Three of four division leaders reigned victorious Tuesday, including the Hurricanes who won a game after surrendering a multi-goal lead in the final three minutes of regulation for just the third time in franchise history.
* Matthew Schaefer (0-1—1) continued to add to his historic season as the Islanders became the first team in NHL history to win each of their first 10 games decided in overtime in a single season – New York was one of several teams in a congested Eastern Conference playoff race to pick up wins Tuesday.
* Wednesday features a pair of divisional rivalries with playoff implications as the Senators and Canadiens clash on Sportsnet while the Flyers and Capitals go head-to-head on TNT.
HURRICANES, SABRES, DUCKS PAD LEADS ATOP RESPECTIVE DIVISIONS
The Metropolitan, Atlantic and Pacific Division each had its top ranked team find the win column Tuesday.
* The Hurricanes (41-17-6, 88 points) scored three straight goals in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 4-2 lead, but the Penguins tallied twice in the final 2:08 of regulation to force overtime and secure a point before Carolina emerged in the shootout. It marked the third time in franchise history that the Hurricanes or Whalers won a game after surrendering a multi-goal lead in the final three minutes of regulation. The victory leaves Carolina with a nine-point advantage over both Pittsburgh and the NY Islanders, with two more games remaining against each club (March 18 & 22 vs. PIT; April 4 & 14 vs. NYI).
* The Sabres (40-19-6, 86 points) received a career night from Jack Quinn, who tallied 3-1—4 to set career highs for goals and points in a game, posting his first NHL hat trick on the same night he set and tied single-season personal bests for points (43) and goals (15; tied w/ 2024-25). Entering Tuesday, the Sabres had a League-high nine players on track to set a new career high for points in 2025-26 (or already have; min. 40 GP) – including Quinn and captain Rasmus Dahlin, who collected 0-3—3. Buffalo claimed its eighth straight win, with each coming in regulation – its longest such streak in 20 years. The Sabres also have 14 goals over a two-game span for just the third time in 19 seasons.
* After the Jets took a 1-0 lead, the Ducks battled back with three goals in a span of 1:44 – the club’s fastest three tallies in more than six years (1:37 on Dec. 27, 2019) and eighth-fastest in franchise history – to earn their League-leading 20th comeback win of the season (tied w/ MTL). Anaheim improved to 36-25-3 (75 points) and surpassed its win total from the end of last season (35-37-10, 80 points) while also gaining a three-point edge over first place in the Pacific Division.
SEVERAL CLUBS IN CONGESTED EASTERN CONFERENCE PLAYOFF RACE EARN WINS
The logjammed Eastern Conference standings were on full display during a 13-game Tuesday as the Canadiens (35-18-10, 80 points), Bruins (36-22-6, 78 points), Islanders (37-23-5, 79 points) and Blue Jackets (33-21-10, 76 points) each secured two crucial points to boost their postseason hopes.
* Rookies Oliver Kapanen and Ivan Demidov combined on the first of three Canadiens goals as Montreal reclaimed third place in the Atlantic Division and earned its third straight win against Toronto – the longest win streak against the club since a four-game stretch that spanned from 2018-19. Kapanen (20-13—33 in 63 GP), who moved into a tie for the League lead in goals among rookies, became the sixth Canadiens rookie in the past 30 years to score 20 goals in a season.
* Drew Doughty tied the game for the Kings with six minutes remaining in regulation but Charlie McAvoy scored 39 seconds into overtime to lift the Bruins to their 13th straight home win – one of only three streaks of that length for the franchise in the past 49 years. Boston moved within one point of Detroit for the first Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference and own one game in hand.
* After Nikita Kucherov recorded his 70th assist of the season to open the game, Columbus rallied and never looked back, defeating the second ranked team in the Eastern Conference and keeping its two-point gap under Boston for the final Wild Card spot. Charlie Coyle assisted on the game’s tying goal and extended his point streak to seven games, matching the third longest by a Blue Jackets player in their first season with the club behind Andrew Cassels (9 GP in 2002-03) and Scott Hartnell (8 GP in 2014-15).
