NHL Recap January 20 2019
SUNDAY’S RESULTS – Home Team in Caps
- CHICAGO 8, Washington 5
- NY ISLANDERS 3, Anaheim 0
- VANCOUVER 3, Detroit 2
- Arizona 4, TORONTO 2
- Carolina 7, EDMONTON 4
TOEWS, KANE EACH COLLECT FIVE POINTS AS BLACKHAWKS SNAP SLIDE
Jonathan Toews (3-2—5) and Patrick Kane (2-3—5) each collected five points as the Blackhawks scored a season-high eight goals to defeat the Capitals and snap a five-game slide (0-3-2).
* Toews (21-26—47 in 50 GP) scored his sixth career regular-season hat trick and became the 17th player in NHL history to record 20 or more goals in each of his first 12 seasons, a list which includes teammate Kane who accomplished the feat on Dec. 27, 2018. The only other players to post at least 12 consecutive 20-goal campaigns at any point for the Blackhawks are Stan Mikita (14; 1961-62 to 1974-75) and Bobby Hull (13; 1959-60 to 1971-72).
* Toews registered five points in a regular-season game for the third time in his NHL career (also 2-3—5 on Nov. 25, 2011 at ANA and 3-2—5 on Feb. 21, 2017 at MIN). He trails only seven players for the most such outings in franchise history.
* Kane, who matched a single-game career high with five points (also 1-4—5 on Jan. 9, 2018 at OTT), has found the score sheet in each of his last eight contests dating to Jan. 3 (7-13—20), including an active seven-game assist streak. He leads the Blackhawks with 70 points this season (29-41—70 in 49 GP), with 20 of those coming since New Year’s Day – placing him ahead of Calgary’s Johnny Gaudreau (8-10—18 in 10 GP) for the most points so far in 2019.
* Kane reached the 70-point mark for a fourth consecutive season and eighth time in his NHL career overall. Only four other players in Blackhawks franchise history have recorded 70 or more points in at least eight campaigns: Stan Mikita (13x), Steve Larmer (11x), Bobby Hull (10x) and Denis Savard (10x).
* Sunday’s contest was the 10th regular-season game where multiple Blackhawks players each collected five or more points and first since March 9, 2003, when Eric Daze (3-2—5) and Steve Sullivan (3-2—5) combined for the feat in an 8-5 win versus the Bruins.
METROPOLITAN DIVISION-LEADING ISLANDERS EXTEND WIN STREAK
Robin Lehner turned aside all 19 shots he faced to help the Metropolitan Division-leading Islanders (29-15-4, 62 points) extend their win streak to five games, the longest active run in the NHL. New York has outscored opponents 16-3 during its five-game win streak.
* The Islanders, who earned a 2-0 win over the Capitals on Friday, posted shutouts in at least two straight games for the 12th time in franchise history and first since Feb. 15-16, 2018. New York has recorded a shutout in three consecutive games on one occasion: April 1-6, 1998.
* The Islanders, who concluded 2017-18 with the most goals allowed in the NHL (296 GA), have allowed the fewest goals against this season (119 GA). There has been only one instance in League history where a team concluded a season with the most goals allowed and finished the following campaign with the fewest goals allowed; this was achieved by the Ottawa Senators in 1917-18 (114 GA) and 1918-19 (53 GA).
CANUCKS RECLAIM FINAL WILD CARD SPOT IN WESTERN CONFERENCE . . .
Bo Horvat tied the game in the third period and Antoine Roussel scored the go-ahead goal with 6:47 remaining in regulation as the Canucks extended their point streak to five contests (3-0-2). Vancouver improved to 23-21-6 (52 points) overall this season and leapfrogged Anaheim (21-20-9, 51 points) and Minnesota (24-21-3, 51 points) to reclaim the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference standings.
COYOTES DEFEAT MAPLE LEAFS TO KEEP PACE
Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves to help the Coyotes defeat the Maple Leafs and improve to 5-1-2 in their last eight games. Arizona improved to 22-22-4 (48 points) overall this season and remained four points behind Vancouver.
* Kuemper improved to 5-0-2 in his last seven appearances dating to Jan. 4 (2.08 GAA, .928 SV%, 1 SO). He is one of four NHL goaltenders without a regulation loss since New Year’s Day (min. 5 GP).
DID YOU KNOW?
* Maple Leafs forward John Tavares (30-23—53 in 48 GP) scored to become the fourth player to reach the 30-goal mark this season, joining Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (33-19—52 in 48 GP), Sabres forward Jeff Skinner (30-14—44 in 48 GP) and Lightning forward Brayden Point (30-35—65 in 49 GP). Only four other campaigns in NHL history have featured two of the first four 30-goal scorers playing in their first season with a franchise: 1917-18 (Cy Denneny w/ SEN, Joe Malone w/ MTL), 1976-77 (Don Murdoch w/ NYR, Peter McNab w/ BOS), 1995-96 (Alexander Mogilny w/ VAN, Ray Sheppard w/ FLA) and 2016-17 (Auston Matthews w/ TOR, Patrik Laine w/ WPG).
* Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat (25-16—41 in 50 GP) has scored seven times over his last seven games (7-1—8) and became the third player age 21 or younger to hit 25 goals within his team’s first 50 games this season (also Connor McDavid: 25 G in 44 GP and Patrik Laine: 25 G in 45 GP). Since 1994-95, only one other campaign has witnessed at least three players age 21 or younger each score 25 goals within the first 50 games of a season: Alex Ovechkin (25 G in 36 GP), Sidney Crosby (25 G in 48 GP) and Evgeni Malkin (25 G in 50 GP) combined for the feat in 2006-07.
* Hurricanes forward Andrei Svechnikov (12-10—22 in 48 GP) collected 1-2—3 to record the first three-point game of his NHL career. Members of the 2018 NHL Draft class Rasmus Dahlin (No. 1), Svechnikov (No. 2), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (No. 3) and Brady Tkachuk (No. 4) have each collected at least 20 points this season; the only other time each of the top four picks had 20 or more points before the end of January in the campaign immediately following their draft was 1973-74, when Denis Potvin (No. 1), Tom Lysiak (No. 2), Dennis Ververgaert (No. 3) and Lanny McDonald (No. 4) combined for the feat.
MONDAY’S GAMES
| Nashville@ Colorado | 3:00 PM ET |
| St. Louis@ Los Angeles | 4:00 PM ET |
| Minnesota@ Vegas | 6:00 PM ET |
| San Jose@ Florida | 7:00 PM ET |
Lehner, Zibanejad and Kane Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week
New York Islanders goaltender Robin Lehner, New York Rangers center Mika Zibanejad and Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Jan. 20.
FIRST STAR – ROBIN LEHNER, G, NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Lehner stopped 65 of the 67 shots he faced, compiling a 3-0-0 record with a 0.67 goals-against average, .970 save percentage and one shutout to lift the Islanders (29-15-4, 62 points) to their fifth straight victory overall and into first place in the Metropolitan Division. He yielded one goal in each of his first two outings for the week, making 30 saves in a 2-1 overtime win against the St. Louis Blues Jan. 15 and 16 stops in a 4-1 triumph over the New Jersey Devils Jan. 17. Lehner then helped the Islanders record their second consecutive shutout (following a 19-save performance by Thomas Greiss Jan. 18 at WSH), turning aside all 19 shots against in a 3-0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks Jan. 20. The 27-year-old Gothenburg, Sweden, native has appeared in 26 total games this season, pacing the NHL with a 2.02 goals-against average and ranking second with a .930 save percentage to go along with a 15-7-3 record and three shutouts. Lehner also leads the League with 11 wins in his past 12 contests dating to Dec. 18 (1.30 GAA, .953 SV%, 2 SO).
SECOND STAR – MIKA ZIBANEJAD, C, NEW YORK RANGERS
Zibanejad scored the winning goal in all three of his appearances, topping the NHL with five total tallies (5-2—7) to propel the Rangers (21-20-7, 49 points) to a perfect week. Zibanejad posted 2-2—4, his fourth career four-point performance and third of the season (also Oct. 23 vs. FLA: 2-2—4 and Dec. 29 at NSH: 0-4—4), in a 6-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes Jan. 15. He then scored once, the decisive marker, in a 4-3 victory against the Chicago Blackhawks Jan. 17. Zibanejad added two more goals in a 3-2 triumph over the Boston Bruins Jan. 19, making him the second player in the Rangers’ 93-year history to record the winning goal in three consecutive team games (also Rod Gilbert: Dec. 11-17, 1966). The 25-year-old Huddinge, Sweden, native leads New York with 27 assists and 44 points in 48 total contests this season (17-27—44) – three points shy of his 72-game output from 2017-18 (27-20—47).
THIRD STAR – PATRICK KANE, RW, CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
Kane, the top scorer on the Blackhawks (17-24-9, 43 points), registered one four-point outing and one five-point performance to lead the NHL with 4-6—10 in three games. He opened the week with 2-2—4, his eighth multi-goal effort of the season, in an 8-5 loss to the New Jersey Devils Jan. 14. Kane collected one assist in a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers Jan. 17. He then posted 2-3—5, his second career five-point game and first since Jan. 9, 2018 (1-4—5 at OTT), in an 8-5 victory over the Washington Capitals Jan. 20. The 30-year-old Buffalo native sits fifth in the League with 29-41—70 through 49 total contests this season. That includes 7-13—20 during an active eight-game point streak, giving him the most points thus far in the 2019 calendar year.