| NEW YORK (May 4, 2020) – The NHL Player Gaming Challenge™ presented by Honda moves into Week 2 of the schedule with two featured matchups. Each NHL Club is represented by one or two current players and will play in a one-time matchup against another Club in a best-of-three EA SPORTS™ NHL®20 series. Matches will be available on NHL platforms: Twitch, YouTube, Twitter and Facebook Premiere. Content is also available here. WEEK 2 SCHEDULE Thursday, May 7 (5 p.m. ET) MATCH 4 – ARIZONA COYOTES vs. BOSTON BRUINS Clayton Keller & Conor Garland (ARI) vs. Jake DeBrusk & Charlie McAvoy (BOS) Saturday, May 9 (3 p.m. ET) MATCH 5 – FLORIDA PANTHERS vs. WASHINGTON CAPITALS Jonathan Huberdeau (FLA) vs. Evgeny Kuznetsov (WSH) * * * * * ICYMI: WEEK 1 REPLAYS Match 1: Brady Tkachuk (OTT) Defeats Matthew Tkachuk & Noah Hanifin (CGY) Match 2: Jamie Oleksiak & Stephen Johns (DAL) Defeat Bryan Rust & Zach Aston-Reese (PIT) Match 3: Filip Forsberg (NSH) Defeats J.T. Compher (COL) The NHL Player Gaming Challenge™ presented by Honda is a #HockeyAtHome initiative that reminds fans to stay safe, stay home and play together. As the NHL community continues to practice social distancing and take all necessary precautions during this time, the League will continue to help fans stay connected to players and the game by providing access to unique content and archived games. NHL Pause Binge™ aggregates NHL video, editorial and digital content available on NHL.com, the NHL app and across the NHL’s social channels. Fans can follow along using #HockeyAtHome. * * * * * ARIZONA COYOTES vs. BOSTON BRUINS Thursday, May 7, 5 p.m. ETWhere to Watch: Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Premiere * The city of Boston ties these four players: Keller and McAvoy played together at Boston University; Garland (Scituate, Mass.) skated for the Boston Jr. Bruins; DeBrusk and McAvoy each have spent their entire NHL career with the Bruins. * In 2019-20, DeBrusk sits one goal shy of his second straight 20-goal season while Keller is trending toward a third straight campaign as the Coyotes’ leading point-getter. Garland has a team-leading 22 goals in his first full NHL campaign while McAvoy has matched a career high with 32 points to date. * DeBrusk (2015) and McAvoy (2016) were selected 14th overall by the Bruins one year apart. Keller (7th overall) went to the Coyotes in 2016, seven picks ahead of McAvoy, while Arizona selected Garland in the fifth round (123rd overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft. * Keller and McAvoy won a gold medal with the U.S. at the 2017 World Junior Championship. McAvoy had 1-1—2 in the championship game, including an assist on a third-period goal that helped set the stage for an eventual shootout victory versus Canada. Keller assisted on the tying goal. * Garland is one of two players in the last 40 years to lead the CHL in points multiple times, doing so in 2014-15 (129 points; tied with Dylan Strome) and 2015-16 (128 points). Sidney Crosby is the other. Additional facts and head-to-head stats can be found here. * * * * * FLORIDA PANTHERS vs. WASHINGTON CAPITALS Saturday, May 9, 3 p.m. ET Where to Watch: Twitch, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook Premiere * Huberdeau scored on the first shot of his NHL career – on his second shift – against Cam Ward of the Hurricanes. He finished that game with three points, jumpstarting a 31-point campaign (in only 48 games) that ended with him becoming the first player in franchise history to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the League’s top rookie. * Kuznetsov scored arguably the biggest goal in Capitals history, in overtime of Game 6 in the 2018 Second Round to eliminate the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins and advance the Capitals to the conference final for the first time since 1998. * Kuznetsov is known for his “eagle” goal celebration, which he does for his daughter. Additional facts and head-to-head stats can be found here. Follow us on Twitter @NHL and @PR_NHL | Like us on Facebook | Follow us on Instagram at @NHL and @PR_NHL |
