NEW YORK – Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele, Colorado Avalanche center Martin Necas and Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” presented by GEICO for the week ending March 8.

FIRST STAR – MARK SCHEIFELE, C, WINNIPEG JETS

Scheifele compiled 3-5—8 and a pair of game-winning goals across three appearances to propel the Jets (26-26-10, 62 points) to a perfect week as they moved within five points of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. He notched 1-2—3, capped by his franchise-record 18th career overtime goal (also tied for seventh place in NHL history), in a 3-2 comeback victory against the Chicago Blackhawks March 3. Scheifele then posted 1-1—2, including his sixth game-winning goal of the season (tied for fifth place in the League), in a 4-1 triumph versus the Tampa Bay Lightning March 5. He finished the week with 1-2—3, highlighted by his 30th goal of the campaign as well as the primary assists on both the tying and winning goals, in a 3-2 overtime victory against the Vancouver Canucks March 7. The 32-year-old Scheifele, who leads Winnipeg in goals, assists and points this season, ranks sixth in the entire NHL with 30-48—78 through 62 total contests in 2025-26.

SECOND STAR – MARTIN NECAS, C, COLORADO AVALANCHE

Necas recorded 3-5—8 in four games to help the League-leading Avalanche (43-10-9, 95 points) extend their winning streak to five contests (dating to Feb. 28) en route to opening a seven-point cushion in the Presidents’ Trophy race. He collected 1-2—3 in a 4-2 triumph over the Los Angeles Kings March 2, followed by his 29th career game-winning goal in a 5-1 victory against the Anaheim Ducks March 3. Necas then produced 1-3—4, his sixth career four-point performance, as well as the clinching shootout goal in a 5-4 win versus the Dallas Stars March 6 before being held off the scoresheet in a 3-2 shootout triumph against the Minnesota Wild March 8. The 27-year-old Necas, in his first full season with Colorado after registering a career-high 27-56—83 in 2024-25 (79 GP w/ CAR and COL), sits eighth in the NHL with 28-48—76 through 59 total appearances in 2025-26.

THIRD STAR – TAGE THOMPSON, C, BUFFALO SABRES

Thompson notched 2-5—7 in four contests to lift the Sabres (39-19-6, 84 points) into first place in the Atlantic Division on the strength of a seven-game winning streak dating to Feb. 25. He potted his 24th career game-winning goal in a 3-2 triumph over the Vegas Golden Knights March 3. Thompson then tallied one assist in a 5-1 win versus the Pittsburgh Penguins March 5 before scoring his 34th goal of the campaign in a 3-2 victory against the Nashville Predators March 7. He closed the week with his first career four-assist game (and eighth career four-point performance) in an 8-7 comeback win over the Tampa Bay Lightning March 8. The 28-year-old Thompson, who has points in a career-high 11 straight games dating to Jan. 31 (6-9—15), tops Buffalo and ranks 16th in the entire NHL with 34-36—70 across 64 total contests this season.

The Sabres moved into first place in the Atlantic Division and into a top-five position in the NHL’s overall standings after outlasting the Lightning in a back-and-forth affair that watched the clubs combine for seven goals in both the second and third periods.

* The Avalanche, Stars and Penguins each required a rally of some kind en route to victory, but Pittsburgh watched Pavel Zacha score his second hat trick of the season and Anthony Mantha achieve a rare feat with two tying tallies in the third period.

* The Senators, who have benefited from Tim Stützle’s 12-game point streak, are within striking distance of the second Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference when they clash with the Canucks on the latest edition of Prime Monday Night Hockey

SABRES SURVIVE BACK-AND-FORTH BEDLAM VS. LIGHTNING TO CLIMB ATOP ATLANTIC

The Sabres (39-19-6, 84 points) and Lightning (39-19-4, 82 points) met at KeyBank Center with first place in the Atlantic Division on the line and produced a roller-coaster, high-scoring, back-and-forth affair that concluded with a crucial Buffalo regulation win and the club’s first positioning among the top five in the League standings at this stage of a season or later since their Presidents’ Trophy-winning campaign in 2006-07.

* Buffalo, with seven straight wins, occupy first place in its division at this stage of a season or later (1,006 GP) for the first time since April 11, 2010, when they won the Northeast Division.

* The Sabres, who built a 4-1 lead midway through the contest, overcame a multi-goal deficit within the final 10 minutes of the third period and won in regulation for the sixth time in franchise history. The others: Dec. 26, 2015, April 2, 2003, Jan. 6, 1988, Dec. 26, 1981 and March 10, 1976.

