* The Islanders, Penguins and Sabres each earned victories Tuesday as all three clubs sitting outside the playoff line climbed the Eastern Conference standings.
* David Pastrnak became the first Bruins player in 31 years with at least 35 multi-point games in a season and helped his club pad its lead atop the Atlantic Division.
* A five-game Wednesday will include national games in the U.S. (TNT, MAX) and Canada (SN, SN360, TVAS) as well as another opportunity for the Maple Leafs to clinch a berth in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
ISLANDERS, PENGUINS, SABRES GAIN GROUND ON CAPITALS
The Islanders (33-27-15, 81 points), Penguins (34-30-11, 79 points) and Sabres (36-35-5, 77 points) all earned victories Tuesday to move within one, three and five points, respectively, of the Capitals (36-28-10, 82 points), who hold the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference.
* Bo Horvat scored his team-leading 31st goal and 10th power-play marker to help the Islanders improve to 3-1-0 across their last four games, a stretch that also includes wins against the Panthers and Flyers. Only Brock Nelson (12) has more power-play goals than Horvat (11) for the Islanders since the latter debuted for the club on Feb. 6, 2023.
* With Pittsburgh trailing 3-1 through 40 minutes, Evgeni Malkin (2-1—3) and Sidney Crosby (2-0—2) scored four of their team’s five third-period goals to propel the Penguins to their first multi-goal, third-period comeback win of the season. The franchise improved to 106-10-5 when both Crosby and Malkin find the back of the net in the same game.
* On the night **Jeff Skinner** celebrated his 1,000th career game, four different skaters recorded three points as the Sabres scored six goals against the Capitals. Rasmus Dahlin (1-2—3), who boosted his 2023-24 totals to 18-38—56 (75 GP) and can become the first defenseman in franchise history to conclude a campaign as the points leader, climbed into a tie for third on the club’s all-time points list among defensemen and sixth on the franchise’s all-time three-point games list among blueliners.
SCORING LEADERS RISE TO THE OCCASION FOR BRUINS, GOLDEN KNIGHTS
The Bruins (44-17-15, 103 points) and Golden Knights (42-25-8, 92 points) were propelled to victory by their highest point producers in 2023-24 – David Pastrnak and Jonathan Marchessault – as both teams continue to jockey for playoff positioning in their respective conferences.
* Charlie Coyle broke a scoreless tie with 6:42 remaining in regulation and Pastrnak (1-1—2) potted his 35th multi-point game of the season to help Boston open up a four-point cushion on the Panthers (47-24-5, 99 points) – who suffered a regulation loss Tuesday – atop the Atlantic Division. Pastrnak (46-58—104 in 76 GP) now sits four goals shy of becoming just the third player in franchise history with multiple 50-goal campaigns.
* Jonathan Marchessault tallied 1-2—3 in the opening frame to help his club double up the Pacific Division-leading Canucks (46-21-8, 100 points) and improve to 6-0-1 dating to March 21 – marking their third-longest point streak this season. Vegas is now within three points of idle Edmonton (45-23-5, 95 points) for second place in the division. Marchessault improved his team-leading goal total to 41, which is the fourth most by an undrafted player in a campaign over the past 30 years trailing Artemi Panarin (44 in 2023-24), Martin St. Louis (43 in 2006-07) and Steve Thomas (42 in 1993-94).
QUICK CLICKS
* Tuesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates
* Connor Bedard named NHL Rookie of the Month for March
* 5 questions entering NHL Central Scouting final meetings
* Canadiens Honor Linesperson Jonny Murray on 1,500 NHL Games with Jersey
KEY STANDINGS POINTS ON THE LINE WEDNESDAY
Wednesday’s five-game slate includes national games in the U.S. (TNT, MAX) and Canada (SN, SN360, TVAS) including matchups that can impact the Presidents’ Trophy race, the potential for the Maple Leafs to clinch a postseason berth and multiple clubs who could move closer to the team ahead of them in the playoff picture.
* The top seven teams in the Presidents’ Trophy race are within five points of each other, with three of them set to hit the ice Wednesday: the Rangers (1st; 50-21-4, 104 pts), Stars (2nd; 47-19-9, 103 points) and Canucks (5th; 46-21-8, 100 points).
* The Maple Leafs (43-22-9, 95 points), who can clinch an eighth straight postseason berth with one point, host the Lightning in the hopes of winning consecutive games against teams they faced in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs (6-4 W vs. FLA on April 1).
* The Lightning (41-26-7, 89 points) hold the first Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference and enter tonight’s contest six points back of the Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division. Tampa Bay has never entered a postseason as a Wild Card team (introduced in 2013-14).
* The Pacific Division’s Oilers (45-23-5, 95 points) and Kings (38-25-11, 87 points) are both on the ice as they jockey for position during the final stretch. Edmonton sits five points back of first-place Vancouver (46-21-8, 100 points) and three points up on third-place Vegas (42-25-8, 92 points).
* The Kings, meanwhile, hold the final Wild Card position in the Western Conference just three points ahead of the Blues (40-31-4, 84 points) but are also five points behind the Golden Knights for third in the Pacific Division with a game in hand.
PLAYERS TO KEEP AN EYE ON WEDNESDAY
In addition to the races in the standings, the tightly contested Art Ross Trophy race is among multiple player storylines to watch during Wednesday’s action.
* Connor McDavid (29-97—126 in 71 GP), who was named First Star of the Week on Monday as well as First Star of the Month on Tuesday, enters the contest on an eight-game point streak (4-16—20 in 8 GP). McDavid’s 97 assists are the most in a single season since Adam Oates (97 in 1992-93) and he sits three helpers shy of joining Wayne Gretzky (11x), Bobby Orr and Mario Lemieux as the fourth player in NHL history to record a 100-assist campaign.
* Nikita Kucherov (42-85—127 in 73 GP) sits one point back of matching the Lightning franchise mark for points in a season, a mark he set in 2018-19. He also sits two points back of matching his own franchise mark for assists in a campaign.
* There have been three seasons since the Art Ross Trophy was first awarded in 1947-48 where the top three scorers were separated by three points or fewer at the end of the season: 2014-15 (Jamie Benn, John Tavares & Sidney Crosby), 2009-10 (Henrik Sedin, Crosby & Alex Ovechkin) and 1954-55 (Bernie Geoffrion, Maurice Richard & Jean Beliveau).
* McDavid will face former Art Ross Trophy winner Benn tonight. Benn won the award by one point on the final day of the 2014-15 season with 35-52—87 (82 GP), marking the last time the NHL‘s leading scorer recorded fewer than 100 points.
* Leon Draisaitl (39-60—99 in 73 GP) and Auston Matthews (62-36—98 in 73 GP) are both closing in on 100 points. Draisaitl would join Gretzky (9x), McDavid (7x), Jari Kurri (6x) and Mark Messier (5x) as the fifth player to record five or more 100-point seasons with the Oilers, while Matthews would join Darryl Sittler (2x) and Doug Gilmour (2x) as the only Maple Leafs players to reach the century mark in multiple campaigns.
