Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

11/27/2014 at 10:56am EST

EASTERN CONFERENCE JOCKEYING
The Penguins, Islanders and Lightning each earned victories on Wednesday to move within one point of the Canadiens (16-6-1, 33 points) for top spot in the Eastern Conference.

* The Penguins (15-4-2, 32 points) maintain their spot atop the Metropolitan Division and have two games in hand on the Conference-leading Canadiens.

* At 16-6-0 (32 points), the Islanders are off to the best 22-game start in franchise history and remain tied with the Penguins atop the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh, however, holds one game in hand.

* The Lightning (15-6-2, 32 points) have set new franchise records for wins and points through 23 games and have more regulation and overtime wins than any team in the NHL (ROW = 14)

COMEAU’S HAT TRICK LIFTS PENS IN OT . . .
Blake Comeau capped his second career hat trick (also Mar. 2, 2010 vs. CHI) with his third goal of the game at 2:53 of overtime to lift the Penguins to a 4-3 win over the Maple Leafs. Sidney Crosby (0-2—2) recorded a pair of assists to reach 800 career NHL points.

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Comeau became the fourth player in Penguins history to complete a hat trick with an overtime winner, following Jordan Staal (Feb. 10, 2007 at TOR), Alex Kovalev (Feb. 10, 2001 vs. NJ) and Kevin Stevens (twice: Jan. 11, 1994 vs. BOS and Nov. 13, 1991 vs. EDM).

* Comeau has registered eight goals this season, his highest total since 2010-11 when he netted a career-high 24 goals for the Islanders. In addition, his 13 points through 20 games puts him within three of his 61-game total from last season (5-11—16).

* Crosby recorded the secondary assist on Comeau’s overtime goal to reach 800 NHL points (283-517—800 in 571 GP). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Crosby is the sixth-fastest player in NHL history to reach the 800-point milestone, behind only Wayne Gretzky (352 GP), Mario Lemieux (410), Mike Bossy (525), Peter Stastny (351) and Jari Kurri (558). He is also the third player to reach the milestone in a Penguins uniform, following Lemieux (690-1,033—1,723 in 915 GP) and Jaromir Jagr (439-640—1,079 in 806 GP).

* Evgeni Malkin (1-2—3) stretched his point streak to six games (5-6—11) and now has at least one point in 18 of Pittsburgh’s 21 games this season.

* Crosby (21-28—49 in 31 GP) and Malkin (14-36—50 in 27 GP) have combined for 99 points in their careers versus Toronto, including 2-9—11 in three games this season. Overall in 2014-15, Crosby leads the League in assists (22-tied) and points (31) while Malkin shares third overall with 28 points (11-17—28).

* Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves to improve to 13-3-1 with a 2.14 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage this season. He has just one regulation loss in his past 12 appearances (10-1-1).

. . . ISLANDERS EARN OT VICTORY TO KEEP PACE
John Tavares scored his second overtime goal of the season with 24 seconds left in the extra frame as the Islanders improved to 10-1-0 in their past 11 games with a 3-2 win over the Capitals. Tavares’ overtime tally was the sixth of his career, extending his own franchise record.

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Islanders have won 10 games in an 11-game span in a single season for the first time since an equal stretch from Dec. 28, 1989 to Jan. 19, 1990 (10-1-0).

* Jaroslav Halak stopped 25 shots for his eighth consecutive victory, matching the longest winning streak of his career (Feb. 23 – March 11, 2012 with STL). He has a 1.25 goals-against average, .953 save percentage and three shutouts during the current eight-game stretch.

* Halak is the first Islanders goaltender to win eight straight starts/decisions since Mark Fitzpatrick from Dec. 16, 1989 to Jan. 17, 1990. In addition, he is just the third goaltender in franchise history to win eight straight appearances, following Fitzpatrick’s stretch in 1989-90 and Billy Smith's franchise record of 10 set from Jan. 23 to Feb. 25, 1982. (Elias)

* The Islanders improved to 10-1-0 in one-goal games this season. They now have gone past regulation in eight of their past 13 home games vs. WSH (4-3-6) dating to Dec. 22, 2007.

CALLAHAN, STAMKOS POWER LIGHTNING IN ST.LOUIS’ RETURN
On the night former captain Martin St. Louis returned to Tampa Bay for the first time since joining the Rangers, it was Ryan Callahan (2-1—3) and Steven Stamkos (1-2—3) who starred in a 4-3 Lightning win.

* Callahan, who totaled 132-122—254 in 450 games for the Rangers and served as captain from 2011-14, now has 4-1—5 in two career games against his former club. He also scored twice, including the game-winning goal, in their first meeting on Nov. 17 (5-1 TBL win).

* The Lightning improved to 13-0-0 when Callahan scores a goal since acquiring him from New York at the 2014 NHL Trade Deadline.

* Stamkos has 9-10—19 over his past 14 games and shares second in the League with 15 goals (tied with Rick Nash).

* Nikita Kucherov potted the game-winner and now has 19 points (8-11—19) in 23 games, surpassing his 2013-14 rookie total of 18 points (9-9—18) in 52 games.

* Ben Bishop improved to 7-0-0 with a 1.26 goals-against average and a .953 save percentage in his career versus the Rangers.

* ICYMI: The Lightning honored St. Louis with a video tribute during a stoppage in play. St. Louis spent 13 seasons in Tampa Bay prior to last season’s trade to New York, ranking first in franchise history in assists (588) and points (953) as well as second in goals (365) and games played (972).

RED WINGS CONTINUE HOME SUCCESS VS. FLYERS
Pavel Datsyuk scored twice, including his first game-winning goal since Oct. 12, 2013 (also at home vs. PHI), and Stephen Weiss added a goal and an assist as the Red Wings skated to a 5-2 win over the Flyers. With the win, Detroit improved to 17-2-2 against Philadelphia at Joe Louis Arena dating to Nov. 1, 1989.

