Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

12/07/2019 at 8:40am EST

THREE HARD LAPS


* A self-described “nice guy who tries hard and loves the game” made his return to the City of Champions, where he helped the Penguins win consecutive Stanley Cups.

* Twelve of 14 games contested over the last two days have been decided by a one-goal margin (85.7%), including four of five on Friday.

* Three of the top six leading scorers this season are in action tonight when the Bruins host the Avalanche at TD Garden.

JARRY RECORDS SECOND STRAIGHT SHUTOUT, PENGUINS EXTEND HOME STREAK
Tristan Jarry (33 saves), who blanked St. Louis in his last outing (3-0 W), recorded a shutout in consecutive appearances for the first time in his NHL career as the Penguins extended their home point streak to double-digits (8-0-2). Jarry owns a shutout streak of 144:51 dating to Nov. 29, the longest in the regular season by a Pittsburgh goaltender since Marc-Andre Fleury from Feb. 1-11, 2015 (165:06).

* The resurgent Evgeni Malkin (GWG) scored his seventh goal of the season (7-16—23 in 18 GP) and is one-third of the way to matching his 68-game total from 2018-19 (21-51—72). Malkin scored his 70th career game-winning goal in the regular season, the third-most in franchise history behind Jaromir Jagr (78) and Mario Lemieux (74).

* ICYMI: Coyotes forward Phil Kessel, who played for the Penguins from 2015-16 to 2018-19 (110-193—303 in 328 GP), skated his first game in Pittsburgh since an offseason trade. Kessel, a cult player who helped the franchise capture back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2016 and 2017, was honored by the Penguins with a video tribute centered around the phrase featured in his Twitter bio: “Nice guy, tries hard, loves the game.”


THOMPSON SCORES LATE WINNER TO LIFT CANADIENS PAST RANGERS
Nate Thompson scored the go-ahead goal with 1:07 remaining in regulation to lift the Canadiens past the Rangers. Thompson became the fifth player in franchise history to score a go-ahead goal in the final 90 seconds of a regular-season game against their Original Six rival and first in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68).



* Montreal improved to 13-11-6 (32 points) this season and occupies second place in the Atlantic Division standings.

DeBRINCAT MOVES WITHIN ONE POINT OF 150
Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat scored in regulation and moved within one regular-season point of reaching 150 (76-73—149 in 193 GP). DeBrincat, who is expected to appear in five more games before celebrating his 22nd birthday on Dec. 18, owns the eighth-most regular-season points in franchise history by a player age 21 or younger.


OILERS POWER PLAY CONTINUES TO ROLL
The Oilers scored both of their goals via the power play to improve to 18-10-3 (39 points) and reclaim first place in the Pacific Division standings.

* Edmonton, which went two-for-three on the man advantage Friday, owns the best power play percentage in the NHL this season (32.2%; 29-for-90). Their 29 power-play goals in 2019-20 rank second among all teams behind Vancouver (30).

* The franchise record for highest power play percentage at the conclusion of a regular season is 29.3%, a mark set in 1982-83 en route to reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time (86-for-294).


QUICK CLICKS

* Jakub Vrana, Capitals edge Ducks for sixth straight win
* Dan + Shay to Headline Entertainment for 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic
* Flames add Ray Edwards to coaching staff as assistant
* Mikko Koskinen raising game for Oilers with help from Kobe Bryant's trainer
* Facts and Figures: Wild victory extends point streak to 11 games

PREVIEW OF TODAY’S ACTION

AVALANCHE-BRUINS MATCHUP HIGHLIGHTS SATURDAY’S 11-GAME SLATE
Twenty-two teams are in action across 11 games Saturday, highlighted by the Avalanche (18-8-2, 38 points) – winners of five straight – traveling to TD Garden to take on the Bruins (20-3-6, 46 points), who have yet to suffer a regulation loss at home this season (12-0-5, 29 points).


* Colorado is 11-0-2 (24 points) in its last 13 games in Boston dating to Feb. 2, 1999 (BOS: 1-10-2), its longest road point streak against one opponent in franchise history and lengthiest by any team versus the Bruins in NHL history.

* The Avalanche, who are 7-1-2 (16 points) against Eastern Conference opponents in 2019-20, can establish a season high for longest win streak, in which they would eclipse the previous mark of five set in campaign-opening fashion from Oct. 3-14. The last time Colorado earned wins in six or more consecutive games was from Nov. 18-28, 2018 (6-0-0).

* Boston, meanwhile, has posted its second-longest season-opening home point streak in franchise history behind a 21-game run in 1973-74 (19-0-2, 40 points). The Bruins also own an overall point streak of 13 contests (9-0-4), the longest active run in the NHL.

* Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon (18-26—44 in 28 GP) and Bruins forward Brad Marchand (18-26—44 in 29 GP) share third place in NHL scoring this season, trailing only the Oilers tandem of Leon Draisaitl (19-34—53 in 31 GP) and Connor McDavid (19-33—52 in 31 GP). Bruins aboveforward David Pastrnak ranks tied for fifth with 43 points (25-18—43 in 29 GP).


* Only three seasons in NHL history have concluded with at least one Avalanche/Nordiques player and one Bruins player among the top five in points (including ties): 1982-83 (Peter Stastny and Barry Pederson), 2000-01 (Joe Sakic and Jason Allison) as well as 2002-03 (Peter Forsberg, Joe Thornton and Milan Hejduk).

the information was supplied by the NHL PR department

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

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