Three stars
1. Artemi Panarin, Columbus Blue Jackets
Panarin scored one of the filthier goals you’ll see to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead in the third period.
From there, he nearly scored on a couple of occasions in overtime after the New York Rangers tied the game 2-2 with six seconds left in the third. And in the shootout, Panarin fired the winner, a pinpoint accurate shot that went bar down.
When @9Artemi goes bar down, he really goes bar down. pic.twitter.com/2GijDIyb3e
— NHL (@NHL) April 6, 2019
2. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks
Another two goals helped the Blackhawks to a dominant 6-1 win against the playoff-bound Dallas Stars.
Kane’s had an incredible season (along to with Jonathan Toews, whose two assists helped him set a new career-high in that category).
Patrick Kane (44-65—109 in 80 GP) is the second player in @NHLBlackhawks history to record 109+ points in a season.
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 6, 2019
He joined Denis Savard, who accomplished the feat four times – most recently in 1987-88 (44-87—131 in 80 GP). https://t.co/7sZQ2mlR0F #NHLStats #DALvsCHI pic.twitter.com/xLxoXRqQ6y
3. John Gibson, Anaheim Ducks
He’s likely going to get robbed of the Vezina, so here’s a star for an incredible season.
Gibson has endured a season without a defense or much scoring in front of him and still has 26 wins, an impressive save percentage and unreal underlying statistics that have him ranked with the best in the league.
Gibson made 37 assists for the Ducks in a 5-2 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. The Ducks finished 11-5-1 in their final 17 games. Gibson had seven wins in his last nine starts.
Highlights of the night
Sam Steel continues to shine:
The future's looking bright for @ssteel23. pic.twitter.com/efZ6Yz69KW
— NHL (@NHL) April 6, 2019
Panarin’s shootout winner:
🍞🍞🍞🍞🍞 pic.twitter.com/G6mnDBDzo8
— NHL (@NHL) April 6, 2019
Bob’s best:
Can confirm, @SergeiBobrovsky is definitely on the case. 👮 pic.twitter.com/p2KCNJIBic
— NHL (@NHL) April 6, 2019
Kane’s wrister:
Can't argue with logic.
— NHL (@NHL) April 6, 2019
That or @88PKane's wrister. pic.twitter.com/omoYGxd6ut
Factoids
Another franchise record set in 2018-19 😁 pic.twitter.com/b8VTYTgJKm
— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) April 6, 2019
Alexandre Texier of the @BlueJacketsNHL, a native of St. Martin D'heres, France, is making his NHL debut.
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) April 6, 2019
Among players to appear in at least one game this season, 21 different countries of birth have been represented. #NHLStats #CBJvsNYR pic.twitter.com/KkrrwaIyz0
Scores
Blue Jackets 3, Rangers 2 (SO)
Blackhawks 6, Stars 1
Duck 5, Kings 2
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