from Matt Porter of the Boston Globe,
Connor McDavid scored his 800th point this past week, becoming the fifth-fastest to reach that milestone (545 games). Here’s the thing, though: The rest of the top five — Wayne Gretzky (352 games), Mario Lemieux (410), Mike Bossy (525) and Peter Stastny (531) — played in the era when stand-up goalies wore water-logged, leather-and-animal-hair pads. During their heyday, one season (1984-85) had as many as 16 players who scored 100 points in a season. In McDavid’s eight-year career, 22 players have scored 100 points, eight last season.
Another measure of how hard it has been in Anaheim: Only one netminder in NHL history has faced more shots through his first 40 games than John Gibson (1,493). Jacques Plante (1,526 with the 1963-64 Rangers) stands atop a list that began when the league started tracking shots in 1955.
Next year is the last season adidas will produce the NHL’s jerseys, the company last summer opting not to renew its contract that began in 2017-18. NHL equipment managers have regularly expressed dissatisfaction with the adidas product, noting that the jerseys tear more easily than the Reebok ones. Nike seems like a logical next-brand-up, but it’s unclear if the Swoosh has interest.
No team entering the weekend had lost more one-goal games than Calgary (22), which entered Friday a point out of the playoffs.
Also that year, the Kings added a big-name defenseman — Jerry “King Kong” Korab — for a first-round pick. The pick wound up being first overall in 1982, and Phil Housley built the foundation of his Hall of Fame career in Buffalo.
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