The Stars That Shone

Tage Thompson (0-4—4) led a group of seven players with three or more points en route to extending his point streak to 11 games. Sunday’s outing was just the fourth in the past 30 years to feature as many players hit the mark alongside Penguins-Sharks (9 on Jan. 13, 1996), Flames-Maple Leafs (7 on March 14, 2009) and Flames-Lightning (7 on Dec. 13, 2007).

* Thompson joined Alex Tuch (0-4—4 on Nov. 21, 2025) and Zach Benson (0-4—4 on Oct. 15, 2025) as the third Sabres skater with a four-assist game this season – the franchise’s most in one campaign since 1992-93 (6).

* Nikita Kucherov (2-1—3), fresh off an 0-4—4 outing in Toronto on Saturday, recorded his 61st career road game with three or more points and broke a tie with Peter Stastny (60) for the fourth most by a player born outside North America in NHL history. Jaromir Jagr (81), Alex Ovechkin (70) and Jari Kurri (69) round out the top three.

Fans Treated to Goals Galore

The Sabres and Lightning produced the 16th game in NHL history, and 10th in the expansion era (since 1967-68) to feature both clubs combine for seven or more goals in multiple periods and first since the Red Wings and Blues on Nov. 25, 1992.

* Buffalo scored four power-play goals in a game, highlighted by Josh Doan’s go-ahead tally with 4:17 remaining in regulation, for the fourth time in the past 20 years.

* Tuch scored Buffalo’s NHL-best 10th shorthanded goal of the season and one of his team’s five special-teams tally of the game – tied for the franchise’s most in a single outing in since 1995-96, alongside Nov. 8, 2011 (5 vs. WPG) and March 30, 2007 (5 vs. NYI).

MANTHA TIES GAME TWICE, PENGUINS EARN THREE-GOAL COMEBACK WIN

After Boston took a 3-0 lead just over halfway through the game, Pittsburgh mounted a three-goal comeback victory thanks to two third-period tying tallies from Anthony Mantha and an overtime winner from Tommy Novak – his second of the season. The Penguins (32-17-14, 78 points), who improved to 38-19-11 in contests without both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the lineup (since 2006-07), retook second place in the Metropolitan Division from the Islanders (36-23-5, 77 points) and hold a game in hand.

* Mantha became the second Penguins player to score multiple game-tying goals in the third period of a game, joining Alex Kovalev (March 23, 2002 vs. PHI). He improved his point totals to 23-24—47 (63 GP) to tie Malkin (13-34—47) for second in team scoring behind only Crosby (27-32—59) and moved within three of his first career 50-point season.

McDAVID OILERS GAIN GROUND IN THE PACIFIC WITH WIN VS. GOLDEN KNIGHTS

Connor McDavid assisted on two of four Edmonton goals as the Oilers (31-25-8, 70 points) earned a crucial regulation win in Vegas against the Golden Knights (29-21-14, 72 points) and gained ground on the Pacific Division-leading Ducks (35-25-3, 73 points) , who also failed to collect a point in the standings on Sunday. McDavid, within six assists of 800 in his career, extended his road point streak to 18 games.

NEW AND RETURNING FACES TALLY ASSISTS AS COLORADO, DALLAS WIN VIA COMEBACK

Nazem Kadri (0-1—1) and Michael Bunting (0-1—1) both collected assists in their first game since being traded to the Avalanche and Stars, respectively, as both Central Division clubs claimed third-period comeback victories. Colorado and Dallas accounted for two of four games Sunday that featured a game-tying goal in the final frame.

* Kadri received a standing ovation from the fans at Ball Arena in his return to the organization and then recorded his first point in an Avalanche uniform since the overtime winner in Game 4 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final.

* Bunting assisted on the Stars’ game-tying goal in the third period and Miro Heiskanen scored in overtime to help Dallas extend its point streak to 12 games (11-0-1), matching the fourth-longest run in franchise history and its longest since 2000-01 (13 GP). Heiskanen scored his third career overtime goal, which tied the third most by a defenseman in franchise history behind John Klingberg and Thomas Harley (both w/ 6).

#NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES FEATURES SHINE’S FIRST NHL GOAL WITH HOMETOWN CLUB

The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured notes and storylines aplenty from a seven-game Sunday, including the first NHL goal from Pinckney, Michigan, native and Red Wings forward Dominik Shine. Shine (32 years, 324 days), who spent time with Little Caesars and Compuware during his days in minor hockey, four years at Northern Michigan University and parts of the past 10 seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the AHL (named captain in 2025-26), became the oldest skater to score their first career goal since Philadelphia’s Evgeny Medvedev (33 years, 96 days on Dec. 1, 2015).

Photo via: @DetroitRedWings

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* Bo Horvat fined for unsportsmanlike conduct in Islanders game

* Tyler Kleven fined maximum for cross-checking in Senators game

* Gabriel Landeskog week to week for Avalanche with lower-body injury

* NHL EDGE stats: Avalanche remain Stanley Cup front-runner after Nazem Kadri trade

* Ducks celebrate Women in Sports Night to cap weekend festivities

SENATORS, CANUCKS ON PRIME MONDAY NIGHT HOCKEY

The week will begin with a five-game slate and a national broadcast across Canada with a Prime Monday Night Hockey showdown as the Senators (31-22-9, 71 points) visiting the Canucks (19-36-8, 46 points) for the first and only time this season. Ottawa enters with wins in its past two games and in each of its past two games against Vancouver. They sit five points out of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference as they chase consecutive postseason berths for the first time since 2011-12 to 2012-13.

* Tim Stützle enters Prime Monday Night Hockey with the NHL’s longest active point streak (12 GP). He can tie the fourth-longest run in franchise history and his second longest (13 GP from earlier this season; from Dec. 9, 2025 – Jan. 5, 2026). Stützle’s longest point streak is 14 games, which is the third longest on that list.

NATIONAL GAMES ON THE RADAR THIS WEEK

Get set for the week ahead with five #NHLStats and storylines you need to know about national broadcasts on tap:

1. Original Six Clash on Sportsnet (Tuesday): An Original Six showdown will see the Canadiens and Maple Leafs meet for the 854th time (regular season & playoffs). Montreal can win the season series for the first time since 2019-20 (3-0-0) and can requires its fewest games to 80 points in a campaign since 2014-15 (59 GP).
2. Islanders visit Blues on TNT (Tuesday): Matthew Schaefer (20-26—46 in 64 GP) will look to continue his record-setting season in the first game of a TNT doubleheader. Schaefer enters the week four points from becoming the fifth active defenseman to reach the 50-point mark as a rookie. Overall, only four blueliners in NHL history have reached the plateau in a single campaign as a teenager: Phil Housley (66 in 1983-84 & 1982-83), Ray Bourque (65 in 1979-80), Larry Murphy (64 in 1980-81) and Rick Hampton (51 in 1975-76).
3. Blues welcome Oilers on ESPN+, Sportsnet (Friday): Former 4 Nations Face-Off and Team Canada Olympic teammates, St. Louis netminder Jordan Binnington and Edmonton captain Connor McDavid, are set to clash in St. Louis. McDavid enters the week four goals from 400 and having played 776 NHL contests – he can require the fifth-fewest games among active players to reach the plateau behind Auston Matthews (628 GP), Alex Ovechkin (634 GP), Steven Stamkos (763 GP) and David Pastrnak (774 GP).
4. Bruins face Capitals on ABC Hockey Saturday: David Pastrnak and the Bruins will face Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals on ABC for the second straight Saturday. Pastrnak recorded two assists on March 7 and leads Boston when they visit Ovechkin. He is one of four Bruins players to record 40-plus points against the Capitals.
5. Four pack on Hockey Night in Canada (Saturday): Macklin Celebrini will make his second-last appearance on Hockey Night in Canada when the Sharks visit the Canadiens. Celebrini enters the week fifth in NHL scoring and owns an 11-point cushion in that positioning (next closest: Mark Scheifele w/ 78). He is looking to lead San Jose back into the playoffs for the first time since 2018-19.

Nikita Kucherov became the League’s third 100-point scorer of the season as the Lightning skated to victory. The only other campaigns over the past 30 years to feature as many players reach the mark through this stage of a season (999 GP): 1995-96 (11) and 2023-24 (3).

* Matthew Schaefer set the NHL mark for the most overtime points by a teenage defenseman as the Islanders moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division standings.

* Ten out of 11 games Saturday saw the winning goal come in the third period or later, which brings this season’s total to 555 – the third most through this stage of a campaign (999 GP) behind only 2005-06 (566) and 2016-17 (558).

* A double dose of doubleheaders on ESPN and TNT will make up more than half of Sunday’s seven-game slate that also coincides with International Women’s Day and the final day of Hockey Week Across America.

