NHL NEWS FEBRUARY 26 – GUENTZEL STEERS PENGUINS TO STADIUM SERIES WIN

NHL NEWS FEBRUARY 26 – Appearing in just his 23rd NHL game and first against the Penguins’ cross-state rival, rookie Jake Guentzel tallied two assists – including a feed to Sidney Crosby on the game’s opening goal – to lead Pittsburgh to victory in the 2017 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series, their second win in a regular-season outdoor game (also 2008 WC at BUF).

Guentzel’s multi-point game was the second of his brief NHL career; the 22-year-old native of Omaha, Neb., made headlines by scoring twice in his League debut on Nov. 21 against the Rangers. His first goal came on his first shot of his first shift just 62 seconds into the game – the fastest goal ever by a Pittsburgh player in his NHL debut.

Crosby scored his League-leading 34th goal of the season (54 GP), two shy of his total from 2015-16 (80 GP). He has compiled 36-48—84 in 57 career regular-season games against the Flyers, an average of 1.47 points per game.

Matt Murray (36 saves) improved to 23-7-3 this season to move within one victory of matching the single-season franchise record for wins by a rookie goaltender, a mark set by Gary Inness in 1974-75 (24-18-10).

The sellout crowd of 67,318 at the 2017 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series raised total attendance for the League’s 22 regular-season outdoor games to 1,208,317 – an average of 54,924 per game.

The Penguins became the eighth home team to win a regular-season outdoor NHL game (22 GP: 8-12-2) and the third to do so this season, joining the Maple Leafs and Blues.

Outdoor Game Results, 2016-17 Regular Season

• 2016 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic: Oilers 3 at Jets 0
• 2017 Scotiabank NHL Centennial Classic: Maple Leafs 5 vs. Red Wings 4 (OT)
• 2017 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic: Blues 4 vs. Blackhawks 1
• 2017 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series: Penguins 4 vs. Flyers 2

MUSINGS AND OTHER NHL NEWS FEBRUARY 26

• Adam Clendening tied the game with 4:25 remaining in regulation and Mika Zibanejad (1-1—2) scored the first overtime goal of his NHL career to power the Rangers to their League-leading 21st road win of the season (21-8-0, 42 points)
• Joonas Korpisalo (24 saves) registered the first shutout of his NHL career as Columbus concluded their season-long seven-game homestand with a 7-0 win
• The Pacific Division-leading Sharks (36-18-7, 79 points) extended their point streak to six games (3-0-3)
• Avalanche goaltender Jeremy Smith (34 saves) earned the first win of his NHL career (3 GP)
• Sabres defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (0-6—6 in 6 GP), Sharks defenseman Brent Burns (5-3—8 in 5 GP) and Sabres forward Jack Eichel (0-5—5 in 5 GP) each extended point streaks
• Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin skated in the 900th game of his NHL career
• Canucks defenseman Evan McEneny made his NHL debut
• Commissioner Gary Bettman upheld the 10-game suspension that was assessed to Ducks forward Antoine Vermette for violating Rule 40.3 (Physical Abuse of Officials)
• Antonio Brown of the NFL’s Pittsburgh Steelers addressed the crowd prior to the 2017 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series.
• Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews scored twice to become third rookie in franchise history to reach the 30-goal mark in a season, joining Wendel Clark (34) in 1985-86 and Daniel Marois (31) in 1988-89.
• Montreal Canadiens won their 14th consecutive game over the Toronto Maple Leafs dating back to March 1, 2014

SATURDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
LOS ANGELES 4, Anaheim 1
NASHVILLE 5, Washington 2
COLUMBUS 7, NY Islanders 0
NY Rangers 4, NEW JERSEY 3 (OT)
Montreal 3, TORONTO 2 (OT)
PITTSBURGH 4, Philadelphia 2
San Jose 4, VANCOUVER 1
COLORADO 5, Buffalo 3

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Boston @ Dallas, 12:30 p.m.
Calgary @ Carolina, 3 p.m.
Edmonton @ Nashville, 5 p.m.
Columbus @ NY Rangers, 5 p.m.
St. Louis @ Chicago, 7:30 p.m.
Ottawa @ Florida, 7:30 p.m.
Buffalo @ Arizona, 8:30 p.m.