NHL MORNING SKATE – NOV. 13, 2015
Welcome to the “NHL Morning Skate,” a daily collection of the latest news and notes from around the League.
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THURSDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
Colorado 3, BOSTON 2
NY RANGERS 6, St. Louis 3
Washington 5, PHILADELPHIA 2
Minnesota 3, CAROLINA 2 (OT)
OTTAWA 3, Vancouver 2
TAMPA BAY 3, Calgary 1
Buffalo 3, FLORIDA 2
Toronto 2, NASHVILLE 1 (SO)
New Jersey 3, CHICAGO 2
DALLAS 6, Winnipeg 3
ARIZONA 4, Edmonton 1
LOS ANGELES 2, NY Islanders 1
INSIDE THE NUMBERS
Of the 12 games contested on Thursday:
* Ten were tied or within one goal entering the third period (COL-BOS, STL-NYR, MIN-CAR, VAN-OTT, CGY-TBL, BUF-FLA, TOR-NSH, NJD-CHI, WPG-DAL and NYI-LAK).
* Nine saw the winning team overcome a deficit of at least one goal (COL-BOS, WSH-PHI, MIN-CAR, VAN-OTT, TOR-NSH, NJD-CHI, WPG-DAL, EDM-ARI and NYI-LAK).
* Two saw the winning team overcome a multi-goal deficit (COL-BOS and MIN-CAR).
CLUBS CONTINUE RECORD-SETTING STARTS . . .
Four clubs – the Rangers, Stars, Capitals and Wild – won on Thursday to continue their record-setting starts to the season:
* Mats Zuccarello registered 1-2—3 and Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves, including a sprawling paddle stop in the first period, to help the Rangers extend their point streak to 11 games (9-0-2), including seven consecutive wins. At 12-2-2 (26 points), the Rangers are off to their best 16-game start to a season – in terms of wins – in the franchise’s 89-year history. Their 26 points also equal a club record through the opening 16 contests of a season, set in 1971-72 (11-1-4). The Rangers last posted a point streak of 11 or more games from Feb. 9 – March 10, 2008, when they had a 13-game run (10-0-3).
* Ales Hemsky notched 1-2—3 and Jamie Benn scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:55 remaining in regulation to lift the Stars to their fourth victory in their past five contests. At 13-4-0 (26 points), the Stars are off to their best 17-game start to a season – in terms of wins and points – in the franchise’s 48-year history.
* Jason Chimera collected 2-1—3 to help the Capitals overcome a pair of one-goal deficits and pick up their fifth win in their last seven outings. At 11-4-0 (22 points), the Capitals have equaled their best 15-game start to a season – in terms of wins and points – in the franchise’s 41-year history (also 1991-92: 11-4-0 and 2010-11: 11-4-0).
* Jason Zucker scored twice, including the winning goal at 3:50 of overtime, to lead the Wild back from an early 2-0 deficit en route to their third consecutive victory. At 10-3-2 (22 points), the Wild have matched their best 15-game start to a season – in terms of points – in the franchise’s 15-year history (also 2002-03: 10-3-2 and 2006-07: 11-4-0).
. . . OTHERS KEEP THE MOMENTUM
Four other teams – the Kings, Devils, Sabres and Senators – picked up wins on Thursday to continue their recent strings of success:
* Offseason acquisitions Jhonas Enroth (31 SV) and Milan Lucic (GWG) combined to lead the Kings to their 10th victory in their last 13 outings following a 0-3-0 start to the season. Enroth improved to 3-0-0 in his first three appearances with the Kings, yielding just two goals on 96 shots (0.67 GAA, .979 SV%, 1 SO).
* Sergey Kalinin posted 1-1—2, including the tiebreaking goal with 2:27 remaining in regulation, to help the Devils overcome an early 1-0 deficit and defeat the Blackhawks for the second time in the past week (also Nov. 6 at NJD: 4-2 W). The Devils improved to 9-3-0 in their past 12 games following a 0-3-1 start to the season.
* Linus Ullmark made 36 saves, including 16 in the middle frame, to help the Sabres hold off the Panthers en route to sixth victory in their past eight games following a 2-6-0 start to the season. Ullmark improved to 4-2-0 in his first six NHL appearances (2.45 GAA, .924 SV%).
* The Senators scored three consecutive goals to overcome an early 1-0 deficit and improve to 5-2-1 in their last eight contests following a 3-2-2 start to the season. Andrew Hammond (22 SV) upped his career record to 22-1-4 in 29 appearances (1.84 GAA, .940 SV%, 3 SO); per Elias, he became the third goaltender in NHL history to win 22 of his first 29 career outings (also Frank Brimsek in 1938-39 and Ross Brooks from 1972-74, both w/ BOS).
GOT YOUR NUMBER
The Coyotes and Avalanche overcame deficits to continue their recent success against their Thursday opponents:
* The Coyotes scored four unanswered goals – powered by 1-1—2 from Max Domi – to overcome an early 1-0 deficit and extend their point streak against the Oilers to 19 games (16-0-3) dating to March 17, 2011 (EDM: 3-13-3), including six consecutive wins. Domi has 8-7—15 in his first 16 NHL outings (including five multi-point performances); he ranks first among rookies in goals and second in points.
