#NHLPeachy @NHL NHL Morning Skate – March 28, 2023
* The idle Maple Leafs and Rangers both clinched berths into the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, leaving just 11 spots remaining.
* Leon Draisaitl became the fourth-fastest active skater to score 300 goals while Connor McDavid became the first player in more than 25 years to post a 140-point campaign.
* Twenty-one-year-old Matt Boldy scored his third career hat trick – and second this month – to help the Wild maintain their lead atop the Central Division in a contest that could be a 2023 First Round preview.
* The Bruins can clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Presidents’ Trophy during Tuesday’s action, while the Golden Knights will be in a position to secure their spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
MAPLE LEAFS, RANGERS CLINCH BERTHS IN 2023 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS
The idle Maple Leafs and Rangers both clinched berths into the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs – for Toronto it was by virtue of a Panthers’ loss, while for New York it was due to Florida’s defeat in regulation paired with Buffalo’s loss of any kind. A total of five of eight Eastern Conference postseason spots have now been accounted for.
* Click here for more #NHLStats about the Maple Leafs, who are headed to the postseason for a seventh straight year and 72nd time in franchise history. Their seven straight consecutive postseason berths mark their second-longest run of the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) and fourth longest in franchise history.
* Click here for more #NHLStats about the Rangers, who are headed to the postseason for a second straight year and 62nd time in franchise history. They have reached at least the Conference Finals four times in the past 11 postseasons, defeating the Canadiens (2014) and losing to the Lightning (2015 & 2022) and Devils (2012). New York’s four Conference Finals appearances since 2012 are the second most among all teams over that span behind Tampa Bay (6).
DRAISAITL SCORES 300TH CAREER GOAL, MCDAVID HITS 140 POINTS
With three Oilers skaters entering Monday at 299 career goals, Leon Draisaitl (1-0—1) outraced teammates Connor McDavid (0-1—1) and Evander Kane to No. 300 while McDavid collected his 80th assist and 140th point of the season to help Edmonton (42-23-9, 93 points) move within three points of Los Angeles (43-20-10, 96 points) for second place in the Pacific Division.
* McDavid (60-80—140 in 74 GP) became the 10th different player in NHL history to record 140 points in a season and first since 1995-96 when Mario Lemieux (69-92—161) and Jaromir Jagr (62-87—149) achieved the feat with the Penguins. The Oilers captain became the seventh different skater to post 60 goals and 80 assists in a campaign, with Lemieux and Jagr also being the last to do so.
BOLDY NETS NATURAL HAT TRICK
Matt Boldy (3-0—3) led the Wild with his third career three-goal game – and first natural hat trick – to help the Wild (43-22-9, 95 points) maintain their lead ahead of the Avalanche (44-23-6, 94 points) atop the Central Division. Boldy has now totaled 12 goals in March and became the third Minnesota player with as many in a calendar month, joining Kirill Kaprizov (14 in March 2022) and Eric Staal (13 in Feb. 2018).
* Boldy joined Kaprizov (Feb. 26, 2023) as the second Wild player this season to record a natural hat trick, marking the first time in franchise history that two skaters have achieved the feat in the same campaign.
* Boldy (21 years, 356 days) scored his second hat trick this month and the third of his career – only Marian Gaborik (5) recorded more with the Wild at age 21 or younger.
MACKINNON SKATES IN 700TH GAME ON #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The most recent #NHLStats: Live Updates featured notes from each of the 12 teams who played Monday, including Nathan MacKinnon (1-1—2) who recorded his 60th and 61st points since Jan. 1 – the only player with more over that span is Connor McDavid (28-40—68).
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BRUINS CAN SECURE FOURTH PRESIDENTS’ TROPHY AS PURSUIT OF RECORD CONTINUES
With an already lengthy list of achievements this season – including becoming the fastest team in NHL history to 100 points (61 GP) and 50 wins (64 GP) – the Bruins (57-11-5, 119 points) can secure the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference and the Presidents’ Trophy during a 10-game Tuesday. Boston would lock it up with both a win over Nashville and a Carolina loss in regulation.
* The Bruins have finished as the No. 1 seed in their conference seven times since they were introduced in 1974-75: four times in the Eastern Conference (2001-02, 2008-09, 2013-14 & 2019-20) and three in the Prince of Wales Conference (1982-83, 1989-90 & 1990-91).
* The Bruins have finished as the No. 1-ranked team in the NHL standings 14 times since joining the League in 1924-25 and have claimed the Presidents’ Trophy (introduced in 1985-86) three times so far. Boston is one of five clubs to win the trophy at least three times, behind Detroit (6) and alongside Colorado (3), NY Rangers (3) and Washington (3).
* Playing in their 74th game of the season Tuesday, the Bruins can tie the third-fewest outings to clinch the NHL’s No. 1 seed in an 82-game season. Boston claimed its most recent Presidents’ Trophy in 2019-20 when it led the NHL in points and points percentage at the pause. The Bruins’ other first-place finishes in the past 37 years came after 78 and 81 games in 1989-90 and 2013-14, respectively.
* The 2001-02 Red Wings are the only team to clinch the Presidents’ Trophy in 75 games or fewer and go on to win the Stanley Cup. Overall, only eight clubs have won both in the same season.
NATIONAL TELECAST PITS OILERS VS. GOLDEN KNIGHTS FOR SECOND TIME IN FOUR DAYS
After a back-and-forth showdown Saturday in Edmonton – when the Oilers scored three tying goals before an eventual Golden Knights overtime win on Hockey Night in Canada – the two clubs will meet again for a national broadcast in both the United States (ESPN+, Hulu) and Canada (TVAS, SN1).
* The Golden Knights (46-21-6, 98 points) have the opportunity to become both the first team in the Western Conference to clinch a playoff spot and to reach the 100-point mark. It would be the second time Vegas hits 100 points in a season and would match their benchmark of fewest games first achieved in their inaugural season (74 GP in 2017-18).
* Vegas has sat atop the Western Conference for 119 days this season – the most by any team in the West, ahead of Dallas (44 days). Across the League, only Boston (159 days; Eastern Conference) has held the No. 1 spot in a conference longer. Vegas has spent more time atop the Western Conference standings since entering the NHL in 2017-18 than any other team in that span (23% of that time, ahead of STL at 17%).
