Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

12/21/2014 at 10:50am EST

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Of the 12 games contested Saturday:

* Nine were tied or within one goal to start the third period (ARI-LAK, OTT-MTL, TBL-NYI, FLA-PIT, NYR-CAR, CHI-CBJ, NSH-MIN, CGY-VAN, STL-SJS).

* Two featured a game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation: San Jose’s Marc-Edouard Vlasic (19:39) and Minnesota’s Thomas Vanek (19:12).

* Five required overtime, including three that were decided in the extra frame (NSH-MIN, CGY-VAN, STL-SJS).

* Three defensemen scored overtime goals to lift their clubs to victory: Christopher Tanev (VAN), Brent Burns (SJS) and Mattias Ekholm (NSH). In addition, blueliner Jack Johnson netted the game-deciding goal in the shootout for Columbus.

PENGUINS MAINTAIN TOP SPOT IN EAST . . .
Nick Spaling (1-1—2) and Steve Downie (0-2—2) each notched two points, including helpers on Derrick Pouliot’s first NHL goal, to guide Pittsburgh to its season-high fifth consecutive victory at CONSOL Energy Center.

* Overall, the Penguins have a point in each of their past seven outings (5-0-2). At 22-6-4 (48 points), the Penguins hold a two-point lead over the Islanders (23-10-0, 46 points) for first place in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference and sit one point behind the Ducks (22-8-5, 49 points) for top spot in the entire NHL.

* Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 45 shots – two shy of his regular-season career high – for the first time since Dec. 23, 2009 (45 SV in 8-2 win vs. OTT). He is 3-1-1 in his career when making at least 45 stops.

* Fleury improved to 13-3-1 with a 1.92 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in 17 starts at CONSOL Energy Center this season. Overall, Fleury leads the League in shutouts (six) and ranks second in wins (19), fourth in save percentage (.933) and fifth in goals-against average (1.97).

* Pittsburgh has won 12 of its past 14 home games versus Florida dating to Jan. 30, 2007.

* Pouliot, Pittsburgh's first choice and eighth overall selection in the 2012 NHL Draft, is the fifth Penguin to make his League debut this season, following Scott Wilson, BobbyFarnham, Bryan Rust and Scott Harrington. Prior to being recalled, Pouliot led the club’s AHL affiliate with 13 assists and 20 points.

. . . ISLANDERS, CANADIENS RALLY TO KEEP PACE
The Islanders and Canadiens reeled off a string of unanswered goals to keep pace in the Eastern Conference standings:

* After falling behind 1-0 midway through the third period, the Islanders scored three goals in the final four minutes of regulation to stretch their winning streak to four games.

* The club also extended its franchise record by winning the 23rd of its first 33 games of a season. At 23-10-0 (46 points), the Islanders lead the NHL in wins and are two points behind the Penguins (22-6-4, 48 points) for top spot in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference.

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, New York has won 10 of 11 games at Nassau Coliseum (10-1-0) for the first time since an equal stretch from Oct. 16 to Nov. 24, 1984.

* John Tavares tied the game with his 13th goal of the season and Anders Lee netted his second game-winning goal in as many nights (also Friday at DET).

* Down 1-0 before the three-minute mark of the first period, the Canadiens potted four unanswered goals – highlighted by multi-point performances by Alex Galchenyuk (1-1—2) and Max Pacioretty (0-2—2) – to win their fourth straight meeting with the Senators.

* With the victory, the Canadiens (21-11-2, 44 points) leapfrogged the Lightning (20-11-4, 44 points) into first place in the Atlantic Division and maintained a four-point gap behind the Penguins (22-6-4, 48 points) for top spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Galchenyuk has points in each of his past three games (4-2—6) and ranks second on the club with 10-14—24, behind only Pacioretty (13-14—27).

* The Senators and Canadiens faced off 97 years and one day after the Canadiens topped the original Senators 7-4 on opening night of the NHL's inaugural season on Dec. 19, 1917.

