SUNDAY MARKS 104TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST NHL GAMES
On Dec. 19, 1917, the NHL opened its inaugural season with a pair of games – the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Ottawa Senators 7-4 led by a five-goal outing from Joe Malone and the Montreal Wanderers edged out the Toronto Arenas 10-9 thanks in part to five goals from Harry Hyland.



KOTKANIEMI, FAST SCORE QUICK GOALS AS HURRICANES CLAIM NHL LEAD

The Hurricanes (21-7-1, 43 points) scored five goals – including a tally from both Jesperi Kotkaniemi (1-1—2) and Jesper Fast (1-1—2) in the opening 96 seconds – and overtook the idle Capitals (18-5-7, 43 points) for first place in the NHL standings. With a win in their next contest, Carolina can establish a franchise mark for the most points through its first 30 games of a season.



* Jack Drury (1-0—1) became the fifth player in Hurricanes/Whalers history to record a goal in his first two career NHL games, joining Morgan Geekie (2019-20), Warren Foegele (2017-18), Mike Millar (1986-87) and Dave Debol (1979-80). Drury could become the first player in franchise history to score in his first three contests.

PAVELSKI TALLIES FOUR POINTS TO HELP STARS SNAP SKID

Joe Pavelski (2-2—4) tallied two first-period power-play goals and assisted on John Klingberg’s (1-1—2) overtime winner as the Stars (14-12-2, 30 points) fended off a third-period Blackhawks comeback to snap a five-game skid and improve to 9-1-0 in their last 10 contests at American Airlines Center.

* Pavelski, who was selected by the Sharks in the seventh round (205th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft, recorded his 62nd career multi-goal game and trails only Luc Robitaille (119), Peter Bondra (95) and Theo Fleury (72) for the most such outings among skaters drafted in the seventh round or later.

* The Stars forward also recorded his 16th career four-plus point performance – since his NHL debut in 2006-07, only seven players have more: Sidney Crosby (31), Alex Ovechkin (28), Evgeni Malkin (26), Nicklas Backstrom (23), Connor McDavid (21), Ryan Getzlaf (17) and Steven Stamkos (17).

LARKIN NETS HAT TRICK ON #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

Detroit captain Dylan Larkin (3-1—4) scored his first career hat trick on a five-game Saturday, as he became the third Red Wings player this season to score at least three goals (also Lucas Raymond & Tyler Bertuzzi). Detroit joined Ottawa as the second team to have at least three different players record a hat trick in 2021-22. Click here to read more from the latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates.

QUICK CLICKS

* NHL, NHLPA announce enhanced COVID-19 measures
* Maple Leafs, Canucks have weekend games postponed
* Evgeni Malkin getting closer to return with Penguins
* Robin Lehner returns to New York for first time since 2018-19 season

ON TAP FOR SUNDAY

Alex Ovechkin (22-25—47 in 30 GP) will aim to extend his point streak to eight games (3-7—10) when the Capitals welcome the Kings and the Penguins will look to post a win streak of seven or more games for the first time since 2018-19 (8-0-0) when they visit New Jersey.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.