Three Stars
1. Phil Kessel
This is actually a dual Penguins three-point scorer award, as both Kessel and Sidney Crosby (one goal, two assists) enjoyed three-point nights as Pittsburgh clinched a playoff spot.
Kessel gets the edge for a couple reasons, though. For one thing, he had more goals than Crosby, as Kessel’s points came via two goals and one assist. One of the winger’s goals ended up standing as the game-winner, too.
With 82 points in 81 games, this ties Kessel’s 2011-12 as his second-best output, behind only last year’s 92. While Kessel seems to find his name mentioned far too often in trade rumors, the guy just keeps delivering. In particular, he probably deserves more credit for being “clutch,” as he’s been dynamite for the Penguins in postseason situations, and also important regular season moments like these.
Also, he once filled the Stanley Cup with hot dogs for trolling purposes. Pretty good final tiebreaker, actually.
2. Alexander Steen
As An Increasingly Old, I can relate to Steen slowing down, as the Blues forward has done at 35.
It’s nice to see strong outbursts like these from Steen, then, unless you’re a part of the Central Division jumble where three spots still haven’t been decided. Then you’d probably prefer the Blues to be a one-line team, thank you very much.
Steen scored two goals and one assist on Thursday, with one of those tallies coming shorthanded. His 27 points are more solid when you realize he’s been limited to 64 games played, so maybe he can heat up for the postseason?
3. Petr Mrazek
It was tempting to go for Jack Eichel (one goal and two assists, and you’ll see that one of those helpers ended up being special) or Jaroslav Halak, who pitched a 26-save shutout. There were other nice performances, too.
With the Sabres eliminated and the Bruins already locked in place, the Hurricanes “needed” more out of Mrazek, at least for a while. The complications of clinching scenarios called for some changes, but the bottom line is that Mrazek played well enough to make the process more straightforward for Carolina, as the clinched a spot in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, ending a decade-long postseason drought.
Highlights of the Night
Two moments of great passing really took the cake on Thursday. First, check out this sweet no-look pass by almost-third-star Jack Eichel to Sam Reinhart:
If you’re like me, you’re a sucker for fantastic breakout passes, and Dougie Hamilton provided exactly that to Warren Foegele:
Factoids
- There will be greater detail on this later, but in the East, the Capitals clinched the Metropolitan Division title, while the Penguins and Hurricanes locked down playoff berths. Out West, the Avalanche clinched their spot, punctuated by this goal from Nathan MacKinnon to Erik Johnson, thus knocking off the Coyotes. The West’s eight is set, while positioning is still to be determined in certain situations.
(Technically, this goal really secured the spot, but the Johnson goal was more fun.)
- Joe Thornton recorded career regular-season assist 1,064, passing Steve Yzerman for eighth all-time in that category. Yzerman’s 1,514 games played was also eclipsed, as Matt Cullen played in his 1,515th career game, taking sole possession of 19th in NHL history.
- Thornton’s teammate Brent Burns reached 80 points for the first time in his career. He’s the sixth player to hit 80 for the first time at age 34+, and only the second defenseman, alongside Yzerman’s teammate Nicklas Lidstrom.
- The Capitals won the Metropolitan Division for the fourth season in a row, and they’ve really been piling up division titles since the Alex Ovechkin era really took off.
- Leon Draisaitl has a shot at 50 goals, as he scored his 49th of the season on Thursday.
Scores
BUF 5 - OTT 2
TBL 3 - TOR 1
NYI 2 - FLA 1 (SO)
PIT 4 - DET 1
WSH 2 - MTL 1
CAR 3 - NJD 1
STL 7 - PHI 3
NSH 3 - VAN 2
BOS 3 - MIN 0
COL 3 - WPG 2 (OT)
SJS 3 - EDM 2
ARI 4 - VGK 1
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.