Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

03/07/2021 at 4:59am EST

THREE HARD LAPS

* Hockey Day in America opens today at 12 p.m. ET with a milestone game between the Islanders and Sabres on NBC.

* Noel Acciari (Johnston, R.I.) was one of several U.S.-born players who contributed in a win on Saturday.

* The Canadiens erupted for seven goals and now feature three players who have reached a double-digit total on the season.

NBC, NBCSN SET TO CELEBRATE HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA
Hockey Day in America opens at 12 p.m. ET on NBC with the Islanders hosting the Sabres again at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in the second half of their back-to-back set (and third straight head-to-head game overall). New York defeated Buffalo on Saturday to extend its season-opening home point streak and improve to 5-0-0 against the Sabres this season (BUF: 0-5-0).

* NBCSN also is set to carry three national games on Sunday, with several guests and storylines surrounding the celebration of the sport in the U.S. to be featured throughout the day. Click here for more details.

* U.S.-born captains Anders Lee (Edina, Minn.) and Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass.) lead the Islanders and Sabres, respectively, into the 200th all-time head-to-head meeting between the Empire State rivals (regular season and playoffs). Buffalo is 82-71-25 (189 points) in 178 regular-season games against New York entering play (NYI: 78-73-27, 183 points) – the Islanders hold a 13-8 advantage in 21 playoff contests versus the Sabres, including a 4-2 mark during the 1980 Semifinals before the franchise captured its first of four straight Stanley Cups.

* Patrick Kane (Buffalo, N.Y.) and fellow Stanley Cup champion Ryan McDonagh (St. Paul, Minn.) are set to go head-to-head for a third straight game, following an overtime win by Tampa Bay on March 4 and a shootout victory by Chicago a day later. Kane (400-659—1,059 in 998 GP), who will skate in the 999th regular-season game of his NHL career, is the League’s leader in goals, assists and points among active U.S.-born players; McDonagh (65-240—305 in 684 GP) ranks among the top 10 in scoring among active American defensemen.

* Jack Hughes (Orlando, Fla.) and the Devils visit Charlie McAvoy (Long Beach, N.Y.) and the Bruins for the fourth head-to-head meeting between the clubs this season, with New Jersey holding a 2-0-1 edge through the first three (BOS: 1-1-1). Hughes (2017-18–2018-19) and McAvoy (2013-14–2014-15) are both graduates of the USA Hockey National Team Development Program.

* Jake Guentzel (Omaha, Neb.) and the Penguins will conclude Hockey Day in America by hosting Chris Kreider (Boxford, Mass.) and the Rangers at PPG Paints Arena. Guentzel (0-2—2) and Kreider (0-1—1) each had assists on Saturday as Pittsburgh and New York picked up wins.



ACCIARI SNAPS LENGTHY GOAL DROUGHT WITH THIRD CAREER NHL HAT TRICK
Panthers forward Noel Acciari tallied three times to record his first goals since Feb. 27, 2020, ending a 23-game drought (19 regular season, 4 playoffs). He became the ninth different player over the last 30 years to snap a goal drought of that length via a hat trick.



* Acciari scored the third hat trick of his NHL career – his first two were recorded in consecutive fashion from Dec. 16-20, 2019. Acciari’s three hat tricks with Florida are the fourth-most in franchise history, trailing only Pavel Bure (10), Ray Sheppard (5) and Olli Jokinen (4).

DID YOU KNOW?
Noel Acciari was born in Rhode Island, one of 37 U.S. states represented among NHL goal scorers (as well as Washington, D.C.). The most-recent state to join this list was Mississippi, when Mathieu Olivier (Biloxi, Miss.) – who skated across from Acciari Saturday – scored the first goal of his NHL career on Jan. 30.



OTHER U.S.-BORN PLAYERS SHINE ON EVE OF HOCKEY DAY IN AMERICA
Other U.S.-born players also left their mark on games Saturday:

* Ryan Miller (East Lansing, Mich.) made 29 saves and Ryan Getzlafscored the overtime winner as the Ducks overcame a 4-2, third-period deficit to defeat the Avalanche. Miller, the winningest U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history, earned his 389th career regular-season victory to tie Dominik Hasek for 14th place on the League’s all-time list.