PREDATORS, CANUCKS EMERGE WITH OT WINS . . .
The Predators and Canucks both surrendered multi-goal leads before earning overtime victories:

* Nashville took a 5-3 lead with two goals in the opening 9:05 of the third period but required an overtime winner from Mattias Ekholm after yielding two goals in the final 10 minutes of regulation, including Thomas Vanek’s tying goal with just 47.8 seconds showing on the clock.

* Ekholm’s goal was just the second of his NHL career (also Jan. 7 vs. SJ). He now has 1-6—7 and a plus-8 rating this season (31 GP) after posting 1-8—9 in his first 65 career games.

* Pekka Rinne earned his League-leading 21st win of the season. He holds a 6-1 record past regulation and has yet to allow an overtime goal this season (one shootout loss). He improved to 10-4-2 with 2.20 goals-against average, .919 save percentage and three shutouts in 17 career games vs. MIN.

* Five Predators tallied multiple points: Matt Cullen (1-1—2), Craig Smith (1-1—2), Roman Josi (1-1—2), Shea Weber (0-2—2) and Victor Bartley (0-2—2). Filip Forsberg added his NHL rookie-leading 13th goal and 31st point.

* The Canucks raced to a 2-0 lead midway through the first period, allowed the game-tying goal by JohnnyGaudreau at 7:05 of the third period but rebounded to win on a goal by Christopher Tanev just 18 seconds into overtime. Vancouver has won each of its past nine starts against Calgary; overall they earned their first victory since Dec. 4 at PIT, snapping a five-game skid (0-4-1).

* Four of Tanev’s 10 career goals have been game-winners, including his first NHL marker on Feb. 4, 2013 when he found the back of the net with just 19.3 seconds left in overtime to lift the Canucks past the Oilers.

* Daniel Sedin (0-2—2) and Henrik Sedin (0-1—1) notched assists on the overtime tally, lifting their career scoring totals against Calgary to 27-52—79 (77 GP) and 13-60—73 (73 GP), respectively.

. . . SHARKS RALLY TO KEEP STREAK ALIVE
Marc-Edouard Vlasic scored with just 20.6 seconds remaining in regulation and Brent Burns netted the overtime winner with 37.5 seconds left on the clock to rally the Sharks over the Blues. San Jose has won five straight overall and each of their past eight at SAP Center.

* The Sharks (19-11-4, 42 points) maintain the No. 2 seed in the Pacific Division and their overall five-game winning streak is tied for the longest active stretch in the NHL (also NYR).

* Burns netted his seventh career regular-season overtime goal (last: Oct. 29, 2011 at NYI); he scored his first five overtime goals with the Wild and holds that club’s franchise record.

* Antti Niemi stopped 18 shots to improve to 14-7-3 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .917 save percentage this season.

CAPITALS, BLUE JACKETS AND RANGERS ALSO EXTEND STREAKS
The Capitals, Blue Jackets and Rangers each earned victories to keep their respective streaks alive:

* Braden Holtby stopped all 21 shots he faced to backstop the Capitals to a 4-0 win over the Devils and extend the club’s point streak to eight games (6-0-2). Nicklas Backstrom (2-1—3) posted his third three-point game of the season to stretch his team-leading points total to 10-24—34; he has five goals in his past four contests to equal his total from his first 28 games. Holtby recorded his second shutout of the season and 13th of his career; he has started all eight games during the Capitals’ current point streak, posting a 1.83 goals-against average and .934 save percentage in that span.

* Playing past regulation for the sixth consecutive game, Jack Johnson netted the game-deciding goal in the ninth round of the shootout to lift the Blue Jackets to their first win over the Blackhawks since Feb. 18, 2011 (0-10-3 in that span). Overall, Columbus improved to 8-0-1 in its past nine games, with seven of those contests requiring extra time. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 39 shots to improve to 13-8-2 this season; he has been in net for each game during the club’s current nine-game point streak, posting a 2.01 goals-against average, .940 save percentage and one shutout in that span.

