Monday, February 10, 2025
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NHL Morning Skate for Sunday, February 2, 2025

* A doubleheader on ABC Hockey Saturday saw 4 Nations Face-Off captain Aleksander Barkov record his 200th career multi-point game to lift the Panthers to victory before David Pastrnak scored Boston’s first hat trick of 2024-25 in a Bruins win. 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.

Alex Ovechkin continued The Gr8 Chase and moved within 18 of passing Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history in a contest that featured the top team from each conference go head-to-head and the League-leading Jets come out on top in overtime.


* Seventeen of 21 players currently part of Finland’s 4 Nations roster are represented across 11 teams playing Sunday, including Mikael Granlund, who could make his Stars debut after being acquired Saturday.

4 NATIONS STARS PROPEL PANTHERS PAST EARLY DEFICIT. . .

Landon Slaggert wasted no time scoring the first goal of February and did so by netting the fastest tally to begin a game in the 98-year history of the Blackhawks (0:07), but five of the Panthers’ NHL-leading eight players headed to the 4 Nations Face-Off propelled the club to a comeback victory: Sam Reinhart (CAN; 1-2—3), Aleksander Barkov (FIN; 0-2—2), Matthew Tkachuk (USA; 1-0—1), Niko Mikkola (FIN; 0-1—1) and Anton Lundell (FIN; 0-1—1). 

* Reinhart became the first player in Panthers history with four consecutive 30-goal seasons and tied the franchise record for 30-goal campaigns (also: Olli Jokinen, 4). His Saturday performance also boosted his career totals with the Panthers to 151-149—300 (295 GP); he moved within one goal of tying Pavel Bure (152) for the fifth most in franchise history and became the seventh skater to collect 300 points with the Panthers.

* Barkov extended his franchise record with a 103rd career multi-assist game and also became the first player in Panthers history to record 200 multi-point performances. The Panthers captain is one of four Finnish players in NHL history with at least 100 multi-assist outings (also Jari Kurri: 167, Teemu Selanne: 167 & Saku Koivu: 100).


. . . WHILE PASTRNAK, MILLER SHINE IN SECOND HALF OF ABC DOUBLHEADER

J.T. Miller potted a pair of goals in his first game since being acquired by New York but David Pastrnak (3-1—3) notched Boston’s first hat trick of 2024-25 and extended a pair of streaks to help the Bruins skate to victory in the second half of ABC’s afternoon doubleheader. Boston (26-22-6, 58 points) tied Tampa Bay (27-20-4, 58 points) for points, though the Lightning maintained the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference by virtue of owning three games in hand.

* Pastrnak, who was named the NHL’s First Star of January with a League-leading 11 goals (tied) and 24 points, became the third Bruins player in the past 25 years to record a double-digit assist streak. He also notched his eighth career point streak of 10-plus games to pass Bobby Orr (7x) for the second most in franchise history behind Phil Esposito (10x).
 

* Miller (2-0—2) started his second stint with New York by leading his new teammates in points Saturday as he scored his first goal with the club since Feb. 25, 2018 – a span of 2,533 days. He became the fifth player in franchise history to go at least 2,500 days between goals with the Rangers, following Joe Cooper (3,234 days; Feb. 27, 1938 to Jan. 5, 1947), Mark Osborne (2,923 days; March 4, 1987 to March 5, 1995), Dominic Moore (2,824 days; March 20, 2006 to Dec. 12, 2013) and Lucien DeBlois (2,541 days; Oct. 25, 1979 to Oct. 9, 1986).

JETS BEST CAPITALS IN BATTLE BETWEEN TOP TWO TEAMS IN THE NHL

A battle between the Western Conference-leading Jets (37-14-3, 77 points) and Eastern Conference-leading Capitals (34-11-7, 75 GP) saw Washington erase a multi-goal deficit, Alex Ovechkin continue The Gr8 Chase with a third-period tying tally and Josh Morrissey net the overtime winner. Both teams boosted their point totals Saturday, but it was Winnipeg which was able to maintain its positioning atop the NHL standings and earn its sixth straight win.

Mark Scheifele (0-2—2) assisted on Morrissey’s overtime winner to improve his season totals to 31-30—61 (54 GP), marking his 10th career 60-point season, which surpassed Blake Wheeler (9) for the most in Jets/Thrashers history. Scheifele now owns the most consecutive 60-point seasons among active players with 10 – Leon DraisaitlConnor McDavidMitch Marner, Brad Marchand and Patrick Kane have all recorded nine.

* Ovechkin (24-14—38 in 36 GP) scored his 877th career goal, which was recorded at a speed of 88.79 mph according to NHL EDGE, to move 18 away from passing Wayne Gretzky (894) for the most in NHL history. The Capitals captain owns a goals-per-game rate of 0.67 this season, which puts him on pace to pass Gretzky on April 12 (at CBJ). Ovechkin (877-711—1,588 in 1,462 GP) owns a career average of 0.60 and that rate he would break the record in Washington’s last game of the season on April 17 (at PIT).


MATTHEWS’ MAPLE LEAFS BEST McDAVID’S OILERS IN 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF PREVIEW

Auston Matthews (0-2—2) and William Nylander (1-0—1) helped the Maple Leafs fend off Connor McDavid and the Oilers in the final meeting between the two captains exactly two weeks to the day before they go head-to-head for the United States and Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. Toronto (31-19-2, 64 points) snapped a three-game skid and stayed within a point of Florida (31-19-3, 65 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division.

* Matthews (388-301—689 in 599 GP), who will captain the United States in the upcoming best-on-best tournament, became the fourth American player in NHL history to register 300 goals and 300 assists prior to his 600th game. He joined Brett Hull (450-315—765 in 599 GP), Pat LaFontaine (343-346—689 in 599 GP) and Joe Mullen (315-356—671 in 599 GP).

