NHL Morning Skate – Jan. 14, 2018

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

NY Islanders 7, NY RANGERS 2
PITTSBURGH 4, Detroit 1
MINNESOTA 4, Winnipeg 1
Boston 4, MONTREAL 3 (SO)
Philadelphia 5, NEW JERSEY 3
Colorado 4, DALLAS 1
Edmonton 3, VEGAS 2 (OT)
Anaheim 4, LOS ANGELES 2
SAN JOSE 6, Arizona 5 (OT)

BARZAL’S FIVE-POINT AFTERNOON POWERS ISLANDERS SEVEN-GOAL OUTBURST

Mathew Barzal (2-3—5) registered his second five-point game of 2017-18 (0-5—5 on Nov. 5 vs. COL) and the Islanders erupted for a season-high seven goals to defeat the Rangers. Barzal boosted his totals to 15-29—44 this season (44 GP) to move four points ahead of Canucks forward Brock Boeser (22-18—40 in 41 GP) for the rookie scoring lead.

* Elias notes that Barzal became the second rookie in franchise history to record multiple games with at least five points in a single season, joining Bryan Trottier in 1975-76. In fact, only three other rookies in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) have accomplished the feat – brothers Peter, Anton and Marian Stastny with the Quebec Nordiques.

THORNTON PASSES OATES ON ALL-TIME POINTS LIST

San Jose tied the game with 15.8 seconds remaining in regulation and Joe Thornton (1-2—3) assisted on the overtime winner to help the Sharks complete their rally over the Coyotes. Thornton pushed his career totals to 393-1,028—1,421 and leapfrogged Adam Oates for sole possession of 17th place on the NHL’s all-time points list.

* Thornton also skated in his 1,487th career game to tie Wayne Gretzky for 21st place on the NHL’s all-time list.

AVALANCHE EARN SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN, ECLIPSE TOTALS FROM LAST SEASON

Nathan MacKinnon scored the go-ahead goal in the third period to help Colorado extend its win streak to six games, their longest since posting an equal run from March 25 – April 5, 2014.

* The Avalanche improved to 23-16-3 (49 points) through 42 contests this season, eclipsing their 82-game win and point totals from 2016-17 (22-56-4, 48 points). The largest year-to-year point improvement by an NHL team at the end of the season is 58 – the Sharks went from 11-71-2 (24 points) in 1992-93 to 33-35-16 (82 points) in 1993-94.

* MacKinnon extended his point streak to six games (4-9—13) and shares third in the NHL with 19-34—53 this season (42 GP).

COUTURIER GUIDES FLYERS TO FOURTH CONSECUTIVE VICTORY

Sean Couturier (2-1—3) factored on three of five goals to guide the Flyers to their fourth consecutive victory. Couturier boosted his 2017-18 totals to 25-20—45 (43 GP), extending his single-season career highs for goals and points.

* Couturier has recorded multiple points in all four games of Philadelphia’s win streak (7-2—9), including two goals in each of his last three outings. Elias notes that Couturier became the fourth different player in franchise history to score multiple goals in three consecutive team games.

BRUINS, RASK EXTEND POINT STREAKS

Tuukka Rask made 27 saves through 65 minutes and turned aside three of four shootout attempts to help the Bruins extend their point streak to 12 games (9-0-3). Boston’s point streak is the second-longest in the NHL this season (VGK: 12-0-1 from Dec. 3 – Jan. 2) and the longest by the club since a 16-game run in 2013-14 (15-0-1).

* Rask improved to 12-0-2 in his last 14 decisions dating to Nov. 29 (1.69 GAA, .938 SV%, 2 SO), extending the longest such point streak of his NHL career.

McDAVID REACHES 200-POINT MILESTONE IN OILERS WIN

Connor McDavid collected two assists while celebrating his 21st birthday to reach the 200-point milestone (61-139—200) and help the Oilers defeat the Golden Knights. McDavid (173 GP) required the third-fewest games to reach the milestone (all w/ EDM) among players to make their NHL debut with the Oilers.

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION

NHL Morning Skate – Jan. 12, 2018

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

BUFFALO 3, Columbus 1
Carolina 3, WASHINGTON 1
Calgary 5, TAMPA BAY 1

TOP LINE POWERS FLAMES TO FIFTH STRAIGHT VICTORY

The trio of Johnny Gaudreau (1-1—2), Micheal Ferland (1-1—2) and Sean Monahan (0-1—1) led the offense yet again as the Flames (23-16-4, 50 points) earned their fifth consecutive victory to leapfrog the idle Sharks (21-13-6, 48 points) into third place in the Pacific Division.

* Gaudreau collected multiple points for the 16th time this season to extend his point streak to five games (1-9—10) and become the ninth player to eclipse the 50-point mark this season (14-37—51 in 43 GP). He has led Calgary in scoring in each of the past two seasons.

* Ferland tallied at least two points for the fourth consecutive game and has registered 4-4—8 during Calgary’s five-game streak. A fifth-round pick (133rd overall) in the 2010 NHL Draft, Ferland has collected 19-9—28 in 42 games this season after posting 21-27—48 in his first 173 career outings.

* Mike Smith (33 saves), who has backstopped the Flames in each contest during their five-game run, has won five consecutive games for the third time in his career – in 2011-12 he went 11-0-0 from Feb. 4-28 and 5-0-0 from March 29 – April 7.