* J.T. Miller and Kevin Klein rallied the Rangers from separate one-goal deficits in the third period and Mats Zuccarello netted the lone shootout tally to lift New York to its fifth straight win. New York has won 13 of its last 15 meetings with the Hurricanes dating to Feb. 22, 2011. Overall, the Rangers (16-10-4, 36 points) improved to 8-0-1 in their last nine meetings against Metropolitan Division opponents; they remain two points behind the Capitals (16-10-6, 38 points) for third place in the division (NYR has two games in hand). Henrik Lundqvist has been in net for each game on New York’s current winning streak, posting a 1.55 goals-against average and .939 save percentage in that span.

KOPITAR-GABORIK-CARTER LINE (AGAIN) POWERS KINGS
After combining for 4-8—12 against the Blues on Thursday, the line of Anze Kopitar (0-3—3), Marian Gaborik (1-1—2) and Jeff Carter (1-0—1) again powered the Kings to victory, with at least one member of the trio factoring on each goal in the team’s 4-2 win over the Coyotes.

* Kopitar has tallied at least three points in consecutive games for the third time in his career (twice in October 2009) and has 1-8—9 in his past three contests. Per Elias, the last Kings player with back-to-back three-point performances was MichalHandzus on Feb. 4 and 6, 2010 (1-2—3 vs. ANA; 2-1—3 vs. DET).

* Gaborik has a goal in four straight contests and 6-2—8 during that span. His goal streak is the longest by a Kings player this season and his longest personal streak since a five-game stretch with the Rangers from Dec. 17 to 26, 2011 (7-0—7). He leads the Kings with five power-play goals this season.

* Carter has 2-4—6 on his current three-game point streak and leads the club with 9-16—25 this season.

* Alec Martinez broke a 2-2 tie at 1:34 of the third period for his first game-winner since he scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal at 14:43 of double-overtime in Game 5 versus the Rangers. Martinez now has three game-winning goals in 230 career regular-season games and four such tallies in 59 postseason contests.

* Jamie McBain (0-2—2) matched a career high with two assists. The multi-point game was the 11th of his career and first in a Kings uniform (last: Feb. 26 with BUF, 0-2—2).

* Jonathan Quick improved to 12-3-1 with a 1.71 goals-against average, .944 save percentage and three shutouts in home contests this season.

* The Kings improved to 13-4-1 this season at STAPLES Center; their 13 home wins and 27 home-ice points both match franchise highs through 18 games (wins – 8th time, last: 2012-13; points – 5th time, last: 2012-13). They have more home-ice wins and points than any team in the Western Conference this season.

GIROUX, VORACEK POWER FLYERS PAST MAPLE LEAFS
Claude Giroux (2-2—4) and Jakub Voracek (0-4—4) each tallied four points and the Flyers scored a season-high seven goals to halt the Maple Leafs’ five-game home winning streak. Philadelphia, who played the first game of an eight-game road trip, has earned a point in seven of its past eight outings dating to Dec. 3 at ANA (4-1-3).

* Voracek recorded four assists for the second time in his career (also Feb. 18, 2013 at NYI) to become the first player to reach 40 points this season. Voracek (12-30—42) vaulted past Stars forward Tyler Seguin (23-16—39) into first place in the NHL scoring race, while Giroux (10-29--39) matched Seguin's total.

* Giroux registered the seventh four-point performance of his career (last: 2-2—4 on Dec. 19, 2013 vs. CBJ); he set a career high with five points (0-5—5) on Feb. 16, 2012 vs. BUF. Giroux has 3-9—12 in his past eight contests.

* Voracek (30) and Giroux (29) rank first and second in the League, respectively, in assists.

* The clubs combined for six goals in the first period, including three tallies in a span of 26 seconds by Sean Couturier (11:18, PHI), David Clarkson (11:33, TOR) and Giroux (11:44, PHI). It marked the fastest combined three goals in both Flyers and Maple Leafs history (via PHI and TOR Public Relations).

