* Nikita Kucherov became the third player to reach the 90-point mark, joining the other Art Ross Trophy leaders, Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl, who both put up multi-point performances of their own.
* Macklin Celebrini, Will Smith, Dustin Wolf and Cutter Gauthier added to their rookie resumes with notable performances Tuesday, as the Sharks’ duo padded their point totals, Wolf recorded his 29th career win and Gauthier registered a three-point period.
* With the final quarter of the 2024-25 campaign beginning Wednesday during the third of five games, #NHLStats released the Final Quarter: 2024-25 NHL Season Stats Pack. Key storylines outlined in that document were on full display Tuesday, including the Art Ross race, star performances from rookies and tight Wild Card races.
* Wednesday’s slate is highlighted by an NHL on TNT doubleheader that will begin with Alex Ovechkin continuing The Gr8 Chase at Madison Square Garden before 4 Nations Face-Off teammates go head-to-head when Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs visit Jack Eichel and the Golden Knights.
MACKINNON, DRAISAITL, KUCHEROV ALL POST MULTI-POINT OUTINGS TUESDAY
Nathan MacKinnon (0-2—2), Leon Draisaitl (1-1—2) and Nikita Kucherov (1-2—3), who sit in the top three in scoring, all recorded multiple points to boost their totals in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.
* MacKinnon (23-70—93 in 62 GP), who leads the League in points in 2024-25, registered his 18th multi-assist performance of the season to reach 70 assists and became just the third player in franchise history to record multiple such campaigns, following Peter Stastny (5) and Peter Forsberg (2). He also extended his home point streak to 17 games, joining Zach Werenski (22 GP from Nov. 1, 2024 – Feb. 22, 2025) and Draisaitl (17 GP from Nov. 12, 2024 – Jan. 23, 2025) as the third player to record a run of that length this season.
* Draisaitl (45-47—92 in 61 GP) scored his League-leading 45th goal of 2024-25 and maintained his position just one point back of MacKinnon for the scoring lead. Draisaitl could become the fourth player to win both the Art Ross and Maurice “Rocket” Richard in the same season, alongside Connor McDavid (2022-23), Alex Ovechkin (2007-08) and Jarome Iginla (2001-02) – this note and more can be found in the Final Quarter: 2024-25 NHL Season Stats Pack.
* Kucherov (28-62—90 in 58 GP) registered his fifth 90-point season and tied Steven Stamkos for the most in franchise history. His three-point performance Tuesday began by scoring the second of two Lightning goals in the opening 1:37, which marked the third-fastest two tallies from the start of a game in franchise history behind Nov. 13, 1993 (1:07) and Feb. 1, 2011 (1:21).
ROOKIES Celebrini, SMITH, WOLF AND GAUTHIER LEAD TEAMS TO TRIUMPHS
Macklin Celebrini (SJS), Will Smith (SJS), Dustin Wolf (CGY) and Cutter Gauthier (ANA) helped the Sharks, Flames and Ducks defeat opponents Tuesday:
* Smith (1-1—2) reached the 30-point mark and Celebrini (1-0—1) collected his 19th career goal, which marked the ninth most among 18-year-old players over the last 35 years (since 1989-90). Smith and Celebrini combined to establish just the third Sharks campaign to feature multiple rookies hit 30 points, following 2006-07 (Ryane Clowe & Matt Carle) and 1997-98 (Marco Sturm & Patrick Marleau).
* Wolf made 26 saves in a game that featured four goals in a span of 2:14 – the fastest four in a contest this season – to improve his 2024-25 totals to 21-12-4 (37 GP) and help the Flames (29-23-9, 67 points) gain a two-point lead on the idle Canucks (27-22-11, 65 points) for the Western Conference’s final Wild Card spot. Wolf recorded his 29th career win, which is the second most by a Flames rookie behind Mike Vernon (39).
