Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

12/11/2013 at 10:37am EST

OVECHKIN’S 4 GOALS, BACKSTROM’S 5 POINTS POWER CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin scored four goals, including the tying marker with 32.4 seconds remaining in regulation, and Nicklas Backstrom recorded 1-4—5 to help the Capitals erase an early three-goal deficit and pick up their fifth victory in their past six games.

* Ovechkin scored four goals for the third time in his career and first time since the 2007-08 season (Dec. 29 at Ottawa, Jan. 31 vs. Montreal). According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other active players who have registered more than one four-goal game in the regular season are Marian Gaborik and Teemu Selanne, each with two such performances.

* Ovechkin has now recorded 13 career hat tricks, which ranks fourth among active players (Selanne leads with 22) and tied for second in Capitals history (Peter Bondra leads with 19).

* Ovechkin scored twice via the power play to move past Bondra for first place on the franchise’s all-time power-play goals list (138). He leads all players with 11 power-play goals and 19 power-play points this season.

* Ovechkin paces the NHL with 26 goals in 29 games this season, including 13 in his past 13 outings (dating to Nov. 12). He also is tied for sixth in the League with 35 points.

* Backstrom posted his fourth career five-point game and eighth career four-assist game, tying career highs. He ranks fifth in the NHL with 25 helpers and tied for first with 15 power-play assists in 31 games this season.

* The Capitals went 3-for-5 on the power play, their third game this season with three or more power-play goals. They rank third in the NHL in overall efficiency (24.4%) and second in home efficiency (29.8%).

* The Capitals improved to 7-2 in shootouts this season and 10-2 in the tiebreaker under head coach Adam Oates.

JONES, KINGS STAY HOT, PICK UP RARE WIN IN MONTREAL
Martin Jones made 31 saves for his second consecutive shutout and six players scored to lead the Kings to their first victory in Montreal since Dec. 11, 1999, and ninth win in 68 all-time regular-season visits (9-48-11).

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Jones (3-0-0, 0.65 GAA, .973 SV%) is the first rookie goaltender to record two shutouts in his first three NHL games since Robbie Moore did so for the Flyers in 1978-79.

* Jones also is the second rookie netminder in Kings history to register consecutive shutouts. Gerry Desjardins posted consecutive blank sheets in 1968-69, both in 0-0 ties. Before Jones, the last rookie to post consecutive shutouts for any NHL team was Corey Crawford, who did so for the Blackhawks in 2010-11.

* The Kings improved to 20-7-4 overall, including points in 15 of their past 16 games (11-1-4). Their 44 points through 31 games are tied for the most in club history (1974-75: 17-4-10, 1980-81: 21-8-2).

* The Kings also improved to 10-3-2 on the road, including a 6-0-2 mark in their last eight games as visitors. Their 22 points through 15 road games are the most in franchise history.

* Excluding shootouts, the Kings have allowed two or fewer goals in 16 consecutive games, a team record. They haven’t yielded a first-period goal in any of those outings.

IGINLA, WEISS RETURN TO FORMER CITIES
Two familiar faces returned to their original NHL cities on Tuesday:

* Bruins forward Jarome Iginla logged 21:36 of ice-time and four shots on goal in his return to Calgary, the city where he spent his first 16 NHL seasons. Iginla is the franchise’s all-time leader in goals (525), points (1,095) and games played (1,219). He also was the longest-serving captain in club history (2003-13); led the team in scoring for 11 consecutive seasons, the longest such streak for any player in NHL history; and guided the Flames to the 2004 Stanley Cup Final.

* Red Wings forward Stephen Weiss played 15:56 and recorded one shot on goal in his return to Sunrise, the city where he spent his first 10 NHL seasons. Weiss is the Panthers’ all-time leader in assists (249) and games played (654), while ranking second in points (394) and fourth in goals (145).

CAMPBELLS JOIN EXCLUSIVE COMPANY
Bruins forward Gregory Campbell played in his 600th NHL game. His father, Colin, appeared in 636 NHL games from 1974-85. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Campbells are the sixth father-son duo in NHL history to each play in at least 600 games. The others are Gordie (1,767) and Mark Howe (929), Bobby (1,063) and Brett Hull (1,269), Dave (616) and Adam Creighton (708), Pat (635) and Mike Stapleton (697), and Greg (704) and Ryan Malone (607).

LOOSE PUCKS
Blues forward Alexander Steen recorded his 21st goal of the season, good for second in the NHL, in his second visit of the season to his hometown of Winnipeg. He also scored twice in a 4-3 shootout loss at the Jets on Oct. 18 . . . Blue Jackets forwards Cam Atkinson (2-2—4) and Brandon Dubinsky (1-3—4) each posted their first career four-point games . . . Oilers forward Jordan Eberle recorded his first career overtime goal . . . Kyle Okposo scored the tying goal with 1:37 remaining in regulation and then potted the shootout winner to help the Islanders snap a 10-game losing streak (0-8-2) . . . Sabres goaltender Ryan Miller improved to 46-27 all-time in shootouts, the most wins via the tiebreaker in NHL history . . . Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk tallied 1-1—2 in his return to the lineup following a seven-game absence . . . Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane posted 1-2—3 to push his assist/point streak to six games (2-10—12). Chicago improved to 17-0-3 when scoring first this season . . . Blue Jackets forward Ryan Johansen recorded an assist to extend his point streak to a career-long six games (2-6—8) . . . Coyotes forward Antoine Vermette tallied two goals to stretch his road point streak to six games (3-4—7), the second-longest such streak of his career . . . NY Rangers forward Rick Nash scored a goal for his 600th NHL point . . . Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews recorded an assist for his 400th career point . . . Red Wings forward Daniel Cleary played in his 900th NHL game.

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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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