Injury Updates: Zaitsev, Carlson, Jarnkrok
News and notes from around the NHL this evening:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without rookie defenseman Nikita Zaitsev tonight in Game 1 against the Washington Capitals, reports Rogers Sportsnet. Zaitsev suffered an upper body injury in the Maple Leafs’ final regular season game on Sunday when he was hit into the boards by Columbus Blue Jackets captain Nick Foligno. The Maple Leafs will miss Zaitsev’s presence on the blue line as Zaitsev was second in team ice time behind Morgan Rielly.
- Staying with the Capitals vs. Maple Leafs series, Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson will return tonight after missing the Capitals’ last four games. Carlson missed those games with a lower body injury, but told reporters yesterday that he “felt good.” The Capitals will breathe a sigh of relief when Carlson returns as he is the team’s leader in average time on ice. Losing a first-pair defenseman ripples throughout the lineup no matter how much depth a team has.
- The Nashville Predators should have center Calle Jarnkrok tonight, reports Adam Vingan of the Tennessean. Jarnkrok missed the Predators’ final game against the Winnipeg Jets with a lower body injury. Nashville takes on the Chicago Blackhawks in their first-round playoff matchup, and they will need all the center depth they can muster against the top team in the Western Conference.
Morning Notes: Glass, Krejci, Capitals
Jeff Glass has been recalled from the Rockford IceHogs prior to the Blackhawks’ game 1 match-up according to Scott Powers of The Athletic. The goaltender will serve as the emergency third netminder tonight when they take on the Nashville Predators in what will be an excellent series. Though the Blackhawks are the clear favorites, some have picked Nashville as a potential spoiler even from the eighth seed.
The Predators are a fun team to dream on, with their solid defense corps and young forwards, but don’t count out the powerhouse ‘Hawks just yet. They beat Nashville in four of five meetings this season, and are still one of the early cup favorites. Glass will serve only as an emergency backup should something happen to one of Corey Crawford or Scott Darling in the pre-game warm up.
- The Boston Bruins looked fine without him, winning 2-1 over the Ottawa Senators to take a 1-0 series lead, but David Krejci could be back as soon as the weekend. Amalie Benjamin of NHL.com tweeted last night that he is day-to-day and will be re-evaluated before the second game on Saturday.
- The Bruins got contributions from all the regular names, but also welcomed Charlie McAvoy to the bright lights of the NHL playoffs. He skated over 24 minutes for the Bruins as they overcame a 1-0 deficit to win in the third period. His smooth skating and decision making ability were on display all night, and saw over four minutes of powerplay time.
- The Capitals had a very optional morning skate before their first game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and John Carlson wasn’t a part of it. He will take the warm up though and expects to play, according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. The Maple Leafs have their hands full if Carlson does play, as the Capitals defense is one of the deepest in the league.
Snapshots: Kuznetsov, Michalek, Penguins
Among the many pieces of interest in Isabelle Khurshudyan’s excellent profile of Evgeny Kuznetsov for the Washington Post, was the fact that the 24-year old center would love to stay in Washington for his whole career, and that Capitals’ GM Brian MacLellan admits a long-term deal could be in the future. Kuznetsov is a restricted free agent this summer and is coming off another excellent season with 59 points in 82 games—already the third season in which he’s played at least 80. That durability is a big part of why he’s such an important piece for the Capitals to lock up long-term, but it won’t be easy for them to do so this summer.
Washington has quite a bit of money coming off the books, and with Kuznetsov, Andre Burakovsky, Brett Connolly, Dmitry Orlov, Nate Schmidt, Phillip Grubauer and a host of minor league players all set to become restricted free agents, it is still going to be a tight squeeze. Should the team want to re-sign any of the excellent veterans—T.J. Oshie, Karl Alzner, Kevin Shattenkirk and Justin Williams to name a few—that are heading to unrestricted free agency, it will be even tighter. Handing out long-term deals may seem like a good idea, but it just might not be possible for everyone in Washington.
