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LA Kings - In Play! magazine
The Kings picked up two crucial points to maintain their position as the first Wild Card in the Western Conference heading into All-Star break while the Senators and Ducks were victorious in overtime Wednesday night. Photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
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NHL Recap January 31 2024

TURCOTTE COLLECTS FIRST NHL POINTS AS KINGS EARN CRUCIAL VICTORY
Alex Turcotte (1-1—2), the No. 5 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, scored his first career goal in the second period and added his first assist on the eventual game-winning goal while Kevin Fiala (1-0—1) put the finishing touches on his former team to help Los Angeles (23-15-10, 56 points) fend off Nashville (26-23-2, 54 points) and maintain its position as the first Wild Card heading into All-Star break.

  • Wednesday was the second of a three-game stretch the Kings are going head-to-head against an opponent within arm’s reach in the Western Conference standings. Los Angeles salvaged a point against the Blues (26-21-2, 54 points) – who occupy the second Wild Card spot – on Jan. 28 and will head home after the All-Star break to clash with an Edmonton team looking for an NHL record-tying 17th straight win. The Oilers (29-15-1, 59 points) hold third place in the Pacific Division standings and own three games in hand on the Kings.
  • Turcotte, who went to Los Angeles just four selections after New Jersey took Jack Hughes first overall, was one of seven players from the US National Team Development Program (NTDP) taken within the top 15 picks of the 2019 NHL Draft – the most ever from one team at that stage of the draft.
  • Fiala was selected by the Predators with the No. 11 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft and skated parts of his first five seasons with the franchise from 2014-15 to 2018-19 before being traded to the Wild and eventually the Kings. He has made an instant impact on the Los Angeles community since joining the team, including starting Fiala’s Friends last season.

TKACHUK, VATRANO HELP CLUBS PICK UP WINS AHEAD OF ALL-STAR WEEKEND

Brady Tkachuk (1-0—1) scored one of three Senators tallies to extend his goal streak to three games – one shy of his career high set last season – while Frank Vatrano (1-0—1) netted the overtime winner for the Ducks as both players helped their clubs skate to victory before setting off to Toronto for 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend.

  • Tkachuk, who is set to become the first player in franchise history and first in the Tkachuk family to skate in four consecutive NHL All-Star Games, has amassed 1-7—8 across his previous outings, tied with Daniel Alfredsson (4-4—8) for the most points by a player representing the Senators (either 3-on-3 or 5-on-5). Overall, two other Senators players have made at least four appearances at the event at any point (Alfredsson: 6x & Erik Karlsson: 5x).
  • Vatrano scored his team-leading 22nd goal of 2023-24 and is on pace for 36 this season, which would mark the third most by a Ducks player in the past decade. Anaheim earned its ninth third-period comeback win of the season and surpassed Calgary, Colorado, Detroit and Dallas for the most among all teams.

RED WINGS ASSIGN BROGAN RAFFERTY TO GRAND RAPIDS
The Detroit Red Wings have assigned defenseman Brogan Rafferty to the American Hockey League’s Grand Rapids Griffins.

Wild’s Faber Named NHL ‘Rookie of the Month’ for January

Minnesota Wild defenseman Brock Faber, who led all rookies with 11 assists and 13 points in 14 games (2-11—13), has been named the NHL’s “Rookie of the Month” for January.

Faber edged New Jersey Devils defenseman Simon Nemec (1-7—8 in 12 GP), Arizona Coyotes center Logan Cooley (3-4—7 in 13 GP), Ottawa Senators center Ridly Greig (3-4—7 in 15 GP) and Los Angeles Kings right wing Alex Laferriere (1-6—7 in 15 GP) for the honor.

Faber, who also topped all rookies in power-play assists (6), power-play points (7) and shots on goal (31), found the scoresheet in eight of his 14 January appearances. That included a pair of three-point performances – Jan. 6 at CBJ (0-3—3) and Jan. 19 at FLA (1-2—3) – as well as a six-game point streak from Jan. 15-25 (2-7—9) – the longest by a rookie defenseman in franchise history.

The 21-year-old Faber additionally paced rookie skaters in total minutes (355:37) and average time on ice (25:24), posting eight January outings with at least 25:00. He also led rookies with 38 blocked shots, 15 more than the next-closest players.

