* Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander climbed all-time franchise lists and Sidney Crosby moved into 10th place on the NHL’s all-time assists list, but it was the Maple Leafs forwards who prevailed in a back-and-forth affair at PPG Paints Arena.
* The Stars scored at least five goals for the fourth consecutive home game and did so with the help of Roope Hintz’s second straight four-point performance and Wyatt Johnston’s third career 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.
* NHL Trade Deadline week (Friday, March 7 at 3 p.m. ET) gets started with a six-pack of Monday games with Alex Ovechkin continuing The Gr8 Chase, Prime Monday Night Hockey between the Sharks and Maple Leafs and a slew of rivalry games including Lightning-Panthers and Islanders-Rangers.
MAPLE LEAFS, CROSBY CLIMB ALL-TIME LISTS IN WILD MATINEE. . .
A back-and-forth matinee to start Sunday’s schedule saw the teams combine for 11 goals (including four game-tying markers), a buzzer-beating go-ahead goal in the final second of the middle frame, a tying goal in the first 10 seconds of the third period and an overtime winner from William Nylander to give the Maple Leafs (38-20-2, 78 points) a five-game win streak and help them leapfrog the Panthers (37-21-3, 77 points) into first place in the Atlantic Division. Toronto and Florida have alternated the top seed in the Atlantic Division for each of the past five days, while the third-place Lightning (35-20-4, 74 points) have won eight straight.
* Auston Matthews (1-1—2), Nylander (1-1—2) and Mitch Marner (0-1—1) all contributed in the victory to climb all-time franchise lists. Matthews (390) surpassed Darryl Sittler (389) for second on the Maple Leafs all-time goals list, while Nylander (252) did the same to Bob Pulford (251) for sole possession of 10th. Marner, meanwhile, recorded his 714th career point to pass George Armstrong (713) for fifth in franchise history.
* Sidney Crosby (611-1,050—1,661 in 1,333 GP) notched three points and overtook a pair of legends on all-time NHL lists, surpassing Gordie Howe (1,049) for sole possession of 10th on the NHL’s all-time assists list and Bobby Hull (610) for 18th on the all-time goals list. Crosby is the only active player to rank among the top 10 on the NHL’s all-time points list (9th).
. . . WHILE JOHNSTON, HINTZ AND STARS SHINE TO WRAP UP TRIPLEHEADER
The Blues tied the game twice in the first period, but Wyatt Johnston (3-0—3) scored his third career hat trick and Roope Hintz (1-3—4) collected four points for the second time in as many contests to propel the Stars (39-19-2, 80 points) to a fourth straight home game with five or more goals and a fifth straight win at American Airlines Center overall.
* Hintz, with 0-4—4 in his last outing, became the third player in 2024-25 to record consecutive four-point games (also Brayden Point: 2 GP from Dec. 5-8, 2024 & Matthew Tkachuk: 2 GP from Dec. 3-5, 2024). Only three other players in franchise history have recorded seven assists in a two-game span: Dino Ciccarelli (0-7—7; Feb. 6-13, 1988), Neal Broten (3-7—10; Dec. 4-9, 1982) and Craig Hartsburg (2-7—9; Jan. 25-27, 1982).
*Johnston’s third career hat trick boosted his 2024-25 totals to 21-34—55 (60 GP) as he joined Brian Bellows (4) and Mike Modano (3) as the third player in Stars/North Stars history with three 20-goal seasons before age 22. Overall, he became the ninth active player with at least three career hat tricks at age 21 or younger. The others: Patrik Laine (8), Steven Stamkos (5), Alex DeBrincat (4), Connor McDavid (4) Matt Boldy (3), Tyler Seguin (3), Taylor Hall (3) and John Tavares (3).
* Dallas, which scored five or more goals in four straight home games for the first time in team history, became the fifth club to accomplish the feat in 2024-25: Colorado (Dec. 14, 2024 – Jan. 2), Pittsburgh (Nov. 27 – Dec. 7, 2024), Washington (Oct. 23 – Nov. 2, 2024) and Vegas (Oct. 22-28, 2024).
QUICK AND AHO MAKE THEIR MARK IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Notes and storylines were aplenty during a six-game Sunday. The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates had every contest covered.
* Artemi Panarin (1-1—2) factored on two of four Rangers goals and 39-year-old Jonathan Quick turned aside all 34 shots he faced – including one highlight-reel save – to earn his third shutout of the season, backstop the club to victory in his 800th career game and help New York (30-26-4, 64 points) move within two points of idle Detroit (30-24-6, 66 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Quick became the 17th goaltender in NHL history to appear in 800 career games and the second U.S.-born netminder to do so following John Vanbiesbrouck (882 GP).
* Sebastian Aho put an exclamation mark on the Hurricanes’ dads and mentors trip as he scored the overtime winner in front of his father, Harri, and lifted his team to victory. Aho netted his League-leading fifth overtime tally of 2024-25 and tied the NHL mark for most in a season (also Brad Marchand:2017-18, Alex Galchenyuk:2016-17, Jonathan Toews: 2015-16 & Steven Stamkos: 2011-12).
