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NHL Rink Wrap: Hats off to Robertson, Arvidsson

Los Angeles Kings v Columbus Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 4: Viktor Arvidsson #33 of the Los Angeles Kings celebrates a goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the third period at Nationwide Arena on March 4, 2022 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Ben Jackson/NHLI via Getty Images)

NHLI via Getty Images

Top player in the NHL on Friday

Viktor Arvidsson, Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles Kings rallied for a huge win on Friday night, overcoming a two goal third period deficit to get a 4-3 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Arvidsson led the way with three goals, including the game tying goal in the third period and the game winner in overtime to complete the hat trick. He is now at 18 goals for the season and has been an amazing pickup for the Kings this season to help speed up their rebuild and make them a playoff team.

Highlights from around the NHL on Friday

Jason Robertson also had a hat trick on Friday night, scoring the game winner to lift the Dallas Stars to a win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Andrei Svechnikov scores the game winning goal in overtime to lift the Carolina Hurricanes to a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Viktor Arvidsson’s three goal game for the Kings including his overtime winner.

Three takeaways from the NHL on Friday

Wild struggles continue

The Minnesota Wild have been struggling for a couple of weeks now and let one slip away on Friday night, losing a 5-4 decision against the Buffalo Sabres. They are still a really good team but this is not the time of year you want to be slumping. This looks like a team that needs a little bit of a lift at the trade deadline.

Penguins, Hurricanes would be epic series

Carolina overcame an early two goal deficit against Pittsburgh to rally for a 3-2 overtime win thanks to a pair of Jordan Staal goals and the aforementioned Svechnikov winner. This would be an epic seven game series if they end up meeting in the playoffs at some point. Pittsburgh may not have gotten the extra point on Friday but they did collect three out of four points in a back to back against Tampa Bay and Carolina on the road.

Golden Knights get huge win

Wow did the Vegas Golden Knights need this game. They entered Friday’s game on the outside of the Western Conference playoff picture thanks to their recent struggles, but won an important four point game against Anaheim to put some distance between them and the Ducks in the Stanley Cup Playoff race.

Saturday’s big story

The late game on Saturday features the top two teams in the Western Conference when the Colorado Avalanche host the Calgary Flames. Both teams have been on rolls here lately, with Colorado playing at an absurdly high level after a slow start to the season in their first 10 games. These two teams have clearly established themselves as the class of the Western Conference and this could be a very realistic Western Conference Final matchup in a few months.

Friday’s NHL Scores

Buffalo Sabres 5, Minnesota Wild 4 Tampa Bay Lightning 3, Detroit Red Wings 1 New York Rangers 3, New Jersey Devils 1 Carolina Hurricanes 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 2 (OT) Los Angeles Kings 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 3 (OT) Dallas Stars 4, Winnipeg Jets 3 (OT) Vegad Golden Knights 5, Anaheim Ducks 4