* Alex Tuch (Syracuse, N.Y.) tallied twice and Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves as the Honda West Division-leading Golden Knights blanked the Sharks to extend their win streak to six games, the longest active run in the NHL. Tuch has scored eight of his 12 goals this season over Vegas’ last seven games (8-1—9).

* Brock Boeser (Burnsville, Minn.) and J.T. Miller (East Palestine, Ohio) each had 1-2—3 as the Canucks scored three unanswered goals in the third period to rally for another win over the League-leading Maple Leafs. Boeser scored his team-leading 13th goal of the season (13-15—28 in 28 GP), which ranks fourth among all skaters in the Scotia North Division – the list is topped by Toronto’s Auston Matthews (San Ramon, Calif.), who leads the League with 18.

* Kailer Yamamoto (Spokane, Wash.) pulled the Oilers even at 6:07 of the third period and provided the primary assist on the go-ahead goal by League scoring leaderConnor McDavid (1-2—3) as Edmonton snapped a three-game slide (0-3-0). Yamamoto is one of five NHL players in 2020-21 who was born in the state of Washington, which is home to the League’s 32nd franchise – the Seattle Kraken – who are slated to begin play next season.

* Jakob Chychrun (Boca Raton, Fla.), Conor Garland (Scituate, Mass.) and Tyler Pitlick (Minneapolis, Minn.) accounted for four of the team’s five unanswered goals as Arizona rallied from a 2-0 deficit to defeat Minnesota. The Coyotes earned their third multi-goal comeback win of the season (also Feb. 22 & Feb. 24), which trails only the Jets (5) for the most in the NHL.

* Jake Oettinger (Lakeville, Minn.) made 21 saves to record the first shutout of his NHL career and backstop Dallas past Columbus. Only one goaltender in Stars/North Stars franchise history has recorded a shutout at a younger age than Oettinger (22 years, 78 days), which was fellow Minnesotan Pete Lopresti (Virginia, Minn.).



CANADIENS REDISCOVER GOAL-SCORING WAYS IN WIN OVER WINNIPEG
Brendan Gallagher (2-1—3), Tyler Toffoli (1-1—2) and Josh Anderson (1-0—1) accounted for the first four of seven consecutive Montreal goals as the Canadiens rebounded from a 4-3 overtime loss to the Jets on Thursday with a 7-1 win.

* The Canadiens scored seven goals in a game for the second time this season and first since Jan. 21, when they earned a 7-3 win over the Canucks at Rogers Place – Montreal led the NHL with 24 goals following that victory over Vancouver and held the League lead until entering play Jan. 26, when they had 29 through six contests for a mean of almost five per game (4.83 G/GP). From Jan. 27 until entering play Saturday, the Canadiens had averaged under three (42 GF in 16 GP; 2.63 G/GP).

* Anderson (10-3—13 in 20 GP) became the second Canadiens player to hit the 10-goal mark this season, following fellow offseason acquisition Toffoli (15-6—21 in 23 GP). Gallagher (10-6—16 in 23 GP) also boosted his 2020-21 goal total to double digits, doing so after Anderson had opened the scoring.



KINGS RALLY FROM 3-0 DEFICIT TO EARN ANOTHER COMEBACK WIN OVER BLUES
Los Angeles fell behind 3-0 but scored four unanswered goals – capped by the overtime winner from Adrian Kempe – to rally past St. Louis and improve to 7-2-2 in its last 11 games. Each of the Kings’ last three wins in which they overcame a three-goal deficit have been against the Blues (also March 5, 2013 & Dec. 18, 2014).


QUICK CLICKS

* Cassie Campbell celebrates huge strides and future generations of women's hockey
* Tom Wilson suspended seven games, will not play for Capitals against Flyers
* Mathew Barzal's scorching between-the-legs goal lit a fire for Islanders
* Jacob Bryson scores first NHL goal in opening minute of Saturday’s game
* Islanders legends, fan favorites hidden throughout game day poster

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.

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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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