Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

02/12/2015 at 10:35am EST

SEDINS LIFT CANUCKS PAST BLACKHAWKS
The Blackhawks erased a two-goal deficit in the final 2:11 of regulation, but Daniel Sedin (2-0—2) found the back of the net at 1:20 of overtime to lead the Canucks to their fourth victory in their past seven outings.

* At 30-20-3 (63 points), the Canucks leapfrogged the idle Flames (30-21-3, 63 points) for third place in the Pacific Division. Though the teams are tied in points, Vancouver holds one game in hand and also owns the ROW tiebreaker (VAN: 28, CGY: 27).

* D. Sedin scored his 13th career overtime goal, extending his franchise record. Elias says his 13 such markers are tied for fourth among active players (w/ Olli Jokinen), behind Jaromir Jagr (19), Patrik Elias (16) and Alex Ovechkin (15).

* With 320 career goals, D. Sedin also passed Trevor Linden (318) to move into sole possession of second place in Canucks history. Only Markus Naslund (346) has scored more goals for the franchise.

* Henrik Sedin assisted on both of his brother’s goals, including the primary helper on the overtime tally. Per Elias, he has 19 career overtime assists, which ranks second among active players behind Elias (21).

* The Sedin twins share the team lead in points this season: Daniel has 13-33—46, while Henrik has 9-37—46.

* Radim Vrbata collected one assist to stretch his point streak to seven games (2-6—8), matching a career high set Jan. 24 – Feb. 11, 2012 (4-5—9 w/ PHX). Chris Higgins and Luca Sbisa both added two helpers.

* The Canucks have earned at least one point in each of their past seven regular-season visits to United Center dating to Oct. 20, 2010 (4-0-3).

WARD POWERS CAPITALS IN OVERTIME
The Sharks tied the game with 5:31 remaining in regulation, but Joel Ward scored at 2:42 of overtime to lift the Capitals to their fourth victory in their past five contests.

* At 29-16-10 (68 points), the Capitals leapfrogged the idle Rangers (31-16-5, 67 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division. New York, however, holds three games in hand and owns the ROW tiebreaker (NYR: 29, WSH: 27).

* Ward recorded his third game-winning goal of the season (also Oct. 25 at CGY and Nov. 7 at WSH), one shy of his career high set in 2010-11 and equaled in 2013-14.

* Jay Beagle set a career high for points in one game with 2-1—3. He also notched his second career multi-goal game (other April 11, 2014 vs. CHI: 2-0—2).

* John Carlson (1-1—2) posted his 10th multi-point performance of the season. He shares sixth among defensemen with 7-31—38.

* Nicklas Backstrom and Brooks Orpik both collected two assists. Backstrom is tied for first with 41 helpers this season, while his 57 points rank fourth.

* Braden Holtby made 26 saves to pick up his 26th win of the season, tied for sixth in the NHL. He also ranks in the top 10 in shutouts (t-2nd; 6), goals-against average (5th; 2.18) and save percentage (6th; .924).

* The Capitals have won their last two visits to SAP Center after a 12-game winless streak in San Jose from Dec. 2, 1995 – Jan. 7, 2012 (0-11-1).

FLEURY, PENGUINS GAIN GROUND IN METROPOLITAN
Marc-Andre Fleury made 23 saves, including nine in the third period, to backstop the Penguins to their third win in their past four outings.

* At 31-15-8 (70 points), the Penguins moved within one point of the idle Islanders (35-18-1, 71 points) for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division. The teams are tied in games played, but Pittsburgh owns the ROW tiebreaker (PIT: 29, NYI: 28).

* After not allowing a goal in each of his past two starts (Feb. 4 at EDM and Feb. 6 at CGY), Fleury extended his shutout streak to a career-high 165:06 before yielding a second-period goal. The sequence eclipsed his previous career high by 44 seconds, achieved earlier this season (Oct. 28 – Nov. 6, 2014: 164:22).

* Elias says Fleury’s shutout streak ranks second in Penguins history. Tomas Vokoun owns the franchise record with a 173:06 stretch from March 22 – April 2, 2013.

* Fleury picked up his 26th win of the season, tied for sixth in the NHL. He also improved to 4-1-0 with a 1.19 goals-against average, .952 save percentage and two shutouts in his past five starts.

* Blake Comeau and Patric Hornqvist each registered 1-1—2. Comeau, who also posted the game-winning goal, made his return to the lineup following a 20-game absence dating to Dec. 22.

* David Perron and Nick Spaling supplied the other goals. Perron has 9-4—13 in 16 games since joining the Penguins; he had 5-14—19 in 38 contests with the Oilers this season.

* The Penguins have earned points in each of their past five meetings with the Red Wings dating to Dec. 14, 2013 (3-0-2). They also have won four of their last five matchups in Pittsburgh dating to Jan. 31, 2010 (4-1-0).

