The most productive player
Boston lost 10 in a row before sweeping Carolina 5-1 on Saturday. The hero of the game was David Pastrnak, who scored a hat-trick and set up the other two goals to surpass the 40-goal mark for the fifth time in his career. Only Phil Esposito (7) has done it more times for the Bruins. Overall, he collected eleven points (5+6) in four games during the week and was unmatched with a 2.75 points per game average.
'Parsnip', by the way, hadn't scored in only three games during the 10 losses and is once again heading towards the 100-point mark for the season. Still, the Bruins are already assured of not advancing to the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2016, and it's not enough that the Czech forward is the most productive player in the NHL in the 2025 calendar year...
Goaltender of the Week
The Los Angeles Kings are not among the favourites for the Stanley Cup, but the Californian team should not be underestimated. The team is doing well in the standings and goalie Darcy Kuemper is in great shape. He shipped only two goals against Utah, one against Winnipeg and none against Edmonton, his fifth zero of the season. He stopped a total of 74 shots and held a 96.1% save percentage.
Highlight of the week
The NHL has a new goal-scoring record holder. Alexander Ovechkin has leapfrogged Wayne Gretzky and taken away one of the records that seemed insurmountable. The Canadian had initially tied the mark at 894 with two goals during a 5-3 win over Chicago on Friday.
The stats are also incredible, showing that Ovechkin needed a total of 1486 games for 894 goals. Gretzky needed one more. His goal against Chicago was also the winning goal - it was the player's 136th game-winning shot, and it's also an NHL record.
At thirty-nine years of age, he is also the fourth-leading scorer in the competition this year. "Ovie is 39, he broke his leg this year and still has scored 41 goals. That's just unreal. I'm out of breath just typing this tweet and I'm 33," former Pittsburgh, New Jersey and St. Louis forward Beau Bennett wrote on social network X.
Gretzky himself was present in the arena during the record-breaking game and came to congratulate him. And he didn't forget to congratulate rookie Ryan Leonard, who just signed with the Capitals at the start of the week and scored his first goal of the season into an empty net late in the game.
Oh, and by the way, tickets to Sunday's game against the New York Islanders, which Washington lost 1-4 and in which Ovechkin finally broke the record? They were well over the $2,000 mark as of Friday. But they served their purpose. The Russian blasted through Ilya Sorokin in the 28th minute, and it was done. Goal number 895.
The whole team was on the ice immediately and the ceremony began. Once again, Gretzky, head coach Gary Bettman and the player's family were in attendance.
Stat of the Week
The league has seen the emergence of some famously productive young defensemen in recent years, and it appears that another one is on the rise in Montreal. Twenty-one-year-old American youngster Lane Hutson surpassed the 60-point mark on the week, becoming the first rookie defenseman since the 1991/92 season to do so. Nicklas Lidstrom did it back then.
Hutson also set the Canadiens record for most assists by a rookie, which currently stood at 57. The NHL scoring record among rookie quarterbacks is held by the legendary Larry Murphy, who scored 76 points in a Los Angeles jersey in 1980/81.
Social media highlight
Swedish goalie Linus Ullmark recently confirmed that he is very well-mannered. After he chipped his stick at Ottawa practice, he picked up a vacuum cleaner and went to clean up the mess.
Photo of the week
St. Louis ' Jake Neighbours scored his 22nd goal of the season during a 5-4 win over Colorado on Saturday. Along with the puck, he got himself into the Avalanche goal as well.
Ladislav Smid's view
"The playoffs are fast approaching, and although they are not at the top of the table, it is definitely worth watching the St. Louis Blues. They currently hold a 12-game winning streak, and it's not just about being lucky - of course, that's always needed - but they mainly play honest, nasty and grinding hockey.
"They skate well defensively and are active on the forecheck. A very experienced coach, Jim Montgomery, is in charge, and you can tell that the players trust his system.
"There are no big personalities in the lineup, but the Blues are playing as a team. Plus, the young players growing up there can make a difference. Let's not forget Jordan Binnington in goal; he has already won one Stanley Cup and a player like that always gives the team a chance to win. You can never do that without a good goalie.
"The Blues were able to dominate the playoffs six years ago in a similar fashion. This year, I don't know if it's quite that way. Either way, whichever team he catches in the first round, which I'm sure will be strong, St. Louis will give him a hard time. Now it looks like they might get Vegas, a team that is not dominating right now. And the Blues are coming..."