Davis sets the NBA All-Star Game points record
Anthony Davis scored 52 points—on 26 two-point field goals, no less—to lead the Western Conference to a 192–182 victory in the NBA All-Star Game, and he did so at Smoothie King Center, the home of the Pelicans. Davis shattered Wilt Chamberlain’s All-Star Game record of 42 points, set in 1962. Only six other players from a host team scored even half as many points in an All-Star Game as Davis: Bob Pettit in 1958 (28), Rick Barry in 1967 (38), Michael Jordan in 1988 (40), Karl Malone in 1993 (28), Tracy McGrady in 2006 (36) and Kobe Bryant in 2011 (37).
Durant’s All-Star triple-double
Kevin Durant became the fourth player to record a triple-double in an NBA All-Star Game. The others were Michael Jordan (1997), LeBron James (2011) and Dwyane Wade (2012). None of those four players was named the game’s Most Valuable Player.
Kane’s 10th straight 20-goal season
Buffalo-born Patrick Kane reached the 20-goal mark for the 10th time in his 10 seasons in the NHL when he scored the final goal for the Blackhawks in their 5–1 victory over the Sabres in Kane’s hometown. Kane is the first U.S.-born player in NHL history to score at least 20 goals in each of his first 10 seasons in the league, and he’s the fourth active player (regardless of birthplace) who began his NHL career with a streak of 10 or more consecutive 20-goal seasons. The others are Jaromir Jagr (first 17 seasons), Alex Ovechkin (all 12 seasons) and Thomas Vanek (first 10 seasons).
Lundqvist is even better when he’s busy
Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves in his 2–1 victory against the Capitals on Sunday afternoon. Lundqvist has won the last 11 games in which he faced 30 or more shots on goal, a streak which began with a victory at Nashville on December 17. (He’s 3–6–0 during the same stretch when facing fewer than 30 shots.) Over the last 40 years only two other NHL goaltenders have won 11 or more consecutive games in one season in which they faced 30 or more shots on goal. Sergei Bobrovsky had a 13-win streak for the Blue Jackets earlier this season (Oct. 28–Jan. 21) and Semyon Varlamov won 11 straight for Colorado in 2013–14.
Strome’s three-point game leads the Islanders to victory
Ryan Strome notched his first three-point game since New Year’s Eve 2014 when he scored two goals and assisted on one for the Islanders in their 6–4 win over the Devils in Brooklyn. Strome tallied only nine points in his first 26 home games this season (three goals, six assists) but he’s matched that point total in his six games at Barclays Center since then (five goals, four assists).
Islanders are making Brooklyn a tough stop for visiting teams
The Islanders lost their first home game in 2017 but they’re 9–0–2 in Brooklyn since then. The Islanders’ 11-game home point streak is their longest in one season since they tied a franchise with a 23-game streak to conclude the 1981–82 campaign. The Islanders have also dominated the ends of games at Barclays Center recently, having outscored their opponent in the third period in each of their last eight home games. That’s the second-longest such streak in Islanders history; they “won” the third period in 12 consecutive games at Nassau Coliseum in 1977–78.
Saros stops 35 shots in win for the Predators
Nashville rookie Juuse Saros stopped 35 of the 38 shots on goal against him in his 4–3 win at Columbus. Saros has won four of the five games this season in which he faced 35 or more shots on goal (4–0–1), which ties him with Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray (4–1–1) for the most such wins among rookie goaltenders.
Teenage d-man scores three points for Columbus
Zach Werenski produced his first three-point game in the NHL by scoring one goal and setting up two for the Blue Jackets in their 4–3 loss to the Predators. The 19-year-old Werenski is the first teenage defenseman ever to score three points in one game for Columbus, and only the second rookie d-man to record a three-point game for the Blue Jackets. Derrick Walser was a 24-year-old rookie defenseman when he tallied three points (all assists) in a Columbus win at Calgary in January 2003.
Another Toronto rookie tallies twice in a road game
Rookie Connor Brown scored a pair of goals for the Maple Leafs in their 4–0 win against the Hurricanes in Raleigh. Brown’s two-goal game was his second in the NHL and first on the road. He’s the fourth rookie to produce a multiple-goal road game for Toronto this season; the others are Auston Matthews (2), William Nylander (2) and Mitch Marner. The Leafs are the first NHL team to have four rookies with multi-goal games on the road in the same season since the Bruins in 1992–93 (one each by Joe Juneau, Grigori Panteleev, Steve Heinze and C.J. Young).
Tatar scores in back-to-back wins for the Red Wings
Tomas Tatar, who scored one of the Red Wings’ two goals in their shootout win against the Capitals on Saturday, scored the game-winning goal in Detroit’s 5–2 victory at Pittsburgh on Sunday. This is only the third time that a Red Wings player scored a goal in each of two games played on consecutive days this season. Gustav Nyquist did so in wins versus Nashville and San Jose (October 21–22), and Henrik Zetterberg scored in back-to-back games against Pittsburgh and the Islanders (December 3–4).
Jets rookie d-man makes his rare goals count
Rookie defenseman Josh Morrissey’s goal early in the third period was the game-winning goal for the Jets in their 3–2 victory against the Senators in Ottawa. Morrissey has scored only three goals while playing in all 62 games for Winnipeg this season but two of his goals have been game-winners. (He also scored the deciding goal in the Jets’ win versus the Blackhawks on November 15.) Morrissey’s two game-winning goals tie him with the Stars’ Esa Lindell for the NHL high this season among rookie defensemen. He’s also the first rookie defenseman in Thrashers/Jets franchise history to score two game-winning goals in one season.
Bishop: four wins in four games this month
Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop made 27 saves as Tampa Bay extended its season-best point streak to six games (4–0–2) with a 3–2 overtime win at Colorado. Bishop has won all four games he’s played in February, allowing only five goals in the process, after entering this month with a 4–7–3 record over his last 15 games (dating back to late November).
Marchand has the overtime scoring touch
Brad Marchand’s overtime goal earned the Bruins a 2–1 win against the Sharks in San Jose. Marchand has scored seven regular-season overtime goals in his NHL career and they’ve all come in the last four seasons. He’s tied with five other players for the most overtime goals in the NHL since 2013–14, one behind the leader, Jeff Carter, with eight.
The only goal was by a defenseman
The Ducks posted a 1–0 win against the Kings thanks to a second-period goal by defenseman Josh Manson and 24 saves by goaltender John Gibson. This was the second time in the Southern California rivalry that the Ducks beat the Kings 1–0, and in the previous instance a defenseman also scored the goal for Anaheim. Chris Pronger’s overtime goal was the lone tally when the Ducks won in Los Angeles on Nov. 4, 2008. The Ducks have had only one other 1–0 win with a goal from a defenseman since then. That was last season (Feb. 24), when Sami Vatanen’s goal was the only score in a Ducks win versus the Sabres.