* The Rangers grabbed the top spot in the League standings with the help of Artemi Panarin who extended his season-opening home point streak to nine games – the longest by a Rangers player since 1996-97.
* The Capitals snapped the Kings’ win streak and improved to 7-3-1 in November – tied for the third-most wins by an Eastern Conference club this month.
* NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman helped open the 2023 White House Holiday Ice Rink by participating in a ceremonial puck drop alongside First Lady Jill Biden on Wednesday.
* Thursday’s 14-game slate features the Hurricanes hosting the Islanders on ESPN+ and Hulu, several skaters concluding noteworthy Novembers as well as a general manager looking to climb the NHL’s all-time wins list.
PANARIN EXTENDS STREAK AS RANGERS CLAIM TOP SPOT IN NHL STANDINGS Artemi Panarin scored to extend his season-opening home point streak to nine games as the Rangers (16-4-1, 33 points) rallied from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Red Wings (11-7-3, 25 points) and claim first place in the League standings, leapfrogging the idle Golden Knights (14-5-4, 32 points). New York earned its fifth third-period comeback win of 2023-24, the second most in the League behind only Anaheim (6).
CAPITALS CONTINUE WINNING WAYS IN NOVEMBER Connor McMichael (1-1—2) and Anthony Mantha (1-1—2) accounted for Washington’s two goals as the Capitals (11-6-2, 24 points) rallied from behind to snap the Kings’ five-game winning streak and leapfrog the idle Flyers (11-10-1, 23 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.
* The Capitals are now 7-3-1 in November and will have a chance to improve their record when they visit the Ducks tonight. Only two teams in the Eastern Conference have more wins this month: the Rangers (9-2-1) and Panthers (9-4-1).
* Charlie Lindgren stopped 38 of 39 shots to improve to 5-1-0 in November. His .833 win percentage is the highest ever recorded by a Capitals goaltender in a month of November (min. 5 GP).
CAUFIELD SHINES IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES Cole Caufield is one of a several players spotlighted in the Wednesday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates. He netted one of three unanswered Montreal goals to record his 60th career tally and became the eighth player in Canadiens history to score as many before age 23.
NHL HELPS OPEN 2023 WHITE HOUSE HOLIDAY ICE RINK ON WEDNESDAY NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman participated in a ceremonial puck drop alongside First Lady Jill Biden, National Park Foundation CEO Will Shafroth and decorated figure skater Brian Boitano to officially open the 2023 White House Holiday Ice Rink on the South Lawn.
* Nine-year-old member of the NHL and NHLPA’s Learn to Play program Keira Rosenberg lined up for the face-off against Snoopy from the Peanuts Worldwide, with Rosenberg being one of several children from the initiative on hand for the event. Click here to read more.
THURSDAY HIGHLIGHTED BY HURRICANES HOSTING ISLANDERS ON ESPN+, HULU
Thursday’s 14-game slate is highlighted by Sebastian Aho and the Hurricanes hosting Mathew Barzal and the Islanders at PNC Arena on ESPN+ and Hulu. It will mark their first head-to-head contest at the venue since Game 5 of the 2023 First Round, when New York edged Carolina to cut its series deficit to 3-2 – the Hurricanes earned a series-clinching victory in overtime three days later.
SEVERAL SKATERS SET TO CONCLUDE NOTEWORTHY NOVEMBERS
Multiple players who have shone this month will contest their final games before the calendar flips to December:
* Nikita Kucherov can add to his League-leading point total when the Lightning welcome the Penguins to Amalie Arena. Kucherov (9-17—26 in 13 GP) has collected an NHL-best 26 points since Nov. 1, which are the most by a Tampa Bay player in a single November – he eclipsed the previous mark set by Vincent Lecavalier in 2007 (9-16—25 in 14 GP).
* Brock Boeser (17-9—26 in 23 GP) can boost his League-leading goal total and Quinn Hughes can add to his NHL-best point total among defensemen when the Canucks clash with the Western Conference-leading Golden Knights at Rogers Arena. Hughes (5-17—22 in 14 GP) ranks second among NHL blueliners in assists and points this month behind Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (3-20—23 in 13 GP), who visits the Coyotes at Mullett Arena on Thursday.
* Filip Forsberg can tie the franchise record for most goals in any month, Gustav Nyquist (2-9—11 in 9 GP) can equal his NHL career high for longest point streak and the Predators can extend their winning streak to seven games when they welcome the Wild to Bridgestone Arena. Forsberg (11-8—19 in 12 GP), whose 11 goals since Nov. 1 are tied with Boeser (11-5—16 in 14 GP) for the most in the NHL, can match the mark he set in February 2016 (12-4—16 in 13 GP) and Matt Duchene tied in March 2022 (12-10—22 in 14 GP).
* Connor McDavid can continue to close the gap in the Art Ross Trophy race when the Oilers visit the Jets at Canada Life Centre. McDavid had 2-7—9 in six games entering November and currently sits tied for ninth in NHL scoring this season after recording 19 points since then, including 12 over his last three contests.
ARMSTRONG CAN CLIMB NHL’S ALL-TIME WINS LIST AMONG GENERAL MANAGERS
Doug Armstrong can earn the 780th win of his NHL career to pass Craig Patrick and Bill Torrey (both w/ 779) for sole possession of 11th place on the League’s all-time list among general managers when the Blues host the Sabres at Enterprise Center.
* Armstrong served several seasons as an assistant GM with the Stars (including when they defeated the Sabres in the 1999 Stanley Cup Final to win their first championship in franchise history) and earned 210 of his 779 career wins as general manager of the team from Jan. 25, 2002 to Nov. 13, 2007. He was named GM of the Blues on July 1, 2010, and piloted the club to their first Cup just under nine years later.
* One of Armstrong’s more-notable moves was acquiring Ryan O'Reilly from Buffalo on July 1, 2018, in a trade which saw the Sabres receive several players including Tage Thompson. O'Reilly went on capture the Conn Smythe Trophy that season after sharing the League lead in points during the 2019 playoffs.
Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.
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.
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