* Evgeni Malkin leads all active players in points per game against the Maple Leafs and played a pivotal role for the Penguins on Friday, propelling his club to victory in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game.
* It was a milestone night in Washington as John Carlson recorded his 600th career point. Only three active defensemen have reached the mark in fewer games than the Capitals blueliner.
* After making his debut with the Flyers during the 2007-08 season, Claude Giroux will make his much-anticipated return to Philadelphia as a member of the Senators after being dealt to the Panthers prior to the trade deadline last season.
MALKIN CONTINUES SUCCESS AGAINST MAPLE LEAFS IN ANNUAL HALL OF FAME GAME Evgeni Malkin (1-1—2) factored on two of four Penguins goals as Pittsburgh captured its second victory in as many games and edged Toronto in the annual Hockey Hall of Fame Game at Scotiabank Arena.
* Malkin, who scored his first career goal against goaltender Erik Kallgren, boosted his career totals against Toronto to 24-43—67 in 41 games (1.63 P/GP) – the highest points per game against the club among active players (min. 10 GP). The next closest is Patrick Kane (14-16—30 in 20 GP; 1.50 P/GP).
* While this year’s Hall of Fame Class marks the first time multiple Swedish-born players have been inducted in the same year (Henrik Sedin, Daniel Sedin & Daniel Alfredsson), some of the past inductees were recognized as part of the pre-game ceremony. Among them was the first Swedish-born player inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, Borje Salming, who received an emotional standing ovation from Maple Leafs fans in support of his battle with ALS.
FLEURY BLANKS KRAKEN FOR FIRST SHUTOUT IN WILD UNIFORM Marc-Andre Fleury turned aside all 28 shots he faced to help the Wild halt the Kraken’s five-game win streak and help Minnesota improve to 5-2-1 on the road this season. Only the Golden Knights (8-1-0) have secured more victories as the visitor in 2022-23.
* Fleury posted his 72nd career shutout and first with the Wild after recording 44 with Pittsburgh (2003-04 – 2016-17), 23 with Vegas (2017-18 – 2020-21) and four with Chicago (45 GP in 2021-22). Only five active goaltenders have recorded a regular-season shutout with more franchises than the third-winningest goaltender in NHL history: Darcy Kuemper (5), Mike Smith (5), Brian Elliott (5), Jaroslav Halak (5) and Jonathan Bernier (5).
CARLSON HITS MILESTONE, CAPITALS SCORE EARLY AND OFTEN AGAINST VASILEVSKIY John Carlson (0-1—1) factored on one of five Capitals goals to reach the 600-point mark in his career (134-466—600 in 897 GP). Carlson, who became the 11th U.S.-born defenseman in NHL history to reach the milestone, joined Brent Burns (230-557—787), Erik Karlsson (163-518—681), Kris Letang (144-514—658), Ryan Suter (100-542—642) and Victor Hedman (135-477—612) as the sixth active blueliner to do so.
* The Capitals are averaging 3.46 goals per game against Andrei Vasilevskiy, the two-time Stanley Cup champion, Conn Smythe Trophy winner (2020-21) and Vezina Trophy winner (2018-19) – the highest such total among all teams, ahead of the Jets (3.44 G/GP).
FAST GOALS BY SHARKS FEATURED IN FRIDAY’S #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES The Friday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates included more notes from the four-game slate, including Sharks forward Timo Meier (1-1—2) scoring at 0:29 of the middle frame to extend his goal streak to five contests and teammate Logan Couture (1-1—2) tallying 36 seconds later to give San Jose a 4-2 lead.
SATURDAY SET TO FEATURE SIX HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER NIGHTS The Panthers, Sabres, Islanders, Avalanche, Flames and Kings will each host their Hockey Fights Cancer Night during a 13-game slate Saturday.
Some #NHLStats to keep an eye out for:
* Referee Kevin Pollock is set to work the 1,500th game of his NHL career when the Eastern Conference-leading Bruins (12-2-0, 24 points) visit the Sabres (7-7-0, 14 points) at KeyBank Center. Pollock will become the eighth Referee in League history to reach the milestone, joining Kerry Fraser (1,905), Don Koharski (1,872), Bill McCreary (1,737), Paul Devorski (1,619), Dan Marouelli (1,619), Dave Jackson (1,546) and Dan O'Halloran (1,513).
* The League-leading Golden Knights (13-2-0, 26 points) can extend their winning streak to 10 games when they take on the Blues (4-8-0, 8 points) at T-Mobile Arena. Vegas would match its longest winning streak in franchise history, a mark set from April 9-28, 2021 (10-0-0).
* The Metropolitan Division-leading Devils (11-3-0, 22 points) can earn their ninth consecutive victory when they host the Coyotes (6-6-1, 13 points) at Prudential Center. New Jersey has recorded a nine-game winning streak four times in franchise history, most recently from Nov. 17–Dec. 7, 2007 (9-0-0).
* Former Flyers captain Claude Giroux is set to contest a game at Wells Fargo Center for the first time since he was traded to Florida by Philadelphia on March 19. Giroux, who was later signed by the Senators, donned the “C” with the Flyers for parts of 10 seasons from 2012-13 to 2021-22.
Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.
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