NHL Morning Skate for March 24

* The Hurricanes are officially headed back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of the Panthers' regulation loss Thursday.
* The League-leading Bruins defeated the Canadiens to reach 55 wins and 115 points with 11 games remaining this season.
* The Devils can join the Bruins and Hurricanes as the third team to clinch a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs when they square off with the Sabres on Friday.

HURRICANES HEADED TO PLAYOFFS FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT SEASON

The Hurricanes are headed to the playoffs for a fifth straight season, 10th time since relocating to Carolina in 1997-98 and 18th time in franchise history. Carolina became the second team to clinch a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of the Panthers' regulation loss Thursday.
* Click here to read more #NHLStats about the Hurricanes, whose five consecutive berths into the Stanley Cup Playoffs stand as the second-longest run in franchise history behind a seven-year stretch achieved more than 30 years ago as the Hartford Whalers.

BRUINS CLOSE IN ON FRANCHISE RECORDS, ATLANTIC DIVISION TITLE

David Pastrnak (1-1-2) potted his 49th goal of the season and Tyler Bertuzzi (1-1-2) tallied for the first time in a Bruins uniform as League-leading Boston (55-11-5, 115 points) inched closer to clinching a first-place finish in the Atlantic Division for the third time in the last 10 seasons (also 2019-20 & 2013-14).
* Pastrnak (49-46-95 in 71 GP) established a new career high for markers and moved within one of becoming the first 50-goal scorer in 29 years for the Bruins, who need at least eight wins and 18 points over their final 11 games to establish new single-season NHL records.

MAPLE LEAFS, RANGERS INCH CLOSER TO PLAYOFF BERTH WITH VICTORIES

The Maple Leafs (43-19-9, 95 points) and Rangers (42-20-10, 94 points) increased their chances of joining the Bruins and Hurricanes in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs with victories Thursday. Toronto opened up a five-point cushion on Tampa Bay (42-25-6, 90 points) for second place in the Atlantic Division and New York moved within four points of second-seeded New Jersey (45-18-8, 98 points) in the Metropolitan Division.
* Auston Matthews (293-237-530 in 471 GP) scored twice to move within six of his fourth consecutive 40-goal campaign and within seven of 300 in his NHL career. Thursday marked Matthews' 58th career multi-goal game - three shy of tying Mats Sundin (61 GP) for the third most in Maple Leafs history and two shy of equaling Pat LaFontaine (60 GP) for the most in NHL history by a U.S.-born player age 25 or younger.
* After Artemi Panarin (1-1-2) scored the tying goal, Adam Fox found the back of the net with the winner to help the Rangers defeat the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes at PNC Arena. Fox's goal marked his 12th career game winner, tied with Ott Heller, Dan Girardi and Harry Howell for fifth place on the franchise's all-time list among defensemen.

23-YEAR-OLDS HELP DALLAS MAINTAIN DIVISION LEAD

Twenty-three-year-olds Jason Robertson (0-2-2) and Miro Heiskanen (0-1-1) helped the Stars (39-19-14, 92 points) fend off the Penguins and retake top spot in the Central Division from the Wild (41-22-9, 91 points), who briefly moved into first place after collecting a point against the Flyers on Thursday.
* Heiskanen (4-16-20 in 12 GP) extended his career-high point streak to 12 games and established a new franchise record for longest by Stars/North Stars blueliner, besting Craig Hartsburg (11 GP in 1986-87). Only two other defensemen have registered a point streak of at least a dozen contests this season: Erik Karlsson (14 GP) and Vince Dunn (12 GP).
* Robertson (41-50-91 in 72 GP), skating in his 200th career NHL game, reached the 50-assist mark for the first time and became the fourth different player in franchise history with 40 goals and 50 helpers in a single season. The feat was last achieved by Dino Ciccarelli in 1986-87 (52-51-103 in 80 GP).

CAPITALS, SENATORS COMBINE FOR 13 GOALS IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

Thursday's edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the 12-game slate, including the Capitals (34-31-8, 76 points) and Senators (35-32-5, 75 points) securing high-scoring wins to gain ground on the Penguins (35-27-10, 80 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
* Washington defenseman John Carlson collected 1-1-2 in his return to the lineup after recovering from an injury which occurred on Dec. 23, 2022. The Capitals clash with the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday, March 25 (8 p.m. ET on ABC, ESPN+).

QUICK CLICKS

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Connor McDavid gets to 60 goals for Oilers with words, passes from Leon Draisaitl
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60-goal scorers in NHL history
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NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman talks technology, sports betting in sit-down with Bloomberg TV
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Eli Manning spotted in background of Wild celebration photo

CLINCH IN THE CARDS FOR DEVILS DURING THREE-GAME FRIDAY

The Devils (45-18-8, 98 points) travel to Buffalo on Friday in search of their 100th point of the campaign as well as an opportunity to clinch a berth into 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. New Jersey, which can hit a triple-digit point total for the first time since 2011-12 (48-28-6, 102 points), will qualify for the postseason with a win against Buffalo in any fashion.