Most productive player
Tampa Bay are enjoying a great run, thanks in large part to the offensive brilliance of Nikita Kucherov.
Over the last four games, he tallied an impressive ten points, leading all players in productivity over the past week. The Russian forward scored just one goal- against Calgary - but added a remarkable nine assists.
He notched three assists in the win over Philadelphia, setting up every goal in a 3-0 victory. Against the Flames, he posted a 1+1 stat line, then contributed two more assists as the Lightning beat Detroit, and finished the week with three more assists in a win over the NY Rangers.
Just one point behind him was Wyatt Johnston of the Dallas Stars. He had two four-point games, including a hat-trick and an assist against Ottawa. Johnston became just the third player in Dallas history to record four hat-tricks before turning 23.
Goalie of the Week
Tampa Bay haven't lost in their last seven games, largely as Andrei Vasilevskiy has rediscovered his fantastic form after not being as dominant in recent years as he was during Tampa’s championship runs.
Last week, he started with a shutout against Philadelphia, stopping all 20 shots for his first clean sheet of the season. He then allowed just one goal on 33 shots against Calgary (97% save percentage), and capped off the week with another strong performance in Detroit, conceding three goals on 36 shots from the Red Wings (91.7%).
The Lightning now sit atop the Eastern Conference standings and are among the league’s elite teams.
Story of the Week
Logan Cooley became the first player in Mammoth history to score four goals in a single game. On Monday night, he racked up five points to lead his team to victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. It was the Utah forward’s second hat-trick of the season.
The young star is now the fourth player in NHL history to record more than one natural hat-trick in a season before turning 22. Only Wayne Gretzky (four times in 1980/81), Patrik Laine (twice in 2018/19), and Filip Forsberg (twice in 2015/16) had done it before.
Cooley is also the seventh player to score at least four goals in a game before his 22nd birthday.
Stat of the Week
Sidney Crosby scored his 641st career regular-season goal, moving into 15th place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list. This season, he has 16 goals in 24 games, and if he keeps up this pace, he could challenge his personal best of 51 goals from the 2009/10 campaign.
The Penguins captain now has his sights set on Brendan Shanahan, who sits 14th all-time with 656 goals. The club record is held by Mario Lemieux, who scored 690 regular-season goals.
Social Media Highlight
One of last week’s viral moments came from the game between Washington and Toronto.
In the second period, during a battle of the captains, Ovechkin tried to knock Matthews to the ice, but Matthews brilliantly shrugged off the hit, sending the Russian star crashing into the boards. Matthews then immediately set up a goal for Knies.
However, with the Maple Leafs blowing a 2-0 lead and losing 2-4, Ovechkin could ultimately be the happier of the two.
Photo of the Week
Chicago are one of the teams that decided to unveil a third jersey set. According to many NHL fans, it’s the best-looking jersey the Blackhawks have ever worn.
So far, they’ve played in it twice, and against Anaheim, they celebrated a 5-3 win after a stunning comeback from 3-0 down. They’ll wear the new jerseys five more times before the end of the regular season.