* John Klingberg joined rare company by scoring a late game-tying goal and the winner in overtime to help the Stars continue their push toward a playoff spot.
* Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl was one of two players to pot their 40th goal of the season Thursday night, alongside 30-year-old Chris Kreider – who reached the mark for the first time in his career.
* Cal Petersen’s third shutout of the season helped Los Angeles gain crucial ground on idle Calgary as the Kings eye top spot in the Pacific Division.
KLINGBERG TIES GAME, WINS GAME FOR STARS
John Klingberg (2-1—3) tallied the game-tying goal with 4:46 left in regulation and scored the winner in overtime with 10 seconds remaining in the extra frame as the Stars (33-23-3, 69 points) kept pace with the Golden Knights (33-26-4, 70 points) – who also won Thursday – in the Western Conference Wild Card race.
* Klingberg (4-30—34 in 52 GP), who recorded his 16th career three-point outing, also potted his 21st game-winning goal and surpassed Sergei Zubov (20) for the most by a defenseman in Stars/North Stars history.
GOAL GETTERS CONTINUE SCORING WAYS
Leon Draisaitl (40-44—84 in 61 GP), Chris Kreider (40-15—55 in 61 GP) and Alex Ovechkin (38-36—73 in 60 GP) each found the back of the net Thursday and stand as three of the NHL’s top five goal scorers in 2021-22.
* Draisaitl scored one of six Edmonton markers and reached the 40-goal mark in a season for the third time in his career. All three of his 40-goal campaigns have come since 2018-19, tied with Auston Matthews for the most among all skaters through that span.
* With his team trailing in the latest instalment of the ‘Battle of New York’, Kreider continued his success on the man advantage and tied the game to reach the 40-goal mark for the first time in his career. Kreider (21) is now three power-play goals shy of tying Jaromir Jagr (24 in 2005-06) for the most by a Rangers player in a single season (since 1933-34).
* In a pivotal matchup between the Capitals (34-18-10, 78 points) and Blue Jackets (31-28-3, 65 points) – two teams battling for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference – Ovechkin scored one of Washington’s seven goals, including his first career tally against Elvis Merzlikins.Merzlikins is the 155th goaltender the Capitals captain has scored against-18012403.png)
TRIO OF GOALTENDERS EARN NOTABLE WINS
Cal Petersen posted his third shutout this calendar year, Tristan Jarry secured his first career 30-win season and Erik Kallgren earned his second NHL victory in his second start to help the Kings (34-21-8, 76 points), Penguins (37-16-9, 83 points) and Maple Leafs (39-17-5, 83 points) each earn wins Thursday:
* Petersen stopped all 29 shots he faced to help Los Angeles rebound from a shutout loss with a shutout victory, while pulling the Kings within five points of the Pacific Division-leading Flames (37-16-7, 81 points). Petersen’s three shutouts this calendar year trail only Darcy Kuemper (5) and Jacob Markstrom (4) for the most among all goaltenders, while his 12-4-0 record through that span has played a part in guiding Los Angeles from the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference to its current position – jockeying for top spot in the Pacific.
* Jarry made 23 saves and stopped all four Blues skaters in the shootout to become the fourth goaltender in 2021-22 to reach 30 wins, joining Andrei Vasilevskiy (32), Frederik Andersen (30) and Sergei Bobrovsky (30). Jarry also became the fourth netminder in franchise history to record a 30-win campaign. The others: Marc-Andre Fleury (8x), Tom Barrasso (2x) and Matt Murray (2016-17).
* Erik Kallgren (34 saves) earned his second straight win as Toronto moved within one point of idle Tampa Bay (39-15-6, 84 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division. Kallgren went 104:09 without surrendering a goal against, the longest shutout sequence by a Maple Leafs rookie goaltender since James Reimer (110:47 from Jan. 25 – Feb. 5, 2011).
JOSI JOINS ELITE COMPANY IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Roman Josi (0-3—3), the NHL’s leading point-getter among all skaters in March (3-16—19 in 8 GP), maintained his pace with a third consecutive three-point outing and eclipsed the 70-point mark (17-55—72 in 59 GP). The last defensemen to record 70 points in fewer games than the Predators captain were Brian Leetch (57 GP w/ NYR) and Phil Housley (57 GP w/ WIN) in 1991-92.
* Josi is on pace to finish the season with 98 points, which would mark the highest total by a blueliner since Leetch (22-80—102 in 80 GP) in 1991-92. Should he reach the 100-point mark, Josi would become just the sixth defenseman in NHL history to hit triple digits, joining Bobby Orr (6x; last: 46-89—135 in 1974-75), Paul Coffey (5x; last: 29-74—103 in 1989-90), Al MacInnis (28-75—103 in 1990-91), Leetch and Denis Potvin (31-70—101 in 1978-79).
QUICK CLICKS
* Save of the Season? Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin makes sick stick save
* Alex Nedeljkovic posts 43-save shutout for the Red Wings
* Claude Giroux‘s dad reads lineup in Flyers locker room before 1,000th game
* NHL Trade Deadline should spark interest in ‘glue guys’
NHL’S TOP TEAM EYES ANOTHER STINGY PERFORMANCE
The NHL-leading Avalanche (43-13-5, 91 points) are the second-highest scoring team this season but have benefited from their flawless defense over their past two games and travel to SAP Center at San Jose to take on the Sharks (26-25-8, 60 points). Colorado, in search of its second straight Presidents’ Trophy, enters the contest with back-to-back shutouts against Calgary (March 13) and Los Angeles (March 15).
* With 46- and 23-save performances through that span, Darcy Kuemper (29-8-2, 2.41 GAA, .923 SV%, 5 SO) can join franchise icon Patrick Roy (3 GP from Nov. 14-18, 2001) as just the second goaltender in franchise history to register three consecutive shutouts.-18012414.png)