HURRICANES HALT CAPITALS' WIN STREAKS

Jordan Staal, Victor Rask and Sebastian Aho each scored once to help the Hurricanes (20-15-8, 48 points) halt the Capitals’ home and overall win streaks at five and 10 games, respectively, and move into the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* The Hurricanes and Capitals meet again tonight at PNC Arena as Carolina aims to extend its own home point streak to eight contests (6-0-1 in 7 GP).

EICHEL, ULLMARK POWER SABRES ON HOME ICE

Jack Eichel notched 1-1—2 and Linus Ullmark posted a career-high 44 saves to help the Sabres snap a five-game skid (0-4-1). Eichel, who set a career high with 24-33—57 in 61 GP last season, paces the Sabres with 18-23—41 in 44 GP in 2017-18. He has eclipsed 40 points in each of his first three NHL seasons (also 2015-16: 24-32—56 in 81 GP).

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION

STREAKING JETS EYE FIRST PLACE IN WESTERN CONFERENCE

The Jets (26-11-7, 59 points), who lead the Central Division and sit one point back of first place in the Western Conference, put their seven-game point streak (6-0-1) on the line when they visit the Blackhawks (21-16-6, 48 points). The Jets/Thrashers franchise has registered a point streak of at least eight games on four occasions, including once earlier this season (5-0-3 from Oct. 20 – Nov. 6); the club record of nine consecutive games with at least one point was established from Dec. 9-28, 2005 (6-0-3).

* Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck has been in net six times during Winnipeg’s current run and owns a personal nine-game point streak (7-0-2). Hellebuyck, who ranks third in the NHL with 23 wins, matched a franchise record with a 10-game point streak earlier this season (8-0-2 from Oct. 9 – Nov. 6) – only one other netminder in club history has registered at least a point in nine or more consecutive appearances: Michael Garnett went 7-0-3 in 2005-06 when the team was based in Atlanta.

* Captain Blake Wheeler has found the score sheet in each contest during Winnipeg’s seven-game point streak (5-6—11 in 7 GP) to move into a share of second place in League scoring (14-38—52 in 44 GP).

NHL Morning Skate – Jan. 4, 2018

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

DETROIT 2, Ottawa 1 (OT)
Chicago 5, NY RANGERS 2

ATHANASIOU MATCHES NHL RECORD WITH OT GOAL

Andreas Athanasiou scored twice, including six seconds into overtime, to lift the Red Wings (16-16-7, 39 points) to their fourth consecutive home win and third straight victory overall. Athanasiou, who scored his third career overtime goal, matched an NHL record for fastest goal to start a regular-season overtime.

* Jimmy Howard, who has started in each of Detroit’s wins during the three-game stretch, has made over 30 saves in each performance (3-0-0, 1.30 GAA, .964 SV%).

GLASS BACKSTOPS BLACKHAWKS TO VICTORY

Patrick Kane notched 1-1—2 and Jeff Glass made 23 saves to help the Blackhawks (19-14-6, 44 points) improve to 6-3-1 over their last 10 contests.

* Elias notes that Glass, who pushed his record to 2-0-1 since making his first career start at 32 years of age on Dec. 29, 2017, became the second goaltender in NHL history to start his career without a regulation loss in his first three games after making his League debut at age 32 or older. The other: Ross Brooks, who made his NHL debut at 35 years of age and went 11-0-3 in his first 14 decisions (1972-73 w/ BOS).

SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION

GOLDEN KNIGHTS AIM FOR NINTH STRAIGHT VICTORY…

The Western Conference-leading Golden Knights (27-9-2, 56 points) look to extend their winning streak to nine games – which would be the longest such run by any team in the NHL this season – when they visit the Blues (25-15-2, 52 points) at Scottrade Center.

* Vegas’ current eight-game winning streak and 13-game point streak (12-0-1) are both the longest such runs in NHL history by a team in its inaugural season. The Golden Knights’ point streak also is the longest in the NHL this season; the Blue Jackets (18 GP: 17-0-1), Capitals (14 GP: 12-0-2) and Ducks (14 GP: 11-0-3) each had point streaks of at least 14 games in 2016-17.

* Forward Jonathan Marchessault – who leads the Golden Knights with 15-22—37 in 35 games this season and signed a six-year contract extension with the club on Wednesday – enters the contest on a seven-game point streak (5-6—11).

…DUCKS, AVALANCHE LOOK TO WIN FOUR IN A ROW

The Ducks (19-14-8, 45 points) and Avalanche (29-16-3) will each look to win four consecutive games for the first time this season when they face the Oilers (17-20-3, 37 points) and Blue Jackets (23-15-3, 49 points), respectively. Rickard Rakell enters Thursday’s contest on a six-game goal/point streak (7-3—10) while Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon has recorded multi-point outings in each of his team’s three straight wins (2-6—8).

COYOTES’ KELLER RIDING LONGEST ACTIVE POINT STREAK

Clayton Keller will look to extend his point streak to nine games when the Coyotes host the Predators tonight – his current eight-game run is the longest active point streak in the League and the longest by a rookie this season (3-6—9 in 8 GP).

* Four rookies in Coyotes/Jets franchise history have recorded a point streak of at least nine games: Dale Hawerchuk in 1981-82 (10-10—20 in 9 GP) and three first-year players from the 1992-93 team – Teemu Selanne (20-14—34 in 17 GP), Keith Tkachuk (6-7—13 in 12 GP) and Alexei Zhamnov (5-12—17 in 10 GP).

* Last season, only three rookies strung together a point streak of at least nine games: William Nylander (4-10—14 in 12 GP) and Auston Matthews (8-4—12 in 9 GP) of the Maple Leafs and Matthew Tkachuk (1-9—10 in 9 GP) of the Flames.

