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Sergei Bobrovsky Florida Panthers - In Play! magazine
Sergei Bobrovsky became the fastest goaltender in NHL history to reach the 400-win milestone and helped the Panthers stymy the Rangers in their first rematch since the 2024 Eastern Conference Final. File photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
25
Oct

NHL RECAP OCTOBER 24, 2024 – BOBROVSKY REACHES 400-WIN MILESTONE AS PANTHERS SNAP RANGERS’ RUN. . .

Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 24 of 25 shots to earn his 400th career win and stymy the Rangers in their first meeting with the Panthers since the 2024 Eastern Conference Final. Florida handed New York its first regulation defeat of 2024-25 and snapped the Rangers’ season-opening point streak at six games.

  • Bobrovsky joined Marc-Andre Fleury (561) as just the second active goaltender to earn 400 career wins while also extending his personal point streak against the Rangers to four games dating to Dec. 29, 2023 (3-0-1). Only two other goaltenders have an active point streak of that length versus New York: Connor Hellebuyck (3-0-1) and Alexandar Georgiev (1-0-3).

. . .WHILE JETS, WILD KEEP THEIR SEASON-OPENING STREAKS ALIVE
Nikolaj Ehlers scored the overtime winner to fend off a Kraken comeback attempt and help the Jets (7-0-0, 14 points) become the fifth team in the past 10 years to start a campaign on a seven-game winning streak, while Kirill Kaprizov notched 2-1—3 to help the Wild (5-0-2, 12 points) extend their season-opening point streak to seven contests.

  • Connor Hellebuyck (29 saves), who’s backstopped Winnipeg to six of its seven victories, became the sixth U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history to record a season-opening win streak of at least six games. He joined Jack Campbell (11 GP in 2020-21), Ryan Miller (8 GP in 2006-07), Tim Thomas (7 GP in 2010-11), Brent Johnson (7 GP in 2000-01) and Jeremy Swayman (6 GP in 2023-24).
  • Kaprizov opened the scoring and added an empty-netter as the Wild moved within one game of tying their franchise record for longest season-opening point streak (7-0-1 in 2007-08). Minnesota faced its first deficit in regulation this season when Nikita Kucherov put Tampa Bay up 2-1, but Joel Eriksson Ek pulled the Wild even 6:51 after Kucherov’s League-leading eighth goal.
  • Minnesota improved to 4-0-1 as the visitor and matched the longest season-opening road point streak in franchise history (3-0-2 in 2002-03). The Wild will have a chance to establish a new franchise mark when they visit the Flyers on Saturday.

KANE SCORES LATE WINNER, CLIMBS ALL-TIME LISTS
After Devils captain Nico Hischier knotted the score with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation, Patrick Kane (1-1—2) responded for the Red Wings with just 3:23 on the clock to lift Detroit to its third straight victory. Kane recorded his 77th career game-winning goal and tied Brad Marchand for fifth most among all active skaters – a list led by Alex Ovechkin (129).

  • Kane and Alex DeBrincat (1-1—2) combined on the game winner and have now factored on the same goal 158 times. The only other U.S.-born duo in NHL history to combine on as many goals is J.T. Miller and Quinn Hughes (160x).

MAKAR’S SEASON-OPENING POINT STREAK FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Thursday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates was chock-full of notes thanks in part to Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, who recorded his League-leading 15th point of 2024-25 and extended his season-opening point streak to eight games.

STAR SHOWDOWNS BETWEEN NO. 1 PICKS HIGHLIGHT FOUR-GAME FRIDAY
Star power is on full display when the puck drops for NHL action Friday. Sidney Crosby (No. 1 in 2005) and the Penguins (3-4-1, 7 points) meet Connor McDavid (No. 1 in 2015) and the Oilers (2-4-1, 5 points) in a contest broadcast nationally in Canada on TVA Sports, while Connor Bedard (No. 1 in 2023) and the Blackhawks (2-4-1, 5 points) host Steven Stamkos (No. 1 in 2008) and the Predators (1-5-0, 2 points) on ESPN+.

  • Crosby and McDavid, taken with the No. 1 overall pick in the NHL Draft exactly 10 years apart, will go head-to-head for the 14th time in their careers (EDM: 7-3-3; PIT: 6-6-1) during the first of two meetings before the two stars work side-by-side for Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
  • The Penguins captain (3-4—7 in 13 GP vs. McDavid) takes to the ice against McDavid for the first time since the 20-season veteran reached the 1,600-point milestone and now has his sights set on 600 career goals (593-1,010—1,603 in 1,280 GP), while the Oilers captain closes in on the illustrious 1,000-point plateau – a mark Crosby reached 2,808 days ago.
  • Bedard and Stamkos have split their previous two head-to-head meetings after a four-point performance from the 2023-24 Calder Trophy winner propelled the Blackhawks to victory on Nov. 9, 2023 – a contest that also featured one of the former Lightning captain’s 40 goals in 2023-24.
  • Bedard (23-45—68 in 75 GP) sits two points shy of 70 career points and has done so thanks in part to three multi-point games in 2024-25 and 15 during his NHL tenure to date – tied with Jeremy Roenick and Bobby Hull for the third most by Blackhawks teenager. His opponent Friday is among a handful of active players to hit 70 career points before his 20th birthday, but did so in his 100th contest.
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Guest Writer