* Three teams skated to come-from-behind victories Friday, including the Ducks, who recorded their first multi-goal comeback win of the season.
* The Blue Jackets buried six or more goals in a game for the fifth time this season as they defeated the Penguins at Nationwide Arena.
* Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada slate is highlighted by Connor McDavid playing his hometown Maple Leafs for the first time as a 1,000-point scorer, Connor Bedard looking to conquer the Canucks after conquering Grouse Mountain two months ago as well as Kyle Connor and the high-flying Jets hoping for their 16th win in 18 games this season.
FIVE-GAME HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA HAS HOMECOMINGS, LEAGUE-LEADING JETS
Saturday’s 12-game slate features five Hockey Night in Canada contests, highlighted by Oilers captain Connor McDavid and Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard returning to their hometowns as well as Kyle Connor and the first-place Jets facing their former head coach Paul Maurice and the reigning-champion Panthers. Maurice told Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas last June “If I could have one more thing, it’d be for the Winnipeg Jets to win the next Stanley Cup.”
* McDavid is the NHL’s newest 1,000-point scorer and enters Saturday’s game against John Tavares and the Maple Leafs with 3-6—9 in his last three contests, including assists on the Oilers’ overtime winners Thursday and Tuesday. McDavid and fellow No. 1 pick Tavares, who tallied the clincher during the Maple Leafs’ multi-goal third-period comeback win Wednesday, are both alumni of the Toronto Marlboros minor hockey program.
* Bedard is set to have several family members and friends in attendance when the Blackhawks battle Quinn Hughes and the Canucks at Rogers Arena. Bedard has skated an average of 3.37 miles per game this season according to NHL EDGE, which is double the length of the near-vertical Grouse Grind trail that he completed in just 37 minutes this past offseason with Hockey Night in Canada guest analyst Paul Bissonnette.
* Connor and the Jets had their franchise-record seven-game road winning streak snapped Thursday but can become the third team in NHL history with 16 victories through 18 contests in a season when they square off with League goals leader Sam Reinhart and the Panthers. Winnipeg would join the 2022-23 and 1929-30 Bruins.
* Cole Caufield can move back into a share of the NHL lead for goals this season and Martin Necas can extend his career-high point streak to a dozen games during the two other Hockey Night in Canada contests, which are preceded by a pair of nationally-televised matinees on Sportsnet.
RESULTS FROM FRIDAY’S FIVE-GAME SLATE
Friday featured a number of noteworthy storylines, including three comeback wins, another six-goal performance by Columbus and several young players accomplishing their own firsts.
A NIGHT OF COMEBACKS FOR ANAHEIM, VEGAS AND WASHINGTON
The Ducks (6-8-2, 14 points), Golden Knights (11-4-2, 24 points) and Capitals (11-4-1, 23 points) each secured come-from-behind victories Friday.
* Olen Zellweger (1-2—3) and Leo Carlsson (0-2—2) were two of four Ducks players Thursday who put up multiple points in Anaheim’s first multi-goal comeback win of the season. Zellweger tied Cam Fowler and Oleg Tverdovsky (both w/ 2) for the most three-point games by a Ducks defenseman before the age of 22, while Carlsson posted his seventh career multi-point performance which now trails only Fowler (9) and Mason McTavish (8) for the most by a Ducks teenager.
* William Karlsson (2-1—3) factored on three of Vegas’ four goals, including netting the game winner, to help the Golden Knights earn their third multi-goal comeback victory of the season and tie the Kraken for the most among all teams. Karlsson became the third player to record 15 career three-point games with Vegas, joining Jonathan Marchessault (25) and Mark Stone (20). He also became the fourth player to post 15 career multi-goal games with the franchise.
* After Colorado opened the scoring, Alex Ovechkin (0-1—1) factored on Washington’s first goal of the game for his 10th assist and 20th point of 2024-25, which spearheaded a Capitals comeback en route to their 5-2 victory. Ovechkin (10-10—20 in 16 GP) joined Gordie Howe (6-18—24 in 1968-69) as the second player age 39 years or older to score 20 points through the first 16 games of a season.
BLUE JACKETS NET SIX TO DEFEAT PENGUINS
Zach Werenski (1-1—2) posted a multi-point performance and was one of 15 Blue Jackets players to find the score sheet as Columbus netted six goals to snap its slide against Pittsburgh with a win at Nationwide Arena. It marked the Blue Jackets’ fifth six-goal game of 2024-25, tied with the Capitals for the second most among all teams behind the Jets (7).
A PAIR OF FIRSTS FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The Friday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates saw plenty of notes from all 10 teams in action, including a pair of players posting important firsts in their NHL career.
* Flames goaltender Dustin Wolf stopped all 29 shots he faced for his first career shutout and became the third California-born goaltender in NHL history to register a blank sheet.
* Detroit’s Marco Kasper (20 years, 221 days) scored his first career goal and became the third-youngest Austrian-born player in NHL history at the time of his first goal, behind Andre Burakovsky (19 years, 242 days on Oct. 9, 2014) and Marko Dano (19 years, 315 days on Oct. 11, 2014).
QUICK CLICKS
* Erik Johnson ‘grateful and lucky’ for journey to 1,000 NHL games
* Brayden McNabb signs 3-year, $10.95 million contract with Golden Knights
* Paul Maurice set to lead Panthers against former team in high-flying Jets
* Connor Bedard return to hometown with Blackhawks has Vancouver buzzing
* Oilers wear custom T-shirts in honor of Connor McDavid’s 1,000th point
