* The Bruins beat the Blue Jackets to lock up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Presidents’ Trophy in their 75th game.
* Viva Las Vegas! The Golden Knights became the first Western Conference club to clinch a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* Connor McDavid scored the 300th goal of his NHL career and became the first player in League history with five double-digit point streaks in a single season.
BRUINS CLINCH PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY WITH OVERTIME VICTORY AT TD GARDEN
Adding to their historic season, the Bruins (58-12-5, 121 points) earned their 58th win of 2022-23 – establishing a franchise record for most in a campaign – while also locking up the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Presidents’ Trophy courtesy of an overtime goal by David Pastrnak.
* Boston, which tied the fourth-fewest games to clinch the NHL’s No. 1 seed in a campaign of 80-plus contests, also equaled three teams for the fifth-most wins in a single season in League history behind only the 2018-19 Lightning (62 in 82 GP), 1995-96 Red Wings (62 in 82 GP), 1976-77 Canadiens (60 in 80 GP) and 1977-78 Canadiens (59 in 80 GP). The Bruins are on pace to conclude the campaign with an NHL-record 63 victories.
* Boston became the fifth team in League history to reach the 120-point mark in 75 games or fewer, joining the 1977-78 Canadiens (74 GP), 1976-77 Canadiens (74 GP), 2018-19 Lightning (75 GP) and 1995-96 Red Wings (75 GP). The Bruins are tracking to tie the 1976-77 Canadiens (60-8-12, 132 points) for the most points in a single season in NHL history.
* This marks the 16th time the Bruins will finish an NHL season with the most standings points among all teams (outright or tied). They have gone on to reach the Stanley Cup Final in seven of the previous 15 seasons in which they have done so.
PITTSBURGH’S VICTORY VAULTS VEGAS INTO 2023 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
The Western Conference-leading Golden Knights (46-22-7, 99 points) clinched a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of the Penguins’ regulation win against the Predators.
* Vegas is the seventh franchise in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs five or more times in its first six seasons, after the Rangers (6 of 6), Blues (6 of 6), Oilers (6 of 6), original Ottawa Senators (5 of 6), Minnesota North Stars (5 of 6) and Quebec Nordiques (5 of 6). Click here to read more #NHLStats about the Golden Knights.
McDAVID SCORES 300TH NHL GOAL TO RECORD ANOTHER 10-GAME POINT STREAK
Connor McDavid (300-541—841 in 563 GP) scored the 300th goal of his NHL career to record his fifth 10-game point streak of the season, which mark the most double-digit runs by a player in a single campaign in League history.
* McDavid (26 years, 76 days) became the 11th-youngest player in NHL history at the time of his 300th goal and the fifth player in League history with 300 tallies and 500 assists prior to his 600th career game, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Peter Stastny and Bryan Trottier.
* Stuart Skinner (43 saves) concluded March with a 10-1-1 record in 12 appearances and became the first goaltender in franchise history to record 10 wins in a single month. The Oilers (44-23-9, 97 points) leapfrogged the Kings (43-22-10, 96 points) for second place in the Pacific Division and moved within two points of the first-place Golden Knights (46-22-7, 99 points), who fell to the Sharks in overtime Thursday.
PENGUINS, PANTHERS CONTINUE TO JOSTLE FOR PLAYOFF POSITIONING
Tristan Jarry (28 saves) posted a shutout in his 200th career NHL game and Matthew Tkachuk (3-1—4) scored a hat trick en route to his second straight 100-point season as both the Penguins and Panthers picked up crucial wins in their race for a playoff spot. Pittsburgh (37-28-10, 84 points), which occupies the second Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference, maintained its one-point lead over Florida (38-31-7, 83 points) and moved within three of the idle Islanders (39-28-9, 87 points).
* Jarry, whose 13 shutouts trail only Marc-Andre Fleury (44) and Tom Barrasso (22) for the most in franchise history, improved his career record to 115-57-19. His 115 wins marked the most by a Penguins goaltender through 200 games.
* Tkachuk (38-63—101 in 73 GP), who recorded 104 points with Calgary last season, became just the fourth player in NHL history to post consecutive 100-point campaigns with different teams. He also became the fourth U.S.-born player to record consecutive 100-point seasons, joining Jeremy Roenick (3 from 1991-92–1993-94), Kevin Stevens (2 from 1991-92–1992-93) and Jimmy Carson (2 from 1987-88–1988-89).
LIVE UPDATES FEATURES DEVILS DEFEATING RANGERS IN POTENTIAL ROUND 1 PREVIEW
Thursday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the 11-game slate, including the Devils defeating the Rangers in a potential 2023 First Round matchup. New Jersey (47-20-8, 102 points) concluded its four-game season series against New York with a 3-0-1 record (NYR: 1-2-1) and moved within one point of Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina (47-18-9, 103 points), which fell to Detroit after Jake Walman scored a go-ahead goal in the final seconds of regulation Thursday.
QUICK CLICKS
* Martin J. Walsh introduced as NHLPA executive director
* Henrik Lundqvist shows off custom NHL on TNT mask which features cohorts
* Hobey Baker finalists include top 2023 NHL Draft prospect Adam Fantilli
* Rangers have fun with Thursday’s Wordle answer
* 2023 NHL Technology Showcase featured at Thursday’s Kraken game
JETS, FLAMES CONTINUE BATTLE FOR WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD CARD SPOT
A four-game Friday will include two teams in the heat of the Western Conference Wild Card race with both the Jets (41-31-3, 85 points), who currently hold that final postseason spot, and the Flames (34-26-15, 83 points), who trail Winnipeg by two points, in action.
* The Jets, who are being chased in the standings by both the Flames and the Predators (37-29-8, 82 points), last sat outside the playoff picture through games played on Oct. 26, 2022. The Flames, meanwhile, will look to inch closer to acquiring a postseason position for the first time since the conclusion of play on Feb. 15.