* Gauthier (0-3—3) assisted on three of Anaheim’s four first-period goals, which helped the Ducks (27-26-7, 61 points) topple the Oilers (35-22-4, 74 points) and move within six points of the final Wild Card seed in the West. Gauthier became the fourth rookie in franchise history to register three points in a single period, joining Pavel Mintyukov (Feb. 21, 2024) Josh Mahura (Oct. 29, 2019) and Patrik Carnback (Jan. 14, 1994).-05010508.png)
ISLANDERS DEEP IN WILD CARD RACE ON EVE OF FINAL QUARTER OF 2024-25
The Islanders (28-26-7, 63 points) moved within three points of the final Wild Card seed in the East, thanks to Kyle Palmieri (1-0—1) and Brock Nelson (1-1—2), who became the third and fourth New York players to reach the 20-goal mark in 2024-25. The only other season in the past 30 years to feature four Islanders skaters reach the 20-goal mark in fewer contests was 2006-07 (60 GP).
* The Islanders became one of five teams currently outside the playoff bracket that are within three points from the second Wild Card seed. In fact, eight teams in the East (Nos. 7-14) are separated by just six points as the tightly-contested Eastern Conference Wild Card race continues to be one of the biggest storylines as the regular season enters the home stretch. Read more in the Final Quarter: 2024-25 NHL Season Stats Pack.
MORE #NHLSTATS IN LIVE UPDATES INCLUDING STAMKOS COLLECTING MILESTONE
Tuesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates included notes from all 20 teams, with highlights including the Stars stopping a Devils’ multi-goal comeback attempt and Steven Stamkos (573-600—1,173 in 1,143 GP) reaching the 600-assist milestone.
* Thomas Harley (1-1—2) had the game winner in the dying seconds of the third period as the Stars (40-19-2, 82 points) gained ground on the League-leading Jets (42-16-4, 88 points). Harley (59:55) became the eighth player in franchise history with a go-ahead goal in the final five seconds of regulation.
*Stamkos (1-2—3) factored on half of his club’s goals to record his 105th career three-point game and became the second player from the 2008 NHL Draft class to reach the 600-assist milestone, behind Erik Karlsson (197-665—862 in 1,066 GP).
QUICK CLICKS
* Engraved 4 Nations Face-Off trophy on display at Hockey Hall of Fame
*Sean McDermott rides Zamboni before Sabres game on ‘Bills Night’
* 4 Nations Face-Off raises $180,000 for Sun Youth children’s charity in Montreal
* Stadium Series Metrics: Viewership, Attendance & Merchandise Sales
* Stadium Series delivers strong ratings for ESPN
THE GR8 CHASE CONTINUES DURING WEDNESDAY’S FIVE-GAME SLATE
A five-game Wednesday features a doubleheader on NHL on TNT, Max and truTV that opens with Alex Ovechkin and the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals (39-14-8, 86 points) facing off against the Rangers (31-26-4, 66 points) and closes with the Atlantic Division-leading Maple Leafs (38-20-3, 79 points) clashing with the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights (36-18-6, 78 points). It also features Tim Stützle and the Wild Card-chasing Senators (30-25-5, 65 points) battlingthe Blackhawks (19-35-7, 45 points) on Sportsnet.
* Ovechkin, who currently sits 11 goals shy of capturing the NHL’s goals record, enters Wednesday two points shy of becoming the 11th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 career points and will look to help the Capitals gain ground on the idle Jets (42-15-4, 88 points) for first place in the League standings. A first-place finish by Washington, which concluded 2023-24 in 17th place, would represent the second-largest standings leap by the No. 1 seed in NHL history – the mark is currently held by its Wednesday night opponent, the Rangers, who went from No. 19 in 1992-93 to No. 1 in 1993-94.
* Stützle enters Wednesday’s contest with a point in each of his team’s past 12 contests (4-14—18 in 12 GP) – tied for the League’s longest active point streak (Draisaitl: 12 GP). Should he get a point in Chicago, Stützle would become the fourth player in Senators history to record a 13-game point streak, following Dany Heatley (2x: 22 GP in 2005-06 & 16 GP in 2006-07), Drake Batherson (13 GP in 2022-23) and Marian Hossa (13 GP in 2002-03).
* The Golden Knights have collected a point in each of their past eight contests at T-Mobile Arena dating to Jan. 12 (5-0-3) – tied for the League’s longest active home point streak (TBL: 7-0-1) – and can match their third-longest run in franchise history with a point against the Maple Leafs. Tomas Hertl (7-2—9 in 8 GP) and Pavel Dorofeyev (5-4—9 in 8 GP) have led the Golden Knights in points over that run.
