Facts and Figures: Girard joins Makar in 30-point club for Avalanche

Samuel Girard had one assist to become the second Colorado Avalanche defenseman to reach 30 points (three goals, 27 assists) this season in a 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Pepsi Center on Wednesday.

Girard assisted on rookie Martin Kaut's first NHL goal at 7:15 of the second period to join fellow 21-year-old Cale Makar (45 points; 12 goals, 33 assists). Colorado will become the first team to conclude a season with multiple defensemen under age 22 who have at least 30 points since 1993-94, when Alexei Zhitnik (52 points; 12 goals, 40 assists) and Darryl Sydor (35 points; eight goals, 27 assists) did it with the Los Angeles Kings.
Pavel Francouz made 31 saves and rookie Martin Kaut supported his countryman from the Czech Republic by scoring his first NHL goal to help the Avalanche (37-17-8) win their fourth in a row and take over second in the Central Division, one point ahead of the Dallas Stars (37-20-6) and three behind the first-place St. Louis Blues (37-17-10).

Fleury perfect in Golden Knights' seventh straight win

The Vegas Golden Knights won their seventh straight game, the longest active run in the NHL, by defeating the Edmonton Oilers 3-0 at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights (35-22-8) lead the Vancouver Canucks (34-22-6) and Oilers (33-23-8) by four points in the race for first in the Pacific Division.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 29 saves for his 61st regular-season shutout, tying Turk Broda for
17th in NHL history
. His five shutouts this season are tied for first with Columbus Blue Jackets rookie Elvis Merzlikins.

Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty scored to reach 30 goals for the sixth time in his NHL career and first since 2016-17, when he scored 35 for the Montreal Canadiens.

Kings continue recent home success

The Kings are 3-1-1 in their past five games at Staples Center after a 2-1 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost their fourth straight game. Cal Petersen made 35 saves for Los Angeles, which is 4-2-1 in its past seven games after going 1-9-1 in its previous 11.
The loss spoiled the Penguins debut of Patrick Marleau, who was acquired in a trade with the San Jose Sharks on Monday. The veteran forward had four points (two goals, two assists) in three games against the Kings this season while playing for the Sharks but was held without a point Wednesday. He has 95 points (43 goals, 52 assists) in 116 regular-season games against the Kings -- his best NHL numbers in all three categories against any opponent.

Zibanejad, Rangers look to extend streaks

The New York Rangers will try to extend their
longest road winning streak
since entering the NHL in 1926 to nine games when they visit the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, MSG 2, NHL.TV).
The Rangers own the longest winning streak away from home in the NHL this season. A victory will make them the first team to win at least nine consecutive road games since the Nashville Predators went 9-0-0 away from Bridgestone Arena from Feb. 10-March 19, 2018.
Center Mika Zibanejad has a five-game goal streak and can become the third Rangers player since 1993-94 to score in at least six consecutive games. He would join Petr Prucha (six games from Dec. 3-13, 2005, and Jaromir Jagr (six games from Feb. 2-March 2, 2006).
Zibanejad has scored 29 goals and is one away from becoming the first Rangers player with at least 30 in consecutive seasons since Jagr had 54 in 2005-06 and 30 in 2006-07.