Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand and Anaheim Ducks goaltender John Gibson have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the month of March.
FIRST STAR – CONNOR McDAVID, C, EDMONTON OILERS
McDavid led the NHL with 13 goals and 28 points in 16 games (13-15—28) to move into first place in the Art Ross Trophy race and propel the Oilers (34-39-6, 74 points) to a 7-7-2 March. He registered at least one point in 13 of his 16 appearances, highlighted by five three-point performances as well as his fourth career four-point effort (March 22 at OTT: 2-2—4). McDavid also scored in 10 of his 16 outings, including a career-high five-game streak March 22-29 (7-6—13), and potted a pair of winning goals (March 10 vs. MIN and March 24 vs. LAK). The 21-year-old Richmond Hill, Ont., native and reigning Art Ross Trophy winner overtook Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov – who had held the outright lead since Dec. 12 – in the NHL scoring race March 24. He then eclipsed the 100-point milestone March 27, becoming the seventh player in League history to record multiple 100-point campaigns prior to his 22nd birthday. With 41-62—103 in 79 total contests this season, McDavid is aiming to become the first repeat Art Ross Trophy winner since Jaromir Jagr won four straight from 1997-98 through 2000-01.
SECOND STAR – BRAD MARCHAND, LW, BOSTON BRUINS
Marchand ranked second in the NHL with 10-16—26 in 15 games to power the Bruins (49‑17‑11, 109 points) to an 11-2-3 March and into first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference. He collected at least one point in 12 of his 15 contests, highlighted by 3-2—5 March 6 vs. DET. That included his third career hat trick, fourth career five-point performance and franchise-record 11th career overtime goal. Marchand potted two other overtime goals (March 3 vs. MTL and March 25 at MIN) to match a single-season League record with five in 2017-18. He also scored the winning goal in three straight games (March 3-8), becoming the seventh player in Bruins history to accomplish the feat and first since Tyler Seguin (Nov. 5-10, 2011). The 29-year-old Halifax, N.S., native paces the NHL with 1.33 points per game this season, totaling 34‑50—84 in 63 outings.
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THIRD STAR – JOHN GIBSON, G, ANAHEIM DUCKS
Gibson went 9-3-1 with a 2.15 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and three shutouts in 13 appearances to guide the Ducks (40-25-13, 93 points) to a 9-4-1 March and into the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. He yielded two or fewer goals in seven of his 13 starts, highlighted by shutout victories March 6 vs. WSH (36 SV), March 14 vs. VAN (32 SV) and March 21 at CGY (29 SV). The 24-year-old Pittsburgh native has played in 59 games this season, sharing ninth place in the NHL with a career-high 31 wins (31-18-7, 2.43 GAA, .926 SV%, 4 SO). That includes a 14‑4-2 record with a 1.93 goals-against average, .938 save percentage and three shutouts in 20 contests since returning from the All-Star break.
* Information provided via NHL Press Release
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