Valeri Nichushkin scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon added two assists to break the franchise's single-season points mark and the Colorado Avalanche cruised into the playoffs behind a 5-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

MacKinnon wrapped up the regular season with 140 points (51 goals, 89 assists) to top Peter Stastny's franchise record of 139 set in 1981-82 when the club was in Quebec.

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jeff Carter is retiring after 19 seasons in the league, and his send-off Wednesday night was something to remember.

He had a goal in a 5-4 loss to the Islanders in New York, and the home team even invited him to take a victory lap.

Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov became the fifth player to have a 100-assist season as the Lightning beat the Toronto Maple Leafs 6-4 on Wednesday night.

Kucherov, the NHL's scoring leader with 144 points, scored a first-period goal, then set up Brayden Point's power-play tally with 2:55 left in the second for the historic assist.

"It's a special moment," Kucherov said. "Thanks to my teammates and coaching staff for putting me in position to have success. I'm fortunate to play with great players."

Jack Edwards is retiring after 19 years as the Boston Bruins' play-by-play announcer, the team announced Tuesday.

Edwards has described the position broadcasting for the Bruins on NESN as his "dream job," which he started in 2005 after spending more than a decade at ESPN. He will continue calling Bruins games through the end of the playoffs.

Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid notched his 100th assist this season against the San Jose Sharks on Monday night, becoming just the fourth player in NHL history to hit triple digits for helpers.

Anaheim Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg will retire at the end of the 2023-24 season, the club announced Thursday. Silverberg will skate in his final home game with the Ducks on Friday against Calgary.

Alex Ovechkin had eight goals through his first 43 games this season.

At that point, some folks might have wondered if the 38-year-old forward was finally slowing down. But not his Capitals teammates. Forward Dylan Strome said he was chatting with goalie Charlie Lindgren around that time.

“We were like, ‘I’m not going to be surprised when he gets 30 this year,’” Strome said.

Fast-forward to the Capitals’ 2-1 win against the Red Wings on Tuesday.

Ovechkin streaked through the neutral zone as the clock counted down at the end of the second period. Forward T.J. Oshie banked the puck off the left-wing boards, and Ovechkin collected it as he crossed the blue line.

In a flash, Ovechkin handled the puck and snapped a shot from the top of the left circle. The puck whizzed past the blocker of goalie Alex Lyon with eight seconds left, giving the Capitals a 2-0 lead and Ovechkin his 30th goal of the season.

Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby was once again named the NHL's most complete player in the annual NHLPA poll released Wednesday.

Crosby earned 38.4% of the votes for "most complete player" ahead of Aleksander Barkov of the Florida Panthers (14.6%). In the five seasons the NHLPA has voted on this category, Crosby has won it every year.

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Logan Thompson and New York Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending March 31.

FIRST STAR – CONNOR McDAVID, C, EDMONTON OILERS

McDavid led the NHL with 3-5—8 in three games to propel the Oilers (45-23-4, 94 points) to a perfect week and four-point cushion for second place in the Pacific Division. 

Jonathan Quick made 27 saves for his 392nd NHL win, surpassing Ryan Miller for the most ever by a U.S.-born goaltender, and the New York Rangers became the first team to 50 wins this season with an 8-5 victory against the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Saturday.

“You do everything you can to not think about it, but it’s there,” Quick said. “It’s a good feeling to get it over with and get it done and focus on what’s important -- winning the division and winning the conference.”