NHL Morning Skate – Jan. 2, 2018

MONDAY’S RESULT

Home Team in Caps

NY Rangers 3, BUFFALO 2 (OT)

LUNDQVIST, RANGERS WIN FOURTH OUTDOOR GAME AT WINTER CLASSIC

The Sabres scored 27 seconds into the third period to tie the game, but J.T. Miller (1-1—2) netted the winning goal at 2:43 of overtime to lift the Rangers to victory in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citi Field. New York improved to 4-0-0 all-time in regular-season outdoor games, the most such wins by any team.

* The Rangers and Sabres played the fifth overtime game in the NHL’s 24 regular-season outdoor contests – and second straight on New Year’s Day.

* Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves to register his fourth win in an NHL outdoor game, the most of any netminder. Lundqvist, who has a 1.98 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in outdoor games, is the only goaltender with more than two wins in such contests.

* Lundqvist (775 GP) recorded the 423rd win of his NHL career to tie Tony Esposito (423 W in 886 GP) for eighth place on the all-time list. Roberto Luongo (459 W in 981 GP) – who ranks fourth in NHL history – is the only active goaltender with more victories.

QUICK HITS: 2018 BRIDGESTONE NHL WINTER CLASSIC 

* A sellout crowd of 41,821 fans attended the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, bringing total attendance for the League’s 24 regular-season outdoor games to 1,284,097, an average of 53,504 per game.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION

CLUBS LOOK TO CONTINUE HOT STREAKS INTO 2018

Tampa Bay, Vegas and Florida are among the clubs looking to bring recent hot streaks into 2018 as 24 teams take the ice on Tuesday:

* The Lightning (28-8-2, 58 points) – who are 12-3-0 since Nov. 28 – aim to become the first team to reach 60 points in 2017-18 when they visit the Maple Leafs (23-15-2, 48 points). Tampa Bay holds a four-point lead atop the League standings, guided by the offensive efforts of forward Nikita Kucherov – who leads the NHL in goals (25) and points (56) – and defensively by goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy – who has the most wins (25) and shutouts (5) of any netminder.

* The Western Conference-leading Golden Knights (26-9-2, 54 points) begin 2018 with a home-ice matchup against the Ducks (18-14-8, 44 points), who have lost only once in their past five games (Dec. 27 vs. VGK). Vegas, meanwhile, has recorded at least a point in each of its past 12 games (11-0-1), including an active seven-game win streak – only Los Angeles has won eight straight games this season (8-0-0 from Nov. 25 – Dec. 9).

* The Panthers (17-16-5, 39 points) set out for a sixth consecutive when they begin a five-game road trip against the Wild (20-16-3, 43 points). Florida last had a win streak of at least six games in 2015-16 when the club established a franchise record with 12 straight victories from Dec. 15 – Jan. 10. James Reimer has been in net for all five wins during this run, posting a 1.29 goals-against average, .952 save percentage and two shutouts in that span.

NHL Morning Skate – Dec. 31, 2017

SABRES, RANGERS SET TO PRACTICE AHEAD OF WINTER CLASSIC

The Sabres (10 a.m. ET) and Rangers (1:30 p.m. ET) will take to the ice outdoors at Citi Field in Queens today to practice ahead of Monday’s 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic (1 p.m. ET on NBC, SN, TVAS & NHL.TV).

* NHL Chief Content Officer and Executive Vice President Steve Mayer provided a private tour of Citi Field and tickets to the Winter Classic to a group of Rangers fans who missed the team’s last home game after the ferry they were travelling on got stuck on a sandbar.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

Boston 5, OTTAWA 0
FLORIDA 2, Montreal 0
WASHINGTON 5, New Jersey 2
ST. LOUIS 3, Carolina 2
NASHVILLE 3 Minnesota 0
Los Angeles 4, VANCOUVER 3

TRIO OF SHUTOUTS HIGHLIGHT SATURDAY SCHEDULE

Tuukka Rask (BOS), James Reimer (FLA) and Juuse Saros (NSH) all recorded their second shutout of the season:

* Rask made 25 saves to register his 40th career shutout and help the Bruins (21-10-6, 48 points) improve to 15-3-2 in their past 20 GP and extend their point streak to eight contests (6-0-2). Rask, who became the second goaltender to record 40 shutouts with the Bruins, improved to 10-0-1 in his last 12 appearances, posting a 1.29 GAA, .952 SV% and two shutouts over that span.

* Reimer recorded 38 saves to post his second shutout in three games and guide the Panthers (17-16-5, 39 points) to their fifth consecutive victory, a run that includes four straight home wins. Reimer has posted at least 35 saves eight times this season, including three instances during Florida’s current win streak.

* Saros turned aside all 29 shots he faced to help the Predators (23-10-5, 51 points) improve to 12-4-2 at Bridgestone Arena this season and move into first place in the Central Division standings. Nashville has posted a shutout in three of its past four victories dating to Dec. 14.

TROTZ CLIMBS ALL-TIME LIST IN ANOTHER CAPITALS HOME WIN

Nicklas Backstrom (1-2—3), John Carlson (1-2—3) and Alex Ovechkin (0-3—3) each collected three points to lead the Capitals (24-13-3, 51 points) to their eighth straight win at Capital One Arena, moving the club into first place in the Metropolitan Division.

* Washington, who are tied for first in the NHL with 16 home wins this season (w/ TBL), posted 15 consecutive home wins in 2016-17 en route to leading the League in home wins (32) and home points (66; tied).

