Lillard, Blazers Pull Away for 10th Straight Win
The Portland Trail Blazers continued to roll behind their star, Damian Lillard, on Monday night to extend their win streak in to double digits. Lillard had 32 points and 10 assists to power the Trail Blazers to a 115-99 win over the Miami Heat for their 10th straight win. Jusuf Nurkic added a double-double of 27 points and 16 rebounds to help Portland extend what is now the longest current win streak in the NBA. That has helped them to a two-game lead on the Oklahoma City Thunder for the three seed in the Western Conference. The Thunder kept pace on Monday with a close win over the Sacramento Kings behind a Russell Westbrook triple-double. The Blazers led by as many as 19, but the Heat made things interesting in the fourth quarter with an 18-2 run. That drought of five minutes for Portland was ended by a big three-pointer from Lillard, who scored 21 points in the second half. Miami was playing without Hassan Whiteside and Dwayne Wade, as they were led by Goran Dragic's 23 points. They will stay out west to take on the Sacramento Kings tomorrow, while the Blazers look to keep their win streak alive when they play host to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Ovechkin Reaches 600 Goals in Capitals' Overtime Win
The Washington Capitals played host to the playoff-hopeful Winnipeg Jets on Monday night, but it was the best player in the league, Alex Ovechkin, who stole the headlines in our nation's capital. Ovechkin scored twice and became the 20th player in NHL history to reach 600 career goals in a 3-2 overtime win over the Jets. Evgeny Kuznetsov had the game-winning goal, which was his 21st of the year, on a breakaway 4:11 into the extra period to give the Caps a win, highlighting Ovechkin's historic night. The league's leading scorer is the fourth-quickest to reach the 600 plateau, as well as the third-youngest to do so at 32 years old. He is the first player over the age of 32 or older to lead the league in goals since Phil Esposito did so in in the 1974-1975 campaign. On the other end of the ice, Patrick Laine extended his point streak to 12 games with his 41st goal of the year, as he now has 16 points in those 12 contests. Nikolaj Ehlers also scored for the Jets, who got 40 saves from Connor Hellebuyck in the loss. The Jets do remain in second place in the Central Division, as they move on to a battle with the division's top team, the Nashville Predators, on Tuesday night. The Capitals hit the road on Thursday night for a division battle with the New York Islanders.
Knights Edge Flyers, Fleury Earns 400th Win
The Las Vegas Golden Knights have had a historic year in their inaugural season, and it was their goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, who made moved up in the record books on Monday night. The Golden Knights edged the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, to give Fleury his 400th career win. The goaltender made 38 saves and became the 13th goalie in NHL history to reach the plateau. Ryan Carpenter helped him there by scoring the game-winning goal with 2:40 to play, giving his team their third straight win, as they completed an impressive 4-1 road trip. Nearly fifteen years after his first career win, Fleury joined Henrik Lundqvist and Roberto Luongo as the only active goalies with 400 career victories. Clauede Giroux and Wayne Simmonds both beat Fleury for the Flyers, who have dropped six of their past seven overall, but they still sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division. Their 81 points puts them two ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and three ahead of the New Jersey Devils. The Golden Knights continued to impress on the road, just one game after setting the inaugural season record for road wins. They improved to 21-12-3 away from home on Monday, as they return home on Wednesday to host the Devils. The Flyers look to get back on track to retain their divisional playoff position, and they have the perfect opportunity to do so when they host the Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
The Portland Trail Blazers continued to roll behind their star, Damian Lillard, on Monday night to extend their win streak in to double digits. Lillard had 32 points and 10 assists to power the Trail Blazers to a 115-99 win over the Miami Heat for their 10th straight win. Jusuf Nurkic added a double-double of 27 points and 16 rebounds to help Portland extend what is now the longest current win streak in the NBA. That has helped them to a two-game lead on the Oklahoma City Thunder for the three seed in the Western Conference. The Thunder kept pace on Monday with a close win over the Sacramento Kings behind a Russell Westbrook triple-double. The Blazers led by as many as 19, but the Heat made things interesting in the fourth quarter with an 18-2 run. That drought of five minutes for Portland was ended by a big three-pointer from Lillard, who scored 21 points in the second half. Miami was playing without Hassan Whiteside and Dwayne Wade, as they were led by Goran Dragic's 23 points. They will stay out west to take on the Sacramento Kings tomorrow, while the Blazers look to keep their win streak alive when they play host to LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Thursday night.
Ovechkin Reaches 600 Goals in Capitals' Overtime Win
The Washington Capitals played host to the playoff-hopeful Winnipeg Jets on Monday night, but it was the best player in the league, Alex Ovechkin, who stole the headlines in our nation's capital. Ovechkin scored twice and became the 20th player in NHL history to reach 600 career goals in a 3-2 overtime win over the Jets. Evgeny Kuznetsov had the game-winning goal, which was his 21st of the year, on a breakaway 4:11 into the extra period to give the Caps a win, highlighting Ovechkin's historic night. The league's leading scorer is the fourth-quickest to reach the 600 plateau, as well as the third-youngest to do so at 32 years old. He is the first player over the age of 32 or older to lead the league in goals since Phil Esposito did so in in the 1974-1975 campaign. On the other end of the ice, Patrick Laine extended his point streak to 12 games with his 41st goal of the year, as he now has 16 points in those 12 contests. Nikolaj Ehlers also scored for the Jets, who got 40 saves from Connor Hellebuyck in the loss. The Jets do remain in second place in the Central Division, as they move on to a battle with the division's top team, the Nashville Predators, on Tuesday night. The Capitals hit the road on Thursday night for a division battle with the New York Islanders.
Knights Edge Flyers, Fleury Earns 400th Win
The Las Vegas Golden Knights have had a historic year in their inaugural season, and it was their goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, who made moved up in the record books on Monday night. The Golden Knights edged the Philadelphia Flyers, 3-2, to give Fleury his 400th career win. The goaltender made 38 saves and became the 13th goalie in NHL history to reach the plateau. Ryan Carpenter helped him there by scoring the game-winning goal with 2:40 to play, giving his team their third straight win, as they completed an impressive 4-1 road trip. Nearly fifteen years after his first career win, Fleury joined Henrik Lundqvist and Roberto Luongo as the only active goalies with 400 career victories. Clauede Giroux and Wayne Simmonds both beat Fleury for the Flyers, who have dropped six of their past seven overall, but they still sit in third place in the Metropolitan Division. Their 81 points puts them two ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets, and three ahead of the New Jersey Devils. The Golden Knights continued to impress on the road, just one game after setting the inaugural season record for road wins. They improved to 21-12-3 away from home on Monday, as they return home on Wednesday to host the Devils. The Flyers look to get back on track to retain their divisional playoff position, and they have the perfect opportunity to do so when they host the Blue Jackets on Thursday night.
