NHL Recap October 28 2018

SUNDAY’S RESULTS

• LOS ANGELES 4, NY Rangers 3
• DETROIT 4, Dallas 2
• NY Islanders 2, CAROLINA 1
• Edmonton 2, CHICAGO 1 (OT)
• VEGAS 4, Ottawa 3 (OT)
• San Jose 4, ANAHEIM 3 (OT)

MULTI-GOAL LEADS PROVE FRAGILE YET AGAIN

The Golden Knights and Kings each trailed 2-0 before rallying for wins on Sunday, while the Sharks led 3-1 before claiming an overtime victory.

• Sunday marked the ninth consecutive day that a team overcame a multi-goal deficit to defeat its opponent – a stretch seen only once before. There was at least one multi-goal comeback win each day from March 9-17, 1984, with 10 such contests over that span.
• Twenty-one games this season have seen the winning team trail by at least two goals at some point in the contest, with 13 of those instances happening over the previous nine days.
• Overall, 73 of 164 games played so far in 2018-19 have seen the winning team overcome a deficit of at least one goal (45%).

PACIFIC DIVISION CLUBS PULL OFF WINS IN DRAMATIC FASHION

• Alex Tuch scored twice in regulation as Vegas tied the game two times before Jonathan Marchessault completed the comeback with a penalty-shot goal in overtime. Marchessault, who finished second on the club with 27-48—75 last season, leads the Golden Knights in goals and points through 11 games (6-5—11).
• Marchessault scored the 15th penalty-shot goal in overtime in League history, with Vegas becoming the 13th different franchise to have such a tally (NSH and ANA have two each). There were five penalty-shot goals in overtime over the past two seasons.
• Ilya Kovalchuk (1-2—3) factored on three straight goals as the Kings erased a 2-0 deficit, but the Rangers tied the score in the third period, setting the stage for Alec Martinez to net the go-ahead goal with 55 seconds left in regulation. The win halted a six-game losing streak for Los Angeles. It was Kovalchuk’s first three-point game in the NHL since Feb. 15, 2013 and the 69th of his career; only seven active players have more such performances.
• Timo Meier (2-1—3) notched his first career three-point performance, capping the night with an overtime goal, to extend his point streak to a personal-best eight games (7-4—11). Brent Burns collected an assist on the opening goal to also extend his point streak to eight games (2-11—13), matching a career high achieved twice before. They are the third set of teammates in franchise history to record simultaneous point streaks of at least eight games.

McDAVID JOINS GRETZKY, MESSIER, KURRI AND ANDERSON WITH ANOTHER POINT

Connor McDavid scored in overtime to boost his season totals of 8-9—17 and lift Edmonton to a third straight win. He became the fourth different player in franchise history to record 17 or more points through the team’s opening 10 games of a season, and first to do so since Mark Messier in 1989-90.

• McDavid scored his fifth career overtime goal and first this season. Since the start of 2016-17 (his first 82-game season), McDavid leads all players with 12 overtime points (4-8—12), one ahead of teammate Leon Draisaitl (5-6—11) – who assisted on his goal Sunday – and Pittsburgh’s Phil Kessel (4-7—11) and Kris Letang (2-9—11) over that span.

AHO ALSO IN CONVERSATION WITH GRETZKY, FRANCHISE LEGENDS

Sebastian Aho (4-12—16) tallied an assist to become the third player in NHL history to begin a season with an assist in 11 or more consecutive team games, while also tying Ron Francis for the longest season-opening point streak in Hurricanes/Whalers franchise history.

• Aho joined Wayne Gretzky (1982-83 w/ EDM) and Ken Linseman (1985-86 w/ BOS) as the only players in League history to record a season-opening assist streak of at least 11 games. Gretzky and Linseman opened with 12-game assist streaks in the campaigns referenced above.
• There have been five other instances in franchise history of a player recording at least 16 points in the month of October, with the last three occurring in October 2007 when current head coach Rod Brind’Amour (6-12—18), current captain Justin Williams (5-11—16) and Eric Staal (9-7—16) each did so. Staal set the club record with 9-13—22 in October 2005, and Sami Kapanen had 8-8—16 in October 1999. Carolina plays its 12th and final game of October on Tuesday against Boston.

TOP SCORERS KEEP IT ROLLING

Various team points leaders found the score sheet yet again on Sunday:

• Patrick Kane had an assist to extend his point streak to six games (6-4—10), notching points in 11 of 12 outings so far this season (11-7—18). Kane, who trails only Mikko Rantanen (5-16—21) in League scoring for 2018-19, is off to the second-best 12-game start of his career (9-10—19 in 2012-13). His current clip is two points better than his 12-game start in 2015-16, when he opened with 7-9—16 en route to winning the Art Ross Trophy with career-highs in goals, assists and points (46-60—106).
• John Klingberg (0-2—2), who leads club blueliners with 5-6—11 in 2018-19 (10 GP), is tied for the second-most points by a Stars/North Stars defenseman through the team’s opening 10 games. He is the only defenseman in franchise history to record 10 or more points through 10 team games in multiple seasons (3-7—10 in 2017-18).
• Anders Lee (1-1—2) factored on both Islanders goals for his second consecutive multi-point game, increasing his team-leading point total to 4-7—11. Lee, who scored a career-high 40 goals in 2017-18, became the first Islanders player to record at least 11 points in the opening 10 games of a season since John Tavares in 2015-16 (5-6—11).
• Thomas Chabot (0-2—2) boosted his team-leading assist and point totals to 3-10—13 on the season. Only 10 games into the 2018-19 campaign, the 21-year-old defenseman has already accumulated more than half his career point total from prior to this season (9-16—25 in 64 GP).

