A couple of Vezina Trophy winners reached historic milestones while some youngsters stood their ground in statement wins.
Here are four things we learned in the NHL on Thursday.
Lundqvist still striving for history
Henrik Lundqvist isn’t done building his legacy just yet.
The future Hall of Famer won his 445th game on Thursday, tying Terry Sawchuk for sixth on the NHL all-time wins list as the New York Rangers beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3.
The 2012 Vezina Trophy winner carried over the good momentum from the Rangers’ 6-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, in which he made 34 saves, and managed to come up with 24 stops for the win on Thursday. It was only the Rangers’ third win in nine games.
Lundqvist could go for No. 446 in Saturday’s game against the Boston Bruins, in which Tuukka Rask will also look to continue making history.
Rask one win away from undisputed greatness
It was only a matter of time before Rask became the winningest goalie in Bruins history.
The 31-year-old reached his 252nd career win in a 28-save, 5-2 game against the St. Louis Blues.
Right now, he is tied with Cecil ‘Tiny’ Thompson for most victories as a Bruins netminder, but the 2014 Vezina winner is destined to have the record all to himself.
Rask had been on fire prior to Monday’s overtime loss against the Montreal Canadiens, posting five straight wins with just seven goals allowed and a .955 save percentage before Paul Byron slashed the record-tying win a little further out of reach.
All Montreal did was delay the inevitable.
Rask, currently in his 12th season with the Bruins, should get the start in Saturday’s game against the Rangers. It’s not too soon to start thinking about No. 253.
Jets’ bottom six can find their way to the net
It wasn’t a pretty night for the Winnipeg Jets‘ top line.
Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor — who have combined for 155 total points this season — were kept off the board in the Jets’ 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators.
Lucky for them, Winnipeg’s bottom six stepped up.
Brendan Lemieux scored twice and Mason Appleton and Brandon Tanev each added one for four of the Jets’ five goals. Connor Hellebuyck‘s 37 saves were also pivotal in the result, as Winnipeg was outshot 38-34 and still managed to earn its fourth-straight win against one of the best teams in the league.
Lemieux’s two goals gave him four total points this season, while Appleton collected just his third point. The youngsters have averaged less than 10 minutes of ice time.
Bottom line, the Jets won.
Never too soon to join the record books
Only in his third NHL season, Mitch Marner has already found a way to join a couple of Hall of Famers on the milestone lists.
The 21-year-old became the first Toronto Maple Leaf to record 60 points in each of his first three seasons, and the fourth-fastest Leaf to reach 60 points in a season – behind Lorne Carr, Darryl Sittler and Doug Gilmour.
Marner had the game-winning goal as the Leafs beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on the road.
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