QUICK CLICKS
* Players to watch ahead of NHL Trade Deadline
*Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey traded to Avalanche by Rangers
* Gustav Nyquist traded to Wild by Predators for 2nd-round pick in 2026 Draft
* Tyson Jost’s legendary hockey grandpa reads starting lineup for Hurricanes
* Sharks try their hands at curling on Montreal road trip
WEEK STARTS WITH PRIME MONDAY NIGHT HOCKEY, THE GR8 CHASE, RIVALRIES
Monday’s six-game offering begins a little earlier than usual, with Alex Ovechkin continuing The Gr8 Chase at home against the Senators just 11 tallies from breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record at 6:30 p.m. ET. The week also starts with Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks visiting Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs on Prime Monday Night Hockey plus a slew of rivalry games with playoff implications, including the Lightning visiting the Panthers with the teams jockeying for position in the top three of the Atlantic Division and the Rangers hosting the Islanders with both teams hoping to climb closer to a Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference.
* At age 39, Ovechkin (31-17—48 in 44 GP) has scored in three of his last four games (5-0—5 in 4 GP), sits tied for fifth with 31 goals in 2024-25 and ranks second in the League with a 0.70 goals per game rate (min. 10 GP), trailing only Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race leader Leon Draisaitl (0.73).
* Ovechkin (884-714—1,598 in 1,470 GP) also enters play two points shy of becoming the 11th player in NHL history to reach the 1,600-point milestone – Ovechkin’s longtime competitor Sidney Crosby is the only active player who has reached that benchmark.
* The Sharks contest their fifth consecutive road game in Canada (and fifth contest of a seven-game road trip overall) when they visit the Maple Leafs on Prime Monday Night Hockey. With Mikael Granlund’s trade to Dallas on Feb. 1, Celebrini (18 years, 262 days) leads all Sharks skaters in points with 18-26—44 in 49 GP. Celebrini, the Sharks’ first-ever No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft (2024), is tracking towards becoming the youngest player to lead the Sharks in points at season’s end and the second teenager to do so after Pat Falloon (19 years, 207 days) in the franchise’s inaugural season of 1991-92. 
WEEK AHEAD FEATURES TRADE DEADLINE, MORE NATIONAL GAMES
Other national broadcasts to look forward to during the week ahead:
Wednesday, March 5 – The Gr8 Chase continues on TNT
An NHL on TNT doubleheader opens with two chases: Alex Ovechkin tracking down Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record and the Rangers looking to catch the teams occupying Wild Card positions in the Eastern Conference. The broadcast closes with Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs opening a three-game road trip in Vegas against Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights.
Wednesday, March 5 – Tkachuk faces Bedard on Sportsnet
Sportsnet’s exclusive Wednesday night broadcast will see 4 Nations Face-Off standout Brady Tkachuk and the Senators, who enter the week two points back of the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference, continue their push for a playoff spot against Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks.
Thursday, March 6 – ESPN doubleheader on eve of Trade Deadline
Less than 24 hours before the Trade Deadline, ESPN will air a doubleheader including two teams in the thick of playoff races who have a history of being active on the trade front. The broadcast opens with the Lightning hosting the Sabres – Tampa Bay already made a splash entering the 2024-25 season acquiring defenseman Ryan McDonagh (May 21, 2024) and forward Jake Guentzel (June 30, 2024) via trade and find themselves pushing for an eighth consecutive playoff appearance. The Avalanche host the Sharks in the second half of the broadcast. Colorado has already been busy on the trade front, gearing up for the postseason by trading for Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren (March 1), Martin Necas and Jack Drury (Jan. 24) as well as goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (Dec. 9, 2024).
Friday, March 7 – NHL Trade Deadline (3 p.m.)
With trade winds already swirling, including the Panthers acquiring Seth Jones on Saturday as they prepare for a run at back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, Sportsnet in Canada and NHL Network in the U.S. will carry extensive coverage of the 2024-25 NHL Trade Deadline on Friday. Follow all the movement with NHL.com’s Trade Tracker and view the #NHLStats Pack for all you need to know leading up to deadline day.
Saturday, March 8 – ABC Hockey Saturday Doubleheader
A Saturday two-pack on ABC and ESPN+ opens with a pair of young stars having breakout seasons going head-to-head with Shane Wright (13-23—36 in 58 GP) and the Kraken visiting Matvei Michkov (19-25—44 in 59 GP) and the Flyers and closes with a pair of longtime Atlantic Division rivals facing off when David Pastrnak and the Bruins visit Nikita Kucherov and the Lightning. Boston is in a close race looking to get back into the postseason – the Bruins entered the 2024-25 campaign tied with Toronto for the longest active streak of consecutive postseason appearances (8).
Saturday, March 8 – Three Games on Hockey Night in Canada
Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada features three games, including Mitch Marner and the Maple Leafs visiting Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews in a showdown between former 4 Nations Face-Off championship teammates. The slate also includes the Canadiens visiting the Flames and the Stars visiting the Oilers – the second time the teams will meet since Edmonton ousted Dallas in the 2024 Conference Finals (DAL: 4-1 W on Oct. 19).
Sunday, March 9 – TNT Doubleheader
Jack Hughes and the Devils visit Travis Konecny and the Flyers to open a Sunday doubleheader on TNT and MAX, followed by Sidney Crosby and the Penguins visiting an old friend in Marc-Andre Fleury and the Wild. New Jersey and Minnesota currently hold a postseason position as they aim to return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing in 2023-24.