- The Minnesota Wild have called up Steve Michalek from the AHL to serve as their third goaltender tonight. In the playoffs, teams often carry an emergency netminder in case something happens to one of theirs in the warm-up. As Michael Russo of the Star Tribune explains, this will likely be Alex Stalock after the next two Iowa Wild games. Stalock started two games down the stretch for the Wild over Darcy Kuemper, and it is still unknown who would go into the net should Devan Dubnyk falter or suffer an injury.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins recent history with turning minor league players into capable NHLers helped them land one of the biggest NCAA prizes this spring, as Shawn P. Roarke of NHL.com writes in his latest piece. Zach Aston-Reese admits that it was part of his decision to sign there: “to see how much [AHL players] have grown as players and contributed to the team’s success at the NHL level, that was really attractive.” Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust and Tom Kuhnackl are all prime examples of what starting off your young players in the minors can do for their development, as the Penguins head into the playoffs with a lot riding on players like those three.
Coaching Notes: Hitchcock, Montgomery, Hunter
In Elliotte Friedman’s latest “30 Thoughts” column for Sportsnet, the venerable hockey insider goes into all the coaching movement around the NHL and lends his opinions and insight onto some of the still unresolved situations. In Dallas, where the team is set to announce the hiring of Ken Hitchcock tomorrow, Friedman notes that it will be a one-year deal—as is Hitchcock’s preference—with a possible transition into consulting thereafter.
Hitchcock isn’t really an answer long-term for any franchise, as at 65 he’s dabbled with the idea of retirement lately. The idea of him sticking around in a system and being just one phone call away from taking over would be a difficult one to accept for the new coach if they do go in a different direction a year from now. It’s hard to coach in the NHL, and much more so when the team has a legend sitting in the press box “consulting” on whether you’re doing a good job.
- Friedman again mentions Jim Montgomery from the University of Denver, who is likely on a list of candidates for the Florida Panthers job. Dallas Eakins and Phil Housley are other names to watch, with all three looking like they’ll deserve a shot (or a second shot in Eakins’ case) sooner than later.
- Dale Hunter is one of the people that the Vegas Golden Knights have reached out to, though he declined the opportunity to return to the NHL. Hunter quit his job with the Washington Capitals back in 2012 to return to London, where he and his brother Mark Hunter—who works as an assistant GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs—own one of the top franchises in the OHL.
- Sabres’ GM Tim Murray met with the media today to discuss the underwhelming 2016-17 season, and reiterated that he doesn’t intend to fire Dan Bylsma as head coach. According to Bill Hoppe of the Times Herald, Murray puts this season on himself. He will have to work to better the roster, not just lay it all at the feet of his coach after another disappointing season.
- While not a coach, Mike Futa of the Los Angeles Kings has been promoted to assistant GM. Futa has been with the club for a decade as a VP of Hockey Operations and Director of Player Personnel. He’ll work with the new management team made up of Rob Blake and Luc Robitaille to try and bring the Kings back to the playoffs in a short turnaround.
Morning Notes: Gallant, Dallas, Carlson, Polak
When the Dallas Stars snatched up Ken Hitchcock this morning just days after firing Lindy Ruff, it took away one of the veteran options the Vegas Golden Knights could have considered for their head coaching job. Bob McKenzie of TSN tweets that with the Dallas vacancy filled, Gerard Gallant should be considered a front-runner for the Golden Knights job.
Gallant was fired from the Florida Panthers early in the year to the dismay of much of the hockey world, a decision that seems regrettable now that Tom Rowe has also been relieved of his duties in the sunshine state. Gallant has been considered an excellent head coach for years, though his actual record isn’t awe-inspiring. In the three years he’s made it through a full season, he’s only taken his team to the playoffs once and holds a career 152-140 record in the regular season.
- The Dallas staff will have an entirely different look next year, as the entire coaching staff save Curt Fraser have been let go according to Andy Strickland of Fox Sports. Even Fraser could be let go, but will have a discussion with Hitchcock in the next few days. The former Atlanta Thrashers head coach, Fraser has been with the Stars for five seasons, longer even than Ruff.
- John Carlson was back at Washington Capitals practice today and skating on the top unit with Karl Alzner according to Isabelle Khurshudyan of the Washington Post. He was previously listed as probable for the game, but as Khurshudyan puts it now “he’s playing, y’all”.
- The Maple Leafs on the other hand, first-round opponents of the Capitals, had Roman Polak back at practice today after leaving their final game with a lower-body injury. Perhaps more importantly though, rookie defender Nikita Zaitsev was absent once again. Zaitsev took a hard hit from Nick Foligno and was diagnosed with an upper-body injury.