* Datsyuk has registered 13 points (7-6—13) in 11 games this season and has totaled 9-6—15 in 11 career games against the Flyers.

* Datsyuk (279-538—817 in 835 GP) surpassed Ilya Kovalchuk (417-399—816 in 816 GP) to move into sole possession of sixth on the all-time points list among Russian-born NHLers. He ranks behind only Alex Ovechkin (433-401—834 in 700 GP) among active Russian-born players.

* Weiss recorded his second consecutive multi-point performance and has 3-1—4 in his past two games. It is the first time he has recorded back-to-back multi-point games since a pair of three point efforts as a member of the Florida Panthers from Dec. 3-5, 2011.

* Henrik Zetterberg scored his fifth goal of the season and leads Detroit with 19 points (5-14—19). He now has 10-7—17 in 12 career contests versus Philadelphia.

KANE’S HELPERS LIFT BLACKHAWKS
Patrick Kane notched three helpers, including the primary assist on Bryan Bickell’s tie-breaking goal with 5:17 left in regulation, to lift Chicago to a 3-2 win in Colorado. Kane has registered 4-7—11 over his past six games, including two three-point performances.

* Kane's three assists were his highest single-game total in the regular-season since Dec. 8, 2013 versus Florida. He leads the Blackhawks with 21 points (8-13—21) this season.

* Jonathan Toews scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season and sits second on the Blackhawks with 19 points (9-10—19).

* Bickell’s game-winning goal was the eighth of his career and first since Jan. 17 versus Anaheim.

* Corey Crawford stopped 27 shots to record his 10th win of the season (10-5-1). He ranks third among all goaltenders with a 1.98 goals-against average and sixth with a .926 save percentage.

* Playing in his 300th NHL game, Brent Seabrook notched an assist to extend his point streak to six games (2-4—6).

STRONG BETWEEN THE PIPES
Three teams earned victories on Wednesday behind strong performances by their netminders:

* Karri Ramo denied all 32 shots he faced to record his third career shutout and Jiri Hudler scored both goals as the Flames skated to a 2-0 win over the Sharks. Calgary won in San Jose for just the second time in their past nine visits dating to Jan. 18, 2010 (2-6-1 in that span). It also marked the first time the Flames have shut out the Sharks on the road since Jan. 3, 2001 when Fred Brathwaite backstopped the club to a 1-0 win. Hudler posted his first game-winner since Dec. 7, 2013 at Edmonton and his first multi-goal game since Jan. 31, 2013 vs. Colorado. Hudler leads the club with 10 goals this season.

* Martin Jones turned aside all 28 shots he faced to pick up his fifth career shutout (first this season) while starting consecutive games for the first time since last December. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, among goaltenders who made their NHL debut in the expansion era (since 1967-68), only Steve Mason (20 starts) and Tony Esposito (22) required fewer starts to register their fifth career shutout than Jones (23). The Kings scored all four goals in the opening frame, led by Dustin Brown (1-1—2), who picked up his 200th NHL goal in the contest. Mike Richards opened the scoring for his first game-winner since Mar. 6 at Winnipeg.

* Al Montoya made 22 saves in relief of Roberto Luongo, who stopped 11 shots before leaving the game following a desperation glove save in the second period, as the pair combined to shut out the Hurricanes 1-0. Luongo was credited with the victory on the strength of Nick Bjugstad’s game-winning goal just 21 seconds into the contest. Bjugstad has posted nine points (6-3—9) in his past six contests.

LOOSE PUCKS
Alex Ovechkin scored twice while skating in his 700th career NHL game. Per Elias, Ovechkin's career total of 433 goals is the seventh-highest by any player through his first 700 regular-season games behind only Wayne Gretzky (589), Mario Lemieux (580), Mike Bossy (542), Brett Hull (504), Jari Kurri (454) and Pavel Bure (436)…Jets forward Bryan Little extended his goal streak to three games – his longest such stretch since he matched a career-high of four games from Dec. 6-13, 2011…Jakub Voracek scored his eighth goal of the season. He has posted at least one point in 18 of 21 games this season and sits alone in second among all players with 8-22—30. Teammate Claude Giroux (1-1—2) posted his ninth multi-point game of the season to move into sixth in League scoring (7-19—26) . . . Rick Nash (1-1—2) notched his 300th NHL assist and scored for the third straight game; he shares second in the League with 15 goals . . . Tyler Bozak scored a shorthanded goal for the second straight game to become the first Maple Leaf to accomplish the feat since Mats Sundin on Dec. 3 and 6, 2002 . . . Justin Williams scored to push his point streak to six games (3-4—7) . . . Brayden McNabb stretched his assist/point streak to three games, marking a new career-high for both (0-3—3) . . . Flyers defenseman Nick Schultz played in his 900th NHL game . . . Wild defenseman Keith Ballard celebrated his 32nd birthday by playing in his 600th NHL game . . . Dan Boyle, who played with the Lightning from 2001-02 to 2007-08 (66-187—253 in 394 GP), scored his first goal as a Ranger in his seventh game with the club . . . Lightning forward Alex Killorn notched an assist to push his career-long point streak to six games (4-2—6) . . . Derek Stepan stretched his point streak to four games (1-3—4) . . . Steven Stamkos’ goal at 5:25 of the first period ended the Rangers’ team shutout streak at 128:16 . . . The Sharks signed Ryan Lowe to a goaltender professional tryout agreement to serve as an emergency backup on Wednesday night. Lowe, a 31-year-old native of Redondo Beach, Calif., last played professionally in Australia with the Sydney Bears of the Australian Ice Hockey League.

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Edmonton @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., SN360, FS-TN

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.

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