On a week when everyone talks about Washington Capitals captain and super sniper Alexander Ovechkin breaking Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record, the NHL still announced its three stars of the week on Monday.
Canadiens: Taking On A Chaser
Jakub Dobes Got An Interesting Gift Following Ovechkin’s Record
Three Takeaways From A Canadiens Comeback Win
Unsurprisingly, the league's new sharpshooting king is the first star of the last week, but Montreal Canadiens’ captain Nick Suzuki gets the second star. The top-line center collected four goals and three assists for seven points in four games.
While he led the team all season long, his contribution in the last week was impossible to ignore. In a game where the Canadiens seemed destined to lose, Suzuki scored the game-tying goal with eight seconds to go before scoring the game-winning goal in overtime against the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Florida Panthers. That extra time lamplighter was his fifth of the season, the second highest total this season.
The captain then got a goal and an assist in his next two games against the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers, and he capped off his week with an assist in the 2-1 win over the Nashville Predators. The Canadiens have a five-game winning streak, and the fact that Suzuki is on a five-game scoring streak is not a coincidence.
The 25-year-old is 12th in the NHL in points with 84, two behind Sidney Crosby and six behind Connor McDavid. Granted, the Edmonton Oilers captain has played fewer games, skating in just 63 contests, but still. Suzuki is the Canadiens' highest scorer since Alex Kovalev, who got 84 points in 82 games during the 2007-08 season.
Nick Suzuki continues to be on an absolute tear
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) April 6, 2025
📺: SNE
📲: Stream on Sportsnet+ pic.twitter.com/FdM0bdeeMH
With five games left to play, logic dictates that the captain will manage to increase that total. The Canadiens haven’t seen a player score over 90 points since Vincent Damphousse and Pierre Turgeon reached the milestone in 1995-96. There’s no guarantee that Suzuki will get there, but it is at least possible.
The fact that Suzuki is reaching such heights while the Canadiens are still looking for a real top-six second line bodes well for the future. When opponents have to deal with two actual scoring lines, likely next season with Ivan Demidov’s arrival, Suzuki should have more freedom on the ice.
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There is absolutely no doubt that Zayne Parekh is an offensive wizard, and he'll almost certainly help the Calgary Flames.
Sometime. That time is almost certainly not now.
With Parekh's Saginaw Spirit being eliminated from the OHL playoffs, Parekh is available to play for the Flames, which drafted him ninth overall last June.
Unless the Flames are either locked in or out of the playoffs before the end of the regular season, it's unlikely he'll play for the Flames. But his immediate hockey future might still be in Calgary, and his remarkable OHL season should have NHL fans keeping an eye out for him for years to come.
Today's video column explains why.
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During this past off-season, the Buffalo Sabres signed veteran forward Jason Zucker to a one-year, $5 million contract in free agency. The move was understandable, as the Sabres needed a boost in their middle six. Now, as the Sabres charge toward the end of the 2024-25 season, it is clear the decision to bring Zucker in is one they are very happy about.
Zucker has been one of the Sabres' top forwards all season, posting 21 goals, 30 assists, 51 points, and a plus-4 rating in 67 games. Due to this and his veteran leadership, the Sabres signed him to a two-year, $9.5 million contract extension back in March. Now, with the season almost done, he is only continuing to show the Sabres they made the right call bringing him in.
Zucker has been red-hot as of late, as he has two goals, five points, and a plus-2 rating in his last four games. This includes scoring the Sabres' game-winning goal in their 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins on April 6.
Overall, Zucker is only continuing to make an impact with the Sabres, with the season just about over. While he may not have been considered one of the flashiest signings from this past summer, he has given the Sabres incredible value and has emerged as a part of their core because of it.
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According to records available at NHL.com, there have been 71 goalies to play for the Pittsburgh Penguins, 60 of whom have registered a victory.
As most fans know, the winningest goalie is future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury, who not only has the most wins (375) but owns the majority of the team's records regarding appearances, losses, saves, and Stanley Cup titles.
However, before Fleury came along and rewrote the record book, many other names were at or near the top of the list. Let's see who previously ranked at or near the top of the wins list.
Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) on XundefinedInitially drafted in the sixth round (102nd overall) at the 1977 Amateur Draft, Greg Millen played three seasons in Pittsburgh from 1978 to 1981, becoming only the third goalie in franchise history to win 50 games.
Les Binkley played in the fourth game in Penguins history, becoming the first netminder to reach 50 wins. He finished fifth in Calder Trophy voting in his rookie season, 1967-68, and was the first Pittsburgh goalie to record 20 wins in a single season. Binkley played five seasons with the Penguins.
Casey DeSmith was an undrafted goalie who joined the Penguins following their back-to-back championships in 2017-18. A solid backup during his time with the club, he collected the eighth most wins in franchise history in only five seasons.
Jean-Sebastian Aubin backstopped the Penguins during their transition from Stanley Cup contender to a club that won the NHL Draft Lottery in 2005, landing Sidney Crosby. In six seasons, Aubin became the fourth-winningest goalie in franchise history and is only one of three netminders in the top ten with a losing record.
Denis Herron was the top goalie in Penguins history until Tom Barrasso joined the club in 1988. He was the only one to play in over 200 games and held the wins record for over a decade. He spent three stints with Pittsburgh from 1972-1975, 1976-1979, and 1982-86, skating with a rookie Mario Lemieux.
Ranking Crosby's Performance Against Former First Overall Picks Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was the first overall pick in the 2005 Entry Draft. With 1,682 points, he's the second-highest scoring first-overall pick in NHL history, trailing his former teammate Mario Lemieux, who ended his Hall of Fame career with 1,723.
Ken Wregget was in the right place at the right time, playing with the overly successful Penguins in the 1990s and winning the Stanley Cup in 1992. He played 212 games in seven seasons, becoming only the second goalie to win over 100 games alongside his partner Barrasso. By the time Wregget left in 1998, he had the second most wins in franchise history.
The Penguins expected Matt Murray to be their goalie of the future, exposing Fleury in the 2018 Expansion Draft. As the netminder on record in the deciding game of the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup Final, he joined Barrasso as the only netminder to secure the championship in consecutive seasons. In only 199 games, Murray secured the third most wins in franchise history before departing in 2020.
Tristan Jarry recently picked up his 150th win and became only the third goalie to ever reach the plateau with the Penguins. Meanwhile, he also earned his 20th shutout in 2024-25, becoming the third netminder to achieve the feat in black and gold. Jarry is tied for third in games played but is only one of two goalies to score a goal, sharing the honor with Alex Nedeljkovic.
Barrasso was already a Calder and Vezina Trophy winner when he came to Pittsburgh in 1998. However, he solidified his entry into the Hockey Hall of Fame by backing the Penguins to their first two Stanley Cup titles in 1991 and 1992 while helping the 1993 club establish an NHL record for 17 consecutive wins.
Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule: Remaining Games & Statistical NotesThe Pittsburgh Penguins are winding down their 2024-25 season and will miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season, a first in Sidney Crosby's 20-year career. However, there is plenty to play for in the final weeks.
When Barrasso departed in 2000, he owned every goalie record, but he only retained the points (31) and penalty minutes (251) records after Fleury's tenure.
Fleury remains the last goalie selected first overall at the NHL Draft and is the only Penguins goalie to have his name inscribed on the Stanley Cup three times. He's established every significant goalie record in team history, including several marks that may not be broken in our lifetime, thanks in part to spending 13 seasons with the organization. As "The Flower" approaches retirement, he's a first-ballot Hall of Famer who ranks among the all-time greats.
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the Washington Capitals’ captain and super sniper, Alexander Ovechkin, broke Wayne Gretzky’s goal-scoring record this weekend when he beat countryman Ilya Sorokin on a power play. A celebration followed on the ice, but American beer giant Budweiser had another celebration in mind.
Canadiens: Taking On A Chaser
Canadiens: What’s Next For Demidov?
Three Takeaways As Dobes Stole The Game
In a fantastic marketing coup, the company produced limited edition beer cans 0 of 895 and sent one to each of the 28 goalies who have faced the Great Eight without surrendering a goal. Montreal Canadiens’ backup, Jakub Dobes, made the list, alongside three former Habs goaltenders, Jocelyn Thibault, David Aebischer, and Mike Condon.
