NHL Review December 17, 2021
LIGHTNING LEAP INTO FIRST PLACE AS STAMKOS RECORDS 900TH NHL POINT
On the night the Lightning (19-6-4, 42 points) moved into first place in the overall standings for the first time since April 3, captain Steven Stamkos (452-448—900 in 869 GP) also celebrated his 900th career point and joined Martin St. Louis (365-588—953 in 972 GP) as the second player in franchise history to hit the milestone with the club.
- Andrei Vasilevskiy extended his winning streak to six games and secured his NHL-leading 16th victory of the season (2.10 GAA, .928 SV%, 2 SO). Vasilevskiy also improved to 63-21-4 in 2021 and surpassed Marc-Andre Fleury (62-30-6 in 2009 w/ PIT) for the most wins by a goaltender in a calendar year in NHL history (regular season and playoffs combined).
FORSBERG HELPS PUSH PREDATORS TO SIXTH STRAIGHT WIN
Filip Forsberg (2-1—3) factored on three of five goals to record his 24th career three-point game and help the Predators (18-10-1, 37 points) extend the NHL’s longest active win streak to six games (tied). Nashville, 8-2-0 in its last 10 games, moved ahead of Colorado (17-8-2, 36 points) and idle St. Louis (16-8-5, 37 points) for second place in the Central Division.
WESTERN CONFERENCE CLUBS CONTINUE TO JOCKEY FOR POSITION
The Golden Knights (18-11-0, 36 points), Oilers (17-11-0, 34 points), Kings (13-10-5, 31 points) and Canucks (14-15-2, 30 points) each won to keep pace in the Western Conference standings, where eight teams are separated by six points (seed Nos. 5-12).
- Alex Pietrangelo notched an assist to extend his road point streak to nine games (3-7—10) – the longest ever by a Golden Knights player – as Vegas claimed its third straight win. The Golden Knights improved to 6-1-0 in seven games since Dec. 3, moving from outside the playoff picture to within three points of first place in the Pacific Division over the past two weeks.
- Jesse Puljujarvi (2-1—3) scored twice in a span of 46 seconds – the fastest two goals by an Oilers player in more than eight years – as Edmonton halted an 0-6-0 slide to maintain the second Wild Card position in the Western Conference. Connor McDavid notched two assists to overtake Alex Ovechkin (idle) for the most points in the NHL this season.
- Anze Kopitar scored the game winner as the Kings extended their point streak to four games (3-0-1) – with each of the last three contests coming against clubs currently ranked among the top seven in the NHL standings. Kopitar tied Marcel Dionne for the second-most game-winning goals in franchise history (59).
- Quinn Hughes (0-1—1) factored on one of five Canucks goals as Vancouver improved to 6-0-0 since Bruce Boudreau was named head coach Dec. 6. Boudreau became the sixth head coach in NHL history to win each of his first six games with a club, following Geoff Ward, Jacques Lemaire, Patrick Roy, Bryan Murray and Mario Tremblay.
NIGHT OF FIRSTS IN RALEIGH
21-year-old Jack Drury (1-0—1) and 27-year-old Andrew Poturalski (0-1—1) secured their first NHL points in a Carolina 5-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. The Hurricanes (20-7-1, 41 points) required the second-fewest games in franchise history to reach the 20-win mark in a single season.
- Poturalski became the second-oldest skater in Hurricanes team history at the time of his first career point, while Drury became the fourth Hurricanes player in the past five years to score in his NHL debut.
PAIR OF GAMES ON ESPN+ AMONG SIX-GAME SLATE
A six-game Friday features Alex Ovechkin looking to break a tie with Dave Andreychuk for the most power-play goals in NHL history as well as a pair of contests exclusively on ESPN+ and Hulu that includes a Central Division showdown between the Stars and Blues and the Pacific Division-leading Ducks hosting the Coyotes.
NHL Postpones Saturday’s Canadiens-Bruins Game
The National Hockey League announced today that tomorrow’s game in Montreal between the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins has been postponed. A make-up date for the game has yet to be established. The Canadiens will resume their regular-season schedule on Monday, Dec. 20, at the New York Islanders.
Commissioner Bettman Upholds Suspension of Maple Leafs’ Spezza; Reduces Length From Six to Four Games
National Hockey League Commissioner Gary Bettman today upheld the suspension that was assessed to Toronto Maple Leafs forward Jason Spezza for kneeing Winnipeg Jets defenseman Neal Pionk during NHL Game No. 380 in Winnipeg on Dec. 5. However, the Commissioner reduced the length of the suspension from six to four games. Commissioner Bettman heard Spezza’s appeal of the original decision, assessed Dec. 7, at a hearing on Dec. 14. Spezza now is eligible to return for the Maple Leafs’ next game, scheduled for Dec. 18 (at VAN).
MAPLE LEAFS PLACE TWO PLAYERS IN COVID-19 PROTOCOL
The Toronto Maple Leafs announced today that forwards Alexander Kerfoot and John Tavares have been placed into the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol. For precautionary reasons, today’s practice in Vancouver has been cancelled. Maple Leafs players and traveling staff were tested yesterday in Vancouver and the club was informed of the testing results early Friday morning. All players and traveling staff will undergo additional testing today.
NHL Further Delays Flames’ Return to Play; Avalanche & Panthers Also Shut Down Through the Holiday Break
The National Hockey League announced today that it has extended the period of game postponements for the Calgary Flames through their game previously scheduled for Dec. 23 against Seattle. Additionally, due to concern with the number of positive cases within the last two days as well concern for continued COVID spread in the coming days, the Colorado Avalanche’s and Florida Panthers’ games also will be postponed at least through the scheduled completion of the League’s Holiday Break in the schedule on Dec. 26. The decision was made by the NHL’s, the NHLPA’s and the Club medical groups.
A decision on when each team’s training facilities will re-open will be made by the League and the NHLPA in the coming days. The League is in the process of reviewing and revising all three teams’ regular season schedules.
The Flames’ postponed games to date include: Dec. 13 @ Chicago; Dec. 14 @ Nashville; Dec. 16 vs. Toronto; Dec. 18 vs. Columbus; Dec. 21 vs. Anaheim; Dec. 23 vs. Seattle.
The Avalanche’s postponed games include: Dec. 18 vs. Tampa Bay; Dec. 20 @ Detroit; Dec. 22 @ Buffalo; Dec. 23 @ Boston.
The Panthers’ postponed games include: Dec. 18 @ Minnesota; Dec. 21 @ Chicago; Dec. 23 vs. Nashville.
The Flames, Avalanche and Panthers organizations have followed, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of their Players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state/provincial and federal agencies.