* The Hockey Fights Cancer donation count climbed again Saturday as Jack Hughes netted the 38th hat trick of the season to bring AstraZeneca’s cumulative contribution so far in 2023-24 to $190,000. Click here for more information.
* A quartet of Canadian teams earned wins on Hockey Night in Canada, highlighted by the Jets who jumped up the Central Division into first place.
* Connor Bedard opens a five-game Sunday against the team he grew up cheering for and will have the opportunity to climb an NHL list for goals as he skates in his 30th career game.
HUGHES NETS 100TH NHL GOAL, HAT TRICK ON DADS TRIP
With his brother watching from the bench and his father and uncle in the stands during the Devils’ dads trip – which has unearthed some interesting facts about the players – Jack Hughes scored the second hat trick of his career and hit the 100-goal milestone. Hughes (267 GP) became the fastest Devils player to tally 100 NHL goals and second fastest in franchise history behind Wilf Paiement (228 GP w/ CLR).
* Hughes also scored the earliest goal of his NHL career (0:47) and notched his 24th career three-point outing – already tied with Paiement and Travis Zajac for the sixth most in Devils/Rockies/Scouts history. Paiement accumulated his across 392 games with the club, while Zajac skated in 1,024.
* Hughes became the 85th player in NHL history to reach the 100-goal milestone before his 23rd birthday and the 10th U.S.-born skater among that group. The last player before him to net a hat trick in the same game as his 100th career goal was teammate Jesper Bratt (March 19, 2023).
* It turned out to be a milestone night for many in Columbus as Devils captain Nico Hischier (1-1—2) reached the 300-point benchmark, head coach Lindy Ruff claimed his 850th win to move into sole possession of fourth place in League history and Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau became the second-fastest active U.S.-born player to notch his 700th NHL point.
SUCCESSFUL OUTINGS ON HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
Hockey Night in Canada did not disappoint, with four Canadian teams finding the win column, the Jets moving into first in the Central Division and a number of other noteworthy performances taking place:
* The Canadiens built a 4-0 lead with four tallies in the second period and survived an Islanders rally – which included three assists by Noah Dobson and a goal by Bo Horvat – to claim victory on home ice. Dobson matched the franchise record for assists in a period by a defenseman, while Horvat established a career high by extending his point streak to 10 games. Dobson trails only Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar for points by defensemen this season and Horvat shares the League lead with 14 points this month.
* Newcomers Max Domi (1-2—3) and Tyler Bertuzzi (0-3—3) both factored on three of the Maple Leafs’ seven goals, while Martin Jones made 38 saves for his 29th career shutout and first with his new squad – Jones now owns the most shutouts versus the Penguins among active goaltenders (3). The last time Toronto recorded a larger margin of victory without allowing a goal was Feb. 12, 1977 (10-0 W vs. WSH).
* Gabriel Vilardi (2-0—2) followed up his four-point night Wednesday with another multi-point game as he scored two of six Winnipeg goals Saturday, while Connor Hellebuyck improved to 5-0-0 in his past five contests and tied Thatcher Demko (15) for the League lead in victories this season. With the win, the Jets (18-9-2, 38 points) leapfrogged the Avalanche (18-10-2, 38 points) and Stars (17-8-4, 38 points) for first in the Central Division standings.
* Yegor Sharangovich netted his first game-winning goal with Calgary as the Flames (12-14-5, 29 points) moved within three points of the final Wild Card spot. With the winner, Sharangovich extended his goal streak to a career-high five games – only three active players recorded a longer run in their first season with a franchise: Alex Ovechkin (7 GP & 6 GP in 2005-06 w/ WSH), Matthew Tkachuk (6 GP in 2022-23 w/ FLA) and Evgeni Malkin (6 GP in 2006-07 w/ PIT).
* While Connor McDavid extended his career-high assist streak to 11 games and posted the longest such run by an Oilers skater since Wayne Gretzky (11 GP in 1986-87), it was Carter Verhaeghe (2-1—3) and the Panthers who capped off Hockey Night in Canada with a win. Verhaeghe scored his 38th and 39th goals of 2023 to pass Evgenii Dadonov (38 in 2018) for the fourth most by a Florida player in any calendar year, behind Pavel Bure (57 in 2000 & 50 in 2001) and Olli Jokinen (44 in 2007). Find more notes about this past calendar year in the 2023 Year in Review #NHLStats Pack.
PAIR OF METROPOLITAN TEAMS CLIMB STANDINGS
Vincent Trocheck scored both New York goals, including the overtime winner, to help the Rangers (21-7-1, 43 points) defeat the Bruins (19-5-5, 43 points) and overtake them for top spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Flyers (17-10-3, 37 points) edged the Red Wings to climb into second place in the Metropolitan Division.
* Cam York scored the lone goal in Philadelphia’s win as Samuel Ersson (33 saves) earned his third NHL shutout and became the third-fastest goaltender in Flyers history to reach the mark (24 GP), behind Bob Froese and Doug Favell (both w/ 14 GP).
GOALIE NOTES GALORE IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
#NHLStats: Live Updates from Saturday included Juuse Saros establishing a new career high as he extended his winning streak to six games and Karel Vejmelka helping the Coyotes post shutouts on consecutive days for the second time in franchise history, with the first instance coming in March 1997.
QUICK CLICKS
* Captains selected for 2024 NHL Mascot Showdown presented by Upper Deck
* Tomas Tatar traded to Kraken by Avalanche
* Lightning host young fan battling cancer during morning skate in Calgary
* Tate McRae attends Flames game, gifted jersey
* Zizing ‘Em Up: Alex Pietrangelo reflects on daughter’s recovery from illness
NHL NETWORK DOUBLEHEADER TO INCLUDE CONNOR BEDARD’S 30TH NHL GAME
A five-game Sunday includes games on NHL Network, Sportsnet and TVA Sports, with three of the League’s top 10 scorers in action, including the Canucks trio of J.T. Miller (15-28—43 in 31 GP), Quinn Hughes (9-30—39 in 31 GP) and Elias Pettersson (11-27—38 in 31 GP) who will open the day against Connor Bedard (12-12—24 in 29 GP) and the Blackhawks. Hughes can become the fastest defenseman in franchise history to 40 points in a season and could do so in fewer contests than Erik Karlsson,who required 33 games in 2022-23 en route to his 100-point campaign.
* Bedard enters his 30th game – which will be his first against his hometown Canucks – tied with John Tavares (13-11—24) for sixth in terms of points at that stage of a career among active No. 1 picks. Only Alex Ovechkin (18-16—34), Connor McDavid (13-21—34), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (13-19—32), Sidney Crosby (13-18—31) and Patrick Kane (7-23—30) had as many among that cohort.
* Bedard has a chance to climb the list for most goals through 30 games by an 18-year-old (among all players in NHL history). He enters the contest tied with Jimmy Carson.
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