PANTHERS AND JETS ARRIVE IN FINLAND FOR 2018 NHL GLOBAL SERIES

Tampere, Finland natives Patrik Laine and Aleksander Barkov have arrived in Helsinki ahead of the 2018 NHL Global Series, which will see Laine’s Jets face Barkov’s Panthers in a doubleheader on Thursday and Friday. It will mark the first time the Jets/Thrashers franchise will play a regular-season game overseas; the Panthers have played two such contests (both in 2009-10).

• Laine prepared for busy, fun week with Jets at Global Series
• Barkov thrilled to represent Panthers, Finland at Global Series
• Barkov, Laine putting friendship on hold for Global Series in Finland

MONDAY’S GAMES

Calgary@ *Toronto	7:00 PM ET
Minnesota@ Vancouver	10:00 PM ET

*Multiple reports state Austin Matthews will miss at least the next four weeks after suffering a shoulder injury on October 27 vs the Winnipeg Jets. 

“He’s got a shoulder injury, we’ll look at it on Monday and we’ll know more on Monday. He’s not practicing tomorrow and won’t be playing – I think we play on Monday, right? He won’t be playing on Monday. We’ll know more at that time. We’ll give you an update on Monday if he’s not ready right away, for sure.”

Mike Babcock, Maple Leafs Head Coach

FINNISH FORWARDS LOOK TO MAINTAIN MOMENTUM ON DOUBLEHEADER

With NHL teams now overseas for a Global Series doubleheader in Helsinki, Finland later this week, a pair of Finnish forwards look to build on momentum during a national doubleheader tonight in Canada:

• Kasperi Kapanen (Kuopio, Finland) scored the go-ahead, game-winning goal Saturday to complete Toronto’s multi-goal, third-period comeback against Winnipeg, who now are on the ground in Helsinki. The 22-year-old has 6-4—10 in 11 games in 2018-19, matching his career point total entering this season (8-2—10 in 55 GP).
• Mikael Granlund (Oulu, Finland) takes a seven-game point streak into tonight’s contest (5-4—9), while the Wild aim to become the first team to win six consecutive games this season. The 26-year-old is tied with Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine for fourth among active Finnish players with 83 career goals, a list topped by teammate Mikko Koivu (195).

Crosby, Scheifele and Rantanen Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Winnipeg Jets center Mark Scheifele and Colorado Avalanche right wing Mikko Rantanen have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending October, 28, 2018.

FIRST STAR – SIDNEY CROSBY, C, PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Crosby recorded three straight multi-point performances, sharing the League lead in goals (5) and points (7) to power the Penguins (6-1-2, 14 points) to a 3-0-0 week and into first place in the Metropolitan Division. He scored twice, including his 14th career overtime goal, in a 6-5 victory against the Edmonton Oilers Oct. 23. Crosby then collected 1-2—3 in a 9-1 triumph over the Calgary Flames Oct. 25. He closed the week with two goals, the 82nd multi-goal effort of his career, in a 5-0 win against the Vancouver Canucks Oct. 27. The 31-year-old Cole Harbour, N.S., native – who has 5‑7—12 in nine appearances this season – leads the NHL with 1.29 points per game (416-712—1,128 in 873 GP) since making his League debut in 2005-06.

SECOND STAR – MARK SCHEIFELE, C, WINNIPEG JETS

Scheifele notched 4-3—7 in four contests to propel the Jets (7-4-1, 15 points) to a pair of wins in advance of the 2018 NHL Global Series in Helsinki, Finland. He matched a personal best with 2-2—4, his third career four-point performance, in a 5-4 overtime victory against the St. Louis Blues Oct. 22. Scheifele then scored once in a 4-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Oct. 24 and picked up one assist in a 2-1 triumph over the Detroit Red Wings Oct. 26. He finished the week with one goal in a 3-2 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs Oct. 27. The 25-year-old Kitchener, Ont., native – who paces the Jets with 6-6—12 through 12 games this season – sits one point shy of 300 in his NHL career (119-180—299 in 378 GP).

THIRD STAR – MIKKO RANTANEN, RW, COLORADO AVALANCHE

Rantanen collected 3-4—7 in four games to guide the Avalanche (7-3-2, 16 points) to two victories. He scored twice, extending his season-opening point streak to nine contests (4-12—16), in a 4-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers Oct. 22. After being held off the scoresheet in a 1-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning Oct. 24, Rantanen bounced back with 1-3—4, his fifth career four-point performance and second of the season (also Oct. 18 at NJD: 1-3—4), in a 6-3 triumph against the Ottawa Senators Oct. 26. He added one assist in a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild Oct. 27. The Nousiainen, Finland, native – who turns 22 today – paces the NHL with 5-16—21 in 12 games this season.