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The Buzzer: Blue Jackets’ top line dominates; Hurricanes bring back Storm Surge

Juuse Saros, Cam Atkinson

Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros, of Finland, blocks a penalty shot by Columbus Blue Jackets right wing Cam Atkinson (13) during the third period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, March 30, 2019, in Nashville, Tenn. The Blue Jackets won 5-2. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)

AP

Three Stars

1. Artemi Panarin and Cam Atkinson, Columbus Blue Jackets. They get to share the No. 1 star on Saturday for absolutely dominating the Nashville Predators. Panarin recorded four assists in the Blue Jackets’ 5-2 win, including three in the first period alone, while Atkinson scored two goals to give him 41 on the season. Atkinson is now just the second Blue Jackets player to ever score 40 goals in a season, joining Rick Nash. His 41st goal of the season also tied him for the franchise single season lead. We also should not forget big trade deadline acquisition Matt Duchene in this one as he also recorded a pair of assists in the win.

2. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals. He just keeps making history. His two goals on Saturday night in the Capitals’ 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning give him 51 on the season, the eighth 50-goal season of his career. That is second most in league history behind only Wayne Gretzky and Mike Bossy. Among the other accomplishments for him on Saturday: He is just the fourth player in league history to score 50 goals after celebrating his 33rd birthday (read all about that here), while his power play goal was the 247th of his career, moving him into a tie for fourth-place on the NHL’s all-time list with Luc Robitaille. Overall, he finished the night with 13 total shot attempts, eight shots on goal, four hits, two goals, and a plus-three rating. Overall it was a pretty dominant night for him.

3. Rickard Rakell, Anaheim Ducks. No, Saturday’s game between the Anaheim Ducks and Edmonton Oilers did not really mean anything in the playoff race, and the Ducks’ win does not really help them in the standings or do anything for them except maybe hurt their draft lottery odds. But when you score three goals in one period the way Rickard Rakell did that is worthy of some attention. He is just the second Ducks player to ever record a natural hat trick in a one period, joining only Andrew Cogliano. He is now two goals away from his fourth consecutive 20-goal season in the NHL.

Highlights of the Night

The Montreal Canadiens’ power play has been a mess all season but it came through early on Saturday night to help set the tone in a huge win over the Winnipeg Jets thanks to this tic-tac-toe passing play.

Look at this incredible individual effort from St. Louis Blues forward Robert Thomas as part of their 3-2 overtime win over the New Jersey Devils. With the win, the Blues are now just two points behind the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators for first place in the Central Division.

One more time for Alex Ovechkin as he scores his 50th goal of the season.

The Chicago Blackhawks dropped a 3-2 overtime decision to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night, but Alex DeBrincat continued his remarkable sophomore season with his 41st goal of the season, keeping him among the NHL’s league leaders.

They said the Storm Surge was finished, but the Carolina Hurricanes went back to the one that started it all on Saturday following their big win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Factoids


  • The New York Islanders completely dominated the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night to officially clinch a playoff spot. [New York Islanders]
  • Brent Burns’ overtime goal snapped the San Jose Sharks’ seven-game losing streak and secured home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Burns’ goal is his 14th career regular season overtime goal, moving him into first place on the NHL’s all-time list for defenders, passing Scott Niedermayer. [NHL PR]
  • Patrick Marleau played in his 1,653rd career game on Saturday night, passing Mark Recchi for sole possession of fifth place in the NHL’s all-time games played list. As for the game itself, the Maple Leafs were on the wrong end of a 4-2 decision against the Ottawa Senators. [Leafs PR]
  • The Washington Capitals have seven 20-goal scorers this season for the seventh-time in franchise history and the first time since the 2009-10 season. The other instances came in 1982-83, 1983-84, and 1991-92. The latter three were when goal-scoring across the NHL was significantly higher. [Capitals PR]
  • Nicklas Backstrom became just the second active player to record at least four consecutive seasons with at least 20 goals and 50 assists. San Jose Sharks forward Joe Thornton is the only other active player to do it. [NHL PR]
  • Only one team in the NHL has more wins than the Carolina Hurricanes’ 27 since January 1. The Tampa Bay Lightning, with 28 wins, are the only team in the NHL with more wins since then. Their win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday officially eliminated the Flyers from playoff contention this season. [NHL PR]

Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.