Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

01/06/2014 at 10:45am EST

LATE HEROICS KEEP DUCKS’ STREAK ALIVE . . .
Nick Bonino scored the tying goal with 1:27 remaining in regulation and Corey Perry tallied the game-winner with 1.3 seconds left in overtime to help the Ducks improve to 17-0-2 this season at home and 31-8-5 overall.

* The Ducks lead the NHL with 67 points (tied with the Blackhawks, but hold the tiebreaker). They are off to their best 45-game start in franchise history, besting the previous mark set in 2006-07 (29-9-6, 64 points).

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Ducks are the fifth team since 1973-74 to record at least one point in each of its first 19 or more home games of a season:

1979-80 Flyers: 26† (19-0-7)
1978-79 Islanders: 23 (19-0-4)
2008-09 Sharks: 22 (20-0-2)
1973-74 Bruins: 21 (19-0-2)
2013-14 Ducks: 19 (17-0-2)
† NHL record

* The Ducks’ 19-game point streak at Honda Center also is their longest home point streak at any point of a season (previous best was 14 games).

* The Ducks improved to 11-1-2 this season versus the Pacific Division and a League-best 17-3-2 against the Western Conference (.818 points percentage).

* Perry scored his fifth career regular-season overtime goal, tying Ryan Getzlaf and Scott Niedermayer for the second-most in franchise history. He also recorded his League-leading eighth game-winning goal of the season.

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Perry’s goal was the latest overtime winner by a Duck since Nov. 17, 1995, when Peter Douris scored with one second remaining in a 2-1 victory over the Islanders.

* Jonas Hiller made 17 saves to pick up his 11th consecutive win, extending his franchise and personal record.

. . . PENGUINS ALSO STAY HOT AT HOME
The Penguins scored a pair of third-period goals to erase a one-goal deficit and earn their 12th consecutive home victory dating to Nov. 15, matching a franchise record set Feb. 22-March 30, 2013.

* The Penguins lead the NHL with 19 home-ice victories this season (19-3-0). They have outscored opponents 49-27 during their 12-game winning streak at CONSOL Energy Center.

* Evgeni Malkin posted 2-1—3, including the game-tying goal, in his first appearance since Dec. 14. His third point moved him past Jean Pronovost and into sole possession of sixth place on the franchise’s all-time scoring list (228-376—604 in 491 GP).

* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Malkin has eight career games with three or more points versus the Jets/Thrashers franchise, his most against any opponent. The only other teams against which Malkin has recorded at least five such games are the Capitals and Maple Leafs (six each).

* James Neal scored two goals in a 34-second span of the second period. He has found the back of the net 14 times in his past 16 games and ranks second in the NHL with an average of 1.42 points per game this season (16-18—34 in 24 GP), behind only teammate Sidney Crosby (1.43, 23-40—63 in 44 GP).

* Crosby posted an assist to extend his point streak to five games (3-6—9). He also stretched his home point streak to 16 contests (8-17—25) and has at least one point in 21 of 22 games at CONSOL Energy Center this season.

* Matt Niskanen scored his fourth game-winning goal of the season, the most among NHL defensemen.

* With the victory, head coach Dan Bylsma tied Eddie Johnston for the most regular-season wins in franchise history (232).

* The Penguins improved to 5-8-1 when trailing after two periods, tied for the most such wins in the NHL this season (with the Blackhawks, Bruins, Capitals, Coyotes and Devils).

* The Penguins recorded their 13th consecutive home victory over the Jets/Thrashers franchise dating to Dec. 27, 2006, their longest home winning streak versus any opponent in club history.

STALOCK, SHARKS EDGE BLACKHAWKS
Alex Stalock made 33 saves, plus another two in the tiebreaker, to backstop the Sharks to their fourth consecutive shootout victory dating to Dec. 21. They improved to 7-5 in shootouts this season, tied for the second-most such wins in the NHL (with the Maple Leafs).

* Stalock improved to 5-2-0 with a 2.03 goals-against average and .932 save percentage in 10 appearances this season. He has recorded 30 or more saves in four of his five victories.

* Joe Thornton collected his League-leading 43rd assist of the season to extend his assist/point streak to eight games (0-12—12).

* Logan Couture scored the deciding goal in the shootout and added an assist to stretch his point streak to five games (4-1—5).

* Despite the loss, the Blackhawks extended their point streak to 10 games dating to Dec. 15 (6-0-4).

SKINNER, HURRICANES KEEP ROLLING
Jeff Skinner posted 1-1—2, including the tiebreaking goal with 3:31 remaining in regulation, and Anton Khudobin made 31 saves to lead the Hurricanes to their season-high fourth consecutive victory.

* Skinner extended his point streak to five games (6-4—10), matching a career long set during his rookie season (Jan. 7-15, 2011: 5-3—8). He has 16-6—22, including seven multi-point performances, in his last 16 games after totaling 4-7—11, with two multi-point outings, in his first 16 contests of the season.

* Khudobin improved to 5-0-0 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .940 save percentage in six games this season. He has made 30 or more saves in four of his five starts and has allowed two or fewer goals in five of his six appearances.

CROSBY LEADS 2013 JERSEY SALES
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby had the top-selling player jersey on Shop.NHL.com in 2013. Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk, Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane rounded out the top five.

LOOSE PUCKS
Canucks goaltender Eddie Lack made a career-high 45 saves while celebrating his 26th birthday, but fell to 7-3-2 . . . Jets forward Evander Kane posted 2-1—3 for his second three-point game of the season . . . Oilers forward Taylor Hall recorded 1-1—2 for his fifth multi-point game in his last nine outings . . . Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford made a season-high 40 saves . . . Lightning forward Ondrej Palat recorded an assist to extend his career-long point streak to six games (2-5—7) . . . Predators forwards Mike Fisher (4-6—10) and Patric Hornqvist (2-4—6) both stretched their point streaks to five games . . . Penguins defenseman Rob Scuderi played in his 600th NHL game . . . Undrafted Sharks forward Eriah Hayes, 25, made his League debut . . . With Roberto Luongo injured, the Canucks signed 43-year-old SoCal local Rob Laurie to a one-day PTO contract. Laurie also dressed for the Ducks as a backup last season.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

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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