STARS COMPLETE ROAD SWEEP, EXTEND WINNING STREAK
Antti Niemi made 33 saves, including 14 in the third period, to backstop the Stars to their fifth consecutive victory overall, including a 4-0-0 record on their four-game road trip.

* Per Elias, the Stars swept a road trip of four or more games for the sixth time in franchise history and first time since Nov. 25 – Dec. 2, 2001 (4-0-0).

* Overall, the Stars have won five straight games (in one season) for the first time since April 5-13, 2013 (5-0-0).

* Niemi, who also led the Stars to a shutout of the Penguins in the team’s season opener (Oct. 8 vs. PIT: 3-0 W), stopped 70 of 71 shots in their two meetings of 2015-16. Overall, he improved to 6-1-1 in nine career appearances vs. PIT (2.07 GAA, .935 SV%, 1 SO).

PREDATORS ERUPT TO STAY PERFECT AT HOME
Five different players – Ryan Ellis (1-2—3), Colin Wilson (1-2—3), Mattias Ekholm (1-1—2), Mike Ribeiro (1-1—2) and Seth Jones (0-2—2) – registered multiple points to lift the Predators to a 4-0-0 record this season at Bridgestone Arena.

* Elias notes that the Predators have won their first four home games of a season for the second time in franchise history. They last accomplished that feat in 2005-06, when they went 5-0-0 in their first five games at Bridgestone Arena.

* Last season, the Predators ranked second in the NHL with a 28-9-4 record and 60 points on home ice. In 2005-06, the only other time they started 4-0-0 at Bridgestone Arena, the Predators set franchise records with 32 home wins and 65 home points (32-8-1).

* Ellis equaled a career high for points in one game, first achieved Oct. 21, 2014 vs. ARI (1-2—3). He also notched his first game-winning goal since March 14, 2014 at CHI.

RANGERS, BLACKHAWKS CONTINUE DOMINANCE
The Rangers and Blackhawks continued their recent strings of success against the Coyotes and Panthers, respectively:

* Playing his former team for the first time, Keith Yandle scored one of four unanswered goals to lift the Rangers to a 12-3-0 record in their past 15 meetings with the Coyotes dating to Oct. 28, 2002 (ARI: 3-7-5), including seven consecutive wins at Madison Square Garden. Yandle, a fourth-round selection (105th overall) by the Coyotes in the 2005 NHL Draft, compiled 65-246—311 in 558 games with the club.

* Patrick Kane and Brent Seabrook each recorded 1-2—3 to power the Blackhawks to their eighth consecutive victory over the Panthers dating to March 23, 2011 (FLA: 0-5-3), including five straight wins at United Center. Kane posted his second three-point game of the season (also Oct. 10 vs. NYI: 1-2—3), while Seabrook notched his first such performance since Dec. 16, 2014 vs. MIN (1-2—3).

AROUND THE RINKS
* Jeff Carter (2-2—4) equaled a career high for points in one game and Jhonas Enrothmade 39 saves in his team debut to guide the Kings to their third consecutive win following a 0-3-0 start to the season. Carter registered his sixth career four-point game and third since joining the Kings in 2011-12.

* Two nights after yielding the tying goal in the final minute of regulation, Lee Stempniak(1-1—2) evened the score with 31.4 seconds left on the clock and then potted the decisive tally in the shootout to lift the Devils to their third straight victory; each of the team’s past four games has gone past regulation (3-0-1).

* Behind 2-1 after 20 minutes, Nino Niederreiter and Thomas Vanek both scored in the second period to power the Wild to their first win over the Blue Jackets since April 7, 2013, halting a five-game skid in the head-to-head series (0-3-2). Zach Parise added his sixth goal of the season, tied for the League lead (w/ Jamie Benn).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr (1-0—1) scored his 727th career goal to move within four goals of tying Marcel Dionne (731) for fourth place in NHL history. Jagr (206-382—588) also recorded his 588th career power-play point to tie Teemu Selanne (255-333—588) for third place in NHL history, behind Joe Sakic (205-426—631) and Nicklas Lidstrom (132-458—590).

* Rangers forward Rick Nash notched his first goal of the season to reach the 700-point milestone (379-321—700). Nash, the first overall pick in the 2002 NHL Draft (by CBJ), became the first member of his draft class to achieve the milestone; he has 140 more goals and 184 more points than the next-closest player selected that year (Alexander Semin: 239-277—516).

* Devils goaltender Cory Schneider made 35 saves and denied three shootout attempts to earn his 100th NHL win (100-73-30, 2.17 GAA, .925 SV%, 17 SO).

* Senators forward Chris Neil (900) and Coyotes forward Martin Hanzal (500) both played in milestone games. Neil posted 1-1—2, while Hanzal registered his League-leading ninth assist of the season.

