THREE STARS
1. Elvis Merzlikins, Columbus Blue Jackets
The Columbus goaltender picked up his third win in his last six starts after stopping 37 of 38 Lightning shots during a 3-1 win. The 37 saves, which included 20 in the second period, were a season-high for the 26-year-old. Tampa has now lost three in a row for the first time since Feb. 2020.
2. Artemi Panarin, New York Rangers
The Bread Man had a big night in New York’s come-from-behind 5-2 win over the Capitals. Down 2-0 after only 4:22, the Rangers fought back scoring four times in the third period. Panarin assisted on Kaapo Kakko’s tying goal and Adam Fox’s go-ahead goal, while later adding an insurance marker to help seal the win.
3. Eeli Tolvanen, Predators
The Nashville rookie extended his point streak to six games with a goal and an assist during their 3-2 overtime win over the Stars. Tolvanen’s goal came at the most important time of the game -- in overtime:
Tolvanen wins it in OT for the @PredsNHL! pic.twitter.com/3ELXyXcD6Z
— NHL GIFs (@NHLGIFs) March 31, 2021
OTHER NOTABLE PERFORMANCES FROM TUESDAY
• Carter Verhaeghe scored his 16th and 17th goals of the season and Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 35 shots during a 4-1 Panthers win over the Red Wings.
• Carey Price needed only 16 saves to beat Edmonton and record first shutout of the season and the 49th of his NHL career.
• Kevin Lankinen made 31 saves and won for the third time in four starts as the Blackhawks topped the Hurricanes 2-1.
• David Savard scored a goal in the Blue Jackets’ win. It was significant because his last goal came exactly two years ago -- March 30, 2019.
• Craig Smith and David Krejci each had three assists as the Bruins came back to beat the Devils in a shootout, 5-4.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE NIGHT
• Fox’s go-ahead goal was of the highlight-reel variety:
• Brad Marchand, off the COVID list due to a false positive, was out making friends tonight:
• Meanwhile, Tom Wilson was doing Tom Wilson things:
• Bad news keeps coming for the Panthers. Two days after losing Aaron Ekblad for the season, the Cats will be without Anthony Duclair for the next 7-10 days after this crash into the end boards:
STATS OF THE NIGHT
Adam Fox became the third defenseman to hit the 30-point mark this season and is among the fastest @NYRangers blueliners to reach the plateau over the past 30 years. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/lMYuGlVZqO
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 31, 2021
#GoHabsGo Carey Price becomes the 7th goalie in NHL history to win 200 home games with one franchise pic.twitter.com/ETHF35RbSn
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) March 31, 2021
SCORES
Blue Jackets 3, Lightning 1
Panthers 4, Red Wings 1
Rangers 5, Capitals 2
Canadiens 4, Oilers 0
Bruins 5, Devils 4 (SO)
Blackhawks 2, Hurricanes 1
Predators 3, Stars 2 (OT)
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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.