After a quiet night on Wednesday, we were treated to 11 NHL games Thursday, Nikita Kucherov hitting 100pts on the season and Brendan Gallagher scoring his first NHL hat trick.
Carolina Hurricanes v Florida Panthers
4-3
Justin Williams had two goals and one assist as the Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Florida Panthers 4-3 at BB&T Center, moving into the second wild card spot in the East. They are a point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets who play the Ottawa Senators Friday.
Nino Niederreiter scored one and assisted another, Justin Faulk scored on the power play and Teuvo Teravainen recorded two assists for Carolina, who have won four of their last five games and are 10-3-1 in their last 14. Petr Mrazek made 27 saves.
Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau and Evgenii Dadonov each had a goal and an assist in the second period for the Panthers, who saw their winning streak end at three. They are 10pts behind the Hurricanes.
James Reimer, who was making his fourth consecutive start, made 21 saves.
The Hurricanes have reached 70pts through 61 games for just the second time in franchise history. The last time they achieved the feat was in their Stanley Cup winning 2005/06 season.
Up Next:
Canes v Stars – Saturday, February 23rd (5pm)
Kings v Panthers – Saturday, February 23rd (5pm)
Washington Capitals v Toronto Maple Leafs
3-2
Alex Ovechkin scored his 650th NHL goal for the Washington Capitals as they handed the Toronto Maple Leafs their third successive defeat.
Tom Wilson had a goal and assist, Brett Connolly scored and Braden Holtby made 40 saves for the Caps, who are 3-1-0 in their last four games and trail the New York Islanders by 2pts for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Andreas Johnson and John Tavares scored and Frederik Andersen made 25 saves for Toronto, who are 2-3-1 in their last six and trail the Boston Bruins by 4pts for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Up Next:
Capitals v Sabres – Saturday, February 23rd (1pm)
Canadiens v Leafs – Saturday, February 23rd (7pm – ESPN+)
Ottawa Senators v New Jersey Devils
0-4
Corey Schneider made 30 saves for his first shutout in 15 months as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Ottawa Senators 4-0.
The visitors were without Matt Duchene, Mark Stone and Ryan Dzingel with the 2019 Trade Deadline approaching Monday at 3pm ET. Combined the three players, who can each become unrestricted free agents on July 1, have 77 goals and 164pts this season.
Anders Nilsson made 27 saves for the Senators.
Travis Zajac, Steven Santini and Kurtis Gabriel scored, Miles Wood had a goal and an assist and Will Butcher registered two assists for the Devils, who have won three of their last four.
Up Next:
Blue Jackets v Senators – Friday, February 22nd (7pm)
Devils v Rangers – Saturday, February 23rd (1pm – ESPN+)
Minnesota Wild v New York Rangers
4-1
The Minnesota Wild ended their five-game losing streak and moved into a Stanley Cup Playoff position by defeating the New York Rangers 4-1.
The Wild have 62pts and hold the second wild card into the Playoffs from the Western Conference.
Zach Parise had a goal and an assist, Jared Spurgeon, Mikael Granlund and Jordan Greenway scored for Minnesota.
Ryan Donato had two assists in his first game with the Wild after being acquired in a trade from the Boston Bruins on Wednesday. Devan Dubnyk made 33 saves.
Pavel Buchnevich scored and Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves for the Rangers, who played with five defenseman for the final two periods after Adam McQuaid didn’t return to the game for precautionary reasons.
Up Next:
Wild v Red Wings – Friday, February 22nd (7:30pm)
Devils v Rangers – Saturday, February 23rd (1pm – ESPN+)
San Jose Sharks v Pittsburgh Penguins
4-0
Martin Jones made 26 saves and Tomas Hertl scored twice as the San Jose Sharks defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0.
It was Jones‘ second shutout of the season and his 21st in the NHL. He’s allowed six goals on 20 shots in his previous start, a 6-5 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins at the beginning of the week.
Brent Burns had a goal and two assists, Evander Kane scored and Kevin Labanc had two assist for the Sharks, who scored all four goals on special teams.
San Jose are 1pt behind the Calgary Flames for top spot in the West.
Casey DeSmith made 29 saves for the Pens, who had won four their last five and lead the Blue Jackets by 2pts for third place in the Metro.
Up Next:
Sharks v Blue Jackets – Saturday, February 23rd (5pm)
Flyers v Penguins – Saturday, February 23rd (8pm – NBC)
Philadelphia Flyers v Montreal Canadiens
1-5
Brendan Gallagher scored his first NHL hat trick for the Montreal Canadiens in a 5-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Carey Price made 29 saves for his 311th win, three behind Jacques Plante (314) for most by a goalie in franchise history.
Jesperi Kotkaniemi and Tomas Tatar also scored for Montreal, who have won two in a row following a four-game losing streak.
The Canadiens lead the Carolina Hurricanes by 3pts for the first wild card spot in the East. They also trail the Toronto Maple Leafs by 3pts for third place in the Atlantic Division.
