Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

10/23/2014 at 10:30am EDT

PERRY, ANDERSEN KEEP DUCKS ROLLING
Corey Perry recorded his second hat trick of the season (and the seventh of his career) and Frederik Andersen made 22 saves to lead the Ducks to their sixth consecutive victory.

* At 6-1-0, the Ducks have matched their best seven-game start in franchise history in terms of both wins (6; 2013-14) and points (12; 2006-07 and 2013-14).

* Playing in his seventh game of the season, Perry became the fastest player in Ducks history to reach eight goals. He also moved into a tie for the League lead in both goals and points (10).

* Perry posted his first hat trick of 2014-15 in Anaheim’s first game of the season (Oct. 9 at PIT). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he is just the sixth player in the past 29 years to register multiple hat tricks over his team’s first seven games of a season. The others: Boston’s Charlie Simmer (1985-86), Edmonton’s Glenn Anderson (1987-88), Pittsburgh’s Mario Lemieux (1988-89), Montreal’s Brian Savage (1999-00) and Atlanta’s Ilya Kovalchuk (2003-04).

* Andersen improved to 26-5-0 in 34 career regular-season appearances, becoming the first goaltender in League history to win 26 of his first 31 decisions (per Elias).

* Andersen also extended his winning streak to six games, matching a career long set last season in his first six NHL appearances (Oct. 20-Nov. 10, 2013). His career-long scoreless streak ended at 152:46 with Tyler Ennis’ third-period goal.

* Ryan Getzlaf collected two assists to take the NHL lead in that category (8) and move into a tie for the League lead in points (10).

UMBERGER POWERS FLYERS PAST PENGUINS
Knotted at 2-2 after 40 minutes, Pittsburgh native R.J. Umberger scored the go-ahead goal and then assisted on the eventual game-winner to power the Flyers to their fifth consecutive victory over the Penguins.

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Flyers’ five-game winning streak against the Penguins is their longest since 1985, when they won seven straight meetings over two seasons.

* The Flyers also improved to 10-1-1 in 12 all-time regular-season visits to CONSOL Energy Center, which opened for the 2010-11 season.

* Umberger, who was acquired by Philadelphia in an offseason trade, scored his first goal in a Flyers uniform since May 13, 2008 – Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final vs. PIT. The 32-year-old forward spent the first three seasons of his NHL career in Philadelphia, totaling 49-67—116 in 228 regular-season games before being traded to Columbus in June 2008.

* Sean Couturier posted 1-2—3, marking just his second regular-season game with at least three points. The other: Dec. 4, 2013 at DET (2-2—4).

* Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek each collected two assists. Both players are tied for the team lead with seven assists and nine points through seven games.

* At age 29, Le Blanc-Mesnil, France, native Pierre-Edouard Bellemare scored his first NHL goal. Elias says he is just the sixth French-born player in League history to score a goal, following Philippe Bozon, Stephane Da Costa, Patrick Daley, Paul MacLean and Antoine Roussel.

SCRIVENS, OILERS HOLD OFF CAPITALS
Ben Scrivens made a season-high 32 saves to backstop the Oilers to their second consecutive victory.

* After posting a .848 save percentage over his first four appearances of the season, Scrivens now has stopped 54-of-58 shots (.931 SV%) in his last two outings.

* Trailing 2-1 early in the second period, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Nikita Nikitin each scored to help the Oilers overcome a deficit for the second straight game. On Monday, the team trailed 1-0 in the middle frame before ultimately defeating the Lightning 3-2.

* Nugent-Hopkins found the back of the net for the second straight game, the first time he has scored in consecutive contests since Jan. 24 vs. PHX and Jan. 26 vs. NSH.

* Nikitin recorded his fifth career game-winning goal and first since Nov. 20, 2013 at CGY (as a member of the Blue Jackets).

* Teddy Purcell collected two assists for his second multi-point game of the season (also 0-2—2 Oct. 11 at VAN). He now has 8-14—22 in 23 career regular-season games against the Capitals, his most goals (tied), assists and points versus any opponent.