* Matthew Schaefer assisted on the first of three straight Islanders goals in regulation to help his club tie the game after falling behind 3-0 and Brayden Schenn, making his return to St. Louis just four days after being acquired from the Blues, collected a primary assist on the game-winning goal as New York became the first team in NHL history to win each of its first 10 games decided in overtime in a single season. The Islanders moved into a tie with the second-place Penguins (32-17-15, 79 points), in terms of standings points, but occupy third place by virtue of one more game played.
MORE FROM AROUND THE RINKS FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured a plethora of notes from across the 13-game slate, including several players climbing franchise lists and reaching milestones. Click here to read more.
* Connor McDavid (1-1—2) factored on two of his team’s four goals and extended his road point streak to 19 games as the Oilers (32-25-8, 72 points) leapfrogged the Golden Knights (29-22-14, 72 points) for second in the Pacific Division. McDavid tied Patrick Kane (19 GP in 2018-19) for the longest road point streak over the past 35 years.
* Macklin Celebrini (33-57—90 in 62 GP) scored to reach the 90-point mark this season, becoming the third-fastest teenager in NHL history to hit the mark behind Sidney Crosby (54 GP in 2006-07) and Wayne Gretzky (56 GP in 1979-80).
* Filip Gustavsson turned aside all 25 shots he faced as the Wild shut out the Mammoth at Grand Casino Arena. Gustavsson (210 GP) became the second-fastest Swedish goaltender in NHL history to 15 career shutouts behind only Henrik Lundqvist (178 GP).
* Carter Verhaeghe (2-0—2) scored the tying and go-ahead goals in the final two minutes of regulation to give Florida the victory. The Panthers recorded their second regulation win in franchise history after trailing in the final two minutes of the third period, following Oct. 6, 1999 (4-2 W vs. LAK). Verhaeghe’s heroics also helped him match Pavel Bure (14) for the most multi-goal periods in franchise history.
* Mika Zibanejad (0-2—2) and Adam Fox (0-1—1) both found the score sheet to achieve milestones and Alexis Lafrenière (3-0—3) netted a hat trick as the Rangers earned a shutout victory against the Flames. Zibanejad (341-460—801 in 993 GP) became the 14th Swedish player in NHL history to reach 800 career points and just the third active, while Fox (67-333—400 in 468 GP) became the sixth-fastest American defenseman in League history to record 400 career points.
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DIVISIONAL RIVALRIES TAKE CENTER STAGE WEDNESDAY
Wednesday features a pair of divisional rivalries with playoff implications on the line as the Senators and Canadiens face off on Sportsnet while the Flyers and Capitals skate on TNT, HBO MAX and truTV. Montreal occupies third in the Atlantic Division while Ottawa, Philadelphia and Washington make up three of the four teams that stand within nine points of the playoff line in the Eastern Conference.
* Alex Ovechkin (998) enters Wednesday two tallies shy of joining Wayne Gretzky (1,016) as the second player in NHL history with 1,000 career goals in the regular season and playoffs combined. The Capitals captain has 52 goals in 80 games against the Flyers – his third-highest total against one opponent behind the Jets/Thrashers (58) and Hurricanes (53).
* The Senators are 4-0-2 since the NHL returned from the Olympic break – one of just three teams without a regulation loss over that span. Tim Stützle (30-38—68 in 63 GP) can extend his point streak to 14 games and match his career high (14 GP in 2024-25), while he can also become the fourth Senators skater to post four straight 70-point seasons, following Daniel Alfredsson (9 from 2000-01 – 2009-10), Dany Heatley (4 from 2005-06 – 2008-09) and Jason Spezza (4 from 2005-06 – 2008-09).
* Cole Caufield (37-27—64 in 63 GP) is one goal away from establishing a single-season career high and three away from becoming the Canadiens’ first 40-goal scorer since Vincent Damphousse (40 in 1993-94). Caufield has tallied 13-6—19 in 17 career games versus the Senators – his highest goal and point total against one franchise.