Michael Raffl scored a consolation for Philly, who have lost two consecutively after winning three in a row.
Carter Hart was pulled in the first period for the second successive game. He allowed three goals on nine shots in his fourth straight start and was relieved after Gallagher‘s second goal of the game. Brian Elliott made 29 saves.
The Flyers are 7pts behind the Hurricanes for the second wild card spot and will host the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2019 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Lincoln Financial Field on Saturday.
Up Next:
Flyers v Penguins – Saturday, February 23rd (8pm – NBC)
Canadiens v Maple Leafs – Saturday, February 23rd (7pm – ESPN+)
Buffalo Sabres v Tampa Bay Lightning
1-2 (SO)
Nikita Kucherov got his 100th point of the season in the second period of Tampa Bay’s 2-1 shootout win over the Buffalo Sabres.
The Russian has 30 goals and 70 assists and is the first player to reach the mark in 62 games or fewer since Mario Lemieux in 1996/97 (61). He is also the first player in Tampa Bay Lightning history to record multiple 100pt seasons, and he’s done it back-to-back.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 29 saves for the Bolts, who have won eight in a row and are 10-0-2 in their last 12. They lead the Calgary Flames by 17pts for first place in the NHL.
Rasmus Dahlin scored and Carter Hutton made 39 saves for Buffalo, who are 0-3-1 in their last four games.
The Sabres are 6pts behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
SHOOTOUT
** Winning Shot
Up Next:
Capitals v Sabres – Saturday, February 23rd (1pm)
Kings v Lightning – Monday, February 25th (7:30pm – NBCSN)
Los Angeles Kings v Nashville Predators
1-2
Roman Josi had a goal and an assist for the hosts in their 2-1 win over the L.A. Kings, moving them into first place in the Central Division with 77pts, one more than the Winnipeg Jets.
Josi has 13pts (5g, 6a) in his last nine games.
Kyle Turris also scored for Nashville and Pekka Rinne made 28 saves.
Michael Amadio scored for the Kings, who are 0-4-2 in their last six games. Jonathan Quick made 27 saves.
Up Next:
Kings v Panthers – Saturday, February 23rd (5pm)
Avalanche v Predators – Saturday, February 23rd (7:30pm)
St Louis Blues v Dallas Stars
2-5
The St Louis Blues lost for the first time in 12 games, 5-2 to the Dallas Stars.
Ryan O’Reilly had a goal and an assist, Vladimir Tarasenko also scored and Jordan Binnington made 20 saves for the visitors, whose 11-game winning streak was the longest in their history.
St Louis still lead Dallas by four points for third place in the Central Division.
Jamie Benn scored two, Radek Faksa and Tyler Seguin each had a goal and an assist, and Anton Khudobin made 43 saves for Dallas, who had lost three in a row and five of their last six.
The Stars hold the first wild card spot in the West, 3pts ahead of the Minnesota Wild.
Up Next:
Bruins v Blues – Saturday, February 23rd (4pm)
Canes v Stars – Saturday, February 23rd (5pm)
New York Islanders v Edmonton Oilers
3-4 (OT)
Connor McDavid scored 1:22 into overtime to give the Edmonton Oilers a 4-3 victory over the New York Islanders.
Leon Draisaitl had a goal and an assist, Sam Gagner scored his first goal since being acquired in a trade on February 16th and Oscar Klefbom tied the game with 2:52 remaining in regulation for Edmonton, who saw their five-game losing streak end.
Mikko Koskinen made 20 saves for the Oilers, who are 6pts behind the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card from the Western Conference.
Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist, Anders Lee and Cal Clutterbuck also scored and Robin Lehner made 37 saves for the Islanders, who were coming off a midweek 4-2 loss to the Calgary Flames.
The Isles lead the Washington Capitals by two points for top spot in the Metropolitan Division.
Up Next:
Islanders v Canucks – Saturday, February 23rd (10pm)
Ducks v Oilers – Saturday, February 23rd (10pm)
Arizona Coyotes v Vancouver Canucks
3-2 (OT)
Alex Galchenyuk scored 1:54 into overtime to give the Arizona Coyotes a 3-2 victory in Vancouver.
The 2pts see the Coyotes move within 1pt of the Minnesota Wild for the second wild card spot in the West. They are tied with the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche and are 1pt ahead of the Canucks.
Jakob Chychrun and Lawson Crouse scored in regulation and Darcy Kuemper made 30 saves for Arizona, who are 5-2-0 in their last seven.
Bo Horvat and Adam Gaudette scored and Antoine Roussel had two assists for the Canucks, who are 2-5-2 in their last nine. Jacob Markstrom made 35 saves.
Up Next:
Jets v Coyotes – Sunday, February 24th (9pm)
Islanders v Canucks – Saturday, February 23rd (10pm)
KEY
ALL TIMES U.S. EASTERN
Artistry of Sport 
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