NHL Wild Card Competition Going Down to the Wire

Good morning and happy Thursday, March 6th.

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The NHL season is eight days from completion and the Western Conference and Eastern Conference wild card races aren’t close to being settled.

Coach Darryl Sutter’s Calgary Flames defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 Wednesday to pull themselves into a 89-point tie for the second wild-card berth in the West. But the Jets have four games remaining and the Flames have three.

The Jets’ game in hand prompted Sutter to dispute the idea that the two teams are even..

Fair enough. But the race feels like a dead heat, much like the scrap in the Eastern Conference where the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers are tied at 87 points and the Pittsburgh Penguins are a point behind.

The Flames must feel like they have some momentum because they are 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, while Winnipeg is 5-5-0.

Calgary goalie Jacob Markstrom was playing the second of back-to-back games and delivered a 34-save performance to spark the triumph.

The win was as uplifting to the Flames as Tuesday’s loss to the Blackhawks was deflating. This spunky Flames group atoned for its ineffective effort on Tuesday.

Rookie right wing Walker Duehr also netted his seventh goal of the season. This was his 25th game. He’s fast becoming a fan favorite. If the Flames qualify for the playoffs, he probably has earned postseason playing time.

🔵🔴 Tyler Motte’s two goals power Rangers over the Lightning 6-3. The St. Clair, Michigan native scored his 4th and 5th goals as a Ranger since being acquired from Ottawa this past February, scoring his first of the game midway through the 1st before scoring the eventual game-winner just over 7 minutes into the 2nd. Chris Kreider also scored twice, Kaapo Kakko scored for the third straight game, Artemi Panarin sniped one, and Mika Zibanejad collected three assists in the win. The Rangers are 11-2-2 in their last 15 games and sit three points back from the Devils for 2nd in the Metropolitan division.

💯 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins hits century mark as Oilers down Ducks 3-1. The 29-year-old forward registered a secondary assist on Zach Hyman’s empty net goal to hit 100 points for the first time in his career — his previous high was 69 points in the 2018-19 season — and seal the win for the Oilers who are now one point back from the Pacific-leading Golden Knights and three points ahead of third place LA Kings. Klim Kostin added a goal and an assist, Nick Bjugstad chipped in his 17th bury of the season, and Jack Campbell made 27 saves for a .964 save percentage in the Oilers 6th straight win.

Who holds the NHL single-season highest point total by a player not named Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux?

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• 🚀 Kyle Connor with rocket one-timer to the top right corner

• 🍎 Klim Kostin shakes defender to set up Nick Bjugstad

• 🦵 Zibanejad with sweet between-the-legs move, Kreider buries rebound

• 🥊 Corey Perry squares off with Vincent Trocheck for spirited tilt

• 🎯 Troy Terry snipes high glove for 22nd of the year

• Pelican Net Drive continuous flow drill, great for half-ice or ADM style practices

• Improve single leg stability with the Peterson step down

TRIVIA ANSWER

Steve Yzerman’s 155 points in the 1988-89 season is the highest single season point total by any NHL player not named Wayne Gretzky or Mario Lemieux