* Nylander, who will skate for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, recorded his fifth career 30-goal season, which trails only Mats Sundin (10x), Matthews (8x), Darryl Sittler (8x) and Rick Vaive (7x) for the most in Maple Leafs history.


SENATORS REACH 60-POINT MARK, EARN FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN

Jake Sanderson (1-3—4), Brady Tkachuk (1-1—2), Josh Norris (1-0—1) and Leevi Merilainen (16 saves) all contributed to the Senators’ (28-20-4, 60 points) 6-0 victory to cushion their position for third place in the Atlantic Division. Ottawa (52 GP), which earned its fourth straight win, reached the 60-point mark in the fewest games since 2016-17 (49 GP).

* Sanderson factored on four of his club’s six goals and became the fourth Senators defenseman to record a four-point outing at age 22 or younger. He improved his career totals 18-85—103 (207 GP) and became the third-fastest blueliner to reach 100 points in franchise history, trailing Thomas Chabot (166 GP) and Erik Karlsson (168 GP).

* Tkachuk, who will skate for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in less than two weeks, scored his 20th goal of 2024-25, marking the fourth consecutive and sixth overall season he’s reached the mark – he now trails only Alfredsson (13) and Jason Spezza (8) for the most with the franchise. Tkachuk also recorded his 100th career multi-point game and surpassed Dany Heatley for the fifth most in Senators history

* Norris became the second player in Senators history to score a shorthanded goal in back-to-back games, joining Daniel Alfredsson (2 GP from Oct. 27 to Nov. 1, 2007). The Senators tied their franchise mark for most consecutive contests with a shorthanded tally (3 GP; also Jan. 27-31, 2020, March 6-10, 2007 & Nov. 5-12, 2005).

* Merilainen earned his third shutout of the season and tied Ray Emery for the most by a Senators rookie goaltender in single campaign. Merilainen has the most shutouts in 2024-25 among all rookie netminders.

NOTABLE MOMENTS FROM INSIDE #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

The Saturday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured 100 notes, including notable ones from three teams in the hunt for an Eastern Conference Wild Card seed and from Brent Burns, who reached a milestone.

* The Islanders surrendered their lead with 47 seconds left in regulation, but Tony DeAngelo scored his first goal of the season 33 seconds into overtime to help New York extend the League’s longest active winning streak to seven games and move one point closer to Tampa Bay (27-20-4, 58 points) for a Wild Card spot. DeAngelo netted the third-fastest overtime goal by an Islanders defenseman, behind Tom Poti (0: 23 on Oct. 21, 2006) and Roman Hamrlik (0:23 on March 20, 2001).

* Dylan LarkinSimon Edvinsson and Andrew Copp all scored to help Detroit (26-21-5, 57 points) earn its fifth straight win and move within one point of Tampa Bay for the second Wild Card position. The Red Wings extended their win streak to five games for the second time since Todd McLellan took over as head coach on Dec. 27 – Detroit is the only club with multiple five-game runs over that span and their 13 wins over that period are tied with the Stars for the most among all teams. 

Sidney Crosby (1-1—2), who will captain Canada in international competition for the first time since the 2016 World Cup of Hockey at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off, tied Marcel Dionne and Nicklas Lidstrom (both w/ 16) for the fifth-most 40-assist seasons in NHL history. The list is topped by Wayne Gretzky (19), Ron Francis (19), Gordie Howe (18) and Ray Bourque (17).

Brent Burns collected an assist and became the 13th defenseman in NHL history to reach the 900-point milestone. Burns is the only active blueliner on that list, with Erik Karlsson (850) being the next closest.

QUICK CLICKS


David Pastrnak leads “Three Stars” of the Month for January presented by GEICO

Dustin Wolf named NHL Rookie of the Month for January

*Alex Ovechkin gifts Peter Bondra’s grandson signed stick

J.T. Miller ‘very excited, very happy’ to be reunited with Vincent Trocheck, Rangers

NHL, NHLPA celebrate Black History Month with stories of inspirational community leaders

GET SET FOR SUNDAY’S NINE-GAME SLATE

Two weeks from today, Finland will be in Boston preparing for its round-robin finale against Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off (Feb. 17), but today, nearly its entire roster could be in action during the busiest Sunday of the season to date (9 games; tied with Dec. 29).

* Seventeen of 21 players currently part of Finland’s 4 Nations squad are represented across 11 teams playing Sunday, including Mikael Granlund, who could make his Stars debut after being acquired Saturday.

* Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen will face soon-to-be Suomi teammate Rasmus Ristolainen when the Flyers visit Colorado on Sportsnet ONE. The 4 Nations Face-Off will be a homecoming of sorts for Lehkonen, who developed a knack for scoring clutch goals while playing in Montreal. He has four career series-clinching goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (2 w/ MTL, 2 w/ COL), the most among active players and the most ever by a European player (tied with fellow Finn Jari Kurri, along with Peter Forsberg of Sweden & Jaromir Jagr of Czechia). Lehkonen (2022) and Kurri (1987) are the only Finnish players with a Cup-clinching goal.

* With less than two weeks to go until the Finland-Sweden rivalry renews in Montreal (Feb. 15 at 1 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS), three players who will skate in that game will clash when Canadiens teammates Joel Armia and Patrik Laine visit Leo Carlsson and the Ducks. Laine became the second-youngest player in NHL International Tournament history when he skated for Finland against Auston Matthews and Team North America at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. Carlsson (20 years, 48 days as of Feb. 12) is currently the youngest player on any roster for the upcoming event.

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