East Notes: Tatar, Stephenson, Sparks, Lindgren
Ken Holland has a lot of work cut out for him this summer, even if he did get a vote of confidence from the Red Wings owner today. With a team struggling to get anything going during the season, he broke some more bad news today at their final presser of the year. According to Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News, Holland said that Tomas Tatar will be out 4-6 months following shoulder surgery, putting training camp and the start of the season in jeopardy.
Tatar had 46 points this season and his third straight twenty-goal campaign, but couldn’t help the Red Wings continue their playoff streak. The 26-year old is one of the more interesting names to follow in the summer, as he is a restricted free agent and may be one of the best chips the Red Wings have in a potential rebuild. His injury doesn’t help that, as teams will be wary of acquiring a player who needs that much rehab. He made just $2.75MM this season, but will command a heft raise after three straight 45+ point seasons.
- The Washington Capitals have sent Chandler Stephenson down to the Hershey Bears, as they finalize their roster before the first round series against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Stephenson suited up for just four games this season, and has yet to find a way to crack into the Capitals lineup on a full-time basis. The 22-year old center has 38 points in 71 games this season in the AHL, but is still waiting for his first NHL point.
- The Maple Leafs sent Garret Sparks back to the minors as Frederik Andersen returned to practice and is expected to play game 1 on Thursday. Sparks never did get a chance to start a game for the Maple Leafs this season, despite an excellent season in the AHL. His .926 save percentage was among the minor league leaders, and bodes well for his chances at a backup position this summer. Curtis McElhinney, the Maple Leafs current backup, is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
- The Leafs also dipped into their unsigned prospect pool, signing Jesper Lindgren to an amateur tryout after his season ended with MODO of the Swedish junior league. Lindgren is another small defender who has offensive upside, as he showed with 24 points in 50 games this season.
McDavid, Crosby, Holtby Take Home Statistical Awards
We are still a couple months out from the naming of the majority of NHL Awards – Hart, Vezina, Norris, Selke, Calder, and more – but as the regular season came to end last night, three phenoms of the game clinched some impressive hardware.
Connor McDavid, at just 20 years old, added two assists last night in a winning effort to finish the season with an even 100 points and seal the title of Art Ross Trophy winner. Awarded annually to the player with the most points in the regular season, McDavid took the lead in the scoring race early in the season and never looked back. He faced some competition along the way, such as last year’s winner, Chicago’s Patrick Kane, Boston’s Brad Marchand, and a certain superstar on the Pittsburgh Penguins, but in the end finished with 11 more points than the nearest challenger. McDavid’s point totals were mostly due to a league-leading 70 assists, seven more than second-place Nicklas Backstrom of the Capitals, and his 30 goals were not too shabby either, placing him just outside the top 25 in that category. McDavid is the second youngest winner of the Art Ross and even more impressively, won the award playing for a team that had only one other player, Leon Draisaitl, who has both 25 goals and 25 assists or better. Edmonton recorded 247 goals this season, good enough for eighth in the league, and McDavid contributed to over 40% of that scoring. The Art Ross winner is often the leading candidate for the Hart Trophy, given to the league’s Most Valuable Player, and don’t expect it to be any different for McDavid, whose efforts have almost single-handedly turned around the franchise and transformed them into a playoff team. The scary thing: he’s just getting started.
Not to be outdone, Sidney Crosby, the youngest Art Ross winner on record at 19 years old (he added another a few years later too) fell just short of a third crown in 2016-17 with 89 points, but managed to secure the goal-scoring title and the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy. Crosby’s 44 goals were best in the league, just ahead of Toronto rookie Auston Matthews and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov, while Crosby too was pressured by Brad Marchand for much of the season. In the end, the Penguins captain proved to be too good. The last time that Crosby scored over 40 goals was in 2009-10, when his 51 tallies earned him a share in the Richard with Lightning star Steven Stamkos. Crosby now joins Stamkos, rival Alexander Ovechkin, and former teammate Jarome Iginla as the only active players to have won the award multiple times. In a season marked by injury for the Penguins, the team still managed to lead the league in goals for with 282 and Crosby led the way, potting 16% of those goals. Amazingly, Crosby is still not even 30 years old, so fans have plenty of years left to look forward to Crosby-McDavid scoring races.
