Tkachuk brothers face off in first matchup of NHL Player Gaming Challenge

NEW YORK -- Over the course of four weeks, beginning today, the NHL will reveal matchups and quick facts for the featured games for the NHL Player Gaming Challenge™ presented by Honda. Each NHL Club is represented by one or two current players and will play in a one-time matchup against another Club in a best-of-three EA SPORTS™ NHL®20 series. Matches will be available on NHL platforms: Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Premiere and NHL.com.

Thursday, April 30 (5 p.m. ET)

MATCH 1 - CALGARY FLAMES vs. OTTAWA SENATORS
Matthew Tkachuk (CGY) & Noah Hanifin (CGY) vs. Brady Tkachuk (OTT)

MATCH 2 - DALLAS STARS vs. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS
Jamie Oleksiak & Stephen Johns (DAL) vs. Bryan Rust & Zach Aston-Reese (PIT)

Saturday, May 2 (3 p.m. ET)

MATCH 3 -COLORADO AVALANCHE vs. NASHVILLE PREDATORS
Filip Forsberg (NSH) vs. J.T. Compher (COL)

The NHL Player Gaming Challenge™ presented by Honda is a #HockeyAtHome initiative that reminds fans to stay safe, stay home and play together. As the NHL community continues to practice social distancing and take all necessary precautions during this time, the League will continue to help fans stay connected to players and the game by providing access to unique content and archived games. NHL Pause Binge™ aggregates NHL video, editorial and digital content available on NHL.com, the NHL app and across the NHL's social channels. Fans can follow along using #HockeyAtHome.

CALGARY FLAMES vs. OTTAWA SENATORSThursday, April 30, 5 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Premiere, NHL.com

Matthew Tkachuk & Noah Hanifin (CGY) vs. Brady Tkachuk (OTT)

* Matthew and Brady Tkachuk are one of 27 sets of brothers to play in the NHL in 2019-20. Matthew, 22, dazzled fans with between-the-legs goals earlier this season while Brady, 20, sits just shy of career highs in every stats category in his second NHL season.

* The Tkachuk's junior careers followed remarkably similar paths: two seasons with the United States National Team Development Program before playing elsewhere in their NHL Draft season - Matthew won a Memorial Cup with the London Knights and Brady won the Hockey East title with Boston University.

* Hanifin is in his second season with Calgary after being involved in a blockbuster trade during the 2018 offseason that sent him and Elias Lindholm from the Hurricanes to the Flames in exchange for Dougie Hamilton, Micheal Ferland and Adam Fox.

* Hanifin played one season in the NCAA with Boston College (5-18-23 in 37 GP), earning 2014-15 Hockey East All-Rookie Team and Second All-Star Team honors before making the leap to the NHL the following season. When he made his NCAA debut at age 17, Hanifin became the young player ever to skate for Boston College.

* The three players in this matchup went fourth, fifth and sixth overall in the NHL Draft (B. Tkachuk: 4th in 2018; M. Tkachuk: 6th in 2016; and Hanifin: 5th in 2015).

Additional facts and head-to-head stats can be found here.

DALLAS STARS vs. PITTSBURGH PENGUINSThursday, April 30, 5 p.m. ET
Where to Watch: Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Premiere, NHL.com

Jamie Oleksiak & Stephen Johns (DAL) vs. Bryan Rust & Zach Aston-Reese (PIT)

* Former teammates Stephen Johns and Bryan Rust captured a pair of championships together before joining the NHL, winning gold with the United States at the 2010 Under-18 World Championship and a CCHA title with the University of Notre Dame in 2012-13. Rust has since added two Stanley Cup wins to his resume (2016 & 2017).

* Overall, Johns and Rust have been teammates with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program (2008-09-2009-10), at Notre Dame (2010-11-2013-14) and with the U.S. at both the 2009 World Under-17 Hockey Challenge and 2010 World Under-18 Championship.

* Oleksiak and Aston-Reese both played at Northeastern University, with the former suiting up for the Howlin Huskies in 2010-11 and the latter playing four seasons from 2013-14 to 2016-17. During his final two campaigns in the NCAA, Aston-Reese stockpiled several personal accolades and also helped the program win the 2016 Hockey East title.

* Oleksiak and Aston-Reese were also teammates with Pittsburgh for parts of two seasons from 2017-18 to 2018-19, before Oleksiak was traded back to Dallas on Jan. 28, 2019. Both players also played in the USHL, with Oleksiak spending two seasons in the league (2008-09-2009-10) and Aston-Reese three (2010-11-2012-13).

Additional facts and head-to-head stats can be found here.

COLORADO AVALANCHE vs. NASHVILLE PREDATORSSaturday, May 2, 3 p.m. ETWhere to Watch: Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Premiere, NHL.com

Filip Forsberg (NSH) vs. J.T. Compher (COL)

* Central Division rivals J.T. Compher and Filip Forsberg have played in the NHL for only the Avalanche and Predators, respectively, though both were drafted by different teams and traded before their League debuts. Since then, their clubs have had strong track records of reaching the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

* Compher helped the Avalanche reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs in 2018 after his first full season in the NHL - the club's first postseason appearance since 2014. A year later, he had 2-1-3 in the 2019 First Round to help Colorado upset Calgary in five games and earn its first series win since 2008.

* Forsberg played his first full NHL season in 2014-15 and the Predators have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year since then, which included the franchise's first Final appearance in 2017 and first Presidents' Trophy win during the following campaign.

* Forsberg is tied with Shea Weber for second place in Predators history with 166 career regular-season goals after surpassing Erat one week before the pause in play. He now trails only David Legwand (210).

Additional facts and head-to-head stats can be found here.