Draisaitl Powers Oilers with 5 Points
Leon Draisaitl exploded for 5 points powering Edmonton to an OT win on March 4, leading a night of standout NHL performances. Other highlights included Cale Makar's 3 points as the Avs found their groove, Jack Hughes dazzling, and Macklin Celebrini posting 4 points in the Sharks' high-scoring affair. Nikita Kucherov continues his torrid pace, on track for 144 points and sitting top-3 in the NHL.
Leon Draisaitl's dominant performance was the seventh five-point game of his career, moving him past Glenn Anderson for the fifth-most in Oilers history. The two-goal, three-assist effort in the 5-4 overtime win against the Ottawa Senators also pushed him past Jari Kurri for third on the franchise's all-time points list. The German star factored in on all five Edmonton goals as the team overcame a two-goal deficit heading into the third period. His final point was an assist on Evan Bouchard's power-play winner in overtime, a play set up after Senators captain Brady Tkachuk was penalized for holding Connor McDavid. Cale Makar's three-point night came in a decisive 5-1 victory for the league-leading Avalanche over the Anaheim Ducks. The win was Colorado's third in a row and snapped a five-game winning streak for the Ducks. Makar, with a goal and two assists, now has six points in his last three games. In that same game, Makar's teammate Nathan MacKinnon recorded an assist to become the second player in the league to reach 100 points this season. The Avalanche became the fastest team to reach 90 points in franchise history, doing so in 60 games. Meanwhile, rookie sensation Macklin Celebrini's four-point game (one goal, three assists) helped the San Jose Sharks to a wild 7-5 win over the Montreal Canadiens. The Sharks blew a three-goal lead in the third period before Kiefer Sherwood scored the late game-winner. The performance marked Celebrini's fifth career four-point game, passing Jimmy Carson for the fourth-most by a teenager in NHL history, trailing only Wayne Gretzky, Sidney Crosby, and Dale Hawerchuk. The 19-year-old also became the first teenager in Sharks history to score 30 goals in a season. In New Jersey, Jack Hughes contributed two assists as the Devils defeated the Florida Panthers 5-1. The victory extended Hughes's post-Olympic scoring streak to four games, during which he has tallied five assists.