On the other end of the ice, it was Washington Capitals’ brick wall goaltender Braden Holtby who backstopped his team to a league-best 182 goals against. The William M. Jennings Trophy is awarded each year to the goalie (or goalies) on the team that allowed the fewest scores and by a wide margin of 13 less than the Columbus Blue Jackets, Washington led the way behind Holtby. Holtby was near the top of nearly every statistical category for keepers this regular season with a league-best 42 wins (tied with Edmonton’s Cam Talbot), a second-place goals against average of 2.07, just one hundredth worse than the Blue Jackets’ Sergei Bobrovsky, and a top-five save percentage of .925. Holtby has certainly put him self in the mix for the Vezina Trophy this season, but faces stiff competition from Bobrovksy. Not to be forgotten in the Capitals’ stingy winning equation is backup Philipp Grubauer. The Jennings can be awarded to multiple goalies if each plays in a minimum of 25 games. Grubauer was fantastic in 2016-17, with numbers rivaling Holtby’s, albeit in a lesser sample size, but with just 23 games under his belt failed to qualify for the award. Nonetheless, Grubauer’s 2.05 GAA and .926 SV% were astounding and should earn him a look as a starter next year, whether by Washington trade or selection by the Vegas Golden Knights in the upcoming Expansion Draft.
Snapshots: Eichel, Malenstyn, Johnson
When Jack Eichel finished his game last night without registering a point, he was still sitting in the top-10 with .93 pts/gm this season. He had a “Schedule B” bonus coming to him worth $2MM for finishing that high, a nice send off to what was a frustrating season for both him and the team. After being injured through much of the first part of the season, Eichel returned at an extremely high level and struggled to try and keep the Sabres afloat. They didn’t, finishing dead last in the Atlantic Division and despite his effort he had one more loss still to come.
When Leon Draisaitl scored his 29th goal of the season in the third period of last night’s Edmonton-Vancouver game, all the celebration was over Connor McDavid registering his 100th point. Eichel on the other hand was probably pulling his hair out, as the point moved Draisaitl ahead of him for 10th in pts/gm and eliminated his bonus by just 0.01 (h/t CapFriendly for pointing it out). Terrible for Eichel, but actually quite good for the Sabres, who would have had to carry that $2MM as a penalty against next year’s cap since they are into their LTIR space this year.
- The Washington Capitals have signed Beck Malenstyn to a three-year entry-level contract, after his breakout season with the Calgary Hitmen. The team had previously signed him to an amateur tryout for this season, but apparently thought he had done enough to earn a contract. Despite the deal kicking in next season, it is expected that Malenstyn will head back to the Hitmen for another year, as he doesn’t turn 20 until next February. The power forward put it all together this year, scoring 32 goals and 56 points. His previous career high had been eight goals.
- Tyler Johnson hopes to remain in Tampa Bay long-term, according to Bryan Burns of NHL.com. The restricted free agent is one of several big names the Lightning have to re-sign this summer, a task that GM Steve Yzerman is confident in according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. After clearing some room at the deadline by moving out Valtteri Filppula‘s contract, Yzerman may indeed have enough room to bring everyone back. While the expansion draft still poses a difficulty, the former NHL great has done a wonderful job in keeping the Lightning core together and should be a contender again next season should he find better injury luck.
Minor Transactions: Last Day Of The Regular Season
The Washington Capitals, who have long since clinched the President’s Trophy for the best record in the NHL this season, have next to nothing to play for in their 2016-17 regular season finale. What better use for such a game than to reward a time-tested contributor to the organization. The Capitals announced today that they have recalled Garrett Mitchell, as well as Chandler Stephenson, from the AHL’s Hershey Bears for the last game of the season. Mitchell, the Hersey captain, will make his NHL debut at 25 after being a sixth-round selection of the Capitals back in 2009. Far from an offensive juggernaut, Mitchell is instead a physical two-way forward who makes up for his lack of points by sticking up for the Bears’ younger players and leading by example in his own end. It is a classy move by Washington to give a player who has worked hard for the organization a brief glimpse at NHL life, even though his ceiling appears to be a nothing more than a fourth-line player at this time.
