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Home , Antti Raanta, Darcy Kuemper, Gila River Arena, Ilya Bryzgalov, Joe Sakic, Joe Thornton

NHL MORNING SKATE – MARCH 14, 2019

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS Home Team in Caps Chicago 5, 4 New Jersey 6, EDMONTON 3 4, NY Rangers 1

THREE HARD LAPS: QUICK HITS FROM WEDNESDAY

* Oilers Connor McDavid collected two assists to reach the 100- mark for the third consecutive season.

* The Blackhawks scored early and often, but withstood a late four- rally by the Maple Leafs to earn their fourth consecutive win and move within four points of a playoff spot.

* Trio of 21-year-olds continue to leave their mark on the 2018-19 campaign.

McDAVID RECORDS THIRD CONSECUTIVE 100-POINT SEASON Oilers captain Connor McDavid (34-66—100 in 66 GP) recorded his third consecutive 100- point season and joined Lightning forward (33-78—111) as the second player to reach the mark in 2018-19.

* McDavid, who paced the League with 41-67—108 in 2017-18, became the 19th player in League history to reach the 100-point mark in three or more consecutive seasons. Additionally, he joined (5), Alex Ovechkin (4), (3), Evgeni Malkin (3) and Kucherov (2) as the only active NHL players with multiple 100-point seasons.

* The 2018-19 campaign marked the first season since 2005-06 to feature two players each record their 100th point prior to their 70th contest, when Jaromir Jagr (67 GP w/ NYR) and Thornton (67 GP w/ BOS and SJS) both did so.

* Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (41-58—99 in 69 GP) moved within one point reaching the century mark Wednesday. With at least one point in his next outing, Chicago’s leading scorer would also join McDavid and Kucherov in recording 100 points in 70 games or fewer.

* The last season with more than three players accomplishing the feat was 1995-96, when (44 GP), Jaromir Jagr (52 GP), (66 GP), (68 GP) and (70 GP) all did so.

BLACKHAWKS, DEVILS HOLD OFF OPPONENTS IN NINE-GOAL AFFAIRS. . . After four contests featured teams combining for at least eight goals Tuesday, including a nine- goal performance from the Flames, the Blackhawks withstood a four-goal rally from the Maple Leafs after opening the game with five consecutive goals of their own.

* The Blackhawks, who have scored at least five goals in three of their four consecutive victories, moved within four points of the idle Coyotes (35-30-5, 75 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

* Meanwhile, the Devils participated in games with at least nine goals on consecutive days for the 33rd time in franchise history and first since March 7-8, 2014 against the Red Wings and Hurricanes, respectively.

* Through games played March 13, there have been 179 instances of two teams combining for at least nine goals^ in a game this season. The 2018-19 campaign marks the most such contests through this point of the seasons since 1993-94 (205). ^ includes shootout-deciding goals

. . . AS 21-YEAR-OLDS CONTINUE TO LEAVE THEIR MARK IN 2018-19

* Alex DeBrincat (21 years, 85 days) capped the Blackhawks run of five consecutive goals with his 38th tally of the season to boost his totals to 38-31—69 in 70 GP. Additionally, only three 21- year-olds in franchise history have registered more markers in a single season than DeBrincat.

* Fellow U.S.-born star, Auston Matthews (21 years, 177 days), registered 1-1—2 while skating in his 200th career game (106-89—195). Among players to begin their NHL careers with the Maple Leafs franchise, Matthews trails only Charlie Conacher (131) for the most goals through their first 200 NHL contests.

* Mitchell Marner (21 years, 312 days) assisted on Toronto’s third and fourth tallies to record his 59th and 60th helpers of the season (24-60—84). He became the first Maple Leafs player to record 60-assists in a season since Doug Gilmour did so in back to back seasons (95 in 1992- 93 and 84 in 1993-94) . MOTTE’S QUICK TALLIES LEADS CANUCKS OVER RANGERS Tyler Motte scored two second-period goals in a span of 11 seconds to propel the Canucks to their third home win in four contests. Motte's two tallies were the second-fastest pair of goals by one player in franchise history, trailing only Gerry O'Flaherty (0:09 on March 15, 1974 vs. AFM).

QUICK CLICKS

* NHL Draft Lottery scheduled for April 9 * Carey Price relishes becoming Canadiens all-time wins leader * VIDEO: Skates Off with Sharks forward Evander Kane * Marc-Edouard Vlasic hoping to add to family legacy at 2019 NHL Draft

SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION

BLUES, STARS, COYOTES, WILD CONTINUE RACE IN THE WEST The Blues (36-26-7, 79 points), Stars (36-28-5, 77 points), Coyotes (35-30-5, 75 points) and Wild (33-29-8, 74 points) are all in action as they pursue berths in the 2019 . The four teams occupy position Nos. 6-9 in the tightly-contested Western Conference standings and are separated by no more than five points.

* The Coyotes, 9-2-0 in their last 11 games dating to Feb. 19, host the Ducks (28-34-9, 65 points) at Gila River Arena after moving into the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings on Tuesday in pursuit of their first postseason berth since 2012. (23- 16-5; 2.51 GAA, .920 SV%, 3 SO) can become the sixth in Coyotes/Jets franchise history to conclude a season with a save percentage of at least .920 (min. 30 GP); he would join in 2017-18 (.930), Mike Smith in 2011-12 (.930), in 1998-99 (.923), in 2000-01 (.922) and three times (.921 in 2007-08 and 2010-11, .920 in 2009-10).

* The Stars, who occupy the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings, look to extend their road win streak to four games when they visit the Wild at . has blanked opponents in each of his last three games dating to March 5 and can become the ninth goaltender in NHL history to record a in four or more consecutive appearances.

^Four of the eight listed accomplished it before the 1929-30 season, when the League instituted rules permitting forward passing inside all three zones

* The Wild, meanwhile, pace a group of four teams within six points of the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings. Minnesota has reached the in each of its last six seasons (since 2012-13), tied with Anaheim for the longest active run of consecutive postseason appearances among Western Conference teams.

* The Blues look to snap a two-game slide (0-1-1) when they visit the Senators (23-41-6, 52 points) at Canadian Tire . St. Louis, which occupies third place in the Central Division standings, owns the best road record in the 2019 calendar year among Western Conference teams (13-4-3, 29 points).