The Noon Number: Unsung Hero

12 - Number of games in which Nicklas Backstrom has picked up four assists, including Tuesday’s win over Detroit. That’s now tied with Mario Lemieux for the most four-assist games in the last 25 years, and moves him into a tie with Hall of Famer Gilbert Perreault for seventh-most four-assist games in history (to say nothing of moving him closer to equally impressive company):

Unsurprisingly, three of those four assists were helpers on Alex Ovechkin goals - in fact, Backstrom has assisted on all three goals in six of Ovechkin’s 21 hat tricks (and pitched in on parts of many others).