* Head coach Barry Trotz was behind the bench for the 737th win of his NHL career, surpassing Lindy Ruff (736) for sole possession of fifth on the NHL’s all-time list.

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION

NHL CLOSES 2017 WITH EIGHT-GAME SLATE

The final day of 2017 features eight NHL games, including a doubleheader on Sportsnet in Canada that begins at 3:30 p.m. ET when the Maple Leafs (23-13-2, 48 points) visit Vegas for the first time to face the Western Conference-leading Golden Knights (25-9-2, 52 points). Vegas has earned at least one point in 11 consecutive games, including an active six-game win streak – both runs are the longest by an NHL team in its inaugural season.

* At 7 p.m. ET, the Jets (22-11-6, 50 points) aim to reclaim first place in the Central Division standings when they face the Oilers (17-18-3, 37 points) for the second time in five days.

NHL Morning Skate – Dec. 22, 2017

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

BOSTON 2, Winnipeg 1 (SO)
NEW JERSEY 4, NY Rangers 3 (SO)
Anaheim 5, NY ISLANDERS 4 (OT)
PITTSBURGH 3, Columbus 2 (SO)
TAMPA BAY 4, Ottawa 3 (SO)
Carolina 4, NASHVILLE 1
DALLAS 4, Chicago 0
EDMONTON 3, St. Louis 2
LOS ANGELES 2, Colorado 1 (OT)
SAN JOSE 5, Vancouver 4 (OT)

THORNTON NOTCHES THREE POINTS TO CLIMB ALL-TIME POINTS LIST

Sharks forward Joe Thornton collected 2-1—3 to help San Jose extend its home point streak to six games (4-0-2). In doing so, Thornton (391-1,025—1,416) leapfrogged Doug Gilmour (450-964—1,414) for sole possession of 18th place on the NHL’s all-time points list.

HITCHCOCK REACHES 800-WIN MILESTONE

Tyler Seguin scored twice and Ben Bishop turned aside all 24 shots he faced to help Stars head coach Ken Hitchcock earn his 800th career win behind an NHL bench. Hitchcock became the third head coach in NHL history to earn 800 career regularseason wins.

BROWN REACHES 1,000-GAME MILESTONE

After the Kings honored forward Marian Gaborik for recently reaching the 1,000-game milestone, teammate Dustin Brown scored the overtime goal while skating in the 1,000th game of his NHL career.

* Brown became the 317th player in NHL history to play in 1,000 career regular-season games. Only two other players have skated in at least 1,000 career games with the Kings – Dave Taylor (1,111 GP) and Luc Robitaille (1,077 GP).

LINDHOLM COMPLETES HAT TRICK WITH OVERTIME GOAL

Rickard Rackell tied the game with 1:15 remaining in regulation and Hampus Lindholm (3-0—3) completed his first career hat trick with 57 seconds left in overtime – with an assist from Ryan Getzlaf (0-4—4) – to help the Ducks snap a three-game slide (0-2-1).

* Lindholm became the second defenseman in franchise history to score a hat trick, joining Lubomir Visnovsky who did so on March 4, 2011 vs. DAL. Like Lindholm, Visnovsky also scored his third goal of that contest in overtime. Since the five-minute overtime period was introduced in 1983-84, only three other NHL defensemen have achieved the feat.

* Elias notes that Getzlaf recorded his ninth career game with at least four assists, the second-most in the NHL since making his League debut in 2005-06 (Nicklas Backstrom: 10).

KUCHEROV REACHES 50-POINT MARK IN COMEBACK WIN

Nikita Kucherov collected two assists to help the League-leading Lightning (25-7-2, 52 points) overcome three separate one-goal deficits and improve to 8-1-0 in their last nine games.

* Kucherov, who leads the League in goals (23; tied) and points (50), became the first player to reach the 50-point mark this season (34 GP). Only one player in franchise reached the benchmark in fewer games – Vincent Lecavalier required only 33 contests in 2007-08, finishing the campaign with 40-52—92 in 81 GP.

TAVARES, BAILEY RECORD MULTIPLE POINTS (AGAIN)

John Tavares (2-1—3) and Josh Bailey (0-3—3) each recorded multiple points for a fifth consecutive game to boost their season totals to 21-24—45 and 10-35—45, respectively, and move into a tie for the second-most points in the NHL (w/ Steven Stamkos: 13-32—45)

* Tavares and Bailey became the first Islanders players to record multiple points in at least five consecutive games since Pierre Turgeon from March 7-17, 1994 (6 GP).

* Elias adds that Tavares and Bailey became the first set of teammates to simultaneously record multiple points in five consecutive team games since Joe Thornton and Patrick Marleau did so with the Sharks from Jan. 20-27, 2013 (5 GP).

60 IS NOT ENOUGH

Seven of 10 games contested on Thursday required extra time. Elias notes that only one other day this season has featured at least seven games that extended past regulation – Nov. 4, when seven of 13 games required overtime.

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION

NHL Morning Skate – Dec. 21, 2017

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

COLUMBUS 4, Toronto 2
PHILADELPHIA 4, Detroit 3
CALGARY 2, St. Louis 1

COUTURIER LIFTS FLYERS TO VICTORY IN BACK-AND-FORTH AFFAIR

The Flyers (15-12-7, 37 points) tied the game twice in the second period before Sean Couturier (1-0—1) broke a third-period deadlock to lead Philadelphia to its seventh win in the last eight contests.

