Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

NHL Short Notes

02/22/2023 at 4:30am EST

* Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined on Edmonton’s game-tying goal to reach the 800- and 700-point milestones, respectively, en route to a comeback win.

* Ryan O’Reilly scored a hat trick in his third game in blue-and-white while Mitchell Marner factored on five of six Toronto goals to tie the Maple Leafs franchise record for assists in a road contest.

* U.S.-born stars Jason Robertson and Patrick Kane will go head-to-head when the Stars host the Blackhawks in a national broadcast on TNT.



McDAVID, DRAISAITL POWER OILERS TO VICTORY WITH MILESTONE MOMENTS
Connor McDavid (2-1—3) and Leon Draisaitl (1-2—3) hit the 800- and 700-point milestones, respectively, on the same goal to power the Oilers to a third-period comeback win and extend the team’s home point streak to nine contests (5-0-4 since Jan. 5). McDavid (26 years, 39 days) became the fifth-youngest and fifth-fastest (545 GP) player in NHL history to record 800 career points as well as the fastest active skater to reach the mark.

* McDavid recorded his 19th career three-point period in the final frame after being held off the score sheet through 40 minutes; Sidney Crosby (24), Alex Ovechkin (21), and Patrick Kane (20) are the only active skaters with more. The Oilers captain capped off his performance with his 61st game-winning goal to tie Wayne Gretzky for the second most in franchise history behind only Glenn Anderson (72).


* McDavid, who reached the 700-point mark with a season-opening hat trick on Oct. 12, 2022, became the sixth player in NHL history to reach both the 700- and 800-point milestones within the same season, following Doug Gilmour (1992-93), Pat LaFontaine (1992-93), Steve Yzerman (1990-91), Mike Bossy (1983-84) and Guy Lafleur (1978-79).

* McDavid (58 GP) also became the eighth player in League history to require 60 games or fewer to go from 700 to 800 career points – and just the sixth to do so in 58 contests or less.


* McDavid and Draisaitl – who recorded his fifth consecutive 50-assist season – are no strangers to reaching century milestones simultaneously after the duo each recorded their 100th career point on Jan. 18, 2017 (vs. FLA).



* ICYMI: McDavid added another highlight-reel play to his ever-growing resume. This time, he spun around two Flyers skaters at the blueline just 54 seconds before his milestone.



O’REILLY, MARNER, TAVARES PROPEL MAPLE LEAFS WITH FOUR-GOAL FIRST PERIOD
Mitchell Marner (0-5—5), Ryan O’Reilly (3-1—4) and John Tavares (1-3—4) each factored on three of four first-period goals in the opening 12:09 of their contest to power Toronto (35-15-8, 78 points) to victory and maintain their three-point lead over Tampa Bay (36-17-3, 75 points) – who also won Tuesday – for second place in the Atlantic Division.



* Marner (20-51—71), who tied the franchise record for most assists as a visitor, became the first Maple Leafs player with at least five helpers in a game since Doug Gilmour (5 on Jan. 22, 1997). His performance propelled him to his fourth career 50-assist campaign – the third most in franchise history behind Darryl Sittler (6x) and Borje Salming (5x).


* O’Reilly’s first two goals as a member of the Maple Leafs came 37 seconds apart – the third-shortest span separating a player’s first and second career goals with Toronto behind only Mark Arcobello (0:17 on Feb. 13, 2016) and Jiri Tlusty (0:35 on Oct. 25, 2007).



RED WINGS PLAYOFF PUSH CONTINUES WITH WIN OVER CAPITALS
Pius Suter (2-0—2) scored two of Detroit’s three goals – including one on the penalty kill – to help the Red Wings (27-21-8, 62 points) top the Capitals (28-25-6, 62 points) and surpass Washington in a tightly-contested Eastern Conference Wild Card race. Detroit moved within two points of idle Florida (29-25-6, 64 points) for the second Wild Card spot while still holding four games in hand over both Wild Card teams (NYI & FLA, both 60 GP).

* Suter recorded his third career multi-goal outing and his fifth goal in his last five games after posting just six tallies through his first 48 contests of 2022-23.


ANOTHER THREE-POINT GAME SURGES HURRICANES TO ANOTHER WIN
Andrei Svechnikov (2-1—3) factored on three of four Hurricanes goals to propel Carolina (38-10-8, 84 points) to a 13-1-1 mark in its past 15 contests and within seven points of first-place Boston (43-8-5, 91 points) in the NHL’s overall standings.

* Svechnikov’s performance, which included his fourth 20-goal campaign, was the third consecutive game in which a Hurricanes skater collected three points following Feb. 16 and the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Feb. 18. It marks the longest such stretch since a three-game span from Jan. 10-14, 2017 and one shy of the longest in team history (4 GP: Dec. 8-15, 2015, Feb. 9 – March 2, 2010 & Oct. 12-22, 2005).


QUICK CLICKS

* Tuesday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates
* Matt Dumba of Wild hosts 3rd annual Hockey Without Limits diversity youth camp
* Jordan Staal talks Stadium Series, hockey in Raleigh in Q&A with NHL.com
* Stars sign Make-A-Wish kid, Max Hinojosa, to contract


TRIO OF NATIONAL BROADCASTS ON TAP WEDNESDAY
A national broadcast on TNT in the United States will feature two U.S.-born players going head-to-head as Jason Robertson and the Stars host Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks, in addition to a pair of national broadcasts in Canada that will see the Jets visit the Islanders on Sportsnet and the Flames face off against the Coyotes on SN1 and TVA Sports.



* Robertson enters Wednesday with 22 multi-point games this season – the third most by a U.S.-born player behind Matthew Tkachuk (26) and Jack Hughes (25) – including his 2-0—2 effort against the Blackhawks on Nov. 23. Overall, Robertson’s 58 career multi-point outings are the most among all Stars players since he entered the NHL in 2019-20 – the next closest skater is Roope Hintz with 53.

* Kane, who has collected a point in eight of his past 10 visits to American Airlines Center (2-10—12), has 30-43—73 in 63 career games against the Stars – the most goals, assists and points against Dallas among active players. He enters Wednesday just three points shy of matching his highest total against a single opponent (24-52—76 in 58 GP vs. CBJ).


Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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