Alex Ovechkin reaches 30 goals again, Johnny Gaudreau continues his dominant season and Jeff Skinner makes his case to be an all-star.
Here are four things we learned in the NHL.
Ovechkin the first to 30
With his first-period goal against the St. Louis Blues, Alex Ovechkin became the first player to score 30 this the season, setting numerous milestones in the process.
Ovechkin joins Mike Gartner as the only other NHL players to have 30 or more goals in their first 14 seasons and the third player with at least 14 straight 30-goal seasons. He needs only 19 goals to tie Brendan Shanahan for 19th on the all-time goals list.
The 33-year-old continues to lead the league in goals with Jeff Skinner not too far behind. It took Ovechkin 39 games to reach 30 goals this season which puts him on pace to match his production from the 2007-08 season, when he scored a career-high 65 times.
If Ovechkin continues to score at this rate, he will be the first player to reach 60 or more goals since Steven Stamkos had 60 in 2011-12.
Gaudreau’s production matches a Flames record
Johnny Gaudreau has taken his game to another level this season for the Calgary Flames and has arguably been their most valuable player.
Gaudreau had a goal and an assist against the Boston Bruins Thursday, giving the Flames winger 61 points on the season. He’s the fastest Flames player to hit the 60-point mark since the 1978-79 season, needing only 42 games to do it.
With 23 goals, the 25-year-old is well on his way to establishing a career-high in goals, and points this season. It helps that Gaudreau keeps putting up multi-point performances, something he’s now done 18 times this year.
Skinner has big game despite all-star snub
Jack Eichel might be the one representing the Sabres at the All-Star Game, but Jeff Skinner isn’t going to let his snub from the game stop him from scoring goals. The Sabres winger scored twice including the game-winner against the Florida Panthers as Buffalo ended their three-game losing streak.
Jeff Skinner kicks off the scoring in Buffalo with a beauty. pic.twitter.com/i4PZM0kX1t
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) January 4, 2019
The 26-year-old continues to be one of the top off-season acquisitions this season, and now has 28 goals, 13 assists and 41 points in 41 games.
His exclusion from the All-Star Game didn’t go unnoticed in Buffalo and a campaign is underway to get their top scorer to San Jose through the Last Men In vote.
https://twitter.com/One_Buffalo/status/1080876502068183041
Skinner might have something to fall back on once his hockey career is done. He is also in line for a big pay raise as an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season.
Jake DeBrusk continues to come up clutch for the Bruins
Jake DeBrusk helped the Bruins fight off a tough comeback from the Flames by scoring his eighth career game-winning goal. That puts him behind only Connor McDavid and Kyle Conner in that category, among players taken in the 2015 NHL Draft.
DeBrusk, 22, scored two goals in Boston’s 6-4 win over the Flames as the Bruins continue to chase the Toronto Maple Leafs for second place in the Atlantic division. The Leafs hold a four-point lead on Boston but also have a game in hand. The two teams meet for the final time on Jan. 12 in Toronto.
DeBrusk is tied with Patrice Bergeron for third on the team with 13 goals and only needs four more to pass his total from his rookie season (16).
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