* Couturier (16-15—31 in 34 GP) scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season to eclipse his single-season career high of 15 established in 2014-15 (82 GP). He also sits eight points shy of matching his career high for points in a single season (39), accomplished in 2013-14 (82 GP) and matched in 2015-16 (63 GP).

* Brian Elliott has started nine consecutive games in goal for the Flyers, posting a 7-2-0 record with a 2.11 goals-against average and .926 save percentage over that span.

* Robert Hagg – who was selected in the second round (41st overall) by the Flyers in the 2013 NHL Draft – became the third Flyers player (also Travis Sanheim and Nolan Patrick) to score his first career NHL goal this season.

OFFENSE FROM THE DEFENSE HELPS TEAMS CLIMB STANDINGS

The Blue Jackets (21-13-1, 43 points) and Flames (18-14-3, 39 points) each had defensemen play crucial roles in their home victories:

* Seth Jones (1-1—2), who leads all Blue Jackets defensemen with 6-13—19 in 35 GP this season, found the back of the net for the second straight game and the third time in his last four contests to help the Blue Jackets improve to 8-2-0 in their last 10 games at Nationwide Arena and move within two points of the idle Capitals (22-12-1, 45 points) for first place in the Metropolitan Division.

* Dougie Hamilton, who ranks second among Flames defensemen with 4-12—16 in 35 GP, scored at 7:57 of the third period to break a 1-1 tie and help the Flames leapfrog the idle Sharks (17-11-4, 38 points) into third place in the Pacific Division.

SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION

DIVISIONAL RACES TAKE CENTER STAGE

Thursday’s 10-game schedule is highlighted by five games between teams from the same division, with four of those contests featuring clubs within six standings points of each other:

* In the Central Division, two teams tied in terms of points face off when the Blackhawks (17-11-5, 39 points) visit the Stars (18-14-3, 39 points) at American Airlines Center in Dallas. Chicago, whose current season-high five-game winning streak is the longest active stretch in the League, looks to win at least six straight contests for the first time since 2016-17 (7-0-0 from Feb. 19 – Mar. 4).

* In the Metropolitan Division, where teams Nos. 2 – 7 are separated by just six points, the No. 2 Devils (19-9-5, 43 points) host the No. 4 Rangers (19-12-3, 41 points) at Prudential Center and the No. 3 Blue Jackets (21-13-1, 43 points) visit the No. 7 Penguins (17-15-3, 37 points) at PPG Paints Arena.

* Separated by four points in the Pacific Division, the Canucks (15-16-4, 34 points) visit the Sharks (17-11-4, 38 points) at SAP Center in San Jose. Forward Brock Boeser leads the Canucks and all rookies in goals and points (18-14—32 in 32 GP) while Sharks defenseman Brent Burns has produced 5-5—10 in his last six games, including five multi-point outings.

* In an Atlantic Division clash, the League-leading Lightning (24-7-2, 50 points), who own an 8-2-0 record in their last 10 contests, host the Senators (11-14-7, 29 points), who have won two of their last three games. Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov – who leads the NHL in goals (tied) and points with 23-25—48 in 33 GP – enters the contest on a five-game point streak (4-4—8).

NHL Morning Skate – Dec. 12, 2017

MONDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

NY ISLANDERS 3, Washington 1
Dallas 2, NY RANGERS 1 (SO)
Colorado 2, PITTSBURGH 1
Florida 2, DETROIT 1 (OT)
WINNIPEG 5, Vancouver 1
ANAHEIM 3, Carolina 2

JETS EXTEND HOME WIN STREAK TO SEVEN GAMES

Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves and Mathieu Perreault (2-1—3) factored on three of five goals to help the Jets extend their home win and home point streaks to seven and 11 games (10-0-1), respectively. Elias notes that both streaks equal a franchise record set when the team was based in Atlanta. 

* The Jets’ 11-game home point streak is the longest in the NHL this season; the longest such run in 2016-17 stretched from Dec. 23 to March 4 when the Capitals went 16-0-1 on home ice. Only two teams have strung together more consecutive victories on home ice in 2017-18 – the Golden Knights (Oct. 15 – Nov. 24) and Rangers (Oct. 26 – Nov. 26) each had eight-game runs at home.

* Overall, the Jets own an 11-2-1 record at Bell MTS Place this season, trailing the Lightning (13-2-1), Capitals (12-5-0) and Rangers (12-5-3) for the most home wins in the NHL.

* Hellebuyck improved to 16-3-4 this season (2.44 GAA, .920 SV%, 1 SO), including an 11-0-1 clip on home ice (2.09 GAA, .930 SV%, 1 SO). Hellebuyck became the second goaltender in as many seasons to earn at least one point in his first 12 home decisions of a season, joining Jake Allen of the Blues, who went 11-0-2 from Oct. 13 to Dec. 15, 2016.

CANUCKS ROOKIE BOESER SCORES FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE GAME

Canucks forward Brock Boeser scored for the third consecutive game and continues to pace all rookies – and shares sixth in the entire NHL – with 16 goals this season (16-12—28 in 28 GP). Only 15 rookies have scored more goals through their first 28 games of a season in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68), including only three who achieved the feat in the past 28 years.

