Jagr climbed a rung on the all-time goals ladder, Orpik had himself a first, Marchand set a career-high, Gostisbehere is something to behold, and more in five things we learned in the NHL.
With two goals in the Florida Panthers‘ 3-1 win against the Winnipeg Jets, Jaromir Jagr moved past Brett Hull for third on the NHL’s all-time goals list.
Gordie Howe sits in second with 801 goals. A total seemingly attainable for Jagr, who has no plans to call it a career any time soon.
“Of course, I love the game. There’s no reason to quit,” Jagr said Saturday. “I love the game. There’s a million people who wanted to be in my position. If I can play in the NHL, why not keep going?”
It wasn’t all good news for the Panthers, though. Forward Jonathan Huberdeau was injured on a hit from Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba in the first period. Huberdeau hit the boards hard and bounced off the ice awkwardly. He left the game and did not return.
The Panthers hold a five-point lead over the Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division.
Phaneuf’s first as a Senator a timely one
The Ottawa Senators trailed the Detroit Red Wings 2-1 late in the third period before Dion Phaneuf teed one up from the point and beat Petr Mrazek for his first goal since arriving via trade from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Kyle Turris scored in the shootout to give Ottawa a 3-2 victory, its third straight. Phaneuf was happy to get his first out of the way, even more so considering it helped the Senators move within six points of the Red Wings in the standings.
“To be received like that after scoring it’s something I’ll never forget as a player,” said Phaneuf.
“The way that they cheered and I saw it. It was a special moment for me, but the bottom line is that we found a way to win a game against a team that we’re chasing.”
Detroit currently holds the first Eastern Conference wild card spot with 68 points. The Pittsburgh Penguins possess the second wild card berth with 66 points. If we learned anything about the Senators last year, it’s to never rule out a late season surge.
Milestones for Ovechkin, Orpik
Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 38th goal of the season to tie Jeremy Roenick for 37th on the all-time goals list with his 513 in the Washington Capitals‘ 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils.
The hero on this evening, though, was defenceman Brooks Orpik. Orpik’s goal at 16:02 of the third period proved to be the game-winner, which was a first for the 35-year-old.
The Capitals became the first team to reach 90 points this season with the win.
Marchand sets career-high, adds one more for good measure
Hi haters, Brad Marchand is a helluva hockey player.
Marchand is an archetype of the ‘guy you love to have on your team but hate to play against’ player. The Boston Bruins winger scored two Saturday night to help his club rally to pound the Dallas Stars 7-3.
Marchand’s first goal was his 29th of the season, which is a single-season career high for the 27-year-old. He reached the 30-goal mark for the first time with his second marker. A third period assist raised his season point total to 45, which is 10 back of his career high set in 2011-12.
Maple Leafs give up the Ghost
Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Shayne Gostisbehere is something to behold.
The rookie blue-liner scored his fourth overtime winner to seal a 5-4 win for the Flyers versus the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday. He also extended his scoring streak to 15 games.
Gostisbehere currently holds the third-longest scoring streak by a rookie, trailing Teemu Selanne (17 games) and Paul Stastny (20 games).
The Flyers next game is Tuesday when they visit the Carolina Hurricanes.
With files from Canadian Press