LIGHTNING, SABRES STAY ATOP THE ATLANTIC DIVISION AHEAD OF CRUCIAL CLASH. . .

The Lightning (39-18-4, 82 points) and Sabres (38-19-6, 82 points) continue to jostle for top spot in the Atlantic Division after each club collected two crucial points in wins on Saturday. Tampa Bay and Buffalo – who go head-to-head on Sunday at KeyBank Center – look to become the first teams other than Toronto, Florida or Boston to win the Atlantic Division since the Lightning did so in 2018-19.

* Nikita Kucherov (0-4—4) factored on four of his team’s five goals, including three in the first period alone, to become the League’s third 100-point scorer of the season as the Lightning earned their 20th road victory of 2025-26. Tampa Bay matched its third-fewest games in franchise history to reach the mark (32 GP in 2021-22) behind only 2018-19 (28 GP) and 2019-20 (31 GP).

* Kucherov (32-68—100 in 57 GP) recorded his sixth career 100-point season – tied for the seventh most in NHL history – and fourth consecutive, which is tied with Leon Draisaitl (4 from 2021-22 to 2024-25) for the third most among players born and trained outside of North America behind only Peter Stastny (6 from 1980-81 to 1985-86) and Jari Kurri (5 from 1982-83 to 1986-87). Kucherov, whose three four-assist road games in 2025-26 trail only Wayne Gretzky (4) for the most in a single season, also became the second-fastest active player to record 100 points in a campaign behind Connor McDavid (53 GP in 2020-21 & 56 GP in 2022-23).

* Tage Thompson scored the first of his team’s three straight goals to extend his point streak to 10 games and lift Buffalo to its sixth straight win and 15th comeback victory of the season. The Sabres, who also strung together 10 straight wins from Dec. 9-31, 2025, have posted multiple winning streaks of six or more games in a single season for the first time since 2005-06 – a campaign that finished with a berth in the Conference Finals after falling to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Hurricanes in Game 7.

* Thompson, who recorded the NHL’s 20th double-digit point streak of 2025-26, became the seventh Sabres player in the past 30 years to register a 10-game point streak. The others: Jack Eichel (2x; longest: 17 GP in 2019-20), Tim Connolly (16 GP in 2009-10), Derek Roy (12 GP in 2007-08), Sam Reinhart (11 GP in 2018-19), Jason Pominville (10 GP in 2007-08) and Daniel Briere (10 GP in 2006-07).

…WHILE OTHER ATLANTIC CLUBS BOLSTER POSITION IN EAST PLAYOFF PICTURE

The Canadiens (34-18-10, 78 points), Bruins (35-22-5, 76 points) and Senators (31-22-9, 71 points) each picked up crucial wins in an already tight Eastern Conference playoff picture.

* Juraj Slafkovský (2-1—3) and captain Nick Suzuki (1-2—3) scored 49 seconds apart in the third period as Montreal overcame a 3-2 deficit in the final frame to leapfrog idle Detroit (35-21-7, 77 points) for third place in the Atlantic – the Canadiens own one game in hand. Slafkovský (23-29—52 in 2025-26), who became the first player in franchise history with three career 50-point seasons at age 21 or younger, also boosted his career totals to 65-98—163 (262 GP) and tied Henri Richard (163) for the most career points by a player before age 22 in Canadiens history.
* David Pastrnak (0-2—2) climbed into a tie for the eighth-most multi-assist games in Bruins history and Charlie McAvoy (0-1—1) collected an assist in his 50th game to help the Bruins earn their 12th straight win at TD Garden. McAvoy has nearly doubled his point output from the entire 2024-25 campaign (7-16—23 in 50 GP) after improving to 6-38—44 (50 GP) on Saturday. The last Bruins defenseman to record as many points through 50 games in a season was Ray Bourque (54 in 1995-96).

* The Senators scored at least seven goals in a game for the fifth time this season and tied the Ducks for the most among all teams. Ottawa had seven different goal scorers in a contest for the second time in 2025-26 (8 on Jan. 14). The only other seasons they achieved that feat multiple times were 2022-23 (2x), 2005-06 (2x) and 2003-04 (2x). Tim Stützle was one of those seven skaters when he extended his point streak to 12 games with his 30th goal of the season and became just the eighth player in franchise history with multiple 30-goal campaigns.
SCHAEFER HELPS ISLANDERS TO OVERTIME VICTORY, SECOND PLACE IN METROPOLITAN

After Macklin Celebrini (1-0—1) scored to pull the Sharks even, fellow No. 1 pick Matthew Schaefer (0-1—1) set up Bo Horvat (1-0—1) in the extra frame to lift the Islanders (36-23-5, 77 points) to victory and into second place in the Metropolitan Division standings. New York became the second team in NHL history to win each of its first nine or more games decided in overtime to start a season, joining Vegas (9-0 in 2020-21).

