It didn't take very long for Patrick Marleau to record his fifth career hat trick.

The San Jose Sharks forward needed a stretch of just 7:42 in the third period to put three pucks past Colorado Avalanche goalie Spencer Martin.

For Marleau the bushel of goals helps bring his recent slump to an abrupt end, as prior to Monday's game the former Sharks captain had not scored a goal in seven straight contests.

Marleau wouldn't be done there as he would add a fourth - for the first time in his career - before the period was up.

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Calgary Flames star Johnny Gaudreau didn't deflect when probed about the massive lick he took from Leo Komarov in Monday's loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I feel fine," Gaudreau said. "It's part of hockey - you're going to get hit sometimes."

Gaudreau's coach, however, didn't see it quite the same way.

"I thought it was contact to the head," Flames coach Glen Gulutzan said, according to TSN's Mark Masters. "I thought for sure we were going on the power play."

Gaudreau was blasted in the second period when he was caught watching a pass he tipped toward an open man as the Flames worked the puck out of their zone on the power play. Komarov had followed the puck along the boards with speed, and carried his momentum straight through the body of the defenseless Calgary sniper.

With the shorter Gaudreau in a crouch position, head contact, in this case, was inevitable. Komarov kept his hands down and his feet planted though the contact.

"It looked a little bit worse than it was," Komarov said. "I mean, he's a bit of a smaller guy. I think it was a good hit."

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For the fifth straight season it appears Rickard Rakell will improve on his previous season's output.

The Anaheim Ducks forward collected his 20th goal of the season against the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night, hitting the mark for the second straight year.

That being said this season Rackell is finding the back of the net at a higher clip than he has since he entered the league. The 23-year-old concluded last season with 20 goals and 43 points, and this season he has matched his career high in goals in 33 fewer games.

If he continues to produce at a similar rate he would finish the year with 36 goals and 52 points - both career bests.

Rackell has quickly become among the Ducks most dynamic talents - high praise for a player who plays alongside Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.

His 20 goals are the most among all Ducks players, even while being limited to 39 games due to a stomach virus that also kept him out of the World Cup of Hockey.

Rackell leads the Ducks with five game-winning goals and scores the most goals and points per 60 minutes than any player on the team.

The Ducks inked Rackell to a six-year $22.8-million deal in October and as it looks now, that contract could turn out to be one hell of a bargain.

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A stretch of bad games did little to shake the confidence that the New York Rangers have in their star netminder.

Henrik Lundqvist turned in another stellar effort on Monday night, steering away 36 shots as the Rangers got by the Los Angeles Kings 3-2.

For Lundqvist, the outing was his third straight win and while his previous handful of games had many running for the hills, forward Mats Zuccarello insists the team never lost faith in Lundqvist's abilities.

"He’s our most important player," Zuccarello said postgame. "We didn’t give him good enough help for a stretch there. He knew he needed to be better, but everybody goes through slumps during the season. We have no worries for Hank. In my opinion he’s the best goalie in the world and he showed that tonight, and was showing that the last few games."

Over the past three games Lundqvist has stopped 80 of the 84 shots thrown his way,m this after he had conceded 20 goals in his previous four appearances. According to the man himself, his sudden rebound in play can be contributed to simplifying his game.

"I simplified my focus I think three games ago. It helps me be on my toes a little bit," said Lundqvist. "The way I can describe it is I just try to simplify everything and have a little higher readiness than before. But this game, especially for me, is so much the way I think, the way I read the game and stay in the moment. So I just try to simplify it and then adding with the way we’re playing right now in the last three (games) - blocking shots, and really trying to play a better defensive game - obviously that helps me."

With their third straight win, the Rangers are now just a win behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

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With Patrik Laine shelved and teammate Auston Matthews cooling, Mitch Marner has his nose out front in the rookie scoring race.

Marner scored his 11th of the season, and later added his 28th assist on Nazem Kadri's 20th goal, leapfrogging Matthews to take top spot in team and rookie scoring in Monday's 4-0 win over the Calgary Flames.

With 39 points through 45 games, Marner is on pace for 71 in his freshman campaign - which has been about a top-15 finish in the NHL scoring races over the past few seasons.

Marner is still outside the top 20 in league scoring, but with a lighter, more sheltered workload, he continues to creep up into elite company in terms of all-situations points rate.

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He is becoming the definition of an elite defenseman.

San Jose Sharks blue-liner Brent Burns is having a career year and was back at it again on Monday, collecting his 20th goal of the season.

Burns beat Colorado Avalanche netminder Spencer Martin to hit the mark for the second straight year and the third time overall. He now has a comfortable nine-goal cushion on the next highest scoring defender and is well on his way to hitting the 30-goal plateau.

(Video courtesy: NHL.com)

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Still just two points left on the table now in the space of 14 games for the Washington Capitals.

The NHL's hottest team pushed its point streak to 14 with a 6-1 thrashing of the Carolina Hurricanes Monday, matching the second-longest mark in franchise history.

Washington has out-scored its opponents 65-27 over that span, scoring at least four goals in eight consecutive games. And if you discard their outlying 8-7 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins last week, the Capitals are averaging three goals for each one they have pulled out of their own net since Dec. 29.

Contributions are coming from up and down the lineup, but T.J. Oshie and Justin Williams, the two pending unrestricted free agents, have been particularly hot. Oshie has goals in four straight, and eight of the last 12 games, while Williams has scored nine goals and 15 points on this 14-game run.

Carolina has now lost four in a row, each to Metropolitan Division giants, keeping idle Philadelphia in postseason position.

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Calgary Flames superstar Johnny Gaudreau exited Monday's game versus the Toronto Maple Leafs briefly when he was leveled along the boards with a hard, but seemingly clean hit from Leo Komarov.

This wasn't a blindside hit by its strict definition. But because the shorter, defenseless Gaudreau was caught watching his pass, and never braced for the high contact from Komarov, the end result of the hit shared elements of what's typical from an illegal blow.

Gaudreau went to the room to undergo concussion protocol, and returned to the game after just a few minutes.

Komarov was not penalized for the hit, but received a roughing minor when Mark Giordano challenged him to a fight.

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Schoolyard.

With Auston Matthews' diving clearance and a soft one-handed scoop at center from William Nylander, Nazem Kadri broke into the attacking zone in transition, and scored the 100th goal of his career with a blistering shot over the shoulder of Brian Elliott on Monday in Toronto.

Kadri's the 56th player in 100 seasons of the Maple Leafs to score 100 goals, according to Sportsnet Stats.

His milestone was met aptly:

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Mitch Marner is back in the goal column.

The Toronto Maple Leafs rookie broke a seven-game goalless skid on Monday night, redirecting a Nikita Zaitsev point shot past Brian Elliott late in the the first period to give the club a 1-0 lead over the Calgary Flames.

The goal was Marner's 11th of the season and creates a three-way log jam with Auston Matthews and James van Riemsdyk for the team lead in points with 38.

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