Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

12/29/2014 at 10:48am EST

PANTHERS CLAW BACK IN THIRD PERIOD
Trailing 4-2 after 40 minutes, the Panthers scored four unanswered goals in the third period – including the tiebreaking marker by Brad Boyes with 3:15 remaining in regulation – to pick up their fourth straight win at BB&T Center.

* At 16-9-8 (40 points), the Panthers moved within two points of the idle Capitals (18-11-6, 42 points) for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. Florida holds two games in hand, but trails in ROW (WSH: 17, FLA: 11).

* This marks the fifth time in franchise history the Panthers have recorded at least 40 points through their opening 33 games of one season and just the second time they have accomplished that feat over the past 14 campaigns (also 2011-12: 18-9-6, 42 points).

* Per Elias, the Panthers picked up a regulation win when trailing by multiple goals in the third period for the first time since March 2, 2014, when they faced a 3-1 deficit after 40 minutes before ultimately earning a 5-3 win at NYI.

* Boyes, who was originally selected by the Maple Leafs in the first round (24th overall) of the 2000 NHL Draft, scored his 35th career game-winning goal and second of the season (also Oct. 21 at COL).

* Defensemen Dmitry Kulikov (1-1—2) and Willie Mitchell (1-0—1) evened the game with goals 7:24 apart in the third period. Prior to Sunday, the club’s defensemen had combined for nine goals in 32 outings this season (and just four excluding Aaron Ekblad).

* Twelve total skaters found the scoresheet for the Panthers, the first time that has happened since Dec. 27, 2011, also vs. TOR (a 5-3 W). Jonathan Huberdeau (1-1—2) and Jussi Jokinen (0-2—2) registered multi-point performances.

* Roberto Luongo made 18 saves to improve to 16-7-2 with a 2.36 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and two shutouts in 26 career games versus the Maple Leafs, including an 11-1-0 mark in his last 13 such appearances dating to Jan. 13, 2007.

* The Panthers have picked up points in six of their past seven overall outings dating to Dec. 12 (5-1-1). They also earned their third straight victory over the Maple Leafs dating to Feb. 4, 2014.

DID YOU KNOW?
There have been 21 games this season in which a team has overcome a multi-goal, third-period deficit to win. That includes five such victories in regulation.

Overall, there have been 224 comeback wins through 529 games this season (42.3%), including 47 in which a team erased a multi-goal deficit.

FOWLER LIFTS DUCKS IN OVERTIME
Down 1-0 after 40 minutes, Francois Beauchemin knotted the game at 6:52 of the third period and Cam Fowler scored at 2:42 of overtime to power the Ducks to their eighth victory in their last nine meetings with the Canucks dating to April 25, 2013 (8-0-1).

* The Ducks improved to 10-2-1 in their last 13 games overall. They pace the NHL with 54 points this season (24-8-6), while their 24 wins are tied with the Blackhawks for the League lead.

* Fowler posted his third career overtime goal; his other two came during his rookie season in 2010-11 (Feb. 11 at CGY and March 23 at DAL).

* Beauchemin recorded his first goal since April 2, 2014 vs. EDM. Ducks defensemen have combined for 19 goals this season, led by nine from Sami Vatanen.

* Ryan Getzlaf collected two assists to extend his point streak to eight games (4-9—13), the longest active run in the NHL. He leads the League with 15 assists and 20 points in 13 December outings; Elias says his 20 points are a franchise record for December, breaking the previous mark of 19 established by Paul Kariya in 1996 and matched by Teemu Selanne in 2006.

* Overall, Getzlaf shares second in the NHL with 30 assists and third with 42 points in 37 games this season (tied with Claude Giroux in both categories).

* Frederik Andersen made 13 saves to pick up his League-leading 10th win of the month (10-1-1). Per Elias, Andersen’s 10 December victories are a franchise record for any calendar month, breaking the mark of nine set by Guy Hebert (February 1999) and matched by both Jean-Sebastien Giguere (March 2006) and Jonas Hiller (January 2010 and December 2013).

* The Ducks improved to 18-0-6 in one-goal games this season; their 18 such victories lead the NHL, while their .750 winning percentage ranks second. Fifteen of the club’s last 17 overall wins have been by one goal, including seven decided in extra time.

