* Artturi Lehkonen had three points in his return to Bell Centre as Colorado scored a season-high eight goals to defeat Montreal and climb the Central Division standings.
* Alex Tuch tallied a second straight game-winning goal to help the Sabres rally past the Maple Leafs and inch closer to the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
* ESPN, Disney Channel and the NHL are teaming up to bring fans the “NHL Big City Greens Classic” on Tuesday, which features the Capitals clashing with the Rangers in the first-ever live, animated NHL game telecast.
LEHKONEN LIFTS AVALANCHE TO HIGH-SCORING WIN IN RETURN TO MONTREAL
Artturi Lehkonen (2-1—3) opened the scoring and tallied again shortly after being honored by his former team during a first-period stoppage as the Avalanche erupted for a season-high eight goals to defeat the Canadiens at Bell Centre. Colorado (37-22-6, 80 points) leapfrogged idle Winnipeg (38-26-3, 79 points) for third place in the Central Division.
* Valeri Nichushkin (1-2—3) and Cale Makar (0-3—3) also had three points for the Avalanche, who scored eight goals in a game against the Canadiens for the third time in franchise history (also Jan. 3, 1984 & March 17, 1986). Makar recorded the 18th three-point game of his NHL career and passed Tyson Barrie (17) for sole possession of the most by an Avalanche/Nordiques defenseman.
SABRES RALLY PAST MAPLE LEAFS TO COLLECT CRUCIAL COMEBACK WIN
Buffalo scored four consecutive goals to erase a multi-goal deficit and quelled a late comeback attempt by Toronto en route to a 4-3 win at Scotiabank Arena. The Sabres (33-28-5, 71 points) moved within five points of the idle Islanders (34-26-8, 76 points), who occupy the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference – Buffalo has two games in hand on New York and concludes its three-game season series with the Islanders at UBS Arena on March 25.
* Alex Tuch (30-34—64 in 58 GP) tallied twice to reach the 30-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career. Tuch has 6-3—9 in his last six games dating to Feb. 15, including two straight winning goals for the Sabres.
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LENGTHY POINT STREAKS BY NHL DEFENSEMEN AREN’T “DUNN” YET
Monday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the three-game slate, including Vince Dunn (3-12—15 in 10 GP) and Miro Heiskanen (3-9—12 in 7 GP) extending their point streak to 10 and seven contests, respectively, as well Stars rookie Wyatt Johnston (17-15—32 in 67 GP) scoring his 17th goal of the season. Dallas (37-17-13, 87 points) defeated Seattle at Climate Pledge Arena to open a three-point lead atop the Central Division and move within one of idle Vegas (41-20-6, 88 points), which occupies first place in the Western Conference.
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QUICK CLICKS
* Clayton Keller, Sidney Crosby, Mitchell Marner named NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week
* ‘NHL Big City Greens Classic’ adds new dimension to Rangers-Capitals game
* David Poile‘s retirement will leave void at future GM meetings
* GMs discuss fights after clean hits, other topics on Day 1 of meetings
* Women in Hockey: Dr. Hayley Wickenheiser
CAPITALS-RANGERS ON ESPN, ALTERNATE DISNEY BIG CITY GREENS BROADCAST
Tuesday’s matchup between the Capitals (32-28-7, 71 points) and Rangers (37-19-10, 84 points) will be broadcast nationally on ESPN and ESPN+ in the United States with an alternate broadcast on ESPN+, Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney+ that will see players and teams modeled after characters on Disney’s “Big City Greens.”
* The “NHL Big City Greens Classic” will leverage NHL Edge puck and player tracking to recreate the action on the ice as it is happening while featuring Big City Greens favorites like Cricket and Tilley skating alongside animated versions of NHL players such as Patrick Kane and Alex Ovechkin.
* A pair of productive defensemen will also be on display in the contest, with New York’s Adam Fox (10-49—59 in 66 GP) one helper shy of consecutive 50-assist campaigns. The only defenseman in Rangers history to post consecutive 50-assist seasons is Brian Leetch, who did so twice (1990-91 to 1991-92 & 1995-96 to 1996-97).
* Since making his Capitals debut March 4 after being acquired in a pre-deadline trade, Rasmus Sandin (1-7—8 in 4 GP w/ WSH) has recorded multiple points in three of four outings and leads all Washington skaters in points over that span. Sandin is the first Capitals skater, regardless of position, to record multi-point outings in three of his first four games with the franchise.
