* Quinton Byfield found the score sheet again as the Kings scored seven goals for the second straight day and extended their home point streak to a franchise record 14 games.
* Sunday’s slate saw Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby record his 16th season with 20 multi-point games and join an elite list while Chicago forward Connor Bedard collected his second 20-goal campaign and found himself among a very short list of Blackhawks teenagers.
* A four-game Monday will be highlighted by the Hughes brothers, Quinn and Luke, clashing on Prime Monday Night Hockey in Canada and features each team in action in the thick of the Rush to the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
-24014835.png)
BYFIELD, KUEMPER HELP KINGS ESTABLISH FRANCHISE RECORD HOME POINT STREAK
Quinton Byfield (1-1—2) factored on two of Los Angeles’ seven goals to help the Kings (39-21-9, 87 points) extend their home point streak to a franchise record 14 games (11-0-3) and leapfrog the idle Oilers (41-24-5, 87 points) for second place in the Pacific Division by virtue of a game in hand. Los Angeles scored seven goals on consecutive days for just the third time in franchise history (also Dec. 20-21, 1988 & Nov. 13-14, 1987).-24014730.png)
* Byfield extended his home point streak to nine games – the longest by a Kings player since Anze Kopitar (9 GP) in 2020-21. He also extended his home goal streak to seven games, which is tied for the third longest in Kings history behind only Luc Robitaille (12 GP from Nov.11-Dec.30, 1989) and Jari Kurri (9 GP from Nov. 3-Dec. 11, 1993).
* Darcy Kuemper extended his franchise-leading home point streak to 14 games (13-0-1) and became the first Canadian-born goaltender with a run of that length since Roberto Luongo (11-0-3) in 2010-11. The last to post a longer run was Marty Turco (13-0-4) in 2003-04.
REINHART, CROSBY POST MULTIPLE POINTS IN FIRST MEETING SINCE 4 NATIONS
For the first time since helping Canada win the 4 Nations Face-Off as teammates in February, Sam Reinhart (2-0—2) and Sidney Crosby (0-2—2) went head-to-head in a contest where they both posted multiple points before the Panthers earned a shootout victory. With the win, Florida (43-25-3, 89 points) moved two points ahead of the idle Maple Leafs (42-25-3, 87 points) for first in the Atlantic Division.
* Reinhart recorded his team-leading 34th and 35th goals of the season, including his 70th power-play goal since joining the Panthers in 2020-21, which is the second most among all players over that span behind Leon Draisaitl (92). Crosby, meanwhile, extended his point streak to seven games (6-6—12 in 7 GP) and recorded his 20th multi-point outing of the season.
YOUNG STARS SHINE IN HIGH-SCORING CONTEST
The Blackhawks (7) and Flyers (4) combined for 11 goals in total with the help of multi-point performances by a pair of young stars Sunday:
* A Calder Trophy hopeful this season, Flyers forward Matvei Michkov recorded a pair of assists to reach the 50-point benchmark (70 GP). Michkov became the fastest Flyers rookie to 50 points in a season since Mikael Renberg in 1993-94 (57 GP) and the third rookie to reach the mark in 2024-25, joining Lane Hutson (MTL) and Macklin Celebrini (SJS) – only one other campaign in the past five years has seen as many rookies record 50 points: 2021-22 (Michael Bunting, Trevor Zegras, Moritz Seider & Lucas Raymond).
* Last year’s Calder Trophy winner, Connor Bedard, recorded his 25th career multi-point game and reached the 20-goal plateau for the second time in as many seasons. Bedard is among five Blackhawks skaters in the last 20 years to open their career with back-to-back 20-goal campaigns, a group that includes Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Artemi Panarin and Alex DeBrincat.
HALL’S HAT TRICK FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The Sunday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured a number of noteworthy storylines from across the seven-game slate, including Taylor Hall becoming the seventh player in Hurricanes/Whalers history to record a third-period hat trick. With every hat trick this season, AstraZeneca will donate $3,000 to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation up to $300,000.