TAVARES HELPS ISLANDERS IMPROVE TO 9-1-2 AT HOME

John Tavares scored his 18th goal of the season to help the Islanders improve to 9-1-2 at Barclays Center in 2017-18. Tavares trails only Alex Ovechkin and Nikita Kucherov for the most goals in the NHL this season.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION

KINGS LOOK TO EXTEND WIN STREAK TO NINE GAMES

The Kings (20-8-3, 43 points) look to extend their winning streak to nine games when they visit the Devils (16-9-4, 36 points) at Prudential Center. Los Angeles’ current eight-game winning streak is the longest by any team in the NHL this season and one shy of matching the longest such stretch in franchise history (9-0-0 from Jan. 21 – Feb. 6, 2010). Goaltender Jonathan Quick is riding a personal win streak of six games dating to Nov. 25 (6-0-0, 1.46 GAA, .943 SV%), while captain Anze Kopitar has recorded a point in five consecutive contests (4-6—10 in 5 GP), including four straight multi-point performances.

LIGHTNING VISIT BLUES IN BATTLE OF TOP TEAMS

The Eastern Conference-leading Lightning (21-6-2, 44 points) visit the Western Conference-leading Blues (21-8-2, 44 points) at Scottrade Center in a showdown of the top two teams in the NHL, with both clubs aiming for a fifth consecutive victory:

* The Lightning lead all NHL teams with 110 goals for this season powered by the League’s top two point-getters: Steven Stamkos (12-30—42) and Nikita Kucherov (20-21—41).

* The Blues own an 11-5-0 record on home ice while outscoring their opponents by a 56-39 margin in those games (+17 differential). Forward Brayden Schenn and goaltender Jake Allen were named among the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Dec. 10 after leading all skaters in points (6-1—7 in 4 GP) and all netminders in wins (4-0-0), respectively, over that span.

RAFFL AIMS TO JOIN SHORT LIST AS CLUBS PUT WIN STREAKS ON LINE

The Flyers set out for a fourth consecutive victory when they return from a three-game road trip through Western Canada to host the Maple Leafs, also winners of three straight. Flyers forward Michael Raffl has scored the game-winning goal in each win during Philadelphia’s current streak, joining Golden Knights forward James Neal (Oct. 6-10) as the only NHL players to score three consecutive winning goals this season. In the 100-year history of the League, only two players have scored the winning goal in at least four consecutive team games: Daniel Alfredsson from Jan. 9-16, 2007 w/ OTT (4 GWG) and Newsy Lalonde from Feb. 12-26, 1921 w/ MTL (5 GWG).

NHL Morning Skate – Dec. 11, 2017

SUNDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

CHICAGO 3, Arizona 1
ST. LOUIS 3, Buffalo 2 (OT)
TORONTO 1, Edmonton 0
Minnesota 4, SAN JOSE 3 (OT)

TARASENKO’S OT GOAL LIFTS BLUES TO TOP OF LEAGUE STANDINGS

Vladimir Tarasenko (1-1—2) scored with 35.2 seconds remaining in overtime to guide the Blues (21-8-2, 44 points) to their fourth consecutive victory and into a tie, in terms of points, with the Lightning (21-6-2, 44 points) for first overall in the League standings.

* Tarasenko scored his first overtime goal of the season and eighth of his career (372 GP) to surpass Pavol Demitra for the most in Blues franchise history. Tarasenko has notched all eight overtime goals since the start of the 2014-15 season, tied with Flames forward Sean Monahan for the most in the NHL over that span.

* Brayden Schenn (1-0—1) has scored at least a goal in four consecutive games (6-1—7 in 4 GP) and ranks tied for fifth in the League with 16-21—37 in 31 GP this season.

MCELHINNEY, MAPLE LEAFS SHUT OUT OILERS FOR 20TH WIN

Zach Hyman scored 34 seconds into the contest and Curtis McElhinney made a season-high 41 saves to help the Maple Leafs improve to 20-10-1 (41 points) this season.

* Elias notes that Toronto, who registered its 20th win in its 31st game of the season, matched the third-fastest mark to 20 wins in franchise history, trailing only the 1934-35 (20-6-2 in 28 GP) and 1946-47 (20-6-4 in 30 GP) clubs.

* The Maple Leafs became the 10th team in NHL history, and second in consecutive nights (CBJ: 1-0 W vs. ARI on Dec. 9), to score an opening-minute goal and go on to earn a 1-0 regulation win.

DID YOU KNOW: QUICK STARTS LEAD TO SUCCESS

The Blues (0:40) and Maple Leafs (0:34) both opened the scoring in the first minute of play en route to victories. Teams that open the scoring in the first minute of regulation own a 22-9-2 record in 2017-18.

CENTRAL DIVISION CLUBS EARN VICTORIES

The Blackhawks (14-11-5, 33 points) and Wild (15-11-3, 33 points) both earned victories on Sunday night to climb the Western Conference standings:

* Patrick Kane collected two assists, including the primary helper on Artem Anisimov’s game-winning goal, to boost his career totals to 295-486—781 and surpass Doug Wilson (225-554—779) for sole possession of fifth place on the Blackhawks’ all-time points list. Anisimov, who tallied his sixth game-winning goal of the season, moved into a tie with Brayden Schenn, Sean Monahan and teammate Brandon Saad for the League lead in that category.

* Despite surrendering a three-goal lead, Nino Niederreiter scored with 1:34 remaining in overtime to lead the Wild to their second consecutive win – both of which have come in extra time (3-2 OTW at ANA on Dec. 8). Minnesota earned a victory after surrendering a three-goal lead for the sixth time in franchise history.

SNEAK PEEK AT MONDAY’S ACTION

NHL Morning Skate – Dec. 1, 2017

A LOOK BACK: NOVEMBER

An overview of the top performers in the month of November:

* A total of 1,219 goals were scored (including shootout-decidin

g goals), the second-highest total in November over the past 13 seasons – only November 2005 saw more goals in that span (1,236).

