a Flames sweater, after landing at the airport at 11 p.m. Monday night, to help Calgary skate to a six-goal victory and extended the NHL’s longest active win streak to seven games. This marks the Flames longest win streak since 2019-20 (7 GP) – the last time they posted a longer run was 2016-17 when they matched their franchise record at 10 games. Calgary surpassed idle Vegas (28-17-3, 59 points) for first in the Pacific Division.
* Vladimir Tarasenko (2-1—3), who netted his 34th career multi-goal game, was one of three Blues skaters with three points and helped St. Louis overtake Nashville (28-17-4, 60 points) for third place in the Central Division standings. Since Tarasenko’s NHL debut in 2012-13, he has more than twice as many multi-goal outings than the next closest player for the Blues during that span (Jaden Schwartz: 15 GP).
* Connor McDavid (1-1—2) recorded his NHL-leading 22nd multi-point outing of the season to push the Oilers up the Western Conference standings and past the Ducks (23-17-9, 55 points), into the final Wild Card spot. Tuesday marked Jay Woodcroft’s third straight win as head coach, which surpassed George Burnett (2 GP in 1994-95) for the longest win streak by an Oilers head coach from the start of their NHL career.
* Victor Hedman (11-39—50 in 49 GP) scored one of Tampa Bay’s five unanswered goals to reach the 50-point mark in 2021-22 and helped the Lightning (32-11-6, 70 points) reclaim top spot in the Eastern Conference from the idle Panthers (32-10-5, 69 points). Tuesday marked the eighth time Tampa Bay scored at least six goals in a game this season – only Colorado (10) and Carolina (9) have recorded more.
BLACK HOCKEY HISTORY SPOTLIGHT: NINA RODGERS
Nina Rodgers, an assistant coach for the Dartmouth College women’s hockey team, is believed to be the first Black woman to coach in NCAA Division I hockey. It’s no surprise given her remarkable hockey resume, which includes: Minnesota Ms. Hockey finalist (2014); NCAA Women’s Frozen Four champion (2015 & 2016); selected by Connecticut in NWHL, now PHF, Draft (2017); professional women’s hockey player (2018-2021); hired by Dartmouth as assistant coach on July 14, 2021.
* Rodgers and Kelsey Koelzer, who is head coach of the Arcadia University women’s ice hockey program, are part of the NHL Coaches’ Association Female Coaches Development Program. Now in its second year, the program supports female coaches in skills development, leadership strategies, communication tactics, networking and career advancement opportunities.
* CLICK HERE to read William Douglas’ feature on Rodgers in The Color of Hockey Blog on NHL.com.
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates from Tuesday night
* “NHL All-Star All Access” One-Hour Special Premieres Feb. 18
* Predators Sign Mark Borowiecki to One-Year Contract
* Jack Eichel, Golden Knights set for his debut against Avalanche
* Black History Month daily digest
EICHEL EXPECTED TO MAKE GOLDEN KNIGHTS DEBUT ON TNT
After being traded from Buffalo to Vegas on Nov. 4, 2021, the second game of a doubleheader on TNT is expected to feature Jack Eichel and his debut with the Golden Knights (28-17-3, 59 points) when they host the Avalanche (34-9-4, 72 points) at T-Mobile Arena.
* Eichel, with four 20-goal seasons on his resume and a career-high 36 tallies in 2019-20, has collected 139-216—355 in 375 NHL contests since being selected with the second overall pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. His 0.95 points per game ranks fourth among that cohort (min. 100 GP), behind Connor McDavid (1.41 P/GP), Mitchell Marner (1.02 P/GP) and Mikko Rantanen (0.98 P/GP).
