THREE HARD LAPS

* Franchise icon Patrick Marleau scored twice in his first game back with San Jose to help the Sharks earn their first win of the season.

* The Oilers rallied for their fourth consecutive comeback win in as many games, joining the Hurricanes as the only teams with a 4-0-0 record this season.

* Thursday featured 79 goals scored across 11 contests for an average of 7.2 per game, highlighted by three with at least 10 combined tallies, five decided by a one-goal margin and four multi-goal comeback wins.

MARLEAU SCORES TWICE IN FIRST GAME BACK WITH SAN JOSE
Patrick Marleau scored twice in his first game since being signed by San Jose, where he played his first 19 seasons from 1997-98 to 2016-17 after being chosen by the Sharks with the second pick in the 1997 NHL Draft.

* The 40-year-old Marleau, who scored 34 career regular-season goals with the Sharks before celebrating his 20th birthday, became the eighth player in League history to score at least one goal as a teenager and at least one goal while in his 40s with the same franchise.

* Click here for more on Marleau, who can climb several of the NHL’s all-time lists in his 22nd season.

OILERS RALLY AGAIN TO IMPROVE TO 4-0-0
Leon Draisaitl, James Neal and Connor McDavid (1-1—2) each scored game-tying goals in regulation before a five-minute overtime period without a stoppage of play ensued. Draisaitl then scored the decisive goal in the shootout as the Oilers rallied past the Devils to improve to 4-0-0 in 2019-20, overcoming a deficit in each contest.

* Edmonton became the third team in NHL history to overcome a deficit to win each of their first four games in a season, joining Los Angeles in 1988-89 and Nashville in 2005-06. No team has ever recorded a comeback win in each of their first five contests in a season.

* Dave Tippett, who was hired by the Oilers on May 28, became the first NHL head coach to earn wins in each of his first four or more games with a franchise since Bruce Cassidy did so with the Bruins from Feb. 9-19, 2017 (also 4-0-0). The longest such win streak by a head coach in NHL history is seven games, a mark set by Jacques Lemaire with the Devils from Oct. 6-23, 1993.

* Neal scored his League-leading seventh goal of the season (7-0—7 in 4 GP) – one more than Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha (6-2—8 in 4 GP) and Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (6-1—7 in 5 GP), who also tallied Thursday. His seven goals are the most by an Oilers player through the team’s first four games in a season.

OVECHKIN MOVES UP NHL’S ALL-TIME POWER-PLAY GOALS LIST

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored his 248th and 249th career power-play goals in the regular season to pass Luc Robitaille (247) for sole possession of fourth place on the NHL’s all-time list, trailing only Dave Andreychuk (274), Brett Hull (265) and Teemu Selanne (255).

* Ovechkin recorded his 22nd career regular-season game with multiple power-play goals and moved into a tie with Wayne Gretzky for the 10th-most such outings since 1933-34 when goals by type became an official NHL statistic. Mario Lemieux tops the list of most career games with multiple power-play goals in the regular season with 31.

O'REILLY JOINS RARE LIST OF REIGNING CONN SMYTHE TROPHY WINNERS
Blues forward Ryan O'Reilly (1-3—4), one of four players to register four points Thursday, boosted his 2019-20 totals to 1-6—7 (4 GP) as the defending Stanley Cup champions overcame deficits of 2-0 and 3-2 to defeat the Senators. He became the fifth different reigning Conn Smythe Trophy winner to record seven or more points through his team’s first four games of the ensuing regular season and first in 27 years.

KESSEL CLIMBS NHL’S ALL-TIME CONSECUTIVE GAMES PLAYED LIST
Coyotes forward Phil Kessel skated in his 777th consecutive regular-season game dating to Nov. 3, 2009, passing Craig Ramsay (776 GP; March 27, 1973 – Feb. 10, 1983) for the seventh-longest “Ironman” streak in NHL history.

* Kessel’s 777th consecutive regular-season game and 999th of his career overall came exactly 32 years since Doug Jarvis extended his League-record “Ironman” streak to 964 contests on Oct. 10, 1987, in what would be his final NHL appearance.

QUICK CLICKS

* NHL, Disney Streaming Services introduce new digital experience for fans

* Avalanche extend season-opening win streak to three games
* Sharks defenseman Brent Burns reaches 200-goal mark
* Patrik Laine records four points in Jets home opener victory
* Brayden Point has three points in season debut, Lightning defeat Maple Leafs

PREVIEW OF TODAY’S ACTION

the information above was supplied by the NHL PR department