By StephanieLee Elliott
NHL Public Relations
* Miles Wood scored the winner after Nathan MacKinnon, who was named a finalist for the 2023-24 Hart Memorial Trophy alongside Connor McDavid and Nikita Kucherov, helped the Avalanche erase a 3-0 deficit in regulation. McDavid and the Oilers open their Second Round series with the Canucks in one of two games tonight.
* The Sharks won the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery and own the first overall drafting position for the First Round of the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft, which will be held at Sphere in Las Vegas.
* NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman presided over the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery, which was conducted at NHL Network’s studio in Secaucus, N.J. Click here to watch a video featuring a behind-the-scenes look at the drawing procedure.
Vincent Trocheck (1-1—2) tallied the winning goal at 7:24 of the second overtime as New York remained unbeaten during the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs and took a 2-0 lead in its Second Round series.
Trocheck (5-5—10 in 6 GP) extended his postseason-opening point streak to six games, which includes a goal in each of his last five contests and a power-play tally in his past four. He matched the franchise playoff record for longest goal streak set by Cecil Dillon (5 GP in 1933) and became the first Rangers player on record with a power-play tally in four consecutive postseason games.
* Igor Shesterkin (54 saves) became the first New York goaltender on record with multiple 50-save playoff contests (also Game 1 of 2022 R1) and recorded the most by a Rangers netminder in a postseason win, besting the previous mark set by Mike Richter (46 in Game 5 of 1997 CSF). Shesterkin improved to 6-0 in six appearances during the 2024 playoffs (2.01 GAA, .929 SV%).
* New York registered a playoff-opening winning streak of at least six contests for the second time in franchise history, following a seven-game run en route to winning the Stanley Cup in 1994. The lengthiest streak in League history is nine contests by the 1985 Oilers, whose roster featured Mark Messier before he captained the Rangers to a championship nine years later.
WOOD WHEELS WAY UP ICE TO SCORE WINNER AS AVALANCHE COMPLETE COMEBACK
Miles Wood scored his first career postseason overtime goal as Colorado completed its third three-goal comeback win in franchise playoff history (also Game 6 of 1997 CQF & Game 6 of 1987 DSF) and took a 1-0 lead in its Second Round series.
Wood was signed by the Avalanche on July 1, 2023, after being selected by the Devils with the No. 100 pick in the 2013 NHL Draft and skating his first eight seasons with New Jersey from 2015-16 to 2022-23. His father, Randy, played over 700 games in the League including 30 with the Stars during the 1995-96 season.
* Tuesday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes on Wood and his father, who scored the overtime winner for Toronto in Game 6 of the 1995 Conference Quarterfinals.
SHARKS WIN LOTTERY AND FIRST SELECTION IN 2024 UPPER DECK NHL DRAFT
The Sharks and Blackhawks own the first and second overall drafting positions, respectively, for the First Round of the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft as a result of the 2024 NHL Draft Lottery conducted Tuesday. Click here to read more.
The League announced that the 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will be held at Sphere in Las Vegas on Friday, June 28 and Saturday, June 29, marking the first time the event will be held in the city. The 2024 Upper Deck NHL Draft will also be the first event televised live from Sphere. Click here to read more.
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Macklin Celebrini, who remained No. 1 among North American skaters when the NHL Central Scouting Bureau released its final rankings, was on hand for the event Tuesday. His father, Rick, is the VP of player health and performance with the NBA’s Golden State Warriors and members of the team were dazzled by the younger Celebrini when they saw him play for the USHL’s Chicago Steel last year.
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QUICK CLICKS
* Travis Green hired as Senators coach, replaces Jacques Martin
* Drew Bannister signs 2-year contract to remain Blues coach
* Future Goals Most Valuable Teacher of the Year finalists named
* World War II veteran celebrates 100th birthday cheering on Stars at Game 1
* 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs viewership continues to surge
CANUCKS–OILERS OPEN SECOND ROUND SERIES ON TWO-GAME WEDNESDAY
A two-game Wednesday in the Stanley Cup Playoffs features the Pacific Division’s top two teams in the Canucks and Oilers going head-to-head in Game 1 of their Second Round series as well as the Panthers looking to even their series when they face the Bruins in Game 2.
The Oilers and Canucks are set to compete in their third all-time playoff series and first in 32 years (1992 DF & 1986 DSF) – the second-longest span between an all-Canadian playoff matchup in NHL history, behind only the Canadiens and Maple Leafs (41 years from 1979 QF to 2021 R1).
* The Canucks–Oilers series features high offensive prowess, with three of the NHL’s 100-point scorers from the regular season in Connor McDavid (32-100—132 in 76 GP), Leon Draisaitl (41-65—106 in 81 GP) and J.T. Miller (37-66—103 in 81 GP) in action. Both clubs were also among the highest in goals for in 2023-24 as Edmonton ranked fourth with 292 and Vancouver finished sixth with 279.
* McDavid led all skaters with 1-11—12 through the First Round and can become the first player in NHL history to record double-digit point totals in at least four consecutive playoff series. McDavid (30-57—87 in 54 GP) or Draisaitl (36-51—87 in 54 GP) can become the third-fastest player in NHL history to reach 90 playoff points – Wayne Gretzky (43 GP), Mario Lemieux (45 GP) and Jari Kurri (61 GP) currently rank first, second and third, respectively.
* On the opposite side of the ice, Canucks captain Quinn Hughes has a team-leading five assists (tied) so far this postseason and is one shy of hitting 20 in his career (2-19—21 in 23 GP). Should he collect a helper tonight, he would match Adam Fox (24 GP) for the second-fewest games by a defenseman in NHL history to reach mark behind only Gary Suter (23 GP).
PANTHERS LOOK TO BOUNCE BACK IN GAME 2
Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers will look to even their Second Round series at one apiece when they host David Pastrnak and the Bruins at Amerant Bank Arena. Florida, which overcame a 1-0 and 3-1 series deficit to win its First Round series against Boston last postseason, holds a 2-7 (.222) all-time record when trailing 1-0 in a best-of-seven series while the Bruins are 39-20 (.661) when leading 1-0.
* Tkachuk, who scored Florida’s lone goal in Game 1, has recorded at least a point in each of his team’s first six games of the 2023-24 Stanley Cup Playoffs (4-6—10 in 6 GP). He can become the sixth U.S.-born player in the past 30 years to record a postseason-opening point streak of at least seven contests – he would join Brian Leetch (9 GP in 1994), Auston Matthews (8 GP in 2023), Jake Guentzel (7 GP in 2022), Adam Fox (7 GP in 2022) and Jeremy Roenick (7 GP in 1996).
* Pastrnak, who scored the overtime winner for Boston in Game 7 of the opening round, needs two goals to become the eighth player in Bruins history to record 40 career playoff goals. He can also become just the fifth Czech-born in NHL history player to reach the mark in the postseason, following Jaromir Jagr (78), Ondrej Palat (51), Patrik Elias (45) and David Krejci (43).
COURTESY NHL PUBLIC RELATIONS & NHLmedia.com
