THREE HARD LAPS

* The Hurricanes improved to 5-0-0 and established a franchise record for longest season-opening win streak, eclipsing their previous mark set 24 years ago.

* Nearly half of all games this season have been decided by a one-goal margin (29 of 60; 48.3%), including two of three contested Friday.

* Several teams are set to put streaks on the line today across a 14-game slate, marking the busiest day of the season so far. Only the Ducks, Sabres and Sharks are idle.

HURRICANES IMPROVE TO 5-0-0 FOR FIRST TIME IN FRANCHISE HISTORY
Andrei Svechnikov and Dougie Hamilton each collected 1-1—2 to help the Hurricanes improve to 5-0-0 in 2019-20 and establish a franchise record for longest season-opening win streak, eclipsing the previous mark of 4-0-0 set in 1995-96 as the Hartford Whalers.

* Svechnikov, 19, has collected multiple points in each of his last four games dating to Oct. 5 (1-7—8). Only three teenagers in NHL history have recorded multiple points in five or more consecutive team games within a regular season: Detroit’s Steve Yzerman from Oct. 26 – Nov. 8, 1984 (4-11—15 in 6 GP), Los Angeles’ Jimmy Carson from Feb. 3-13, 1988 (9-4—13 in 5 GP) and Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine from Feb. 24 – March 6, 2018 (9-3—12 in 5 GP).

* Hamilton has recorded seven points in 2019-20 (3-4—7 in 5 GP), one shy of Washington’s John Carlson (1-7—8 in 5 GP) for the most among defensemen. His seven points are tied for the most by a Hurricanes/Whalers blueliner through the team’s first five games in a season.

* Carolina improved to 35-12-2 (72 points) in 49 regular-season games since Jan. 1, 2019. The Hurricanes’ 35 regular-season wins in the calendar year are the most among all teams, while their 72 points in 2019 are tied with the Blues (33-10-6, 72 points) for first place in the NHL.

VETERAN MILLER EARNS WIN IN FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE SEASON . . .
Ryan Miller made 26 saves in his first appearance of 2019-20 to help the Ducks defeat the Blue Jackets and improve to 4-1-0 this season. Miller’s 2019-20 debut triggered the start of his 17th NHL season, which is tied for the most among active goaltenders (w/ Craig Anderson).

* Miller earned the 379th regular-season win of his NHL career and moved within six of tying Mike Vernon (385) for 15th place on the League’s all-time list. His 379 career wins are the most in NHL history by a U.S.-born goaltender, five more than John Vanbiesbrouck (374) who Miller passed following a 5-2 triumph over Washington on Feb. 17, 2019.

. . . AS GETZLAF, FOWLER CLIMB FRANCHISE’S ALL-TIME LISTS

* Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf skated in the 989th regular-season game of his NHL career and passed longtime teammate Corey Perry (988) for the most in franchise history.

* Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler scored the 60th regular-season goal of his NHL career and tied Scott Niedermayer for the most among blueliners in franchise history.

SABRES EXTEND SEASON-OPENING POINT STREAK TO FIVE GAMES
Panthers forward Mike Hoffman tied the game with 10.4 seconds remaining in regulation, but Jack Eichel scored the decisive goal in the shootout as the Sabres extended their season-opening point streak to five games (4-0-1).

* Buffalo’s five consecutive games without a regulation loss is its longest season-opening point streak since 2009-10 (also 4-0-1). The longest such run in franchise history is 12 games, a mark set in 2006-07 (11-0-1).

DID YOU KNOW?
Panthers forward Mike Hoffman scored the second game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation this season, following Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom at 19:29 of the third period on Oct. 8 (4-3 OT L vs. DAL). A total of 40 game-tying goals have been scored in the regular season with one minute or less remaining in regulation since the start of 2018-19, which equates to about one every five days.

QUICK CLICKS

* Blackhawks grant wish for 14-year-old with cystic fibrosis
* Kaapo Kakko delivers jersey order to stunned Rangers fan
* Kirk McLean conjured positive memories for Canucks fans in retro return
* Friday Four: Anthony Mantha, James Neal impressing for Red Wings, Oilers
* Facts and Figures: Alex Ovechkin climbs power-play goals list

PREVIEW OF TODAY’S ACTION

OILERS, RANGERS PUT UNBEATEN RECORDS ON THE LINE
The Oilers (4-0-0) and Rangers (2-0-0) put their unbeaten records on the line when both teams meet at Madison Square Garden. Led by Connor McDavid (3-7—10 in 4 GP) and James Neal (7-0—7 in 4 GP), Edmonton looks to win each of its first five games in a season for the third time in franchise history, while New York – which is paced by Mika Zibanejad (4-4—8 in 2 GP) – aims to improve to 3-0-0 for the first time since 2015-16.

AVALANCHE, FLYERS ALSO LOOK TO REMAIN UNDEFEATED
The Avalanche (3-0-0) and Flyers (2-0-0) also aim to extend their season-opening win streaks when they take on the Coyotes (1-2-0) and Canucks (1-2-0), respectively.

* Colorado has earned wins in each of its first four or more games in a season four times in franchise history (including twice as the Quebec Nordiques), doing so in 1985-86 (7-0-0), 1992-93 (4-0-0), 1995-96 (5-0-0) and 2013-14 (6-0-0).

* Philadelphia, which earned a season-opening win over Chicago in Prague, Czech Republic and blanked New Jersey in its first game back at Wells Fargo Center, can move to 3-0-0 for the first time since 2011-12. The Flyers’ longest season-opening win streak in franchise history is six games, set in 1986-87.

STARS AIM TO PUSH LONGEST ACTIVE HOME POINT STREAK VERSUS AN OPPONENT
The Stars (1-3-1) welcome the Capitals (2-1-2) to American Airlines Center and own a 13-0-4 record in their last 17 home games versus Washington dating to Oct. 8, 1996 (WSH: 4-12-1). Dallas’ run is the NHL’s longest active regular-season home point streak by a team versus one franchise.

* The longest regular-season home point streak by a team versus one franchise in League history is 42 games and was set by Flyers, who went 39-0-3 against the Penguins at the Spectrum from Feb. 7, 1974 – Dec. 8, 1988 (PIT: 0-39-3).

BLUES CAN JOIN RARE LIST OF DEFENDING STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS
The Blues (3-0-1) look to extend their season-opening point streak to five games when they visit the Canadiens (1-1-2) at Bell Centre. St. Louis can become the 11th defending Stanley Cup champion in NHL history to record a point in each of its first five or more games in a season and first since Detroit in 1997-98 (5-0-1).

KESSEL EXPECTED TO REACH 1,000-GAME MILESTONE
Coyotes forward Phil Kessel is expected to skate in the 1,000th regular-season game of his NHL career. Kessel (32 years, 10 days) is set to become the third-youngest active player to reach the 1,000-game milestone, behind only Patrick Marleau on Jan. 17, 2011 (31 years, 124 days) and Anze Kopitar on April 1, 2019 (31 years, 222 days).

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.