* The Panthers once again lived up to their “Comeback Cats” nickname, staging the first four-goal, third-period comeback win of 2021-22 and 20th in NHL regular-season history.
* A trio of Central Division clubs skated to important victories Saturday, including the second-place Wild who watched a franchise record fall as well as Marc-Andre Fleury improving to 3-0-0 with the club.
* Willie O’Ree was at TD Garden to see his No. 22 in the rafters in person for the first time and witnessed Jeremy Swayman become just the fourth Bruins rookie goaltender in the NHL’s expansion era to earn 20 wins in a single season.
“COMEBACK CATS” STRIKE AGAIN AS FLORIDA RALLIES FROM 6-2 DEFICIT TO WIN
After surrendering a hat trick to Yegor Sharangovich and entering the third period facing a 6-2 deficit, the Atlantic Division-leading Panthers scored five unanswered goals to claim yet another four-goal comeback victory. It was the third four-goal comeback win of the 2021-22 season and first in which a team faced that deficit in the third period.
* Saturday marked the 20th game in NHL regular-season history won by a team that trailed by four or more goals in the third period, with Florida accounting for each of the last two instances (also Nov. 12, 2019 at BOS). The only such comeback in the playoffs came in Game 3 of the 1982 Division Semifinals when the Kings rallied past the Oilers.
* Florida joined Washington (Dec. 15, 1979 & Feb. 2, 1986) and Los Angeles (Nov. 10, 2007 & Game 3 of 1982 DSF) as the third club in League history to win more than once after trailing by four or more goals in the third period.
* Florida equaled a League record by winning for the fourth time this season after trailing by three or more goals at any point in a game (also Nov. 30 vs. WSH, Dec. 2 vs. BUF & March 26 at OTT). In addition to the Panthers, the 1983-84 Oilers, 1983-84 North Stars and 1989-90 Red Wings also had four such victories within a season. The Panthers had three such victories in the abbreviated 2019-20 season.
* Florida’s offense was carried by its defense Saturday as Gustav Forsling (2), Ben Chiarot, Radko Gudas and Brandon Montour combined for five goals, setting single-game franchise records for most defensemen with a goal (4) and most combined goals by blueliners (5).
* Key factors in the historic comeback were also captain Aleksander Barkov, who scored twice in the final five minutes of regulation to tie the game, and leading scorer Jonathan Huberdeau, who assisted on each of those tallies to match Barkov’s franchise record for points in a season. The Panthers (47-15-6, 100 points) also matched a franchise record for wins in a season and hit the 100-point mark for the second time.
CLOSING IN ON THE CENTRAL DIVISION
A trio of Central Division clubs skated to crucial victories during the Saturday slate:
* It was a record-setting night for Kirill Kaprizov (1-1—2), who scored in his sixth straight game and established the most points in a single season by a Wild skater (39-46—85). Meanwhile, Marc-Andre Fleury (37 saves) helped Minnesota (42-20-5, 89 points) maintain its cushion on second place in the Central Division and became the first goaltender to win each of his first three games with the Wild.
* Robert Thomas (15-42—57 in 58 GP) continued his career year by scoring in his third straight game and Ville Husso made 39 saves as the Blues (38-20-10, 86 points) kept pace with the Wild in the Central Division. Husso improved to 9-0-1 against the Pacific Division in 2021-22 (11 GP) and is one of only two goaltenders without a regulation loss against a single division this season (min. 10 GP). The other: Jacob Markstrom (9-0-2 vs. Metropolitan).
* Tyler Seguin (0-3—3) factored on three of four first-period goals for the Stars and helped Dallas (39-25-3, 81 points) leapfrog idle Vegas (38-28-4, 80 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The former holds three games in hand (DAL: 67 GP, VGK: 70 GP). Seguin matched the Stars/North Stars record for most assists in a period and became the first player to achieve the feat since Corey Perry on Nov. 21, 2019 (0-3—3 in P2).
