Alex Ovechkin didn't need much time to make history Tuesday night.
The Washington Capitals superstar passed Sergei Fedorov for most points by a Russian-born player when he earned an assist on T.J. Oshie's goal three minutes into the game against the Vancouver Canucks.
It was Ovechkin's 1,180th career point in his 1,055th game. Fedorov collected his 1,179 points in 1,248 contests.
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Alex Ovechkin didn't need much time to make history Tuesday night.
The Washington Capitals superstar passed Sergei Fedorov for most points by a Russian-born player when he earned an assist on T.J. Oshie's goal three minutes into the game against the Vancouver Canucks.
It was Ovechkin's 1,180th career point in his 1,055th game. Fedorov collected his 1,179 points in 1,248 contests.
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With his contract negotiations in the rearview mirror, Auston Matthews can now turn his attention fully toward helping the Toronto Maple Leafs compete for the Stanley Cup.
The superstar center mentioned those aspirations repeatedly after inking his new five-year, $58.15-million pact Tuesday.
"In the end, you're measured on championships and that's what I want to do," Matthews told reporters, including Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
The 21-year-old stressed that it's a team target as much as a personal one.
"We want to accomplish our ultimate goal, which is the Stanley Cup, and make this city proud," he told the assembled media, including TSN. "We're working toward that every day."
When asked if his new deal brings with it added pressure to deliver that goal, Matthews downplayed that notion.
"We always feel the pressure from fans here," he said. "They want a championship team, and we want to give it to them. This city deserves it."
In terms of his focus, Matthews clarified that the talks were "never really a weight" on his shoulders but said it's nice to get them over with.
He ranks second on the club with 23 goals and fourth with 46 points this season, despite missing 14 games due to injury.
The Maple Leafs have the fourth-best record in the NHL and sit in second place in the Atlantic Division, 13 points behind the league-leading Tampa Bay Lightning.
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The Edmonton Oilers have activated defenseman Oscar Klefbom off injured reserve, the team announced Tuesday.
The 25-year-old has been sidelined with a hand injury since Dec. 11 and has missed the team's last 21 games. The Oilers have gone 6-12-3 over that stretch, recording the fourth-fewest points in the league.
Despite his lengthy absence, Klefbom's 15 points in 31 games still rank second among all Oilers defenders.
Edmonton enters Tuesday's game against the Chicago Blackhawks just three points back of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
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Vancouver Canucks defenseman Alexander Edler will miss at least a week with a concussion, head coach Travis Green announced Tuesday.
The 32-year-old got tangled with Jakub Voracek and fell awkwardly, striking his face on the ice midway through the third period of Monday's game against the Philadelphia Flyers. He had to be assisted off the ice sitting upright on a stretcher.
The defenseman avoided any facial fractures but did require some stitches, Green told reporters, according to NHL.com's Tom Gulitti.
Edler has been the Canucks' most consistent blue-liner this season, leading the team in ice time and blocks while leading all Vancouver defenders with 20 points.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs and superstar Auston Matthews agreed to a five-year contract extension with an average annual value of $11.634 million, the team announced Tuesday.
Ninety-three percent of the money in Matthews' contract will be paid out in signing bonuses, according to Sportsnet's Chris Johnston.
Here's a year-by-year breakdown of the deal, courtesy of TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Auston Matthews year by year breakdown:
— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) February 5, 2019
Year 1: $15.2M SB, $700K salary.
Year 2: $15.2M SB, $700K salary.
Year 3: $9.7M SB, $750K salary.
Year 4: $7.2M SB, $750K salary.
Year 5: $7.2M SB, $750K salary.
That’s $54.5M in SB, $3.65M in salary.
Matthews will have a full no-movement clause in the final year of his deal, which is the first year it can kick in, according to Sportsnet's John Shannon.
The dynamic center's average annual value makes him the second-highest paid player in the league, trailing only Connor McDavid's $12.5 million. Matthews' annual cap hit is $634,000 more than teammate John Tavares', who signed a seven-year, $77-million contract with the Maple Leafs this summer.
The Maple Leafs project to have $16.4 million in cap space next season with Mitch Marner, Kasperi Kapanen, and Andreas Johnsson as key pending restricted free agents.
Since entering the league in 2016-17, Matthews has established himself as one of the game's premier goal scorers. He ranks sixth in the NHL with 97 goals during that span despite missing 34 games due to injury.
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Auston Matthews' contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs "appears imminent," according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.
Matthews is reportedly expected to land a five-year deal with an average annual value of $11.5 million, "give or take $100,000 or $200,000," McKenzie adds.
Both sides reportedly wanted the maximum eight-year contract when talks began, but a five-year deal will keep the cap hit down and allow the Maple Leafs to retain their core for a more extended period.
An $11.5-million cap hit would make Matthews the second-highest-paid player in the league, trailing only Connor McDavid's $12.5-million annual average. Matthews would also be making $500,000 more per season than teammate John Tavares, who inked a seven-year, $77-million contract with Toronto last summer.
Matthews missed 14 games with a shoulder injury earlier this season, but has still scored at a 50-goal pace, notching 23 tallies with 23 assists in 38 games.
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The Toronto Maple Leafs' power play ranks 13th in the NHL, operating at 21.2 percent. However, given the unit's highly-skilled personnel, it should be much better. The Leafs were on fire with the man advantage to begin the season, but have converted on just seven of their last 55 attempts. What's gone wrong?
