Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

04/04/2016 at 10:37am EDT

IDLE PANTHERS CLINCH PLAYOFF BERTH
The idle Panthers (44-25-9, 97 points) – who currently own first place in the Atlantic Division – clinched a berth in the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs by virtue of a Blackhawks victory, their fifth postseason appearance in franchise history and first since 2011-12.

KANE REACHES 100 POINTS IN BLACKHAWKS WIN…
The Blackhawks opened the scoring with six consecutive goals – including three byPatrick Kane (3-1—4) – and held off a four-goal Bruins rally to pick up their fourth win in their last five contests (4-1-0).

* Kane registered his second career regular-season hat trick (also Jan. 15 at TOR: 3-1—4) and added an assist to reach the 100-point mark for the first time in his NHL career (43-57—100).

* Per Elias, Kane – who leads the Art Ross Trophy race by 12 points – became the first Blackhawks player to reach the 100-point mark in a season since Jeremy Roenick in 1993-94 (46-61—107) and the first U.S.-born NHL player to hit the mark since Doug Weight in 1995-96 (25-79—104 w/ EDM).

* Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin (1-3—4) registered his second consecutive four-point game (also April 1 at WPG: 2-2—4). Per Elias, Panarin became the first rookie in Blackhawks history to record consecutive four-point performances and the first rookie on any team to do so since Nicklas Backstrom (WSH) in 2007-08 (Jan. 19 vs. FLA: 0-4—4 and Jan. 21 at PIT: 0-4—4).


…BLUES KEEP PACE IN CENTRAL DIVISION
David Backes, Troy Brouwer and Alex Pietrangelo each collected 1-1—2 to help the Blues pick up their sixth win in their past seven contests (6-1-0).

* At 47-23-9 (103 points), the Blues climbed within two points of the Stars (48-23-9, 105 points) for first place in the Central Division and Western Conference and remain four points ahead of the Blackhawks (46-26-7, 99 points) – who also won on Sunday – for second place in the division.

* Vladimir Tarasenko recorded 0-2—2 to extend his point streak to five games (2-4—6).Paul Stastny, who registered an assist, also extended his point streak to five games (1-7—8).

PENGUINS WIN SIXTH STRAIGHT TO REACH CENTURY MARK
Matthew Murray made 28 saves and Eric Fehr (2-0—2) scored twice to help the Penguins improve to 12-1-0 in their last 13 contests, including an active six-game winning streak.

* At 46-25-8 (100 points), the Penguins – who sit second in the Metropolitan Division – reached 100 points for the 10th time in franchise history and seventh time in the last 10 campaigns.

* Murray earned his fifth consecutive victory and improved to 7-2-1 overall (1.88 GAA, .933 SV%, 1 SO).

* Sidney Crosby (1-0—1) extended his point streak to six games (2-4—6) and ranks third in the NHL with 33-49—82 this season, including at least one point in 18 of his last 19 outings (8-18—26). Teammate Kris Letang (0-2—2) also extended his point streak to six games (2-7—9).

DUCKS LEAPFROG KINGS, FIRST IN PACIFIC
Nate Thompson and Ryan Kesler (2-0—2) each scored shorthanded goals to lead the Ducks to their fourth win in their last five contests (4-1-0).

* At 44-24-10 (98 points), the Ducks leapfrogged the idle Kings (46-27-5, 97 points) for first place in the Pacific Division.

* John Gibson made 24 saves to reach 20 wins in a season for the first time in his NHL career (20-12-3), tied for most among rookie goaltenders (Mike Condon: 20-24-6 w/ MTL).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS

* Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville earned his 800th career regular-season win, just the second head coach in NHL history to reach the milestone (Scotty Bowman: 1,244).

* Ducks forward Andrew Cogliano became the second player in NHL history to start his career with 700 consecutive games played (Doug Jarvis: 964).

* Ducks forward Corey Perry (800) and Flyers forward Jakub Voracek (600) played in milestone games.

LOOSE PUCKS
Ondrej Pavelec made 28 saves and five different skaters found the back of the net to help the Jets improve to 6-1-0 in their last seven games vs. MIN…Jets forward Blake Wheeler (1-0—1) extended his point streak to eight games (5-6—11) and teammate Mark Scheifele (1-0—1) extended his point streak to seven games (4-6—10)…Penguins forward Phil Kessel (0-1—1) has collected 5-6—11 in his last six games…Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling established a regular-season career high with 42 saves and improved to 4-1-0 in his last five appearances...Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron (32-35—67) set a new career-high for goals in a season…Avalanche forward Matt Duchene(30-27—57) reached the 30-goal mark for the first time in his NHL career... Flyers forwardWayne Simmonds scored his 29th goal of 2015-16, equaling his career high...Maple Leafs center Nazem Kadriwill have a hearing Monday with the NHL Department of Player Safety for cross-checking Red Wings center Luke Glendening during a game at Air Canada Centre on Saturday...Linesman Brad Lazarowich worked his 1,971st and final NHL regular-season game (MIN-WPG) in the same city where he worked his first game on Oct. 9, 1986 (BUF-WIN)...Linesman Andy McElman, a native of Chicago Heights, Ill., was honored in a pre-game ceremony at United Center ahead of his 1,500th and final NHL regular-season game (BOS-CHI).


SNEAK PEEK AT MONDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Tampa Bay @ NY Islanders, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, TVAS, FS-F, MSG+
NY Rangers @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., MSG, FS-O
Florida @ Toronto, 7:30 p.m., FS-F, TSN4
Arizona @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., FS-A PLUS, FS-MW
Los Angeles @ Vancouver, 10:00 p.m., FS-W, SNP
NBCSN Channel Finder
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TODAY’S CLINCHING SCENARIOS
* The Rangers will clinch a playoff berth if they defeat the Blue Jackets in any fashion.

* The Lightning will clinch a playoff berth if they get at least one point against the Islanders.

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.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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