OUTH PROPELS MAPLE LEAFS TO THIRD STRAIGHT WIN

Five different players found the back of the net, including first career NHL goals from defensemen Travis Dermott (1-1—2) and Justin Holl (1-0—1), to power the Maple Leafs (29-18-5, 63 points) to their third straight win and fourth victory in five contests.

* Per Elias, Dermott (9 GP) and Holl (1 GP) became just the fourth pair of defensemen on the same team since 1991-92 to register first career NHL goals in the same game. The others: Ottawa’s Shane Hnidy and Karel Rachunek on Jan. 16, 2001, Edmonton’s Adam Bennett and Ilya Byakin on Nov. 6, 1993 and Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom and Vladimir Konstantinov on Oct. 17, 1991.

* Holl – who celebrated his 26th birthday on Tuesday – became the eighth defenseman in franchise history to score his first NHL goal while making his NHL debut and the first to do so since Ron Wilson (Mar. 4, 1978 vs. VAN).

* Four of Toronto’s five goals were scored by players age 21 or younger (Kasperi Kapanen: 21; Auston Matthews: 20; Mitchell Marner: 20; and Dermott: 21). There are only three other times in franchise history where four different players 21 or younger scored in the same game – all of which occurred during the 1943-44 season.

STEPHENSON SPARKS CAPITALS RALLY
After falling behind 2-0 in the first period, Chandler Stephenson (2-0—2) scored twice to start a run of five consecutive Capitals goals to help the club rally to their 30th win of the season.

* Stephenson, who had scored two goals in 49 career games entering the contest, netted two in 47 seconds to become the 10th player in 2017-18 to score two goals in under a minute and the first Capitals player to do so since Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals 53 seconds apart on Jan. 28, 2014.

* Washington, who sits atop the Metropolitan Division standings, rallied from a multi-goal deficit to win for a League-leading sixth time this season.

STREAKS OF NOTE
Maple Leafs defenseman Jake Gardiner, Flyers forward Travis Konecny and Red Wings netminder Petr Mrazek all continued impressive strings of success Wednesday:

* Gardiner, who led all Maple Leafs defensemen in scoring last season with 9-34—43 in 82 GP, collected an assist to extend his assist/point streak to a career high six contests (0-10—10).

* Konecny scored for the fifth consecutive game to extend his point streak to six contests (5-2—7). He became the first Flyers player to score in five straight games since Wayne Simmonds from Mar. 26 – Apr. 3, 2012. The last Flyers player to score in six consecutive games: Scott Hartnell from Dec. 2 – 13, 2011.

* Mrazek made 30 saves through regulation and overtime before turning aside four Sharks in the shootout to help the Red Wings (20-21-8, 48 points) snap a five-game skid at Little Caesars Arena (0-4-1). Mrazek improved to 4-1-1 in his last five decisions, posting a 1.88 GAA, .936 SV% and two shutouts over that span.

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SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION

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GOLDEN KNIGHTS CHASE HISTORY

The Western Conference and Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights (33-12-4, 70 points) look to set an NHL record for most wins by a team in its inaugural season when they face the Central Division-leading Jets (30-13-8, 68 points) in a matchup between the top two teams in the West.

* The Golden Knights – who have already set new benchmarks for the longest win (8-0-0) and point streaks (12-0-1) by a club in its inaugural NHL season – can break a tie with the 1993-94 Mighty Ducks and Panthers (33 wins apiece in 84 GP) for most victories by a team in its inaugural NHL season just 50 games into their debut campaign.

* The Jets, who host the Golden Knights at Bell MTS Place in the second contest of a 10-game homestand, boast an 18-3-1 (37 points) record on home ice in 2017-18 including seven consecutive wins.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the above information.