BACKSTROM REACHES 500
Playing in his 501st career game, Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom posted an assist to record his 500th NHL point (128-372—500). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, only five active players have reached the 500-point milestone faster than Backstrom: Sidney Crosby (369 GP), Alex Ovechkin (373 GP), Evgeni Malkin (413 GP), Jaromir Jagr (419 GP) and Dany Heatley (456 GP). Jason Spezza also notched his 500th point in the same number of games as Backstrom (501 GP).

LOOSE PUCKS
Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin collected an assist to extend his assist/point streak to five games (2-6—8) to start the season. He now has 22-37—59 in 44 career regular-season games against the Flyers, his most goals (tied), assists and points versus any opponent . . . Capitals defenseman Mike Green scored his third goal of the season, tied for the most among blueliners . . . Flyers forward Jakub Voracek recorded his 300th NHL point . . . The Wild signed forward Charlie Coyle to a five-year contract extension through the 2019-20 season . . . The Islanders introduced incoming owners Scott Malkin and Jon Ledecky . . . ICYMI: Defenseman P.K. Subban dressed as Michael Jackson’s character from “Thriller” at the Canadiens’ Halloween party.

SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
NY Islanders @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., MSG PLUS, NESN (#NYIvsBOS)
Pittsburgh @ Detroit, 7:30 p.m., SN360, TVA2, ROOT, FS-D (#PITvsDET)
Vancouver @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., NHLN-US, SNV, FS-MW (#VANvsSTL)
Chicago @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., CSN-CH, FS-TN (#CHIvsNSH)
Arizona @ Minnesota, 8:00 p.m., FS-A, FS-N, FS-WI (#ARIvsMIN)
Carolina @ Calgary, 9:00 p.m., SPSO, SNF (#CARvsCGY)
Buffalo @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, FS-W (#BUFvsLAK)
Columbus @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., FS-O, CSN-CA (#CBJvsSJS)
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

BOYCHUK, MILLER MAKE RETURNS
Two players face their former clubs for the first time Thursday:

* Islanders defenseman Johnny Boychuk returns to Boston for the first time since an Oct. 4 trade. The 30-year-old blueliner played the last six seasons for the Bruins, compiling 19-56—75 over 317 regular-season games and helping the team win the Stanley Cup in 2010-11. In six games with the Islanders, Boychuk has 2-4—6, including five power-play points (already matching his total in six seasons with Boston).

* Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller returns to St. Louis for the first time since departing over the summer as a free agent. Miller was acquired by the Blues prior to the 2014 Trade Deadline and posted a 10-8-1 record in 19 regular-season appearances with the club, including a 7-0-1 mark in his first eight decisions. He and the Blues then were eliminated by the Blackhawks (in six games) in the opening round of the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

CENTRAL DIVISION SHOWDOWN
The Blackhawks (4-0-1) visit the Predators (4-0-2) at Bridgestone Arena in a battle of the last two remaining teams without a regulation loss. These clubs just met Saturday in Chicago, with Jonathan Toews scoring a shorthanded overtime goal to power the Blackhawks to a 2-1 victory. Both teams are coming off wins Tuesday: the Predators defeated the Coyotes 4-3 in a shootout, while the Blackhawks shut out the Flyers 4-0. This marks the second of four meetings between these clubs in 2014-15; Chicago (46-34-12, 104 points) maintains a slight lead in the all-time series (NSH: 42-39-11, 95 points).

FAMILIAR FOES MEET IN THE MOTOR CITY
The Penguins visit the Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena in a matchup of the 2008 and 2009 Stanley Cup finalists. Pittsburgh is 4-1-1 in its last six games against Detroit and has posted a 3-1-1 record in its past five visits to Joe Louis Arena. This marks the first of three matchups between the clubs in 2014-15; their other two games will be at CONSOL Energy Center in Pittsburgh. The Penguins are coming off a 5-3 loss Wednesday to the Flyers, while the Red Wings have picked up points in each of their last four outings (2-0-2).

HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER AWARENESS NIGHTS
The Red Wings, Wild and Kings all host their Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Nights Thursday. Click on the respective links for more details.

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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