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
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* 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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