Some players know their stats inside and out. Phil Kessel isn't one of them.

The affable Pittsburgh Penguins forward didn't initially realize he'd achieved a career milestone by playing Friday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

It sure is, Phil. It sure is.

Kessel scored the overtime winner and potted two goals in the game, so it's fair to say he got the last laugh.

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It's suddenly not so certain for the Edmonton Oilers, a club that returned from the All-Star break as a veritable lock for the postseason in the eyes of Las Vegas.

The Oilers fell flat for third straight outing since the showcase in Los Angeles, losing 2-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. They mustered three goals across these three defeats, and were predictably unable to pick up cooling captain Connor McDavid.

It's not yet time to panic; they're still seven points up on the Calgary Flames in third in the Pacific Division.

They should, however, heed to the ominous road ahead.

Edmonton will meet the Canadiens on Sunday in a Super Bowl matinee on the east coast. When the club returns, it will host the Blackhawks, Coyotes, and Flyers before embarking on a six-game road trip to close out the month with visits to Chicago, Tampa Bay, Florida, Washington, Nashville, and St. Louis.

The Oilers made a statement on the other side of the All-Star break, beating the Ducks and Sharks in consecutive nights in California by a combined 8-1 score.

A similar statement, made sooner than later, may be needed to avoid tumbling too far, and missing the postseason for an 11th straight season.

We imagine Las Vegas would appreciate it swift.

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Florida Panthers owner Vincent Viola has pulled his name out of nomination for Secretary of the Army, the club confirmed to George Richards of The Miami Herald.

President Donald Trump nominated Viola for the position in December.

The billionaire founder of Virtu Financial Inc. withdrew his nomination because distancing himself from his business ventures became too difficult, sources told Matthew Leising of Bloomberg News.

Viola, a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point, purchased the Panthers in 2013.

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John Tavares is New York Islanders royalty.

Scoring his 20th goal of the season Friday versus the Detroit Red Wings, the Brooklyn captain has now reached that total in eight straight campaigns.

Tavares is just the fourth Islanders player to pull off the feat since the franchise broke into the NHL in 1972. He joins past New York skaters Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, and Brent Sutter.

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Andrew Ladd is finally playing like Andrew Ladd.

The New York Islanders much-maligned free-agent addition, who agreed to a hefty seven-year, $38.5-million pact, has finally found his game, and the back of the net.

Coming in as a replacement after Kyle Okposo signed with the Buffalo Sabres, Ladd struggled through his early goings in Brooklyn, scoring just eight points in his first 33 games.

But in his past 11 outings, Ladd has tallied five goals and two assists. Friday against the Detroit Red Wings, Ladd added his sixth goal in his last 12 games.

It appears that new bench boss Doug Weight isn't the only one performing well for the Islanders.

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Phil Kessel made game No. 800 a memorable one.

Two periods after rifling a patented wrister top corner for his 16th goal of the season, the Pittsburgh Penguins sniper whacked home the overtime winner Friday to sink the Columbus Blue Jackets.

On a bigger scale, Kessel's heroics shrunk the gap between the two clubs in the standings, each with 50 games played. Columbus sits second in the Metropolitan Division with 71 points, while Pittsburgh is hot in pursuit, currently in third place with 69 points of its own.

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Arizona State University has pulled the plug on the Arizona Coyotes' proposed new home in Tempe.

School officials announced Friday that it "has no intention of proceeding to sign a development agreement or an option to lease or any other agreement with the Coyotes," according to azcentral.com.

Coyotes CEO Anthony LeBlanc released a statement shortly after, via ABC15 Sports.

While a new Coyotes arena built with ASU would have been a big winner for our fans, taxpayers, the university, and our team, the Coyotes had and continue to have a number of options for a new arena.

Nevertheless, the Coyotes are committed to the Valley for the long term, and we will continue to explore other options that will ensure a successful future for the team and our fans. We're a determined bunch - on the ice and off the ice. We intend to do everything we can to keep NHL hockey here in Arizona.

Back in November, the Coyotes held a press conference unveiling a proposal to build a new East Valley facility with an NHL-standard rink and an attaching multi-sport arena for the Sun Devils, as well as community usage.

At that time, the Coyotes had entered a negotiation agreement with no formal plans finalized.

The Coyotes' relationship with Glendale City Council, and the municipality they have called home since 2003, has been strained throughout many years of contentious negotiation.

Glendale City Council voted to end its lease agreement with the Coyotes in June of 2015.

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Go ahead and smile about this one, Panthers' fans.

After missing 51 games due to a preseason leg injury, Jonathan Huberdeau made the most of his season debut, depositing the go-ahead goal versus the Ducks late in the second period.

Fittingly, Huberdeau's first came off an assist from Aleksander Barkov, who's playing his first game since Dec. 28.

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