…KUZNETSOV’S FIVE-POINT NIGHT LEADS CAPITALS TO FIFTH STRAIGHT VICTORY
Evgeny Kuznetsov (3-2—5) recorded his first career hat trick and a career-high five points to lead the Capitals to their fifth consecutive win.

* Per Elias, Kuznetsov became the first Capitals player to score five points in a game since Nicklas Backstrom (1-4—5) on Dec. 10, 2013 vs. Tampa Bay. Backstrom was also the last Capitals player before Kuznetsov to produce a five-point game on the road. He registered 1-4—5 against the Rangers in New York on Feb. 4, 2010.

* Alex Ovechkin (0-2—2) has recorded at least one point in each of his first six appearances of the season (5-4—9).

* ICYMI: Ovechkin surprised Kuznetsov with a shaving cream pie during a post-game interview following the hat trick.

DID YOU KNOW?
Before Markov and Kuznetsov on Friday night, the last time that there were two NHL games on one day in which a player scored five points was Oct. 22, 2009, when Nashville's J.P. Dumont (1-4—5) did so against Ottawa, and Edmonton's Ales Hemsky(1-4—5) and Dustin Penner (2-3—5) turned the trick against Columbus. (Elias)

FLAMES, LIGHTNING WIN OT THRILLERS
The Flames and Lightning both needed extra time to secure wins on Friday night.

* Trailing 2-1 late in the third period, Joe Colborne scored his first goal of the season with 1:12 remaining in regulation to set the stage for captain Mark Giordano’s overtime winner. Both of Calgary’s victories this season have been earned while trailing after two periods. Last season, Calgary won 10 contests when they trailed after 40 minutes, third most in the NHL. Per Elias, Giordano (2-1—3) extended his own franchise record for most overtime goals by a defenseman (4).

* Ondrej Palat scored 36 seconds into overtime - the fastest overtime goal in the NHL so far this season – to lead the Lightning to a win over the Jets. According to Elias, it was the fastest overtime goal by a Tampa Bay player since Dec. 15, 2011, when Steven Stamkos scored 30 seconds into the extra frame against the Flames.

AROUND THE RINKS
* Jonathan Quick turned aside all 40 shots he faced to record his first shutout of the season and backstop the Kings to their fourth consecutive victory. Quick improved to 8-0-2 when he makes 40-or-more saves in a game. His 38 career shutouts rank fourth among active goaltenders, trailing Roberto Luongo (68), Henrik Lundqvist (55) and Marc-Andre Fleury (39). Tyler Toffoli (2-0—2) has scored in a career-high four consecutive games (5-0—5).

* The Boston Bruins received goals from five different players, including the game-winner by Ryan Spooner (1-1—2), to improve to 3-0-1 in their last four games. Jonas Gustavsson made 23 saves to improve to 2-0-0 in his first two starts with the club (2.50 GAA, .896 SV%) and David Krejci extended his season-opening point streak to seven games (5-7—12). Per Elias, Krejci is the first Bruins player to record at least one point in each of the team’s first seven or more games of a season since 1992-93, when Joe Juneau (7-15—22) and Dmitri Kvartalnov (12-10—22) did so through the team’s first 14 games of the season from Oct. 8 – Nov. 12, 1992.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Canadiens defenseman Andrei Markov eclipsed 500 career points (109-392—501 in 854 GP) to become the third blueliner in franchise history to reach the milestone. The others: Larry Robinson (197-686—883 in 1,202 GP) and Guy Lapointe (166-406—572 in 777 GP).

* Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop made 33 saves to earn his 100th career NHL win (100-46-17, 2.38 GAA, .918 SV%, 12 SO).

* Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (1,200 GP), Canadiens defenseman Tom Gilbert(600 GP), Lightning forward Steven Stamkos (500 GP) and Islanders defensemanJohnny Boychuk (400 GP) all skated in milestone games.

LOOSE PUCKS
Jets forward Blake Wheeler scored shorthanded to extend his season-opening point streak to seven games (4-5—9). Wheeler is the second player in Jets/Thrashers history to record at least one point in each of the club’s first seven games of a season. The other: ATL’s Donald Audette in 2000-01 (7-7—14)…Capitals defenseman John Carlson (0-3—3) extended his point streak to a career-high five games (2-6—8)…Nicklas Backstrom(1-1—2) – who made his season debut on Oct. 17 vs. CAR – has 4-3—7 in his first four outings…Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman (0-3—3) has five assists in his last two outings... Oilers forward Connor McDavid (1-1—2) – the No. 1 overall selection in the 2015 NHL Draft – has 5-3—8 through his first eight appearances, including 4-3—7 in his past four outings...Red Wings rookie Dylan Larkin (0-1—1) has 2-5—7 in his first seven appearances... Islanders forward John Tavares (0-1—1) extended his point streak to five games (3-6—9)... Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (0-1—1) has 3-3—6 in his last three outings...Stars defenseman Jason Demers has been suspended for two games for elbowing Penguins forward Nick Bonino... Devils forward Stephen Gionta has been fined $2,284.95 for spearing Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki...Jimmy Roberts, a five-time Stanley Cup champion and the first skater taken by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 NHL expansion draft, passed away Friday... Members of the MLB's New York Mets were in attendance at Barclays Center to cheer on the Islanders.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Anaheim @ Minnesota, 6:00 p.m., PRIME, FS-SD, FS-N, FS-WI
New Jersey @ Buffalo, 7:00 p.m., MSG+, MSG-B, BELL TV
Toronto @ Montreal, 7:00 p.m., CBC, TVAS
Arizona @ Ottawa, 7:00 p.m., CITY
NY Rangers @ Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m., MSG, CSN-PH
NY Islanders @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., MSG+ 2, FS-MW
Pittsburgh @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., ROOT, FS-TN
Florida @ Dallas, 8:00 p.m., FS-F, FS-SW
Tampa Bay @ Chicago, 8:30 p.m., NHLN-US, SN1, SUN, WGN
Columbus @ Colorado, 9:00 p.m., FS-O, ALT
Detroit @ Vancouver, 10:00 p.m., CBC, FS-D
Carolina @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., FS-CR, CSN-CA
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LIGHTNING VISIT BLACKHAWKS IN STANLEY CUP REMATCH
The Lightning visit the Blackhawks on Saturday for the first time since Chicago claimed the 2015 Stanley Cup in a six game series to earn their third championship in six seasons. The Blackhawks (4-3-0, 8 points) come into the game having won two straight while the Lightning (5-2-1, 11 points) earned an overtime win on Friday night in Winnipeg.

CANADIENS RECORD START HIGHLIGHTS HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
The Canadiens, who at 8-0-0 are off to their best start in the franchise’s 98-year NHL history, will look to keep their streak alive when they host the Maple Leafs. Other games on the national schedule include Coyotes rookie Max Domi’s Hockey Night in Canada debut when Arizona visits the Senators and the Canucks hosting the Red Wings.

HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER AWARENESS NIGHTS
The Sabres, Stars, Flyers, Blues and Sharks all host their Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Nights on Friday. Click on the respective links for more information.

the above information was provided by the PR department of the NHL