* Patrick Kane posted his third multi-goal outing in four games to climb another Blackhawks franchise list and propel Chicago to its first three-goal comeback win in almost two years.
* Ilya Sorokin allowed one goal or fewer for the 40th time in his NHL career en route to his second straight 20-win campaign.
* The race for the top spot in the Pacific Division continues Thursday when the Golden Knights, Kings, Kraken and Oilers all take to the ice during a 10-game slate.
KANE, DOMI HELP BLACKHAWKS EARN THREE-GOAL COMEBACK WIN
Patrick Kane (2-1—3) and Max Domi (2-1—3) each posted three-point performances while Jaxson Stauber made 29 saves to set the stage for the Blackhawks to earn their first three-goal comeback win in nearly two years (5-4 OT W vs. NSH on April 21, 2021).
* Kane, whose second tally evened the score, recorded his 59th career multi-goal outing and surpassed Denis Savard (58) for sole possession of the fourth most in Blackhawks history. Three of his multi-goal performances have come within his past four games (7-3—10), boosting his 2022-23 goal total to 16 after only scoring nine through his first 50 contests.
* Stauber (5-1-0) became the second Blackhawks goaltender to earn his first five NHL wins in six or fewer appearances, joining Scott Darling (5-1-0 in 2014-15).
SOROKIN SERVES UP 20TH WIN OF 2022-23
Ilya Sorokin stopped 25 of 26 shots to earn his 20th win of the season and help the Islanders defeat the Jets for the sixth straight game dating to March 28, 2019. New York (30-24-7, 67 points), which occupies the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, gained a three-point lead over Florida (29-25-6, 64 points), which holds the second Wild Card position.
* Sorokin became just the third Islanders goaltender in the past 20 years to post consecutive 20-win seasons (also 26-18-8 in 2021-22), joining Thomas Greiss (2x from 2015-16 – 2016-17) and Rick DiPietro (3x from 2005-06 – 2007-08).
LINDHOLM HITS 500-POINT MARK IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The Wednesday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updatesfeatured a number of notes from the three-game slate, including Elias Lindholm (1-1—2) eclipsing the 50-point mark on the season (17-34—51 in 56 GP) and becoming the eighth active Swedish-born player to reach the 500-point milestone as the Flames picked up their fifth multi-goal comeback win of 2022-23.
STADIUM SERIES DELIVERS STRONG VIEWERSHIP, MERCH SALES
The 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game between the Capitals and Hurricanes at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, N.C. on Saturday peaked at 1.5 million total viewers and was the second most-viewed game of the season across all networks. Per ESPN PR, viewership of the game, which aired on ABC and ESPN+, was up 79% from last year’s Stadium Series and up 13% from the 2020 edition.
* Additionally, the outdoor contest at Carter-Finley Stadium set game day and e-commerce sales records for a Stadium Series event.
QUICK CLICKS
* NHL launches ‘NHL Street’, official youth hockey league
* Nikita Zaitsev traded to Blackhawks by Senators
* Jake Muzzin out rest of season for Maple Leafs, recovering from spine surgery
* Dylan Larkin fined $5,000 for actions in Red Wings game
* Kraken, Climate Pledge Arena, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe announce partnership, jersey patch
PACIFIC DIVISION RACE SPOTLIGHTS NHL ACTION THURSDAY
The Golden Knights (34-18-5, 73 points), Kings (32-19-7, 71 points), Kraken (32-19-6, 70 points) and Oilers (31-19-8, 70 points) all take to the ice Thursday as the race for top spot in the Pacific Division features four teams separated by three points. Top-seeded Vegas, which clashes with Calgary on ESPN, holds a game in hand on both Los Angeles and Edmonton.
* The Golden Knights, who have held top spot in the Pacific Division for 115 days this season and every day since Feb. 7, return to T-Mobile Arena with a seven-game point streak (5-0-2 since Jan. 28). Reilly Smith (19-19—38 in 57 GP) leads Vegas with 19 goals in 2022-23 and sits one shy of his third 20-goal campaign with the franchise – a feat only two others have accomplished.
* Anze Kopitar (19-32—51 in 58 GP) – within striking distance of a 12th 20-goal campaign – and the Kings have sat atop the division for one day in 2022-23 (Jan. 27). The longtime captain has found the back of the net in each of his past three games and can join a 37-year-old Luc Robitaille (4 GP in 2003-04) as just the second player in franchise history with a four-game goal streak at age 35 or older.
* The Kraken have held the second-most days atop the Pacific Division in 2022-23, doing so for 14 days and 10 consecutive from Jan. 28 to Feb. 6.Meanwhile, Matty Beniers (18-22—40 in 55 GP) leads all rookies in goals and can be the first to reach 20 in 2022-23 – a mark at least one rookie has reached in every campaign since 2013-14. A 10th consecutive season played with at least one rookie 20-goal scorer would be the third-longest stretch in NHL history behind 1967-68 to 1993-94 (27) and 1995-96 to 2011-12 (16).
* Connor McDavid (44-61—105 in 58 GP) leads the Oilers into action after reaching the 800-point milestone in his last contest and now sits one tally shy of establishing a single-season career high in goals (also 44 in 2021-22). Edmonton, which occupied top spot in the Pacific on Oct. 12, 2022, sits three points back of Vegas after trailing the top-seeded team by as many as 13 points this season and can become the first team to overcome a double-digit point deficit to finish atop a division since Florida (17 points, Atlantic) and Anaheim (16 points, Pacific) in 2015-16.