LOOSE PUCKS
Despite suffering the overtime loss, the Canucks (20-11-3, 43 points) earned one point to leapfrog the idle Kings (18-11-7, 43 points) and Sharks (19-12-5, 43 points) for second place in the Pacific Division . . . Maple Leafs forward James van Riemsdyk (1-1—2) posted his second consecutive multi-point performance, following 1-2—3 on Tuesday at DAL. He has 7-10—17 in his past 14 outings dating to Nov. 29 . . . Yannick Weber scored the lone goal for the Canucks . . . Maple Leafs defenseman Roman Polak matched a career high with his fourth goal of the season (26 GP). That mark was established in 78 contests in 2009-10 and equaled in 72 games last season . . . Canucks goaltender Ryan Miller made 29 saves, but fell to 3-3-1 with a 2.46 goals-against average, .925 save percentage and one shutout in seven career appearances vs. ANA . . . Maple Leafs forward Joffrey Lupul (0-2—2) recorded his 400th NHL point. He has 6-7—13 in 15 games since returning from an injury on Nov. 26 . . . Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner played in his 200th NHL game . . . Ducks forward Max Friberg made his NHL debut . . . Maple Leafs head coach Randy Carlyle coached his 700th NHL game, becoming the 44th head coach in the NHL history – and 13th active – to reach the milestone (363-257-80).

SNEAK PEEK AT MONDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Detroit @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., NBCSN, TVA, FS-D, NESN
Pittsburgh @ New Jersey, 7:00 p.m., ROOT, MSG+
Washington @ NY Islanders, 7:00 p.m., CSN-DC, MSG+ 2
Montreal @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m., SNE, RDS, FS-CR
Buffalo @ Ottawa, 7:30 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, TSN5, RDSI
Toronto @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., SNO, SUN
Colorado @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., ALT, FS-MW
Minnesota @ Winnipeg, 8:00 p.m., FS-N, FS-WI, TSN3
Nashville @ Chicago, 8:30 p.m., SN1, SNP, FS-TN, CSN-CH
NY Rangers @ Dallas, 8:30 p.m., MSG, FS-SW
Los Angeles @ Calgary, 9:00 p.m., FS-W, SNW
Philadelphia @ Arizona, 9:00 p.m., CSN-PH, FS-A
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

CAPITALS, BLACKHAWKS PLAY FINAL GAMES BEFORE WINTER CLASSIC
Both the Capitals and Blackhawks play their final games before skating in the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day at Nationals Park:

* The Capitals close out the calendar year by visiting the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Washington has earned at least one point in 10 of its last 11 games (8-1-2), including a 3-0 victory on Saturday in Pittsburgh. New York, meanwhile, is coming off consecutive losses, but has won 10 of its past 12 contests at home. These clubs last met during the final week of November, when they split a home-and-home series: the Islanders earned a 3-2 overtime win on Nov. 26 at Nassau Coliseum, while the Capitals won 5-2 on Nov. 28 at Verizon Center.

* The Blackhawks also close out 2014 when they play host to the Predators at United Center. Two of the top four clubs in the NHL standings, Chicago (24-10-2, 50 points) holds a two-point edge over Nashville (23-9-2, 48 points) for first place in the Central Division. This marks the fourth and final meeting between these teams in 2014-15; the Blackhawks have won two of the first three games, including a 3-1 victory in their most recent matchup on Dec. 6 at Bridgestone Arena. Overall, Chicago is 12-2-1 in its past 15 outings, while Nashville is 11-4-0 in its last 15.

STARS TRY TO COOL OFF STREAKING RANGERS
The Stars will try to halt the Rangers’ eight-game winning streak when they face off at American Airlines Center. Dallas has won four of its past five outings, including a 4-3 victory on Saturday in St. Louis. New York, meanwhile, is riding its first eight-game winning streak in 40 years and is two games shy of matching the franchise record (achieved 2x, most recently Jan. 19 – Feb. 10, 1973: 10-0-0). This marks the first of two meetings between these clubs this season; the Rangers are 4-1-0 in their past five matchups dating to Jan. 6, 2010, including a sweep of their two-game set in 2013-14.

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department

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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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