• Sidney Crosby gets 1,000th point
• Mike Condon makes Senators history
• Jordan Eberle snaps scoreless skid
Sid the Kid dominated the early headlines but there were plenty of other impressive performances on Thursday night. Here are five things we learned in the NHL:
Crosby gets 1,000
Sidney Crosby earned his 1,000th NHL point with an assist on Chris Kunitz‘s goal against the Winnipeg Jets. The Pittsburgh Penguins captain became the 86th player in NHL history to accomplish the feat.
Oh ya…did we mention that he had another assist and scored the winner in overtime as the Penguins edged Winnipeg 4-3?
The 29-year-old became the third player this season to reach 1,000 points with Alex Ovechkin and Henrik Sedin doing so in January. It took just 757 games for Crosby to reach the plateau with only 11 players earning 1,000 points in fewer games and only 10 at a younger age.
Wayne Gretzky holds the record for quickest to 1,000 points at 424 games and Mario Lemieux is second at 513 games.
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Shutouts for days
The Ottawa Senators and their goaltenders know how to keep the puck out of the net.
Mike Condon stopped all 21 shots he faced as the Senators blanked the New Jersey Devils 3-0.
Condon has continued to prove himself as an impressive low-risk pickup for Ottawa, improving to 17-9-5 with the victory. He also boasts a 2.45 goals-against average and .915 save percentage. His five shutouts ties him with Minnesota’s Devan Dubnyk and Edmonton’s Cam Talbot for fourth-most in the NHL.
The Senators goaltending duo of Condon and Craig Anderson has now combined for nine shutouts this season. It will be interesting to see how head coach Guy Boucher manages his goaltenders now that Anderson appears to be back full-time with the team after spending time with his wife who is battling cancer.
Back on track
Edmonton Oilers forward Jordan Eberle returned to the scoresheet with a goal in a 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.
Eberle’s goal, which came at 7:17 of the second period, snapped an eight-game drought without a point. The 26-year-old right winger was able to use some quick hands in tight to beat Michal Neuvirth with a backhander which gave Edmonton a 3-1 lead.
Sportsnet’s Mark Spector wrote about how Brandon Manning’s fight with Patrick Maroon should put the Connor McDavid-Manning saga to bed.
Road warrior
Bo Horvat has been a huge bright spot for the Vancouver Canucks this season and Thursday night was no different.
The 21-year-old scored his 18th goal of the season in the first period, although the Canucks went on to lose 4-3 to the St. Louis Blues to end a six-game road trip.
Horvat represented Vancouver at the NHL All-Star Game in January and has been averaging a point per game so far this month.
Sportsnet’s Naoko Asano wrote about how Vancouver’s underwhelming road trip should provide trade deadline clarity.
Calder watch
Rookies continue to be a dominant storyline throughout this season, and that continued Thursday night with several first-year players chipping in.
Here are a few that stood out:
• Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine scored his 27th goal to tie Maple Leafs centre Auston Matthews for the lead among rookies.
• Jimmy Vesey scored his 14th goal of the season on the power play. The New York Rangers forward has 14 goals and eight assists in 56 games.
• Arizona Coyotes winger Brendan Perlini struck twice to give him 10 goals on the year.
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