Posted on by Guest Writer
Jack Hughes New Jersey Devils In Play! magazine
The Canucks tied the score during the first-ever NHL showdown involving all three Hughes brothers (which saw Jack (pictured above) and Luke emerge victorious despite Quinn’s late efforts for the Canucks). Photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
06
Dec

NHL Recap December 5, 2023 – JACK, LUKE OUTLAST QUINN IN FIRST NHL GAME TO FEATURE ALL THREE HUGHES BROS

For the first time in their NHL career, the Hughes brothers all took to the same ice in a thrilling contest that saw Jack (1-2—3) factor on two of four New Jersey goals in the opening period and then assist on Luke’s marker in the middle frame to give the Devils a 5-2 lead heading into the third frame. Quinn responded by spearheading a late Canucks rally, assisting on two of three Vancouver tallies to tie the game before Jesper Bratt found the back of the net with 34 seconds left in regulation to seal the win for the Devils.

  • Jack recorded his 10th multi-point outing of the season in his 18th game, requiring the fewest contests in Devils/Rockies/Scouts history to do so, besting the mark established by John MacLean in 1990-91 and matched by Hughes last season (24 GP).
  • Bratt scored New Jerey’s second latest go-ahead goal this season (59:37 on Nov. 28). The last time the Devils had multiple final-minute go-ahead goals in a campaign was in 2013-14 (59:23 on March 4, 2014 & 59:15 on Oct.26, 2013).

KINGS MATCH NHL RECORD VIA THEIR LARGEST THIRD-PERIOD RALLY IN 16+ YEARS

Facing a 3-0 deficit entering the third period, the Kings’ perfect 9-0-0 road record was in jeopardy but they pulled even with three goals in a span of 6:15 and eventually completed the comeback with a Drew Doughty overtime goal to match the NHL record for longest road winning streak from the start of a season. It marked the first time in more than 30 years that Los Angeles won a road contest after trailing by three or more goals in the third period and their first such victory in any game since 2007.

  • The Kings became the first team in NHL history to extend an overall, home or road winning streak of nine or more games by staging a three-goal, third-period comeback. The next-closest clubs to stage a rally of that sort to extend a lengthy winning streak were the 2013-14 Flyers and 2011-12 Penguins. On Dec. 19, 2013, Philadelphia turned a 3-0 third-period deficit into a 5-4 victory to push their home winning streak to eight games (also doing so against the Blue Jackets; part of an eventual 10-0-0 home stretch for Philadelphia). On Jan. 31, 2012, Pittsburgh trailed 3-1 in the third period before winning 5-4 in a shootout to claim their eighth consecutive victory overall (the eventual end of that streak).
  • Anze Kopitar notched an assist on the overtime goal to extend his season-opening road point streak to 10 games (after teammate Trevor Moore also did so earlier in the contest). Kopitar netted the winning goal in overtime the last time Los Angeles staged a three-goal, third-period comeback victory.

SHARKS FOLLOWS SUIT WITH OT WIN AGAINST ISLANDERS
Another California-based club staged a rare rally Tuesday as the Sharks rose from the depths in the third period to overcome a 4-1 deficit, with Tomas Hertl scoring two of his three goals in the final frame and William Eklund netting the winner in overtime. San Jose overcame a three-goal deficit in the third period to win for the third time in franchise history (also Dec. 8, 2010 at PHI & Game 7 of 2019 R1 vs. VGK).

  • Hertl scored his first hat trick of the season and sixth of his career, moving into sole possession of the second most in franchise history behind Jonathan Cheechoo (9). With every hat trick this season, AstraZeneca will donate $5,000 to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation up to $500,000.
  • Eklund (21 years, 54 days) became the fifth-youngest player in Sharks history to score an overtime goal. The only players to do so at a younger age are Jeff Friesen on March 28, 1995 (18 years, 235 days), Patrick Marleau on Nov. 28, 1999 (20 years, 74 days), Marco Sturm on Jan. 2, 1999 (20 year, 116 days) and Kevin Labanc on Dec. 23, 2016 (21 years, 11 days).

MACKINNON NOTCHES 500TH NHL ASSIST, POWERS AVALANCHE TO VICTORY
Nathan MacKinnon (1-2—3) factored on all three Avalanche goals, notching his 500th NHL assist in the process, as the club padded their lead atop the Central Division standings. In addition to becoming the fifth-fastest active player to reach the 500-assist milestone, MacKinnon joined Joe Sakic, Peter Stastny and Peter Forsberg as the fourth player to accumulate as many helpers with the Avalanche franchise.

Red Wings’ Walman Fined for High-Sticking

Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman has been fined $2,500 for high-sticking Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner during NHL Game No. 380 in Buffalo on Tuesday, Dec. 5, 2023. The incident occurred at 18:07 of the third period. Walman was assessed a minor penalty for high-sticking. The money goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund.

WEDNESDAY FEATURES DOUBLEHEADERS ACROSS TNT, SPORTSNET & TVA SPORTS

Three of the four clubs featured in Wednesday’s NHL on TNT doubleheader reached at least the Conference Finals last year as the night opens with a showdown between the Stars and Panthers and closes with a matchup between the Hurricanes and Oilers – who fell to the eventual Stanley Cup champions in the Second Round last spring.

  • Jason Robertson (2nd; 8-14—22) and Matthew Tkachuk (4th; 4-15—19) are each among their club’s top scorers so far in 2023-24 after both reaching the 100-point mark last season. Hailing from Arcadia, Calif., and Scottsdale, Ariz., respectively, they became the fifth set of U.S.-born players in NHL history to each record 100+ points in the same campaign (also 3 in 2021-22, 4 in 1992-93, 3 in 1991-92 & 2 in 1988-89).
  • Sebastian Aho (8-14—22) and Connor McDavid (tied; 8-21—29) lead their clubs in scoring entering Wednesday, with the latter entering on an active six-game point streak during which he has accumulated more than half his points in 2023-24 (4-12—16 in 6 GP). That is tied for the fourth-most points McDavid has had over any six-game span within a regular season (his most is 19 from Feb. 21 – March 3, 2023). Edmonton carries an active four-game winning streak, its longest of the season and the second longest active run in the NHL (tied w/ MIN) behind Arizona (5-0-0).
  • The Hurricanes-Oilers game is also part of a doubleheader in Canada on both Sportsnet and TVA Sports, which begins in Tampa where Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (5-14—19 in 10 GP) will put his point streak on the line against the Penguins. Kucherov, the top scorer in the NHL with 42 points overall, has notched an assist in every game during his current point streak and has a chance Wednesday to establish a new franchise record for longest assist streak.
blank
Guest Writer