Three stars
1. David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins
Hat trick? Check. Five-point night? Check. New career high in goals? Check.
Pastrnak had quite the night in a 6-3 Bruins win against the New York Rangers. He scored a goal in each period, assisted on two others and potted goal No. 36 to establish a new career-mark, surpassing the 35-goal season he had last year.
The Bruins moved six points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic. Assuming they hang on to that spot, the Bruins will host the Leafs in the first round -- important, considering Boston has one 12 straight at TD Garden.
2. Tyson Barrie, Colorado Avalanche
The Avs needed a big performance and Barrie stepped up, scoring a goal and adding two assists in a 4-3 win.
Barrie set a new franchise mark for goals by a defenseman with 73, passing Sandis Ozolinsh to call the record his own. The win, meanwhile, kept the Avs two points ahead of the Arizona Coyotes for the second and final wildcard in the West.
Both teams face each other Friday in a colossal matchup that could define who does and doesn’t make the playoffs.
3. Carter Hart, Philadelphia Flyers
Philly’s future in goal stopped 38 shots in 65 minutes and cast aside all comers in the shootout to keep the Flyers very faint playoff hopes alive.
The Flyers are eight points back of the Montreal Canadiens with five games left. The math is pretty simple here and the Flyers have no room for error and need every other team in the race to lose all their remaining games, essentially.
Either way, Hart’s been great for the Flyers, compiling a 16-11-1 record with a .920 save percentage on a team that can abandon him on some nights. Maybe the curse is over.
Highlights of the night
Pastrnak can pass, too:
The King can still rule his throne:
Freddie Andersen still looking for his equipment after this one:
Factoids
Tyson Barrie scored the 73rd regular-season goal of his NHL career (all w/ COL) to pass Sandis Ozolinsh (72) for the most by a defenseman in @Avalanche / Nordiques franchise history. #NHLStats #VGKvsCOL pic.twitter.com/AsUPTQO7Re
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 28, 2019
.@ToreyKrug's assist on @pastrnak96's second of the night is his 284th career point. That is the most by an American-born player in #NHLBruins history. pic.twitter.com/ogkeav3OQl
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 28, 2019
Henrik Lundqvist is making his 50th appearance of the 2018-19 season in tonight’s contest. He is the seventh goaltender in NHL history who has appeared in 50 or more games in at least 12 different seasons (Brodeur, Belfour, Luongo, Esposito, Joseph, and Roy). #NYR
— NYR Stats & Info (@NYRStatsInfo) March 27, 2019
#Leafs Frederik Andersen has allowed 4+ goals in 5 of his last 7 starts
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 28, 2019
Scores
Flyers 5, Maple Leafs 4 (SO)
Bruins 6, Rangers 3
Stars 2, Flames 1
Avalanche 4, Golden Knights 3
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