* The Avalanche recorded three unanswered goals – including the tiebreaker by Matt Duchene (1-1—2) at 6:49 of the third period – to overcome a 2-0 deficit en route to their eighth consecutive victory at TD Garden dating to March 24, 2001 (BOS: 0-7-1). Duchene has 6-3—9, including four multi-point performances, in his last six contests after totaling 1-1—2 in his first 10 games of the season.
THIS AND THAT
* Steven Stamkos broke a 1-1 tie at 12:51 of the third period to help the Lightning improve to 8-3-0 in their last 11 meetings with the Flames since defeating them in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final (CGY: 3-4-4). Stamkos recorded his 99th career power-play goal (all w/ TBL), second in franchise history behind Vincent Lecavalier (112).
* Tyler Bozak potted the tying goal at 5:52 of the third period and Peter Holland notched the lone marker in the shootout to lift the Maple Leafs to their second consecutive victory, equaling their win total from the first 14 games of the season.
KANE EXTENDS POINT, GOAL STREAK
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane registered 1-1—2 to extend his point streak to 11 games (8-11—19) and goal streak to five contests (5-6—11).
* Kane, who has 11-14—25 overall this season (including at least one point in 14 of his first 16 outings), shares first in the NHL in goals (w/ Jamie Benn) and points (w/ Tyler Seguin).
* Kane’s 11-game point streak is the longest in the NHL this season and three shy of his career high, set Nov. 30 – Dec. 28, 2013 (8-17—25 in 14 GP). He has five multi-point performances during the 11-game run, including four in his past five contests (5-6—11).
* Kane’s five-game goal streak is tied for the longest in the NHL this season (w/ Joe Pavelski) and equals a career high, last achieved Feb. 1-10, 2013 (7-2—9).
VETERANS MOVE UP THE ALL-TIME CHARTS . . .
The three active leaders in games played – Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr (1,564 GP), Coyotes captain Shane Doan (1,410 GP) and Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla (1,408 GP) – all continued their climbs up the NHL’s all-time list:
* Jagr (0-1—1) played in his 1,564th career game to tie Nicklas Lidstrom – who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday – for 10th place in NHL history.
* Doan (1-0—1) played in his 1,410th career game to surpass Paul Coffey (1,409 GP) and tie Norm Ullman (1,410 GP) for 31st place in NHL history.
* Iginla (0-1—1) played in his 1,408th career game to surpass Dale Hunter (1,407 GP) for sole possession of 34th place in NHL history.
* Iginla (596-643—1,239) also tied Peter Stastny (450-789—1,239) for 37th place on the NHL’s all-time points list.
. . . MORE MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Erik Johnson (COL), the first overall selection (by STL) in the 2006 NHL Draft, collected one assist to become the first defenseman – and 17th overall player – from his draft class to reach the 200-point milestone (51-149—200).
* Predators captain Shea Weber (1-0—1) played in his 700th NHL game (all w/ NSH) to become the first defenseman – and third overall player – in franchise history to reach the milestone. The others: David Legwand (956 GP) and Martin Erat (723 GP).
* Oilers forward Teddy Purcell played in his 500th NHL game.
* Coyotes defenseman Stefan Elliott scored his first goal with his new club (6 GP) and first in the NHL since April 13, 2014 at ANA (w/ COL).
LOOSE PUCKS
John Klingberg (DAL) registered 1-1—2 to move back into first place in scoring among defensemen (3-14—17 in 17 GP), one point ahead of Erik Karlsson (OTT) and P.K. Subban (MTL) . . . Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk notched his sixth goal of the season (all PPG), tops among defensemen. His six power-play goals also pace the entire NHL . . . Blackhawks forward Artemi Panarin scored to maintain first place among rookies with 5-11—16 (in 16 GP) . . . Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl posted one assist. He has 4-7—11, including points in five of seven games, since being recalled from the Bakersfield Condors (AHL) on Oct. 29 . . . Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg, who played his first 161 NHL games with the Bruins (29-65—94), scored in his return to TD Garden . . . Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith turned aside 27 shots to improve to 11-1-1 in 15 career appearances vs. EDM (2.53 GAA, .915 SV%) . . . Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen, the second overall selection by the Thrashers in the 2002 NHL Draft, made 35 saves to improve to 6-1-1 in eight career appearances vs. ATL/WPG (2.11 GAA, .941 SV%) . . . Blues goaltender Jake Allen saw his shutout streak end at 170:53 . . . ICYMI: The Red Wings signed forward Justin Abdelkader to a seven-year contract extension . . . The Flames acquired goaltender Kevin Poulin from the Lightning in exchange for future considerations.
SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Columbus @ Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m., SN1, TVAS, FS-O, ROOT
Calgary @ Washington, 7:00 p.m., SNW, CSN-DC
San Jose @ Detroit, 7:30 p.m., CSN-CA, FS-D
NY Islanders @ Anaheim, 10:00 p.m., MSG+, PRIME, FS-SD
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Andrew Phillip Chernoff 