NHL MORNING SKATE – MARCH 3, 2017
THURSDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
WASHINGTON 1, New Jersey 0
NY Rangers 2, BOSTON 1
PHILADELPHIA 2, Florida 1 (SO)
COLUMBUS 1, Minnesota 0
BUFFALO 6, Arizona 3
MONTREAL 2, Nashville 1
OTTAWA 2, Colorado 1
NY Islanders 5, DALLAS 4
LOS ANGELES 3, Toronto 2 (SO)
SAN JOSE 3, Vancouver 1
LATE CANADIENS GOAL SPOILS SUBBAN'S RETURN TO MONTREAL
Paul Byron scored the go-ahead goal on a breakaway with 8.3 seconds remaining in regulation to power the Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens (36-21-8, 80 points) to their fourth straight win.
* Former Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban collected an assist in his first game in Montreal since being traded to the Predators in exchange for Shea Weber last June.
* Subban was brought to tears during a standing ovation from fans at Bell Centre after a video tribute was aired prior to the start of the game.
CAPITALS SET FRANCHISE RECORDS WITH (ANOTHER) SHUTOUT WIN
Jakub Vrana scored the only goal of the contest and Braden Holtby (15 saves) registered his League-leading eighth shutout of the season as the Capitals (43-13-7, 93 points) extended their home win and point streaks to 14 and 16 games (15-0-1), respectively, to eclipse previous benchmarks set in 2009-10.
* Elias notes that Washington became the first team to register a home win streak of 14 or more games since 2011-12, when Detroit established an NHL record with 23 consecutive home victories.
* The Capitals, who lead the NHL with 26 home wins this season (26-5-1, 53 points), have registered 10 shutouts at Verizon Center including six during their 14-game win streak. Prior to this season, Elias notes that their franchise record for home shutouts in one campaign was seven, set in 1995-96.
* Holtby improved to 18-0-2 in his past 20 decisions (1.71 GAA, .935 SV%, 5 SO), two shy of his career high for consecutive decisions with a point (20-0-2 in 2015-16). Elias notes that only one other goaltender in NHL history has achieved multiple stretches of 20 straight decisions with at least a point (within a single season): Pete Peeters in 1979-80 (27 GP) and 1982-83 (31 GP).
BLUE JACKETS, RANGERS KEEP PACE IN METROPOLITAN DIVISION
The Blue Jackets (40-16-6, 86 points) and Rangers (41-21-2, 84 points) both earned victories to keep pace with the League-leading Capitals in the crowded Metropolitan Division, where seed Nos. 2-4 are separated by only two points:
* Brandon Saad scored the only goal of the game early in the third period and Sergei Bobrovsky denied all 38 shots he faced as the Blue Jackets blanked the Western Conference-leading Wild to reach the 40-win mark for the fourth time in franchise history. Bobrovsky posted his 33rd win of 2016-17 to set a new career high and match the franchise record for most wins in a season by a goaltender (Steve Mason in 2008-09).
* Henrik Lundqvist made 32 saves while celebrating his 35th birthday to backstop the Rangers to their League-leading 22nd road win of the season (22-8-0, 44 points). Lundqvist earned the 403rd win of his NHL career (734 GP) to tie Grant Fuhr for 10th on the all-time list and match the NHL record for most wins by a goaltender in his first 12 seasons (Martin Brodeur: 403 in 740 GP).
SOLID FIRST IMPRESSIONS GUIDE SENATORS, FLYERS
The Senators (34-22-6, 74 points) and Flyers (30-26-7, 67 points) each secured wins via key performances from recent acquisitions:
* Alexandre Burrows scored both Ottawa goals in his team debut to guide the Senators to victory, keeping pace with the Canadiens for first place in the Atlantic Division. Elias notes that Burrows became the fourth player in franchise history to score twice in his team debut, joining Doug Smail (Oct. 8, 1992 vs. MTL), Brian Glynn (Oct. 6, 1993 vs. QUE) and Dan Quinn (March 17, 1994 at SJS).
* Valtteri Filppula scored the game-tying goal in his team debut and Jakub Voracek (0-1—1) tallied the decisive marker in the shootout as the Flyers earned a 2-1 victory. Filppula, who was acquired from Tampa Bay on Wednesday, snapped a 15-game drought with his first goal since Jan. 17 at ANA.
ISLANDERS, KINGS RALLY TO MOVE INTO FINAL WILD CARD SPOTS
The Islanders (30-22-10, 70 points) and Kings (31-27-6, 68 points) both overcame multi-goal deficits to move into the final Wild Card spots in their respective conferences:
* Ryan Strome registered 2-1—3 to help the Islanders overcome a 3-1 deficit and move ahead of the Maple Leafs (28-21-14, 70 points) for the last Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference.
* Los Angeles overcame a 2-0 deficit in the third period and Anze Kopitar (1-0—1) scored the decisive goal in the shootout as the Kings improved to 3-1-2 in their last six contests to leapfrog the idle Blues (31-26-5, 67 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.
LOOSE PUCKS
Marcus Sorensen (GWG) scored the first goal of his NHL career (4 GP) to help the Pacific Division-leading Sharks (38-18-7, 83 points) extend their point streak to eight games (5-0-3) . . . Sabres forward Jack Eichel collected 1-2—3 to extend his point streak to eight contests (2-9—11) . . . Brent Burns (5-5—10 in 7 GP), Brayden Schenn (3-4—7 in 6 GP) and Jamie Benn (4-3—7 in 5 GP) also extended point streaks . . . Brad Marchand scored for the fourth consecutive game (4-4—8) . . . Forwards Joshua Ho-Sang (NYI), J.T. Compher (COL) and Kevin Rooney (NJD) made their NHL debuts . . . Hockey Hall of Fame play-by-play broadcaster Bob Miller will return to the Kings TV broadcast booth in April and then retire upon the conclusion of the regular season.
SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh, 7 p.m., SN, TVAS, NHLN-US, ROOT, SUN
Arizona @ Carolina, 7:30 p.m., FS-SE, FS-A PLUS
St. Louis @ Winnipeg, 8 p.m., TSN3, FS-MW
NY Islanders @ Chicago, 8:30 p.m., WGN, MSG+
Detroit @ Calgary, 9 p.m., SNW, FS-D
Toronto @ Anaheim, 10 p.m., FS-W, TSN4
KUCHEROV, LIGHTNING LOOK TO CONTINUE HOT STREAK
Nikita Kucherov and the Lightning (29-25-8, 66 points) take on Sidney Crosby and the Penguins (38-16-8, 84 points) at PPG Paints Arena. Tampa Bay owns a record of 7-1-2 in their last 10 games and sit four points back of the Islanders (30-22-10, 70 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Kucherov leads the team with 27-34—61 this season (55 GP) and has collected 6-6—12 in his last four games, becoming the first Lightning player to record 12 points in a four-game span since Vincent Lecavalier accomplished the feat from Nov. 10-19, 2007 (5-7—12). Meanwhile, defenseman Mark Streit will make his debut with the Penguins after being acquired from the Lightning on Monday; Streit had been acquired by Tampa Bay from Philadelphia earlier in the day.
DID YOU KNOW?
On March 3, 1875, the first hockey game played under organized rules was held at Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal. The contest – which was played on a rink with no boards – featured two nine-man teams made up mainly of university students in a game that was divided into two halves.