* The Predators (10-3-1) and Maple Leafs (10-4-1) shared the League lead for wins (10) and points (21).

* Two players topped the League with 20 points in November: Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (5-15—20) and Oilers captain Connor McDavid (6-14—20). MacKinnon matched the highest total recorded by a Colorado player in a calendar month over the past 13 seasons, while Elias notes that McDavid became the first Edmonton player to record 20 points in a calendar month since Doug Weight in Dec. 1995 (6-14—20).

* Canucks forward Brock Boeser led all skaters with 11 goals; Elias notes that he became the first rookie to score 11 goals in a calendar month since Nail Yakupov in April 2013 (11 w/ EDM).

* MacKinnon also led the League with 15 assists, the most in a calendar month by an Avalanche player since 2002-03 when Peter Forsberg hit the mark in January (16), February (19) and March (17).

* Artem Anisimov paced all players with five game-winning goals (13 GP), two shy of his total from the entire 2016-17 campaign (7 GWG in 64 GP). Anisimov and Brandon Saad (6 GWG) have combined for 11 of Chicago’s 12 game-winning goals this season (Lance Bouma has the other).

* Three goaltenders shared the League lead with nine wins apiece: Frederik Andersen (9-2-1) of the Maple Leafs, Henrik Lundqvist (9-2-0) of the Rangers and Pekka Rinne (9-3-0) of the Predators.

* The Sharks allowed a League-best 22 goals against, with Aaron Dell (2-1-1, 1.76 GAA, .938 SV%, 1 SO) and Martin Jones (5-2-1, 1.85 GAA, .935 SV%, 1 SO) ranking first and second, respectively, in goals-against average (min. 5 GP).

* Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk was one of five goalies with multiple shutouts, leading the way with three clean sheets – recorded in three consecutive games from Nov. 9-14. The NHL record for shutouts in a calendar month by a goaltender is seven, set by Alec Connell in Feb. 1928.

THURSDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

Los Angeles 5, WASHINGTON 2
Montreal 6, DETROIT 3
Vancouver 5, NASHVILLE 3
MINNESOTA 4, Vegas 2
Dallas 4, CHICAGO 3 (OT)
CALGARY 3, Arizona 0
Toronto 6, EDMONTON 4

DANIEL SEDIN JOINS BROTHER HENRIK IN 1,000-POINT CLUB

Canucks forward Daniel Sedin collected 1-2—3 to become the 87th player in NHL history (eighth active) to eclipse the 1,000-point milestone (376-625—1,001). Daniel reached the mark 315 days after his brother, Henrik Sedin, achieved the feat with a goal against the Panthers on Jan. 20. Daniel and Henrik, selected second and third overall, respectively, by the Canucks in the 1999 NHL Draft, are the only players to record 1,000 career points with the club.

* The Sedins are the only brothers in League history to each score 1,000 career points. Only one other sibling duo combined to each score 900 career points – Henri Richard (358-688—1,046) and Maurice Richard (544-422—966).

* In fact, the Sedins are the second-highest scoring pair of brothers in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky (894-1,963—2,857) and Brent Gretzky (1-3—4). Only two other sets of brothers have combined for more points in the NHL – the Sutters and Stastnys.

* The Sedin brothers also are among five Swedish-born players to record 1,000 career NHL points. The others: Mats Sundin (564-785—1,349), Daniel Alfredsson (444-713—1,157) and Nicklas Lidstrom (264-878—1,142).

* Daniel became the 13th NHL player to record his 1,000th career point at age 37 or older, and the first to do so since 2014-15 when Martin St. Louis (39 years, 163 days) and Patrik Elias (38 years, 268 days) each did so. Two other Swedish-born players achieved the feat after their 37th birthday – Alfredsson (37 years, 315 days) and Lidstrom (39 years, 170 days).

ROOKIES BOESER, DeBRINCAT CONTINUE TO SHINE

Rookies Brock Boeser (2-1—3) and Alex DeBrincat (1-0—1) each found the back of the net on Thursday to conclude the month of November with 11 and 10 goals, respectively. Via Elias:

* Boeser – who scored more goals than any NHL player in November – became the second rookie in Canucks history to score 11 goals in a calendar month.

* DeBrincat became the first rookie in Blackhawks history to score 10 goals in a calendar month.

* November 2017 marked the first calendar month to feature multiple rookies each scoring at least 10 goals since March 2006, when Alex Ovechkin (11), Steve Bernier (10) and Chris Higgins (10) did so.

CANADIENS, KINGS AND STARS EXTEND WIN STREAKS

The Canadiens (12-12-3, 27 points), Kings (15-8-3, 33 points) and Stars (14-10-1, 29 points) each earned victories to extend win streaks:

* Brendan Gallagher (2-1—3) registered his first three-point game of the season to lead the Canadiens to their fourth straight victory. Carey Price (28 saves) improved to 4-0-0 since making his return to the lineup on Saturday (1.25 GAA, .962 SV%, 1 SO).

* The Kings erased a 2-1 deficit with two goals in a span of nine seconds en route to their third consecutive win. Marian Gaborik scored his first two goals of the season to move within two of becoming the sixth active player to reach the 400-goal milestone.

* The Blackhawks overcame three separate one-goal deficits, but Mattias Janmark scored his second goal of the contest 51 seconds into overtime to power the Stars to a 5-1-0 record in their last six games, including three straight victories.

