HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA MAKES SEASON DEBUT WITH 3 NORTH DIVISION GAMES
Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada will make its season debut with a trio of matchups from the Scotia North Division, the first all-Canadian division in NHL history. All five North Division games this season have featured at least seven goals, including the first half of a back-to-back ‘Battle of Ontario’ showdown on Friday.



* The Battle of Ontario will close a back-to-back after the new-look Senators won Friday following impressive debuts by Derek Stepan (1-0—1), Austin Watson (1-0—1), Braydon Coburn (0-1—1) and Matt Murray (20 saves). Rookie Josh Norris (0-2—2) also found the score sheet as Ottawa earned a comeback win in a season-opening game for the sixth time in franchise history (and fourth time vs. TOR).

* Fresh off four-point performances Thursday, Oilers duo Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid are set to lead Edmonton into its first of nine meetings against Montreal in 2020-21. They have a combined 9-19—28 in career games against the Canadiens, with Draisaitl having 15 points to McDavid’s 13. Draisaitl has multiple points in each of his last five games against Montreal – only one player in NHL history has had a longer such run against the franchise (Scott Gomez: 8 GP).

* Led by Mark Giordano, who has been captain since 2013-14, Calgary enters its first of 10 showdowns against Vancouver this season with a 6-2-2 edge in their last 10 meetings (VAN: 4-6-0). On the opposing blueline, 21-year-old Quinn Hughes sits one point shy of 60 in his NHL career (8-51—59 in 75 GP) and can become the first defenseman in more than 27 years to reach the benchmark in fewer than 80 contests - Vladimir Malakhov (69 GP) and Sergei Zubov (76 GP) each did so in 1993-94.

AVALANCHE MATCH FRANCHISE RECORD WITH FIVE POWER-PLAY GOALS
Nathan MacKinnon (1-2—3), Cale Makar (0-3—3), Gabriel Landeskog (2-0—2) and Mikko Rantanen (1-1—2) were four of eight Colorado skaters with multiple points as the Avalanche erupted for eight goals - the highest total by any team so far this season.

* Colorado, which scored five of its eight goals on the power play, matched its franchise record for most power-play goals in a regular-season game. Makar played a crucial role in the club’s power-play success Friday, collecting each of his three helpers on the man advantage – the 22-year-old’s fourth career game with three or more points in the regular-season.



* Landeskog’s multi-goal game helped the Avalanche captain reach the 200-goal mark in his career – the second-most among all players from the 2011 NHL Draft, trailing only Nikita Kucherov (221).

* Rantanen reached the century mark to become the fifth player from the 2015 NHL Draft to score 100 career regular-season goals.

KONECNY HAT TRICK HELPS FLYERS SOAR TO VICTORY OVER PENGUINS
After Joel Farabee propelled the Flyers offense with a four-point performance in their season opener Wednesday, Travis Konecny (3-1—4) netted his first career hat trick and recorded a single-game high with four points to ignite Philadelphia’s offense Friday.

* This is the first time that Philadelphia has had at least one player collect four or more points in each of the club’s first two games of a season. Only three other teams have achieved the feat in the past 25 years, including the Red Wings and Rangers last season; the other instance in that span was by the Penguins in 1995-96.

* The Flyers, who have outscored the Penguins 11-5 through their two-game series to start the season, are set to meet their intrastate rivals six more times in 2020-21. Their 11 goals for through their first two games are the club’s highest such total since 1982-83 (12).

* Konecny’s three-goal performance marked the 12th regular-season hat trick by a Flyers player against the Penguins and first since the 2012-13 season.



STAMKOS CONTINUES TO SPARK LIGHTNING OFFENSE IN 2020-21
After being limited to one game and 2:47 minutes of ice time over a 323-day span due to injury, captain Steven Stamkos collected 1-1—2 Friday and has led the Lightning with 2-3—5 through the first two games of 2020-21.

* Tampa Bay, which scored five goals for the second time in as many games to start the season, became the fourth defending Stanley Cup champion over the past 30 years to score 10-plus goals through their first two contests of a season. The others: Washington (13 GF, 2018-19), Detroit (11 GF, 1997-98) and Pittsburgh (10 GF, 1992-93).

* The Lightning will contest their next game against the Blue Jackets on Jan. 21, a rematch of the 2020 First Round series that featured the fourth-longest playoff game in NHL history. Tampa Bay can become the first defending Stanley Cup champion to win each of its first three games to start the following season since Detroit in 1997-98 (4-0).



TKACHUK MATCHES FRANCHISE MARK IN SEASON OPENER
Brady Tkachuk (1-2—3) scored Ottawa’s second game-tying goal – their first of four straight tallies – en route to matching a career high for points in a game. In the process, he became the fifth different player in Senators history to record three points in the team’s season opener.



QUICK CLICKS

* NHL schedule changes; Stars open season Jan. 22 due to coronavirus
* Senators honor Alex Trebek, John Muckler, with moment of silence before game
* Goaltender Vitek Vanecek takes pie to the face after winning NHL debut