Most productive player
Jack Hughes dominated the Canadian scoring over the past seven days, as he was the only one to collect nine points (4+5). New Jersey's biggest star shone in particular with a five-point performance against Washington, scoring two goals and three assists.
Six other players are one point behind Hughes, including Sidney Crosby (1+7). Rickard Rakell has also impressed, with seven accurate hits in five games.
Goaltender of the week & Czech of the week
Only a trio of goaltenders managed to pick up three wins last week, but the Czech goaltender Jakub Dobes had the best numbers as he led Montreal to the play-offs. The native of Ostrava took 110 shots in the three games, but only five of them were allowed behind his back and his save percentage was 95.5%.
Dobes continued his great performance from the previous week, as his shot success rate never dropped below 92% in the last seven games. On the contrary, it has surpassed the 95% mark four times. Karel Vejmelka and Daniel Vladar also experienced the feeling of victory twice, but neither of them reached 90% success rate.
Other hockey players also represented the Czech team in the NHL. Martin Necas of Colorado scored five points, especially in the duel with Calgary (9:2), where he recorded a goal and two assists. David Pastrňák and Filip Hronk had the same number of points, both recording five assists.
Despite the good productivity, the Vancouver defenseman finished with seven negative points, which together with Marco Rossi is the worst record in the whole league.
It is also worth mentioning the performance of Jaroslav Chmellar, who, although he didn't get as much ice time (averaging just over 11 minutes), still scored three more points (1+2) and finished with three positive plus/minus stats.
Highlight of the week
The champions from Florida will not make the play-offs. The Panthers have won the Stanley Cup the last two years and advanced to the finals three times in a row, but this time they lost that chance in early April. Florida is only the third team in NHL history to miss the play-offs after two straight titles.
Before that, Detroit (1937/38) and Montreal (1969/70) failed to do so. Coach Paul Maurice once again had a great team at his disposal, as virtually the entire team stayed together. It should be added, however, that the club was struggling with a large number of injured players, including the most important mainstays.
Captain Barkov was injured over the summer and did not play at all. Tkachuk has only played 30 games so far, and defenseman Seth Jones and forward Brad Marchand have also missed a high number of games. And other stars such as Sam Reinhart and Anton Lundell have also been missing frequently. Suddenly, the strength and quality of the team was significantly weaker.
Stats of the week
Sidney Crosby is playing his 21st season, after which he will average more than a point per game. He improved his own record. After missing 12 regular season games, the Pittsburgh captain can play a maximum of 70, but he already has 72 points.
In addition, he has moved ahead of Steve Yzerman into seventh place in the NHL's historical scoring. He currently has 1,759 points (654+1,105) and is only 12 points behind sixth-place Marcel Dionne (1,771). Ron Francis (1798) is currently in fifth place, so he could soon attack his performance as well.
The next major feat took place a "generation" down. Macklin Celebrini registered two goals and an assist in a game against St. Louis, becoming the sixth teenager in NHL history to reach the 100-point mark in a single season. The 19-year-old broke the milestone with two points in the first period.
He then capped the 100-point scoring with a power-play goal on a Dalibor Dvorsky suspension. Only five players before him had done it: Sidney Crosby (twice), Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Dale Hawerchuk and Jimmy Carson. Celebrini currently has 106 points (41+65).
From social media
Los Angeles set a new NHL record by playing 31 overtime games in a single season. The Californian team is still fighting to make the play-offs and currently has 81 points. That's the same number as the eighth-place Nashville.
It is between these teams that the last spot in the West could be decided. San Jose will also want to get involved, so the end of the regular season promises to be a dramatic one.
Photo of the week
For the first time since the 2010-11 season, the Buffalo Sabres will make the play-offs, and the club's official X social media account enjoyed the moment with this edited photo. After years of drought, the rain is finally coming in the form of participation among the league's best teams.
The Sabres have already reached the 100-point mark, which they last did in 2009-10. The organisation record is 113 points, but Buffalo won't reach that number again. However, they can still contend to be the best team in the Eastern Conference.