* Schaefer boosted his career totals to 20-26—46 (64 GP) and surpassed Scott Stevens (13-32—45 in 1983-84) for the seventh-most points in a season by a teenage defenseman – a list topped by Phil Housley (27-39—66 in 1983-84 & 19-47—66 in 1982-83). Four of Schaefer’s 46 career points have come in overtime, which is tied with Sidney Crosby, Connor Bedard, Ilya Kovalchuk, Connor McDavid and Lucas Raymond for the third most by a teenager behind only Celebrini (9) and Andrei Svechnikov (5).

MORE FROM SATURDAY’S SLATE IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

Saturday’s #NHLStats: Live Updates was packed with notes from the 22 teams in action with plenty of impressive feats across the 11-game slate. Some highlights include:

* Josh Morrissey lifted Winnipeg to victory with his fifth career overtime goal and tied Marc Savard as well as Blake Wheeler for the seventh most in Jets/Thrashers history. The winner also marked Morrissey’s 417th career point, which put him past Dustin Byfuglien (416) for the most by a defenseman in franchise history.

* Karel Vejmelka became the first goaltender with 30 wins this season as he backstopped Utah (34-25-4, 72 points) to an overtime victory and helped his club create a five-point cushion over Seattle for the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. The only other Czech-born netminder to be the League’s first 30-win goaltender in a season: Dominik Hasek (2001-02 & 1996-97).

* Carolina’s Alexander Nikishin (98.49 mph) and Seattle’s Brandon Montour (97.80 mph) scored the second- and third-hardest shots resulting in a goal this season. Only Tampa Bay’s Taylor Raddysh (100.13 mph on Nov. 28) clocked a faster goal in 2025-26.

* Macklin Celebrini scored to boost his 2025-26 totals to 32-57—89 (61 GP) and tied Steve Yzerman (30-59—89 in 1984-85) for the ninth-most points in a season by a teenager in NHL history. His 32 goals are the most by a Sharks player in a campaign since Timo Meier (35) in 2021-22

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* Jack Hughes meets photographer who snapped iconic Olympic photo

* Jack Roslovic has ‘exceeded expectations’ for Oilers, seeking to continue impact

* New Steelers head coach Mike McCarthy cheers on Penguins

* Kristen Bowness making big impact on family business with Mammoth

DOUBLEHEADERS ON TNT, ESPN HIGHLIGHT SUNDAY

International Women’s Day and the final day of Hockey Week Across America will include doubleheaders on both TNT and ESPN, starting with one on TNT that will pit the Avalanche (42-10-9, 93 points) against the Wild (37-16-10, 84 points) before the Penguins (31-17-14, 76 points) welcome the Bruins (35-22-5, 75 points). ESPN’s doubleheader later in the evening will feature the Devils (32-29-2, 66 points) welcoming the Red Wings (35-21-7, 77 points) ahead of the Oilers (30-25-8, 68 points) visiting the Golden Knights (29-20-14, 72 points).

* On TNT, Wild blueliner Quinn Hughes and Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar will go head-to-head for the 16th time in their careers and for the final time during the 2025-26 regular season – the duo could meet during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Minnesota currently occupying third in the Central Division while the Avalanche sit atop. Hughes (65-406—471 in 490 GP) enters the final day of Hockey Week Across America with the fourth-most points among active U.S.-born defensemen (min. 1 GP in 2025-26) – the three players above him have all skated in over 1,000 games. Hughes also enters Sunday one point back of tying Cam Fowler (407) for the second-most assists by an active American blueliner.

* ESPN’s doubleheader will conclude with a Pacific Division showdown that will pit Jack Eichel’s Golden Knights, second in the division, against Connor McDavid’s Oilers, who sit third. The contest will mark the 18th regular-season head-to-head meeting between the top two selections in the 2015 NHL Draft. Eichel (21-49—70 in 55 GP) can record his third season with 20 goals and 50 assists. Since making his NHL debut in 2015-16, the only American player with more campaigns reaching those totals is Patrick Kane (5x).