Faber, the 45th overall pick from the 2020 NHL Draft (by LAK), tops rookies in assists (25), total minutes (1,217:56), average time on ice (24:51) and blocked shots (99) through 49 total games this season. He also ranks among the 2023-24 rookie leaders in points (2nd; 29), power-play points (3rd; 9), power-play assists (t-3rd; 7), power-play goals (t-5th; 2), shots on goal (8th; 77) and plus/minus (t-10th; +4).

Faber, the first player in Wild history to be named “Rookie of the Month,” joins Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal (October) and Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard (November and December) as a recipient this season.

MacKinnon, Skinner and Pettersson Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ for January

Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner and Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the month of January 2024.

FIRST STAR – NATHAN MacKINNON, C, COLORADO AVALANCHE

MacKinnon led the NHL with 12-14—26 and five game-winning goals (tied) in 12 contests to help the Avalanche (32-14-3, 67 points) maintain first place in the Central Division via a 9-3-0 January. MacKinnon, who also was named “First Star” of December, became the second player in as many seasons to earn that distinction in consecutive months, following Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid in February and March 2023. MacKinnon found the scoresheet in each of his 12 January appearances, extending his point streak to 13 games dating to Dec. 31 (12-16—28) – his second double-digit run of 2023-24 (also Nov. 20 – Dec. 27: 13-23—36 in 19 GP). He also stretched his season-opening home point streak to 25 contests (21-32—53), tied with Bobby Orr (19-31—50 in 1974-75 w/ BOS) for the second-longest such run in League history behind only Wayne Gretzky’s unblemished 1988-89 home campaign (33-70—103 in 40 GP w/ LAK). MacKinnon’s January featured seven multi-point performances, capped by a stretch of three straight to close the month (Jan. 20-26: 7-4—11). That window included consecutive games with at least four points, highlighted by 4-1—5 Jan. 24 vs. WSH – his second career four-goal and seventh career five-point efforts. The 28-year-old MacKinnon, who will be making his fifth career NHL All-Star Game appearance this weekend, ranks second in the League with 31-53—84 through 49 total contests this season. He also places among the top five in the NHL in assists (t-1st; 53), power-play assists (2nd; 25), power-play points (2nd; 32), shots on goal (2nd; 224), game-winning goals (t-3rd; 7) and goals (5th; 31).

SECOND STAR – STUART SKINNER, G, EDMONTON OILERS

Skinner won each of his January appearances, going 9-0-0 with a 1.33 goals-against average and .953 save percentage to guide the Oilers (29-15-1, 59 points) to a perfect month as they extended their winning streak to 16 games dating to Dec. 21 – one shy of the longest such run in NHL history. Skinner posted the ninth instance in League history of a goaltender winning at least nine contests in a single calendar month without recording a tie or loss of any kind, and the first since Mike Smith did so – also with Edmonton – in April 2022 (9-0-0). In the process, Skinner stretched his personal winning streak to 12 games dating to Dec. 22 (1.41 GAA, .950 SV%, 1 SO) – a length achieved by only nine other netminders in NHL history. Skinner yielded two or fewer goals in each of his nine January starts, including six one-goal performances. He made at least 25 stops eight times, propelled by a 35-save performance to open the calendar year (Jan. 2 vs. PHI). The 25-year-old Skinner, who owned an 11-9-1 record through his first 22 appearances of 2023-24 (3.04 GAA, .884 SV%, 1 SO), now boasts a 23-9-1 mark in 34 total outings (2.44 GAA, .910 SV%, 2 SO). That puts him in the top 10 this season in both wins (t-3rd) and goals-against average (6th; minimum: 16 GP).

THIRD STAR – ELIAS PETTERSSON, C, VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Pettersson, who will be playing in his fourth career NHL All-Star Game this weekend, shared the League lead in goals (14), game-winning goals (5) and overtime goals (2) across 13 contests (14-7—21) to lift the Canucks (33-11-5, 71 points) to a seven-point cushion atop the Pacific Division via a 10-1-2 January. Pettersson became the fifth different Vancouver player to register at least 14 goals in a calendar month and the first since Alexandre Burrows in January 2010 (15-7—22 in 13 GP). He scored in nine of his 13 January appearances, highlighted by five multi-goal performances, and became the first player in NHL history to record the winning goal in four straight road games (Jan. 6-11: 7-5—12). The 25-year-old Pettersson has played in 49 total contests this season, ranking among the League leaders in game-winning goals (t-1st; 9), points (8th; 64), power-play goals (t-8th; 10), goals (t-9th; 27), power-play points (t-9th; 25), shooting percentage (12th; 19.7% — minimum: 1 SOG/GP) and assists (t-13th; 37).

