THREE STARS
1. Mika Zibanejad, New York Rangers
Eight days after routing the Flyers 9-0, the Rangers blew them out again with an 8-3 victory in Philadelphia. Zibanejad recorded his second straight three-goal, six-point night against the Flyers. Pavel Buchnevich chipped in a pair of goals; Ryan Strome had a goal and three assists; and Adam Fox registered five assists in the win.
Per the NHL, Zibanejad is the first player in league history to record six-plus points in consecutive games against the same opponent in the same regular season. He’s also the third player ever to net a natural hat trick in consecutive games against the same opponent in the same season.
2. Rocco Grimaldi, Nashville Predators
The Predators forward didn’t waste time in scoring a hat trick of his own. Grimaldi scored three times the opening 8:08 of Nashville’s 7-1 win over the Red Wings. In fact, Grimaldi’s three goals came in a span of 2:34, the fastest in franchise history. Eeli Tolvanen squeezed in his eighth of the season in the middle of that 2:34, making that the fastest four goals in a game in team history.
Grimaldi wasn’t done there, midway through the third period he added his fourth of the evening to tie Eric Nystrom for most by a Predators player in a single game.
3. Casey DeSmith, Pittsburgh Penguins / Kevin Lankinen, Chicago Blackhawks / Cam Talbot, Minnesota Wild
All three net minders recorded shutouts Thursday night. DeSmith stopped 36 in a win over the Sabres; Lankinen made 41 saves against the Panthers; and Talbot helped the Wild to an 11th straight home win with 37 saves.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NIGHT
• Enjoy Mika’s second big night against the Flyers in eight days:
• This was a large hit by Nikita Zadorov on Patric Hornqvist:
• Pierre Dorion was none too pleased to see Justin Holl’s overtime winner:
• Jake Oettinger with a bit of stick robbery:
Jake Oettinger out here straight up robbing folks. 🤯 pic.twitter.com/Q2z2TzyEDv
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) March 26, 2021
• Boy, Kirill Kaprizov is a delight to watch:
He's absolutely Kirill-in' it in his rookie season! pic.twitter.com/7oV5eFH6bK
— NHL (@NHL) March 26, 2021
STATS OF THE NIGHT
After Sidney Crosby recorded his 1,300th career point, the @penguins joined the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings as the only teams with two 1,300-point scorers (Mario Lemieux, 1,723). pic.twitter.com/PaoWeG3GwE
— Penguins PR (@PenguinsPR) March 26, 2021
Also having a big night vs PHI, Adam Fox has tied Brian Leetch (April 18, 1995 vs PIT) for the most single game assists by a @NYRangers defenceman (5). At 23 years & 36 days of age, he's also the youngest NHL blueliner to do so since Dion Phaneuf on Dec 13, 2007 (at 22y-247d old) pic.twitter.com/o258JaEZeL
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) March 26, 2021
Sabres are the first team with a 16-game winless streak since the Penguins had an 18-game slide in Jan-Feb 2004
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 26, 2021
SCORES
Islanders 4, Bruins 3 (OT)
Maple Leafs 3, Senators 2 (OT)
Rangers 8, Flyers 3
Penguins 4, Sabres 0
Capitals 4, Devils 3
Hurricanes 4, Blue Jackets 3 (OT)
Blackhawks 3, Panthers 0
Wild 2, Blues 0
Predators 7, Red Wings 1
Stars 4, Lightning 3
Avalanche 5, Golden Knights 1
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.