Dobes only faced Ovechkin once and turned aside his only shot in a 3-2 Canadiens win over the Capitals in January.
Meanwhile, Thibault, who landed in Montreal in the much-maligned Patrick Roy trade alongside Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko, faced five Ovechkin shots without being beaten.
As for Aebischer, who was acquired in a goalie swap with the Colorado Avalanche that saw Jose Theodore head to Denver and spent parts of two seasons in Montreal, he faced two Ovechkin shots and stopped them both.
Budweiser sent special-edition cans to the 28 goalies who faced shots from new all-time NHL goalscoring king Alex Ovechkin and did not give up a goal 🍺 pic.twitter.com/fcndiX3nLy
— Front Office Sports (@FOS) April 7, 2025
Finally, Mike Condon, who played 55 games with the Canadiens and was parachuted into the number one role because of a knee injury sustained by Carey Price in 2015-16, faced the second-highest shot total without being beaten with 18.
It will be interesting to see if anyone ever beats Ovechkin’s goal today. He still has another contract year to improve his 895 total. To put things into perspective, the best goal scorer in Canadiens history, Maurice Richard, scored 544 goals, and the highest goal total for an active player not named Ovechkin belongs to Sidney Crosby, with 622 goals. Congratulations on the record Ovi and cheers!
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Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby was held pointless in Sunday's 3-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, ending his 12-game point streak, where he had 11 goals and nine assists for 20 points.
Meanwhile, he picked up his first hat trick since Nov. 14, 2023, with three goals against the Dallas Stars on Saturday, the final points of this impressive streak for the 37-year-old.
Without much fanfare surrounding the 12-game point streak, Crosby tied an NHL record for the longest streak by a player age 37 or older, joining Joe Sakic (2007), Mathieu Schneider (2006), Brett Hull (2003), and Jean Beliveau (1970).
Had Crosby picked up a point against the Blackhawks, he would have become the only player in NHL history to have points in 13 games over the age of 37.
Regarding his production during the streak, Crosby tied Sakic for the most points (20) over 12 games and established a new goal-scoring milestone as the only player to reach double digits during their respective streak, outscoring Hull (seven) and Sakic (six).
Penguins' Crosby Becomes 19th NHL Player To Record Multiple Hat Tricks After Age 36Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby recorded his 17th career hat trick on Saturday afternoon against the Dallas Stars.
Throughout his 20-year career, Crosby has compiled 14-point streaks of more than ten games, with this most recent 12-game streak ranking as the sixth longest. During the 2010-11 season, he tallied points in 25 consecutive games in November and December to establish a career-high point streak.
Here's a breakdown of Crosby's best point streaks:
- 25 games: Nov. 5 to Dec. 28, 2010
- 19 games: Oct. 6 to Nov. 17, 2007
- 16 games: Feb. 16 to Apr. 1, 2009
- 14 games: Mar. 26 to Nov. 5, 2016
- 12 games: Feb. 29 to Mar. 20, 2016
- 12 games: Mar. 9 to Apr. 5, 2025
Despite his best efforts, Crosby has yet to come close to Mario Lemieux's franchise record of 46 consecutive games with a point, achieved in 1989-90. Between Oct. 31, 1989, and Feb. 11, 1990, the Hall of Famer scored 39 goals and 64 assists for 103 points.
Although Lemieux went on one of the greatest runs in NHL history, he still came up short of the record held by Wayne Gretzky, who scored in 51 games during the 1983-84 season thanks to 61 goals, 92 assists, and 153 points.
However, Crosby's 25-game streak in 2010 ranks as the 14th longest in history. He remains one of only two active players with a streak over 25 games, sharing the honor with Patrick Kane, who reached 26 games in 2015.
Pittsburgh Penguins Schedule: Remaining Games & Statistical NotesThe Pittsburgh Penguins are winding down their 2024-25 season and will miss the Stanley Cup playoffs for the third consecutive season, a first in Sidney Crosby's 20-year career. However, there is plenty to play for in the final weeks.