RETURN OF PLAYER DRAFT HIGHLIGHTS NHL ALL-STAR THURSDAY
Live from Scotiabank Arena, NHL All-Star Thursday will be headlined by the return of the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft – the fourth time overall and first time in more than a decade a player draft has been part of All-Star Weekend.

  • The Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft will see All-Star captains paired with celebrity captains to select their roster. Team Matthews (Auston Matthews & Justin Bieber), Team McDavid (Connor McDavid & Will Arnett), Team MacKinnon (Nathan MacKinnon & Tate McRae) and Team Hughes (Quinn Hughes, Jack Hughes & Michael Bublé) will also have an assistant captain helping with picks.
  • The No. 1 picks in the previous All-Star player drafts have been Cam Ward (2011), Pavel Datsyuk (2012) and Ryan Johansen (2015). The highest a defenseman has been selected is with the No. 2 pick (Erik Karlsson in 2012). The last pick in each All-Star player draft to date have been forwards: Phil Kessel (2011), Logan Couture (2012) and Filip Forsberg (2015). Forsberg is the only 2024 NHL All-Star who has been part of an All-Star player draft.
  • Following the player draft will be a ceremony announcing the NHL Alumni Keith Magnuson Man of the Year, which will serve as a tribute to the Stanley Cup-winning 1966-67 Maple Leafs. The Keith Magnuson Man of the Year is presented annually to a former NHL Player who has applied the intangibles of perseverance, commitment and teamwork developed through the game into a successful post-career transition.
  • Capping Thursday’s festivities will be the Canadian Tire PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase, which will be broadcast on Sportsnet, TVA Sports, ESPN+ and NHL on YouTube and see players from all six Professional Women’s Hockey League teams compete in a 20-minute game.
  • PWHL special advisor Cassie Campbell-Pascall (Team King) and Devils director of player development Meghan Duggan (Team Kloss) will be behind the benches alongside celebrity coaches Tessa Virtue (Team King) and Jonquel Jones (Team Kloss). The two teams have been named in honor of Billie Jean King and Ilana Kloss – PWHL Advisory Board members and longtime advocates of equality for women in sports.

NHL ANNOUNCES PLAYER ASSIGNMENTS FOR 2024 NHL ALL-STAR SKILLS
The NHL announced player assignments for the 2024 NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook, which takes place at Scotiabank Arena on Friday, Feb. 2 (7 p.m. ET on SN, TVAS, ESPN, ESPN+). The revamped format is set to feature 12 NHL All-Stars competing for points in eight events and the winner taking home a prize of $1 million (USD).

  • Connor McDavid leads all participants in the Fastenal NHL Fastest Skater event with a top skating speed of 24.05 mph this season according to NHL EDGE, ahead of Mathew Barzal (23.53 mph), Cale Makar (22.97 mph), Quinn Hughes (22.40 mph) and William Nylander (22.35 mph).
  • Elias Pettersson paces all participants in the Rogers NHL Hardest Shot event with a top shot speed of 97.67 mph this season according to NHL EDGE, ahead of Canucks teammate J.T. Miller (97.52 mph) as well as Makar (96.18 mph), David Pastrnak (95.87 mph) and Auston Matthews (91.43 mph).

MORE THAN $500,000 INVESTED IN YOUTH HOCKEY SPACES AS ALL-STAR LEGACY
As a legacy to the 2024 NHL All-Star weekend, the Maple Leafs, MLSE Foundation and NHL will invest more than $500,000 to revitalize ball and ice hockey rinks at three parks across the City of Toronto: Alexandra Park, West Mall Rink, and Port Union Community Recreation Centre. The Legacy Project’s upgraded recreational spaces, new hockey programming and donated equipment will reach more than 23,000 youth each year to help reduce barriers to play.

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Guest Writer