NHL Morning Skate for March 22

* Alex Ovechkin surpassed Wayne Gretzky to claim an NHL record - shortly after being honored for overtaking Gordie Howe on the all-time goals list earlier this season - but the Blue Jackets staged a three-goal comeback to win a thriller in D.C.

* The Hurricanes hit 100 points as they pursue Jim Montgomery and the League-leading Bruins, who claimed their 54th win of the season and inched closer to another division title.
* Three of four clubs that entered Tuesday in a Wild Card spot won to strengthen their push for a playoff spot, while contenders Calgary and Nashville won to keep pace in the West.
* The stars will be shining bright tonight as Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Clayton Keller all hit the ice during a doubleheader on TNT, Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

COLUMBUS PLAYS SPOILER ON NIGHT OVECHKIN SETS RECORD FOR 40-GOAL SEASONS

On a night the Capitals honored their captain for passing Gordie Howe (801) on the NHL's all-time goals list on Dec. 23, Alex Ovechkin scored and set the League record for the most 40-goal seasons, surpassing Wayne Gretzky (12x). Washington (33-31-8, 74 points), which got off to an early 3-0 lead but eventually fell to Columbus in overtime, salvaged a point and remained in the race for a Wild Card spot.
* Ovechkin (age 37) became the fifth player in NHL history to score 40 goals in a season at age 37 or older (age at time of 40th goal), following Howe (age 40 in 1968-69), Johnny Bucyk (age 37 in 1972-73), Brendan Shanahan (age 37 in 2005-06) and Phil Esposito (age 37 in 1978-79).
* The Blue Jackets (22-41-7, 51 points) became the 10th team in NHL history to overcome a deficit of three-plus goals and win while entering the game last in the standings (min. 50 GP). Three other teams have achieved the feat since 2009-10: the Coyotes (Feb. 8, 2018 at. MIN), Avalanche (April 4, 2017 vs. CHI) and Oilers (April 7, 2010 vs. COL).

STARS, HURRICANES HOLD ONTO TOP SPOT IN RESPECTIVE DIVISIONS

There was a chance a new No. 1 seed would emerge in either the Metropolitan or Central Division following Tuesday's action, but in the end, it was status quo as both the Stars and Hurricanes rallied to maintain their spot.
* Despite falling to the Kraken in overtime, Miro Heiskanen and Wyatt Johnston each found the back of the net to extend their point and goal streaks, respectively, while Jamie Benn scored the tying tally with one second remaining in regulation to help the Stars (38-19-14, 90 points) secure a point - Dallas has now held first place in its division for 62 straight days. Colorado (41-22-6, 88 points) will have a shot at the top spot - a position they've held for one day so far in 2022-23 (Nov. 12) - when they host Pittsburgh tonight.
* The Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes (46-15-8, 100 points) first erased a third-period deficit to become the first to score a goal against the Rangers since March 16 and tied the game once again 49 seconds later to set the stage for Teuvo Teravainen's game-winning goal with 2:32 remaining in regulation. Carolina (69 GP) reached the 100-point mark in a season for the third time in franchise history (71 GP in 2021-22 & 2005-06) and joined Boston as the second team to do so in 2022-23.
* The Hurricanes, who captured 10 third-period comeback wins in a single season for the first time in franchise history, are tied with the Canucks and Golden Knights for the most among all teams in 2022-23.

WILD CARD HOPEFULS COLLECT VICTORIES TO BENEFIT PLAYOFF CHANCES

Three of four Wild Card clubs won Tuesday, with contenders in the Western Conference also claiming victories to keep pace.
* Adam Larsson scored in overtime to help the Kraken (39-24-7, 85 points) fend off a comeback attempt by the Stars and move within three points of the idle Oilers (40-23-8, 88 points) for third place in the Pacific Division. Seattle, which now sits two shy of the highest win increase from a franchise's first to second season, became the fourth club in NHL history to produce a 25-point improvement from their inaugural campaign to their sophomore one, joining the Islanders (26; 30 in 1972-73 & 56 in 1973-74), Bruins (26; 12 in 1924-25 & 38 in 1925-26) and Maroons (25; 20 in 1924-25 & 45 in 1925-26).
* Connor Hellebuyck made 29 saves to help Winnipeg (40-29-3, 83 points) maintain its four-point lead on the second Wild Card position. The Jets have held a playoff spot every day since the last week of October, including an active run of nine straight days as holders of the second Wild Card. Their advantage on the first team outside the bracket has been three or four points for the past eight days.
* Calgary (32-25-15, 79 points) and Nashville (35-26-8, 78 points) also won to keep their playoff hopes alive, with the latter holding three games in hand on both the Flames and Jets. Predators forward Luke Evangelista (2-2-4) tied a franchise record for points in a period - exactly one year after Filip Forsberg set the benchmark - and tallied three of those points in a span of just 6:01 (the fastest three points ever by a Nashville rookie).
* The Islanders potted seven goals for the second time this season and Ilya Sorokin stopped 25 shots - including a highlight-reel save in the opening frame with his team already trailing 1-0 - to help general manager Lou Lamoriello earn his 1,400th win. New York (37-27-8, 82 points) strengthened its grip on the first Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference. Since Feb. 1, Sorokin's .928 save percentage ranks third (min. 10 GP) behind Minnesota's Filip Gustavsson (.944) and Boston's Linus Ullmark (.937).

QUICK'S 375TH CAREER WIN FEATURED IN NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

The Tuesday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates saw notes from all 26 teams in action, including the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights, whose goaltender Jonathan Quick earned the 375th win of his career to move into sole possession of second place all-time by a U.S.-born goaltender.

QUICK CLICKS

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Fanatics to become NHL official on-ice uniform outfitter in 2024-25
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Difficult decisions during stretch run before Stanley Cup Playoffs
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Flames assistant GM Chris Snow, Punjabi announcer Harnarayan Singh on 'Real Sports'
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Jason Robertson gives back to military families
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Jared Bednar signs 3-year contract to remain Avalanche coach

NATIONALLY BROADCAST DOUBLEHEADER ON TAP WEDNESDAY

Wednesday features a doubleheader broadcast nationally on TNT, Sportsnet and TVA Sports, beginning with the Penguins visiting the defending Stanley Cup-champion Avalanche and concluding with Connor McDavid looking for his 60th goal of the season when the Oilers host the Coyotes at Rogers Place.