NHL NEWS OCTOBER 27, 2022 – SOROKIN LEADS ISLANDERS TO VICTORY IN “BATTLE OF NEW YORK”

Ilya Sorokin stopped all 41 shots he faced, including 17 during a first-period barrage, to record his 11th career shutout and help his Islanders win 3-0 (3-4-0, 6 points) over the Rangers and take this season’s first edition of the “Battle of New York.” Wednesday also marked the team’s first win against their intracity rivals at UBS Arena since the club’s inaugural home game on Nov. 20, 2021.

• Sorokin’s 41 saves marked the second-highest total in a shutout performance by any goaltender in a “Battle of New York” contest, trailing only Jaroslav Halak (50 saves on Feb. 15, 2018 w/ NYI) – who coincidentally was in between the pipes for the Rangers on Wednesday. The most saves in a regular-season shutout by a Rangers goaltender against the Islanders is 36 (Doug Soetaert: Feb. 6, 1977).
• After killing off three penalties Wednesday, the Islanders have now started the season without allowing a power-play goal in seven straight games, tied for the longest such run by any team since 1977-78 (when special teams began being tracked). The mark was previously established by the Wild in 2008-09 and later matched by the Red Wings in 2014-15.

COACHES PAYNE, MARTIN MAKE HISTORY IN ECHL
Hockey history was made in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Wednesday when coaches Jason Payne (Cincinnati Cyclones) and Joel Martin (Kalamazoo Wings) faced off against each other. It marked the first time in ECHL history and is believed to be the first time in North American men’s pro hockey that two Black coaches opposed each other.

STREAKING SENATORS EYE FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN ON HOME ICE

The Senators (4-2-0, 8 points) have won four straight games following a pair of losses to start 2022-23 and have done so on the back of Brady Tkachuk, Shane Pinto and the rest of their youth. Ottawa, which leads all teams in points by players 23 or younger (14-17—31 in 6 GP), can win each of its first five home games of a season for the first time in franchise history.

• Tkachuk has collected multiple points in each of his past four games en route to eclipsing the 200-point mark in his career (95-107—202 in 283 GP). With another two or more points, the Senators’ captain can match the longest stretch of multi-point games in franchise history – a feat only Jason Spezza (3x; last: 2011-12) and Daniel Alfredsson (2x; last: 2006-07) have achieved.
• Pinto, who appeared in 17 career NHL games prior to 2022-23 (1-7—8) and now owns an active five-game goal streak, was a Senators second-round pick in 2019 (No. 32) after being named the NCAA (NCHC) Rookie of the Year with the University of North Dakota in 2019-20 (16-12—28 in 33 GP).

NHL CLOSING IN ON 50 TOTAL COMEBACK WINS IN 2022-23
The NHL has witnessed 49 comeback wins through the first 110 games of the 2022-23 season after the Lightning rallied to defeat the Ducks on Wednesday. Four of the League’s top six teams in come-from-behind victories are set to take to the ice on a 10-game slate (TOR: 4, WSH: 4, CHI: 3 & PHI: 3).

• Toronto (4-3-0, 8 points) and Washington (4-3-0, 8 points) have rallied from a deficit in each of their first four victories of the season. Only five teams in the past 10 years have recorded a comeback in each of their first five or more wins of a campaign: Buffalo (10 in 2013-14), Pittsburgh (7 in 2020-21), Ottawa (6 in 2020-21), Montreal (6 in 2014-15) and Edmonton (5 in 2019-20). The Sabres’ streak in 2013-14 also marks the longest such run in NHL history.

RED WINGS RECALL MATT LUFF FROM GRIFFINS
The Detroit Red Wings today recalled right wing Matt Luff from the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Luff, 25, is off to a fast start with the Griffins, where he ranks among the team leaders with three goals (T2nd), four assists (2nd), seven points (T1st), a plus-three rating (T2nd), two power play goals (T1st) and 16 shots (1st) through five games. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound forward was signed as a free agent by the Red Wings on July 13 after splitting the 2021-22 season between the Nashville Predators and AHL’s Milwaukee Admirals, notching six points (3-3-6) and four penalty minutes in 23 games with the Predators while totaling 31 points (14-17-31) and 16 penalty minutes in 30 appearances for the Admirals. Luff has played parts of four NHL seasons with the Los Angeles Kings and Predators, recording 23 points (13-10-23) and 20 penalty minutes in 87 games since 2018-19. He has also compiled 127 points (52-75-127), a plus-18 rating and 110 penalty minutes in 174 AHL games with the Ontario Reign, Admirals and Griffins since 2016-17.