Around the league, the transactions are coming in fast:
- Washington’s opponent tonight is the Florida Panthers and newly-recalled young goalie Sam Brittain. It remains to be seen if Brittain will make his NHL debut tonight, but he’ll at least be on the bench as Florida announced that the 24-year-old had been promoted from the AHL’s Springfield Thunderbirds for the game. Brittain has played mostly in the ECHL this season and is far from being a regular NHLer any time soon, but will at least get a look at big league action in the season finale.
- Another goalie getting a rare look at the highest level is the New York Rangers’ Magnus Hellberg. Buried behind all-world keeper Henrik Lundqvist and one of the more reliable backups in the league, Antti Raanta, Hellberg was surely excited to hear that he had been called up from the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack. Hellberg, 26, has never started an NHL game and that won’t change tonight as Raanta gets the call for the Rangers. However, Hellberg has seen the ice three times in his career and has strung together several strong AHL seasons in a row, so gaining some more experience tonight, even from the bench, brings him closer to an NHL future.
- A goalie headed the other way today is the Montreal Canadiens’ Charlie Lindgren. Despite nothing but success in his few NHL appearances early in his young career, the Habs are set in net with Carey Price and Al Montoya. Lindgren will have to wait for opportunity to strike for a longer stint with the Canadiens, as he’ll head back down to the AHL and the St. John’s Ice Caps alongside defenseman Brett Lernout, the team announced.
- Another pair headed back to the minors are Winnipeg Jets’ prospects Kyle Connor and Nelson Nogier. Following their season finale yesterday, the Jets decided today to return the duo to the AHL’s Manitoba Moose to get some final play time in this season. While the Jets expected more than five points in 20 games from Connor in his rookie season, after being a Hobey Baker finalist for the University of Michigan last year, expect him to play a major role for Winnipeg in 2017-18.
- Another player set to take on a major role next year is Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Robert Hagg. Fans can get a preview of the prospect-studded blue line that Philly is likely to roll out in 2017-18 when Hagg makes his NHL debut today. The team announced his recall this morning from the AHL’s Lehigh Valley Phantoms, and he will skate alongside the likes of Shayne Gostisbehere and Ivan Provorov tonight and Travis Sanheim and Samuel Morin as well next year in a truly impressive collection of young talent.
- Across the state, the Pittsburgh Penguins are planning on resting some of their players today – those that aren’t already injured anyway – and have called up a trio of players from the AHL’s Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to help fill the voids. Oskar Sundqvist and Derrick Pouliot, two names familiar to Penguins fans, will return to the lineup, while Jean-Sebastien Dea will make his NHL debut. A longtime WBS contributor, Dea’s work ethic and consistency has finally earned him his first shot at the pros for a team that is in desperate need of depth that can step up their play.
- Pittsburgh’s Round One opponent, the Columbus Blue Jackets, are adding some promising young talent of their own in forward Sonny Milano. The team announced that they had promoted the 2014 first-rounder from the AHL’s Cleveland Monsters and that he will get the call today against the Toronto Maple Leafs as the Jackets look to reverse their recent luck before the postseason gets underway. Milano has only skated in three games with Columbus this season, but leads the Monsters in scoring with 46 points in 61 games.
- The St. Louis Blues announced that they have recalled defenseman Chris Butler from the AHL’s Chicago Wolves. However, Butler’s return to the NHL lineup may be overshadowed by the possibility that Vladimir Sobotka could also make his season debut after a long hiatus from the team while playing in the KHL.
- With an extremely disappointing season finally over in Dallas, the Stars have moved a slew of players back down to the AHL’s Texas Stars to give them some play time before the end of the season. Forwards Jason Dickinson, Mark McNeill, Gemel Smith, Denis Gurianov, and Remi Elie and defenseman Julius Honka will all head back to Texas, a team that, like its affiliate, has no chance at the playoffs either.
More to come throughout the final day of the 2016-17 season
Saturday Snapshots: Final Saturday Of The Regular Season
8:48pm: The Toronto Maple Leafs defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3, clinching a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. Despite losing goaltender Frederik Andersen, the Leafs rallied for three goals in the third to punch their ticket to the playoffs. TSN’s Bob McKenzie sums up the seedings with tomorrow’s results. If Toronto gets one point tomorrow, they will take on Ottawa in the first round while Boston faces off against Washington. Should they lose, they draw Washington and the Bruins get Ottawa.
