Players of the Night:
Conor Sheary, Pittsburgh Penguins: Sheary scored twice to help Penguins come from a 2-1 deficit to win 5-2 and move atop the Metropolitan Division. The Penguins have won three straight, Evgeni Malkin moved into a tie for second in goal scoring with his 38th, and Sidney Crosby recorded his 1,100th NHL point.
Sean Monahan, Calgary Flames: Boring Sean scored his 30th goal of the season (which you will see below), the second time in his career that he’s hit the mark. Monahan is now four points shy of matching his career-best 63 points. Barring injury or a massive slump, it looks like Monahan will set a new career high in goals and points.
Derek Stepan and Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes: Each had a goal and an assist in the game. Stepan scored with 58 seconds left in regulation to secure a 2-1 win for the Coyotes, who are 7-2-1 in their past 10 games. The Coyotes are tied with the Buffalo Sabres in the race for the worst record in the NHL this season.
Highlights of the Night:
Tic, tac, goal:
Wednesday night plans are going to consist of some tic-tac-toe for the @Canucks. https://t.co/alomqkv5ls
— NHL (@NHL) March 8, 2018
Crosby’s 1,100th point came off an awkward, and impressive, one-timer from Sheary:
Another set up involving Sid.
— NHL (@NHL) March 8, 2018
Only this time, he's notching career point 1,100. https://t.co/sW2372mop1
Johnny Hockey to Boring Sean:
30th of the year for @Monahan20 and it couldn't have been set up any better. https://t.co/QKyLVyUx41
— NHL (@NHL) March 8, 2018
Factoids of the Night:
Make it 49 games:
#Canucks Henrik Sedin has not scored a goal in a career-high 48 straight games (0 G, 36 A). No player in NHL history has recorded 40+ assists in a season with 2 or fewer goals.
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 7, 2018
News of the Night:
The Carolina Hurricanes removed GM Ron Francis from his job, promoted him to the president of hockey operations, and then said that the new GM would bypass Francis and report directly to owner Tom Dundon.
Mike Babcock and Toronto Maple Leafs fans may think it needs to change now, but NHL insider Darren Dreger says the goaltender interference rule is likely not going anywhere before the playoffs, no matter how loud Babcock whines:
Scores:
Flames 5, Buffalo 1
Penguins 5, Flyers 2
Coyotes 2, Canucks 1
Scott Billeck is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @scottbilleck