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION

HENRIQUE, VATANEN EXPECTED TO DEBUT FOR NEW CLUBS

Forwards Adam Henrique and Joe Blandisi and defenseman Sami Vatanen are expected to join their new clubs on road trips after being traded on Thursday:

* Henrique and Blandisi join the Ducks (11-10-4, 26 points) in Columbus to take on the Metropolitan Division-leading Blue Jackets (16-8-1, 33 points). Henrique, a third-round pick (82nd overall) by the Devils in the 2008 NHL Draft, tallied 122-135—257 in 455 career regular-season games with the club; he also scored two series-clinching goals in overtime to help New Jersey reach the Stanley Cup Final in 2012.

* Vatanen, a fourth-round pick (106th overall) by the Ducks in the 2009 NHL Draft, joins the Devils (14-6-4, 32 points) in Colorado to face the Avalanche (12-9-2, 26 points). He collected 33-93—126 in 280 regular-season games with Anaheim.

NHL Morning Skate – Nov. 22, 2017

TUESDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

Vancouver 5, PHILADELPHIA 2
ST. LOUIS 8, Edmonton 3
DALLAS 3, Montreal 1

SCHENN, TARASENKO, SCHWARTZ POWER BLUES INTO FIRST PLACE IN NHL

Brayden Schenn (2-2—4), Vladimir Tarasenko (2-2—4) and Jaden Schwartz (1-3—4) each collected four points as the Blues (16-5-1, 33 points) erupted for eight goals to surpass the Lightning (15-3-2, 32 points) into first place in the NHL.

* St. Louis scored at least eight goals in a game for the first time since 2010-11 and for just the fifth time since 1997-98.

* The Blues improved to 8-2-0 at Scottrade Center this season. Elias notes that St. Louis earned eight wins through its first 10 home games of a season for the fifth time in franchise history (last in 2010-11: 8-1-1).

* Schenn extended his career-high point streak to eight games (7-12—19), the second-longest active point streak in the NHL behind the 10-game run by Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau. Schwartz (11-19—30) and Schenn (10-20—30) share fourth in League scoring, while Tarasenko (12-14—26) shares sixth.

DID YOU KNOW?

Through 318 games this season (excluding shootout goals):

* There have been nine instances of a team scoring at least eight goals, the highest such total through the first 318 games of a season since 2005-06 (10).

* Five contests have featured a single period with seven combined goals, including four such games in the past nine days.

* Nine games have featured at least 11 combined goals in total.

BOESER HELPS CANUCKS IMPROVE TO 7-3-0 ON THE ROAD

Brock Boeser scored twice to help the Canucks improve to 7-3-0 (14 points) on the road this season. Elias notes that Vancouver earned seven wins through its first 10 road games for the fifth time in franchise history (last in 2014-15: 7-3-0).

* Boeser has scored in three consecutive games (4-0—4) and ranks second among rookies in both goals (9) and points (9-10—19; tied) this season. He became just the third Canucks rookie in the last 25 seasons to record at least one goal in three consecutive team games.

STARS IMPROVE TO 8-2-0 AT AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER
Celebrating his 31st birthday, Ben Bishop turned aside 29 of 30 shots to backstop the Stars past the Canadiens and to an 8-2-0 (16 points) record at American Airlines Center this season. Bishop owns a 7-1-0 record on home ice in his first season with the Stars, posting a 1.32 goals-against average, .950 save percentage and one shutout in those contests. Elias notes that the Stars have allowed 1.80 goals in home games this season, the lowest such total in the NHL.

KLINBERG, PIETRANGELO REACH 20-POINT MARK

Dallas’ John Klingberg (4-16—20 in 21 GP) and St. Louis’ Alex Pietrangelo (7-13—20 in 22 GP) became the first defensemen to reach the 20-point mark this season. Via Elias:

* Klingberg required the second-fewest team games in franchise history for a defenseman to reach the 20-point mark, three shy of the mark he set in 2015-16 (18 GP).

* Pietrangelo became the first Blues defenseman to hit the 20-point mark in 22 team games or fewer since 1998-99, when Al MacInnis did so in 19 contests.

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION

NHL ENTERS U.S. THANKSGIVING WITH 15-GAME SLATE

Wednesday’s schedule features 30 of the NHL’s 31 teams in action on the eve of U.S. Thanksgiving, marking the 10th time in NHL history that 15 games will be contested on the same date (second of five this season). The League-leading Blues (16-5-1, 33 points) are the only idle club. Some highlights include:

* Six games feature division rivalries: TOR at FLA, PHI at NYI, NYR at CAR, DAL at COL, SJS at ARI and VGK at ANA.

* The Blue Jackets (13-7-1, 27 points) look to push their win streak to five games when they host the Flames (12-8-0, 24 points). Sergei Bobrovsky – who has stopped 126 of the last 130 shots he has faced – has been between the pipes for each of Columbus’ four consecutive victories (4-0-0, 0.98 GAA, .969 SV%, 1 SO).

* Seven of the top-10 point producers and eight of the top-nine goal scorers will be in action.

* Four skaters enter play with a point streak of at least five games: Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau (8-11—19 in 10 GP), Maple Leafs forward Nazem Kadri (4-4—8 in 7 GP), Wild forward Nino Niederreiter (4-2—6 in 6 GP) and Predators forward Filip Forsberg (1-6—7 in 5 GP).

* In addition to his 10-game point streak, Gaudreau has scored a goal in six consecutive contests and has registered an assist in five straight appearances. He ranks third in the NHL with 31 points, behind the Lightning duo of Steven Stamkos (10-25—35) and Nikita Kucherov (17-16—33).