* The Maple Leafs dropped their first game this season when scoring the first goal (14-1-0); the Canadiens are the only team yet to lose when scoring first (12-0-0).

AVALANCHE CONTINUE DOMINANCE OF SABRES
Alex Tanguay (2-1—3) and Jarome Iginla (0-3—3) tallied three points to power the Avalanche to their eighth consecutive victory over the Sabres dating to Mar. 7, 2007.

* Making his fifth consecutive start, rookie netminder Calvin Pickard stopped 28 shots to improve to 5-5-2 with a 2.16 goals-against average and .936 save percentage this season.

* Colorado improved to 2-0-2 in its past four outings and halted Buffalo’s home winning streak at six games.

LOOSE PUCKS
Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 45 shots – in his second NHL game – to set a Lightning franchise record for stops by a rookie goaltender, breaking the previous mark of 44 set by Corey Schwab on Mar. 9, 1997 and equaled by Karri Ramo on Feb. 17, 2009 . . . Aaron Ekblad notched his 14th assist of the season to set a Panthers franchise record for assists by a rookie defenseman. Ekblad is three points shy of setting the franchise record for points by a rookie blueliner . . . Coyotes coach Dave Tippett was behind the bench for his 900th NHL game . . . Zach Parise (2-1—3), Thomas Vanek (1-1—2), Marco Scandella (1-1—2), Jason Pominville (0-2—2), Ryan Suter (0-2—2), Charlie Coyle (0-2—2) posted multi-point performances for the Wild . . . The Blackhawks surrendered a shootout goal for the first time this season, falling to 4-1 in the tiebreaker in 2014-15 . . . Blues forward David Backes (600), Lightning forward Ryan Callahan (500), Sabres forward Tyler Ennis (300) and Panthers defenseman Erik Gudbranson (200) all played in milestone games . . . Canadiens forward Brandon Prust tallied his 100th NHL point . . . Blue defenseman Alex Pietrangelo notched an assist to stretch his point streak to seven games (1-6—7) . . . ICYMI: Alex Ovechkin netted a highlight-reel goal for his team-leading 15th tally of the season . . . Sabres forward Johan Larsson scored his first NHL goal (34 GP).

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY'S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Colorado @ Detroit, 6:00 p.m., ALT, FS-D
Dallas @ Edmonton, 6:00 p.m., FS-SW, SNW
Buffalo @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, NESN
Carolina @ NY Rangers, 7:00 p.m., FS-CR, MSG
Toronto @ Chicago, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, TVA, CITY, WGN
Philadelphia @ Winnipeg, 9:00 p.m., TCN-PH, TSN3
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

ROGERS SUNDAY NIGHT HOCKEY
The Maple Leafs head to Chicago to face the Blackhawks as the Rogers Hometown Hockey Tour stops in Kingston, Ontario this week. Ron MacLean will host a live broadcast from the Sportsnet Mobile Studio and welcome guests including renowned Kingston natives Doug Gilmour and Don Cherry as well as Maple Leafs legend Wendel Clark.

Each Sunday Night Hockey broadcast will feature a Canadian team in action and travel to a community rink in hometowns across Canada, with local NHL player profiles, grassroots stories and local entertainment features. For more information, click here.

The game, which also will be broadcast nationally in the United States on NHL Network, matches the League's highest-scoring team (Toronto, 3.39 goals/game) against the top-ranked defensive squad (Chicago, 2.00 GA/game).

The Blackhawks may face a rematch with Maple Leafs goaltender James Reimer, who made 45 saves, including 26 in a frantic third period, in a 3-2 Toronto victory at Air Canada Centre on Nov. 1. Reimer was the backup Saturday but relieved starter Jonathan Bernier in the third period of a 7-4 loss to the Flyers.

The Blackhawks and Maple Leafs will meet for the 643rd time in a rivalry that began in 1926-27. Toronto has recorded 286 wins, Chicago has won 260 times and 96 games ended in a tie.

The above informantion was provided by the NHL PR department.

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