MAPLE LEAFS, BRUINS GAIN GROUND ON LIGHTNING IN JAM-PACKED ATLANTIC DIVISION
The Maple Leafs (44-19-5, 93 points) and Bruins (43-20-5, 91 points) each picked up a win and gained ground on the Lightning (43-18-7, 93 points) in a tight Atlantic Division playoff race where the second and fourth seeds are separated by just two points. Toronto, which holds second place due to regulation wins (TOR: 38, TBL: 32), faces off with Tampa Bay on Monday.
* Auston Matthews scored one of six Maple Leafs goals, his fifth consecutive contest with a tally, to boost his lead in the NHL’s 2021-22 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race. Matthews (51-37—88 in 63 GP), now three goals shy of matching the single-season franchise record, required the second-fewest games among active players to reach 250 career tallies (250-189—439 in 397 GP).
* Jeremy Swayman (22 saves) earned his 20th win of the season – three more than the next closest rookie goaltender (Alex Nedeljkovic: 17) – and became the seventh rookie netminder in Bruins history to hit the mark. Only three others among that cohort achieved the feat in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68): Tuukka Rask (22 in 2009-10), Andrew Raycroft (29 in 2003-04) and Marco Baron (22 in 1981-82).
* ICYMI: Wille O’Ree was in attendance at TD Garden on Saturday to see his No. 22 in the rafters in person for the first time. The first weekend of April also marked the commencement of the Willie O’Ree Skills Weekend 2022, which featured 55 youth hockey players participate in various skill sessions at Boston University’s Walter Brown Arena on April 1.
MacKINNON MILESTONE HIGHLIGHTS #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Nathan MacKinnon (22-50—72 in 53 GP) collected two helpers, including one on the game-winning goal, to record his fourth career 50-assist season and reach 400 in his nine-year NHL tenure (232-400—632 in 626 GP). MacKinnon’s performance helped the Avalanche improve to 28-4-3 at Ball Arena this season, matching the franchise record for home wins in a single campaign (also 2000-01 & 2017-18).
* Storylines like these and more can be found in the latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates.
QUICK CLICKS
* Nick Ritchie suspended one game for slashing in Coyotes game
* Keith Yandle‘s NHL-record consecutive games played streak ends at 989
* Ken Daneyko, Devils players kick off Nickelodeon Weekend at Prudential Center
* Canadiens rally to defeat Lightning in Martin St. Louis’ return to Tampa Bay
GOAL SCORERS ON THE GO FOR SUNDAY
Leon Draisaitl (49-50—99 in 69 GP), Chris Kreider (46-19—65 in 69 GP) and Alex Ovechkin (42-36—78 in 66 GP) sit second, third and fourth in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race respectively and will take to the ice eyeing personal benchmarks. 
* Draisaitl eyes his second 50-goal campaign when the Oilers (39-25-5, 83 points) travel to Anaheim to square off with the Ducks (28-30-12, 68 points). The Cologne, Germany, native can become the ninth player in NHL history born and trained outside of North America to record multiple 50-goal seasons. To date, only Alex Ovechkin (8x), Pavel Bure (5x), Jari Kurri (4x), Jaromir Jagr (3x), Teemu Selanne (3x), Ilya Kovalchuk (2x), Peter Bondra (2x) and Alexander Mogilny (2x) have done so.
* Kreider, with eight goals in his past 10 games, looks to become the first Rangers player to score 25 power-play goals in a single season (since 1933-34) when New York (44-20-5, 93 points) hosts Philadelphia (21-36-11, 53 points) at Madison Square Garden. Only four NHL players have hit the mark in the past 25 years: Ovechkin (25 in 2014-15 w/ WSH), Selanne (25 in 2006-07 & 1998-99 w/ ANA), Kovalchuk (27 in 2005-06 w/ ATL) and Todd Bertuzzi (25 in 2002-03 w/ VAN).
* Ovechkin, amid his 12th career 40-goal campaign, eyes elite company when the Capitals (37-21-10, 84 points) welcome the Wild (42-20-5, 89 points). Already with eight multi-goal outings in 2021-22 and 157 in his career, the third-highest goal scorer in NHL history needs one more performance to tie Brett Hull (158 in 1,269 GP) for the second-most multi-goal games in League history.