DID YOU KNOW?
* Penguins captain Sidney Crosby played in his 600th NHL game (291-534—825), becoming the eighth player in franchise history to achieve that feat. Since entering the NHL in 2005-06, he leads the League in points per game (1.38).

* Via Elias, Crosby’s 825 points are the ninth-highest total by any player through his first 600 games, following Wayne Gretzky (1,451), Mario Lemieux (1,215), Mike Bossy (921), Peter Stastny (901), Bobby Orr (864), Jari Kurri (848), Bryan Trottier (830) and Denis Savard (827).

* Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa registered two goals for the third consecutive game (6-0—6), including the tying marker with 54.5 seconds remaining in regulation. Hossa has posted three straight multi-goal games for the first time in his career. He is the first player to accomplish that feat for any team since Flyers forward Wayne Simmonds did so Dec. 21-28, 2013 (6-1—7).

* Elias also says that Hossa is the sixth player in Blackhawks history to notch three consecutive multi-goal performances (in three straight team games of one season), joining Bobby Hull (1965-66), Doug Mohns (1968-69), Al Secord (1981-82), Steve Larmer (1990-91) and Steve Sullivan (2002-03).

LOOSE PUCKS
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (1-2—3) posted his ninth three-point game of the season to move into sole possession of first place in League scoring (27-35—62). He also reached the 60-point milestone for the seventh time in eight NHL seasons . . . Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (2-0—2) recorded his fifth career multi-goal game and second of the season (also Nov. 8 at DAL: 2-0—2), finding the back of the net twice in 22 seconds. He shares second among defensemen in goals (14) and points (42) this season . . . Sharks teammates Logan Couture (1-1—2), Joe Thornton (1-1—2), Patrick Marleau (0-2—2) and Matt Nieto (0-2—2) also notched multi-point games . . . Stephen Weiss scored the lone goal for the Red Wings, giving him 7-11—18 in 30 GP this season. He had a combined 3-5—8 over the past two campaigns (43 GP) . . . Capitals defenseman Karl Alzner played in his 400th NHL game . . . The Sabres acquired forward Evander Kane, defenseman Zach Bogosian and goaltender Jason Kasdorf from the Jets in exchange for defenseman Tyler Myers, forwards Drew Stafford and Joel Armia, the rights to prospect Brendan Lemieux, and a first-round pick in the 2015 NHL Draft. Click here for complete details . . . The Stars acquired goaltender Jhonas Enroth from the Sabres in exchange for goaltender Anders Lindback and a conditional third-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft . . . The Coyotes claimed forward Mark Arcobello off waivers from the Penguins. Per Elias, he will become the third player in NHL history to play for four different teams in one season (also EDM and NSH) . . . ICYMI: Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov announced his retirement from hockey. The 39-year-old Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, native played 14 seasons in the NHL, compiling a 353-227-100 record (2.44 GAA, .911 SV%, 59 SO) with the Sharks, Islanders and Lightning. He also is the Sharks’ all-time leader in wins (293), shutouts (50) and games played by a goaltender (563). Nabokov received a standing ovation and dropped the ceremonial opening puck prior to the WSH-SJS tilt.


SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Toronto @ NY Islanders, 7:00 p.m., TSN4, MSG+
Anaheim @ Carolina, 7:00 p.m., PRIME, SPSO
Edmonton @ Montreal, 7:30 p.m., SNW, SNE, RDS
Pittsburgh @ Ottawa, 7:30 p.m., ROOT, TSN5, RDS2
St. Louis @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., NHLN-US, TVA, FS-MW, SUN
Winnipeg @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., TSN3
Florida @ Minnesota, 8:00 p.m., FS-F, FS-N, FS-WI
NY Rangers @ Colorado, 9:00 p.m., SN360, MSG, ALT
Calgary @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m., SNW, FS-W
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

TEAMS BATTLE FOR WILD CARD POSITIONING IN WEST
A pair of games weigh heavily on the Wild Card race in the Western Conference:


* The Flames, who currently occupy the second Wild Card spot in the conference, visit the Kings at STAPLES Center in the fourth of five meetings this season. Calgary has won each of their first three matchups, including a pair of overtime victories in Southern California (Dec. 22 and Jan. 19). Overall, the Kings return home following a 2-3-0 East Coast road trip, including consecutive wins to end the swing. The club also has earned points in 10 of its past 12 contests at STAPLES Center dating to Dec. 18 (5-2-5). The Flames, meanwhile, are 4-1-0 in their past five outings, including a 4-1 victory over the Sharks on Monday.

* The Jets, who currently occupy the first Wild Card spot in the conference, travel to Bridgestone Arena to face the No. 1-ranked Predators. Central Division rivals, this also marks the fourth of five meetings between these teams this season. Nashville has won two of the first three, including a 2-1 triumph in their most recent matchup on Nov. 15 in the Music City. Overall, the Predators are 5-1-0 in their past six starts, including three straight victories. The Jets, meanwhile, have collected points in four consecutive games (2-0-2), including two straight wins.

the information above was provided by the NHL PR department

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