Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

12/20/2014 at 11:09am EST

HUTCHINSON BACKSTOPS JETS TO VICTORY OVER BRUINS
Michael Hutchinson made 30 saves as Winnipeg collected its 10th win against Eastern Conference opposition, the most among Western Conference clubs. The Jets, who improved to 17-10-6 (40 points), hold the first Wild Card position in the West standings and are within five points or fewer of each Central Division rival ahead of them (Chicago, St. Louis and Nashville).

* Hutchinson improved to 7-2-2 on the season. The 24-year-old rookie leads the League with a 1.73 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.

* The Jets lowered their team goals-against average this season to 2.21, third in the League. The only clubs with a superior mark are Central Division rivals Nashville (1.93) and Chicago (2.00).

* Mathieu Perreault (1-0—1) netted the game-winner with his fifth goal of the season. Perreault extended his point streak to six games (2-4—6), the longest by any member of the Jets in 2014-15.

* Evander Kane (1-0—1) opened the scoring, marking the 22nd time in 33 games the Jets have tallied the first goal of a contest. Only the Penguins (23) have scored more game-opening tallies.

DEVILS' KINKAID RECORDS FIRST CAREER NHL WIN
Keith Kinkaid stopped 26 of 28 shots through 65 minutes and did not allow a goal in the shootout to record his first career NHL victory. The Devils improved to 12-3-0 in their past 15 home starts against the Lightning since 2007-08.

* Kinkaid improved to 1-1-2 this season with a 1.75 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage in six appearances.

* Patrik Elias (1-0—1) scored his fourth goal of the season on a highlight reel spin-o-rama move and also netted the shootout winner. The 38-year-old Tribec, Czech Republic native is on the verge of reaching a trio of NHL Milestones, needing three goals for 400, one assist for 600 and four points for 1,000. He has played in 1,183 games, all with the Devils.

* Adam Henrique (1-1—2) posted his sixth multi-point performance of the season. Henrique shares the club scoring lead (9-11—20) and ranks second on the Devils in goals and power-play goals (four).

SENS NET SEASON-HIGH TALLY IN WIN OVER LEAGUE LEADERS
The Senators built a 4-0 lead en route to a 6-2 victory over the League-leading Ducks. The Senators, who scored six goals for the first time this season, won their second consecutive game and improved to 3-1-1 since head coach Dave Cameron was named to the post on Dec. 8.

* Kyle Turris (1-1—2) scored a highlight-reel goal while shorthanded and recorded his 16th assist of the season to extend his point streak to a season-high five games (3-4—7). The marker was the first shorthanded goal and second game-winning goal of the season for Turris, who is tied for the team lead in assists and points (7-16—23).

* Mike Hoffman (2-0—2) registered his third two-goal game and fourth multi-point performance of the season. Hoffman leads the team in goals this season with 10.

* Mika Zibanejad (1-1—2) continued his hot streak this month. He has recorded 6-5—11 in nine games since Dec. 2.

LEE LEADS ISLANDERS PAST RED WINGS
Anders Lee (1-1—2) tallied his first multi-point game of the season, including the game-winning goal midway through the second period, as New York continued its recent dominance against the Red Wings. The Islanders won their fifth consecutive game at Joe Louis Arena and improved to 8-1-1 in their last 10 games overall against Detroit, with both spans dating to a 2-1 win at Detroit on Dec. 4, 2005.

* The Islanders (22-10-0, 44 points) moved within two points of the Penguins (21-6-4, 46 points) for the lead atop the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference overall. The club also extended its franchise record by winning the 22nd of its first 32 games of a season.

* Brock Nelson (1-1—2) scored his team-leading 14th goal and added his 12th assist to record his seventh multi-point game of the season. Nelson ranks third on the club in points (14-12—26).

* Jaroslav Halak stopped 17 of 18 shots to improve to 17-6-0 this season with a 2.30 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage. Halak is tied for fourth place among NHL goaltenders in wins.

BENN LIFTS STARS OVER FLAMES
Jamie Benn reached the 300-point milestone with a goal and an assist, figuring in both Dallas goals to lead the surging Stars (13-13-5) to their third consecutive win and fourth in their past five starts.

* Benn's seventh multi-point game of the season brought his career point total to 300 (125-175—300) in 375 games. He leads the Stars in assists (19) and ranks second on the club in points (28). Benn also extended his point streak against Calgary to five games (5-7—12).

* Kari Lehtonen made 21 saves to earn his seventh win in the past eight decisions against Calgary. Lehtonen, who posted a 27-save shutout Wednesday at Vancouver, improved to 13-7-5 on the season with a 2.89 goals-against average and a .907 save percentage.

* Trevor Daley (1-0—1) netted the game-winner with his seventh goal. Playing in his 11th season on the Stars' blueline, Daley is just two goals shy of his single-season high of nine set in 2013-14 and is on pace to easily surpass his career-best 27 points in 2010-11.

* Tyler Seguin tallied an assist to move into sole possession of the NHL scoring lead with 23-16—39 in 31 games. Seguin has 10 points (5-5—10) in his past five games against Calgary.

LOOSE PUCKS
The Rangers agreed to terms with goaltender Cam Talbot on a contract extension Friday. Talbot, 27, has appeared in seven games with the Rangers this season, posting a 2-3-1 record, along with a 2.34 GAA, a .921 SV%, and two shutouts… Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov (1-0—1) extended his point streak to a career-high five games (4-3—7)... Anaheim forward Ryan Getzlaf (2-0—2) extended his point streak to five games (4-4—8), tying a season high set from Nov. 29 to Dec. 7 (2-8—10). Getzlaf also has points in 10 of his last 11 games (6-12—18)... Anaheim defenseman Ben Lovejoy (0-2—2) recorded his first multi-point game of the season... Detroit forward Pavel Datsyuk skated in his 846th career Red Wings game, tying Red Kelly for 13th on the franchise's all-time list... Winnipeg defenseman Jay Harrison (0-1—1) recorded his first point as member of the Jets after being acquired from the Hurricanes on Thursday... Calgary defenseman Mark Giordano (1-0—1) scored his ninth goal of the season and ranks first among League defensemen with 32 points (9-23—32).

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY'S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Arizona @ Los Angeles, 4:00 p.m., FS-A, FS-W
Colorado @ Buffalo, 7:00 p.m., ALT2, MSG-B
Philadelphia @ Toronto, 7:00 p.m., CBC, CSN-PH
Ottawa @ Montreal, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, TVA, CITY
Washington @ New Jersey, 7:00 p.m., CSN-DC, MSG+
Tampa Bay @ NY Islanders, 7:00 p.m., FX-CA, SUN, MSG+ 2
Florida @ Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m., FS-F, ROOT
NY Rangers @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m., MSG, FS-CR
Chicago @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., WGN, FS-O
Nashville @ Minnesota, 8:00 p.m., FS-TN, FS-N
Calgary @ Vancouver, 10:00 p.m., CBC
St. Louis @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., FS-MW, CSN-CA
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

MONTREAL, OTTAWA RENEW CLASSIC RIVALRY
The Canadiens and Senators clash for the first of four times in the 2014-15 regular season when these Atlantic Division rivals meet at Bell Centre. The game comes 97 years and one day after the Canadiens topped the original Senators 7-4 on opening night of the NHL's inaugural season (12/19/1917).

The Canadiens-Senators game is one of four featured matchups for Rogers viewers on Hockey Night in Canada, involving five Canadian-based teams. Elsewhere, Hockey Night will broadcast the Maple Leafs hosting the Flyers, the Lightning visiting the Islanders and the Canucks taking on the Flames.

information above provided by the NHL PR department

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