* Cale Makar netted his first career hat trick and combined with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen to mark the first time since Nov. 18, 1997 that three Avalanche players each recorded four-plus points in a game (Peter Forsberg, Valeri Kamensky & Claude Lemieux).
* Auston Matthews added to his League-leading goal total with an overtime winner and climbed an all-time Maple Leafs list in the process.
* A number of players were on the move Wednesday ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline – click here for #NHLStats Pack: 2023-24 NHL Trade Deadline.
* A 12-game Wednesday features a national broadcast on ESPN between the Devils and Blues, two teams battling for Wild Card spot.
MAKAR SCORES FIRST CAREER HAT TRICK IN HIGH-SCORING WIN
Cale Makar (3-1—4), Nathan MacKinnon (1-3—4) and Mikko Rantanen (0-4—4) all skated to four-point outings, highlighted by Makar’s first career hat trick and MacKinnon once again moving up the NHL record book for longest home point streak. Colorado (39-20-5, 83 points), which currently occupies third place in the Central, is now within two points of Dallas (38-17-8, 85 points) for the division’s top spot.
* Makar joined Calgary’s MacKenzie Weegar (3-0—0 on Feb. 10, 2024) as the second defenseman this season to add to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation – AstraZeneca is donating $5,000 up to $500,000 to the cause for each hat trick.
* Makar became the fourth defenseman in Avalanche/Nordiques history to score a hat trick following Sandis Ozolinsh (Dec. 6, 1999), Uwe Krupp (March 1, 1995) and Bryan Fogarty (Dec. 1, 1990). It also marked his ninth career multi-goal game, which passed Ozolinsh (8) for the most by a blueliner in franchise history.
* Makar also tied Ozolinsh on another franchise list – the most four-point games by defensemen in Avalanche/Nordiques history (both w/ 4). Since Makar entered the League in 2019-20, only three blueliners have as many: Erik Karlsson, Roman Josi and Victor Hedman (all w/ 5).
* MacKinnon, who reached the 40-goal mark for the third time in his career, extended his home point streak to 31 games and tied Bryan Trottier (31 GP in 1981-82) and Mario Lemieux (31 GP in 1995-96) for the fourth longest in NHL history. He trails Wayne Gretzky (40 GP in 1988-89 & 33 GP in 1985-86) and Guy Lafleur (32 GP in 1978-79).
MATTHEWS CONTINUES PUSH FOR THE “ROCKET” WITH OVERTIME WINNER
Auston Matthews (1-0—1) continued his push for his third Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as he netted the overtime winner to hit 54 goals on the season and help the Maple Leafs (36-18-8, 80 points) overcome the Sabres. Matthews (54-26—80 in 61 GP) joined Darryl Sittler (8), Mats Sundin (4) and Lanny McDonald (4) as the fourth player in Maple Leafs history with at least four 80-point campaigns.
* Matthews, who now leads the NHL goal-scoring race by nine over Sam Reinhart (45), is on pace to finish the season with 71 tallies – a 13-goal gap over Reinhart’s current pace (58). Should those numbers hold up, Matthews would come one shy of matching the largest margin of victory by a Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner since the award was officially introduced in 1998-99 after Pavel Bure (58) scored 14 more than second-place Owen Nolan (44) in 1999-00.
* The overtime winner marked the 12th of Matthews’ career as he surpassed William Nylander for sole possession of second most in Maple Leafs history behind Mats Sundin (14). Matthews has scored eight of his overtime goals on home ice – the most in franchise history – and second to only Connor McDavid (9) since the Maple Leafs forward entered the League in 2016-17.
TRADES APLENTY LEADING INTO 2024 NHL TRADE DEADLINE
The countdown towards the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline continues (Friday, March 8 at 3 p.m. ET) and teams got a head start Wednesday with names such as Noah Hanifin (to VGK), Vladimir Tarasenko (to FLA), Adam Henrique (to EDM), Alex Wennberg (to NYR), Bowen Byram (to BUF), Casey Mittelstadt (to COL) and Sean Walker (to COL) among those that were on the move.
* Click here for a full list of all deals on NHL.com’s Trade Tracker.
* Click here for #NHLStats Pack: 2023-24 NHL Trade Deadline
* Did You Know? Each of the last four Stanley Cup champions acquired at least one player via trade within four weeks of the NHL Trade Deadline (including on deadline day). The Avalanche, who made a pair of deals on Wednesday, made four trades within that window leading up to the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline, including Artturi Lehkonen, who went on to score the Stanley Cup-clinching goal that season.
QUICK CLICKS
* Wednesday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates
* Martin Pospisil suspended 3 games for actions in Flames game
* Zach Bogosian signs 2-year, $2.5 million contract with Wild
* Rasmus Sandin signs 5-year, $23 million contract with Capitals
* NHL Mic Drop: 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series
YOUNG DEFENSEMEN LOOK TO CLIMB FRANCHISE LISTS THURSDAY
A busy 12-game slate features two national telecasts, with Luke Hughes and the Devils (30-28-4, 64 points) battling the Blues (32-27-3, 67 points) on ESPN in the U.S. Across the country, Noah Dobson and the Islanders (27-20-14, 68 points) visit the Sharks (15-39-7, 37 points) at SAP Center at San Jose in a contest broadcast nationally on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada. New Jersey, St. Louis and New York will aim to inch closer to a Wild Card position Thursday.
* Hughes (8-24—32 in 62 GP) enters Thursday with the fourth-most points among rookies in 2023-24, behind only Connor Bedard (17-26—43 in 49 GP), Brock Faber (4-30—34 in 62 GP) and Marco Rossi (17-16—33 in 62 GP). With a point, Hughes can move past Brian Rafalski (32 in 1999-00) and Bruce Driver (32 in 1984-85) for the sixth-most points in a season by a rookie Devils/Rockies/Scouts defenseman.
* Dobson, who is set to compete in his 300th career game Thursday and already ranks high among defensemen to skate in as many contests with the Islanders, sits second in assists and third in points this season among blueliners with 7-56—63 (61 GP). With a helper, Dobson can surpass Denis Potvin (56 in 1980-81) and Stefan Persson (56 in 1978-79) for the fifth-most assists in a campaign by an Islanders defenseman.