* Darryl Sutter (LAK) earned his 550th career victory to move past Marc Crawford (549) and into sole possession of 14th place on the NHL’s all-time wins list among head coaches.

* John Tortorella made his debut as head coach of the Blue Jackets.

LOOSE PUCKS
Coyotes forward Max Domi (3-5—8) and Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin (2-6—8) both collected one assist to keep pace atop the rookie scoring race . . . Devils forwardMike Cammalleri (0-3—3) matched a career high for assists in one game, last achieved Feb. 5, 2013 at DET (w/ CGY) . . . Defenseman Klas Dahlbeck, who was acquired prior to the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline, scored his first goal with the Coyotes (26 GP) . . . Penguins forward Nick Bonino (7 GP), Kings forward Milan Lucic (6 GP) and Stars defenseman Johnny Oduya (7 GP) also recorded their first goals with their new clubs . . . ICYMI: The Department of Player Safety announced that Bruins forward Zac Rinaldo will not receive supplemental discipline for his hit on Flyers forward Sean Couturier . . . Thirteen-year-old fan Taylor Ryan, who at age eight was diagnosed with histiocytosis and still is in active treatment, participated in a ceremonial puck drop as part of the Rangers’Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Night.

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Montreal @ Buffalo, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, CITYM, RDS, MSG-B, BELL TV
Boston @ NY Islanders, 7:30 p.m., TVAS, NESN, MSG+
Tampa Bay @ Winnipeg, 8:00 p.m., SUN, TSN3
Detroit @ Calgary, 9:00 p.m., SN1, FS-D
Washington @ Edmonton, 9:00 p.m., CSN-DC, SNOL
Carolina @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m., FS-CR, FS-W
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

CANADIENS LOOK TO CONTINUE RECORD-SETTING START . . .
The Canadiens, who at 7-0-0 are off to the best start in the franchise’s 98-year NHL history, look to add to that record when they visit the Sabres at First Niagara Center. Only five other teams in NHL history have begun a season with a 7-0-0 clip, with all seven of those victories coming in regulation: the 1975-76 Sabres, 1985-86 Nordiques, 1993-94 Devils, 1993-94 Maple Leafs and 1994-95 Penguins. Of those teams, only the 1975-76 Sabres extended their streak to eight games.

. . . AS 2015-16 SEASON REACHES 100-GAME MARK
Friday’s Canadiens-Sabres contest also marks the 100th game of the 2015-16 season. A look at the top performers thus far:

NHL Standings
1. Montreal Canadiens: 7-0-0 (14 points)
2. Dallas Stars: 6-1-0 (12 points)
3. Nashville Predators: 6-1-0 (12 points)
4. New York Rangers: 5-2-1 (11 points)
5. Washington Capitals: 5-1-0 (10 points)

Most Points, NHL Skaters
1. David Krejci (BOS): 4-7—11 (6 GP)
t-2. Jamie Benn (DAL): 6-4—10 (7 GP)
t-2. Patrick Kane (CHI): 5-5—10 (7 GP)
t-2. Tyler Seguin (DAL): 4-6—10 (7 GP)
t-5. Four players: 9

Most Goals, NHL Skaters
t-1. Zach Parise (MIN): 6 (6 GP)
t-1. Jamie Benn (DAL): 6 (7 GP)
t-3. 10 players: 5

Most Assists, NHL Skaters
1. Martin Hanzal (ARI): 9 (7 GP)
2. Erik Karlsson (OTT): 8 (7 GP)
t-3. David Krejci (BOS): 7 (6 GP)
t-3. Henrik Zetterberg (DET): 7 (6 GP)
t-5. Nine players: 6

Most Wins, NHL Goaltenders
1. Carey Price (MTL): 6 (6 GP)
t-2. Braden Holtby (WSH): 5 (6 GP)
t-2. Pekka Rinne (NSH): 5 (6 GP)
t-4. Five goaltenders: 4

Best Goals-Against Average, NHL Goaltenders (minimum, 2 GP)
1. Reto Berra (COL): 0.85 (3 GP)
2. Carey Price (MTL): 1.00 (6 GP)
3. Michael Hutchinson (WPG): 1.00 (2 GP)
4. Jaroslav Halak (NYI): 1.50 (2 GP)
5. Michal Neuvirth (PHI): 1.55 (4 GP)

Best Save Percentage, NHL Goaltenders (minimum, 2 GP)
1. Reto Berra (COL): .975 (2 GP)
2. Michael Hutchinson (WPG): .968 (2 GP)
3. Carey Price (MTL): .966 (6 GP)
4. Anders Nilsson (EDM): .953 (2 GP)
5. Jaroslav Halak (NYI): .952 (2 GP)

HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER AWARENESS NIGHTS
The Islanders, Flames, Oilers and Kings all host their Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Nights on Friday. Click on the respective links for more information.

thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above