Alex Ovechkin takes over the goal-scoring lead, Nathan MacKinnon joins Joe Sakic with a milestone goal and Lukas Radil scores a memorable first goal.
Here are five things we learned in the NHL.
Ovechkin alone on goal-scoring leaderboard
It has been a tight race for the NHL goal-scoring lead so far this season and Ovechkin is showing why he’s won five of the past six “Rocket” Richard Trophies.
With his first-period goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ovechkin passed Brayden Point and Patrik Laine with his 22nd of the season. He has been a force the past 11 games with 10 goals and 16 points.
After passing Jarome Iginla for 15th place on the all-time goal-scoring list, the 33-year-old scored his 389th career even-strength goal passing Joe Sakic for 21st on the all-time list and is four behind Johnny Bucyk who rounds out the top 20.
Ovechkin also needs 11 goals to tie Dave Andreychuk for 14th on the all-time goal-scoring list and needs only eight more to reach the 30-goals which he has done in every season since entering the league in 2005-06.
MacKinnon’s goal puts him in rare company
Despite a tough loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning, MacKinnon scored his 20th goal of the season. It was a rare accomplishment as Joe Sakic is the only other Colorado Avalanche to score 20 in his first 30 games of the season.
With 45 points this season, MacKinnon and linemate Mikko Rantanen remain atop the NHL scoring lead but Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov has closed the gap trailing MacKinnon by a point.
The Avalanche centre has also been dominant on the road this season with 29 points in 19 games versus the 16 points in 11 games at home.
NHL goal scoring returning to old form
Not only did MacKinnon’s goal put his name in the Avalanche record books but he also helped the NHL establish a milestone which hasn’t been seen since the 1996-97 season.
MacKinnon joins Ovechkin, Laine, Point, David Pastrnak, and Jeff Skinner as the players to reach 20 this season.
Despite not being among the first six players to score 20 goals in’96-97, Keith Tkachuk led the NHL with 52 goals to win the “Rocket” Richard Trophy followed by Teemu Selanne, John LeClair and Mario Lemieux who all scored 50 or more goals.
Matthews catching up for missed time
One thing Matthews said he wanted to do this season was try to get more assists than goals but that hasn’t been the case so far. The Leafs centre scored his 16th goal of the season in his 16th game, something that hasn’t been done since the 1934-35 season.
Before going on the injured reserve with a shoulder injury, Matthews was one of the top goal scorers in the league with 10 goals in his first 11 games. Despite missing 14 games, the first-overall pick from the 2016 draft is on pace to score 68 goals, 43 assists and 111 points.
At this rate, it might not take Matthews long to reach the top of the goal-scoring leaderboard as he sits six behind Ovechkin.
Radil proves that age is just a number
It was a memorable night for San Jose Sharks rookie Lukas Radil who scored the first goal of his NHL career in his sixth game this season becoming the oldest player to score his first since 2015.
After spending the past 13 years of his hockey career overseas, the Czech native made the move to North America this summer. Radil has represented the Czech Republic at the 2018 Winter Olympics, and at the 2017 world championship.
He also spent 11 games with the San Jose Barracudas of the AHL, collecting a goal and six points.
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