2:54 pm: Today is the second last day of the regular season, and as such, there’s a lot going on around the National Hockey League. The entire playoff bracket can be finalized this evening, stars will be healthy scratched, and milestones hit.
Playoff Matchups:
- Two Eastern Conference matchups have already been set: Canadiens vs Rangers and Penguins vs Blue Jackets. Another could be set tonight, if Toronto, Ottawa, and Boston all win. That would mean Capitals vs Maple Leafs. Should the Maple Leafs lose while the other two win, then that would guarantee Senators vs Bruins.
- Wild vs Blues is clinched by a St. Louis win or a Nashville loss.
- Oilers vs Sharks would be clinched by:
- An Oilers extra-time loss vs the Canucks tonight, OR
- An Oilers regulation loss and a Sharks loss in any fashion.
- Blackhawks vs Predators happens if:
- The Predators lose in regulation, OR
- The Flames win and the Blues get a single point, OR
- The Flames and Predators both lose in OT.
- The Flames would take on the Ducks if:
- The Oilers lose, the Blues get a point, and the Flames win, OR
- The Oilers lose, and both the Flames and Predators lose in OT, OR
- The Oilers lose, and the Predators lose in regulation.
- The Flames would take on the Blackhawks if Calgary loses and the Predators win.
- The Ducks would take on the Predators if:
- Both Edmonton and Calgary lose, and the Predators win, OR
- Nashville gets a point, while Edmonton loses and Calgary loses in regulation.
Other clinching scenarios:
- The Oilers clinch home-ice with a single point. They visit Vancouver tonight, and host them tomorrow.
- The Ducks clinch the Pacific Division with an Oilers loss of any kind.
- To pass Anaheim and win the Pacific, the Oilers would need to sweep the Canucks this weekend and have Anaheim lose to Los Angeles tomorrow.
- Should the Toronto Maple Leafs win tonight against the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins, Toronto will clinch a playoff spot for the first time since 2013. That would eliminate the New York Islanders and Tampa Bay Lightning.
- The Islanders could also be eliminated with a regulation loss or any kind of loss if the Maple Leafs get a single point.
- UPDATE: Ottawa clinched home ice by defeating the Rangers, 3-1.
- They defeat the Rangers today, OR
- Boston and Toronto lose in regulation, OR
- The Bruins and Senators each get a single point combined with a Maple Leafs OT loss.
Scratches:
- The Penguins are resting a handful of players, but not their captain. Regulars Nick Bonino, Brian Dumoulin, Patric Hornqvist, Matt Murray, and Bryan Rust will all be healthy scratches, however Sidney Crosby will dress. Forward Kevin Porter and goaltender Tristan Jarry have been called up to fill out the lineup; Jarry will back up Marc-Andre Fleury. The Penguins coach, Mike Sullivan, told TSN that he’s aware of what’s on the line for the Maple Leafs, but re-iterated that his priority is to do what’s best for the team “in the short-term and the long-term. Having said that the lineup we put in will be competitive.”
- The Canucks will be without the services of Sven Baertschi for this weekend’s home-and-home with the Oilers. Postmedia’s Ben Kuzma reports that Baertschi may have hurt his shoulder or neck on Thursday vs the Coyotes.
- The Senators will be resting several players. Their lineup isn’t known yet, but Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch suggested Craig Anderson, Mike Hoffman, Dion Phaneuf, Kyle Turris, and Viktor Stalberg as possibilities.
Milestones:
- Oilers captain Connor McDavid could become just the fifth player to score 100 points since 2010. He’s sitting at 97 points in 80 games, the seventh-most points in a season during in that time frame. Only Evgeni Malkin, Daniel Sedin, Crosby, and Patrick Kane have cracked the century-mark this decade. McDavid is nine points ahead of Crosby and Kane for the NHL scoring lead, and looks poised to take home the Art Ross in his first full season at age 20.
- With one more goal this season, Auston Matthews can become the fifteenth rookie in NHL history to score 40 goals. Currently, he’s tied with Crosby, Steve Yzerman, and Peter and Anton Stastny at 39. Kings’ coach Darryl Sutter, Sylvain Turgeon, and Warren Young all scored 40 goals in their rookie seasons.