* Calgary and Edmonton combined for 14 goals Saturday, marking the highest-scoring “Battle of Alberta” game in over 32 years.
* The Golden Knights earned a first-of-its-kind comeback win in franchise history, while the Panthers, Lightning and Wild also staged notable rallies.
* Sunday opens with an NHL on TNT matinee as the Lightning visit the Islanders for the first time since Game 6 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Semifinals, which marked the hosts’ final contest at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
* The eight-game slate is also set to feature Predators captain Roman Josi (4-22—26 in 12 GP) looking to extend his point streak to a career-high 13 contests as well as Coyotes forward Phil Kessel climbing the NHL’s all-time consecutive games played list.
GAUDREAU GETS FIVE ASSISTS IN “BATTLE OF ALBERTA” GAME FOR THE BOOKS
Johnny Gaudreau generated an assist on five of Calgary’s season-high nine goals as the Pacific Division-leading Flames (40-17-8, 88 points) defeated the Oilers in the highest-scoring “Battle of Alberta” game since Feb. 25, 1990.
* Gaudreau recorded his first five-assist NHL game and had his second career five-point outing, following a 3-3—6 showing against the Devils on March 12, 2019. Gaudreau (30-60—90 in 65 GP) reached 60 assists as well as 90 points on the season and now ranks third in the 2021-22 Art Ross Trophy race, behind Oilers teammates Connor McDavid (35-62—97 in 65 GP) and Leon Draisaitl (47-47—94 in 66 GP).
* Draisaitl (3-1—4) had a hat trick Saturday to reach 47 goals this season and tie Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (47-34—81 in 59 GP) for the most in the NHL.
DADONOV CAPS GOLDEN KNIGHTS’ RALLY AS VEGAS EARNS CRUCIAL WIN
Chandler Stephenson (1-1—2), William Karlsson and Jack Eichel each scored within the opening 3:16 of the third period to help the Golden Knights erase a 3-0 deficit and Alex Pietrangelo tied the game 47 seconds after Alex DeBrincat (1-1—2) re-established another Chicago lead. Evgenii Dadonov (1-1—2) then netted the overtime winner to guide Vegas to its first-ever three-goal, third-period comeback win – the Golden Knights, who had never even tied a game when trailing by three or more goals in the final frame, were previously 0-57-0 in that scenario.
* Vegas (36-28-4, 76 points) overtook Dallas (36-25-3, 75 points) to reclaim the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Elias Pettersson (85-115—200 in 230 GP) potted a pair of goals to reach 200 points in his NHL career and help the Canucks defeat the Stars Saturday.
LATE GAME-TYING GOALS HELP PANTHERS, LIGHTNING AND WILD EARN WINS
The Panthers (44-14-6, 94 points), Lightning (40-18-6, 86 points) and Wild (39-20-4, 82 points) scored game-tying goals within the final five minutes of regulation en route to wins Saturday:
* Aleksander Barkov beat Ottawa goaltender Anton Forsberg at 17:44 of the third period to record Florida’s third straight tally and scored the shootout winner to complete the Eastern Conference-leading Panthers’ third three-goal comeback victory of the season (also Nov. 30 & Dec. 2, 2021). Only three teams in League history have posted more three-goal comeback wins in a single campaign – the Minnesota North Stars (4 in 1983-84), Oilers (4 in 1983-84) and Red Wings (4 in 1989-90) had four apiece.
* Steven Stamkos (1-1—2) tied the game with 4:38 remaining in regulation and Brayden Point (1-1—2) scored his ninth career overtime goal to propel Tampa Bay to its 12th 40-win season in franchise history. The Lightning moved past the Maple Leafs (40-19-5, 85 points) for third place in the Atlantic Division and kept pace with the Bruins (41-19-5, 87 points), who now rank second after defeating the Islanders on Saturday in Patrice Bergeron‘s 1,200th career NHL game.
* Kirill Kaprizov (35-45—80 in 62 GP) pulled Minnesota even with 63 seconds left in the third period to reach 80 points on the season and Jared Spurgeon scored the overtime winner as the hosts rallied past the Blue Jackets in Marc-Andre Fleury’s Wild debut. Fleury (23 saves) reached 20 victories for the 14th time in his NHL career, which trails only Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur and Ed Belfour for the most 20-win seasons in League history.
HURRICANES KEEP PACE WITH PANTHERS; OVECHKIN CLIMBS ALL-TIME NHL LISTS
* Andrei Svechnikov (2-0—2) and Seth Jarvis (2-0—2) helped Carolina (43-15-7, 93 points) match a season high with seven goals and remain one point back of Florida in the Eastern Conference standings. The Hurricanes opened a five-point lead on the idle Penguins (39-17-10, 88 points) atop the Metropolitan Division.
* Alex Ovechkin scored the 121st game-winning goal of his NHL career as Washington (37-20-10, 84 points), which occupies the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference, edged New Jersey at Capital One Arena. Ovechkin (772-626—1,398 in 1,262 GP) reached 1,398 points in his NHL career and tied Jari Kurri (601-797—1,398 in 1,251 GP) for 21st place on the League’s all-time list.
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates – March 26, 2022
* Capitals honor Nicklas Backstrom for reaching 1,000-point mark
* Patrick Kane extends road assist streak to 11 games
* Canadiens host Indigenous Celebration Night at Bell Centre
* Women’s sports pioneer Sarah Fuller drops puck at Stars game
Photo via @DallasStars
KESSEL SET TO PASS JARVIS ON NHL’S “IRONMAN” LIST SUNDAY
Coyotes forward Phil Kessel is expected to skate in his 965th consecutive game Sunday and surpass Doug Jarvis (964 GP from Oct. 8, 1975–Oct. 10, 1987) for sole possession of the second-longest ”Ironman” streak in NHL history. Kessel’s streak began on Nov. 3, 2009, when he was a member of the Maple Leafs.
* Kessel (398-545—943 in 1,186 GP), with 57 multi-goal games in his NHL career, sits two tallies shy of reaching the 400-goal milestone. Ten active players have reached the benchmark, including three U.S.-born skaters: Patrick Kane (425 G in 1,091 GP), Joe Pavelski (418 G in 1,150 GP) and Zach Parise (403 G in 1,123 GP).