QUICK CLICKS
* NHL EDGE stats comparison: Quinn vs. Luke Hughes
*Joonas Donskoi goes for skate at hometown park he saved with donation
* Color of Hockey: Sarah Nurse out to ‘make an even bigger impact’ on, off ice
* Rookie Watch: Macklin Celebrini, Cutter Gauthier among top 1st-year players in Pacific Division
* Zizing ‘Em Up: Avalanche, Lightning embracing all in mentality
HUGHES BROTHERS SET FOR SHOWDOWN ON PRIME, ESPN+, DISNEY+ AND HULU
All eight teams in action Monday are in the thick of the Rush to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including the Canucks (32-26-12, 76 points) and Devils (37-28-6, 80 points) who will clash on Prime Monday Night Hockey in Canada, with the fourth meeting between American brothers Quinn and Luke Hughes also streaming in the U.S. on ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu. Luke (1-1—2) has helped New Jersey to a 2-1-0 record in the previous three meetings against Quinn (0-5—5) and the Canucks (1-2-0).
* The four-game slate is packed with playoff implications: New Jersey is seeking to maintain a spot in the top three of the Metropolitan Division; Dallas is looking to strengthen its grip on the No. 2 seed in the Central Division in a potential First Round matchup against Minnesota (Wild Card 1); Vancouver, Columbus, Detroit, the NY Islanders and Utah are all within six points of a Wild Card spot.
A LOOK AHEAD AT THE LAST WEEK OF MARCH
The last week of March includes a large serving of national games, The Gr8 Chase and pivotal matchups in the Rush to the Stanley Cup Playoffs:
Tuesday, March 25 – The Gr8 Chase Continues with Battle of Conference Leaders
* Alex Ovechkin scored his 600th NHL goal against Connor Hellebuyck and the Jets seven years ago (March 12, 2018), and will enter their next meeting seven goals shy of setting the all-time NHL goals record as the No. 1 seeds from the East and West clash in Winnipeg.
Wednesday, March 26 – Playoff Race Takes Spotlight During National Games
* A Sportsnet showdown between the Canucks and Islanders will draw the attention of teams competing in the Wild Card race in both conferences, while a doubleheader on TNT, Max and truTV culminates with a rematch of the 2025 Western Conference Final when the Stars and Oilers meet in Edmonton (also available on SN, SN1 & TVAS in Canada). Jason Robertson enters the week needing one goal for his third career 30-goal season, while Darnell Nurse needs one to move into sole possession of second place for career goals among Oilers defensemen.
Thursday, March 27 – Kings and Avalanche Clash on ESPN
* Quinton Byfield, Anze Kopitar and the Kings will continue their pursuit of a playoff spot (and home ice in the First Round) when they hit the road to face Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and the Avalanche – who are seeking the same achievements down the stretch. Byfield is one of the League’s top goal scorers this month, Kopitar is in contention for his 16th season as the Kings’ points leader and Colorado is in the running to become the second team in 35 seasons to have the top overall point scorer (MacKinnon leads by four points) and top point scorer among defensemen (Makar leads by 12 points).
Saturday, March 29 – Hockey Night in Canada and ABC Hockey Saturday in Prime Time
* Two crucial matchups in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race will be the focus in prime time on Saturday as the Blue Jackets and Senators meet on Hockey Night in Canada and the Bruins and Red Wings clash on ABC Hockey Saturday. Columbus, Ottawa and Detroit all are seeking a return to the playoffs for the first time since at least 2020. The Hockey Night in Canada slate also includes the No. 2 and No. 3 seeds in the Pacific Division hosting games as the Kings face the Maple Leafs for a matinee in L.A. and the Oilers open the Rogers Place doors for the “Battle of Alberta.”
Sunday, March 30 – Rookie of the Year Candidate on ESPN
* Eighteen-year-old Macklin Celebrini (21-31—52 in 58 GP) needs eight points over the Sharks’ final 12 games to set a new single-season franchise record for points by a rookie. San Jose enters the week with two of the top four in rookie scoring (also, Will Smith: 13-23—26 in 62 GP), with Celebrini on pace to score 62 points in 2024-25 – which would be one more than Anze Kopitar had in his rookie season for the Kings in 2006-07 (when Celebrini was nine months old).