Here's a look at how the Leafs' top unit sets up:
The power play runs through Mitch Marner near the right wall, but opponents have zeroed in on him. Even though he has 20 goals on the season, opponents know he's not a shooting threat, and they've taken away his favorite passing lanes.
Marner's primary option is to feed Auston Matthews on the far left with a cross-ice pass so he can corral the puck in stride and unleash a wrist shot. He'll also look to pass to John Tavares down low, or defer to Morgan Rielly at the top of the formation. Nazem Kadri in the middle doesn't give Marner much of an outlet.
The issue is none of Toronto's four skaters without the puck are in a position where they could release a shot as quickly as possible. Since Marner is the only right-handed shot and sets up on the right side of the ice, any player who gets the puck is going to have to corral it, turn, and fire, giving the goaltender and defenders time to stop it. This stands in large contrast to some of the top power plays around the league.
Rank: 1st
Efficiency: 29.4 percent
The Lightning's power play runs through Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos. With Stamkos handling the puck on the left side, he's looking to feed Kucherov for a cross-ice one-timer. If the primary option is covered he can pass to the point, where Victor Hedman is in position to fire a shot. When Kucherov is controlling the puck, he can either go cross-ice back to Stamkos or feed Brayden Point in the middle for a quick one-timer.
The Lightning's power play has great movement, unpredictability, and multiple shooting options at all times.
Rank: 2nd
Efficiency: 27.6 percent
The Jets' power play is more similar to the Leafs' in that it almost exclusively runs through one player. In Winnipeg's case, that man is Blake Wheeler. Like Marner, Wheeler is a right-handed shot quarterbacking things from the right half. However, Wheeler has plenty of dangerous options at his disposal. Patrik Laine at the opposite circle, Dustin Byfuglien (when healthy) at the top of the formation, and Mark Scheifele in the slot are all available for one-timers. If Wheeler is pressured, he can dish off to Kyle Connor down low as a security blanket.
Rank: 3rd
Efficiency: 27.3 percent
The Bruins' power play has one clear trigger man, as David Pastrnak's 15 goals with the man advantage lead the NHL. He sets up camp at the left circle and is normally fed by either Torey Krug at the top of the formation or Brad Marchand on the opposite half. Krug and Marchand will often rotate, forcing defenders to get turned around, which opens up shooting lanes as a result.
This unit isn't one dimensional, though. When Pastrnak is covered, Marchand or Krug can also find Patrice Bergeron in the slot for a quick one-timer. Pastrnak also has 14 assists with the man advantage, as he'll often send passes back through to Marchand, who has seven power-play goals.
To solve Toronto's woes with the man advantage, head coach Mike Babcock should switch Matthews' and Marner's positions on the power play. This may sound simple, but it would completely change how that unit operates and how opponents are forced to defend it.
This would mean Marner would quarterback the power play from the left side of the formation while Matthews would set up on the right half, putting Matthews, Rielly, Kadri, and Tavares all in better shooting positions. Instead of passes coming from the right side, forcing the left-handed shooters to corral it, turn, and fire, passes would come from the left, allowing them to let off one-timers.
Matthews seldom takes slap shots, but he's displayed an effective one-timer on a few occasions.
Matthews with a one timer for his 19th goal in 21 games pic.twitter.com/q0OSRmgEUS
— Heart of NHL (@HeartofNHL) December 21, 2018
Marner may be more comfortable dishing out passes from the right side, but there's simply no reason why he wouldn't be able to effectively quarterback the unit from the left.
Rielly and Kadri aren't noted slap-shot artists either, but they would still be able to get their snapshots off quicker if the passes were coming from the left side instead of the right. Matthews would still be able to use his wrist shot from the right circle, too.
When a player is set up on his off wing, the stick is closer to the middle of the ice, and therefore provides a better shooting angle. It's no coincidence that all the best power plays in the league are set up that way.
At the very least, the Maple Leafs should experiment switching Matthews and Marner on the power play to see how it plays out. At this point, they've got nothing to lose; their power play can't get any worse than how it's been over the last couple of months.
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Los Angeles Kings forward Ilya Kovalchuk is anticipating he'll hear the boobirds loud and clear when he suits up in New Jersey on Tuesday night for his first game versus the Devils since leaving for the KHL.
"I am pretty sure there will be a lot of booing," Kovalchuk told NHL.com's Dan Rosen. "But I love that, so it's all good."
Before NHL contracts were capped at eight years as part of the current CBA, Kovalchuk signed a mammoth 15-year, $100-million deal with New Jersey in 2010 - matching the longest contract in league history. However, his stint in the Garden State lasted just three more seasons, as he voluntarily retired from the NHL in 2013 and went back to play in his native Russia, leaving $77 million on the table with the Devils.
Kovalchuk still had a solid run with New Jersey. He recorded 89 goals and 112 assists in 222 regular-season games, and he was a central figure in the club's surprising run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012, where the Devils fell to the Kings.
Following four seasons with SKA St. Petersburg in Russia and after winning an Olympic gold medal in 2018, Kovalchuk returned to the NHL last offseason. The 35-year-old signed a three-year, $18.75-million contract with the Kings and has recorded 25 points in 42 games this season.
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