* Joel Eriksson Ek scored the NHL’s fifth hat trick of the 2021-22 season and helped the Wild outlast the Jets in a feverish finish at Xcel Energy Center.* Leon Draisaitl reached the 200-goal milestone and aided the Oilers to a 3-0-0 record to start the season. He required the fifth-fewest games by an Edmonton skater to hit the mark.
* Spencer Knight maintained his perfect record in the regular season and backstopped the Panthers to victory in their playoff rematch with the Lightning.
ERIKSSON EK CAPS WILD FINISH AT XCEL ENERGY CENTER WITH HAT TRICK
In a back-and-forth affair that saw the Wild erase a two-goal deficit in the final five minutes of regulation, Joel Eriksson Ek netted the winner in overtime to complete his first career hat trick and boost Minnesota’s record in all-time home openers.
* Minnesota, which scored four game-tying goals in a single contest for the fourth time in franchise history and first since Feb. 27, 2017, won a game in which it trailed by multiple goals in the final five minutes of regulation for the second time in franchise history (also Dec. 4, 2009 vs. ANA).
* Eriksson Ek (3-0—3), Mats Zuccarello (2-2—4) and Kirill Kaprizov (0-3—3) combined for 10 points to outperform a three-point and multi-goal effort from Jets forward Kyle Connor. Eriksson Ek became the second player in Wild history to notch a hat trick which included an overtime goal, joining Mark Parrish on Dec. 9, 2006. One player achieved the feat in 2020-21: Arizona’s Jakob Chychrun (April 4 at ANA).
DRAISAITL ECLIPSES 200-GOAL MARK, WHILE McDAVID MOVES WITHIN ONE
Leon Draisaitl (2-2—4) recorded his 200th and 201st NHL goals, while teammate Connor McDavid (1-2—3) moved within one of reaching the same milestone as the Oilers improved to 3-0-0 this season – one of four teams with that record (also BUF, FLA & MIN).
* Draisaitl (201-313—514 in 481 GP) became the seventh player in Oilers history to score 200 goals with the franchise. Of the six others, only four required fewer games than Draisaitl to hit the mark: Wayne Gretzky (242 GP), Jari Kurri (328 GP), Glenn Anderson (348 GP) and Mark Messier (442 GP).
* Draisaitl also recorded his 14th career game with four or more points, the seventh most in Oilers history behind Gretzky (158), Kurri (45), Messier (27), Anderson (25), Paul Coffey (23) and McDavid (19).
* McDavid notched his 74th career game with at least three points, tops among all players since he entered the NHL in 2015-16 and 24 more than the next closest player (Draisaitl: 50).
KNIGHT WINS AGAIN AS PANTHERS TAKE PLAYOFF REMATCH
Nearly five months after the Lightning eliminated the Panthers in the 2021 First Round, Florida took the rematch after captain Aleksander Barkov (1-1—2) posted a multi-point game and Spencer Knight turned aside 30 of 31 shots to earn a victory.
* Knight, who made two appearances during the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs and became the second-youngest goaltender in NHL history to win his postseason debut, boosted his regular-season record to 5-0-0.
* Barkov (2-3—5 in 3 GP) has collected points in each of Florida’s three games in 2021-22, including two multi-point efforts. Only two players in franchise history have required fewer contests than the Panthers’ captain to record five points in a season: Viktor Kozlov (2 GP in 2002-03) and Olli Jokinen (2 GP in 2002-03).
FOUR ROOKIES TALLY FIRST NHL GOALS IN TUESDAY’S #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
A roundup of more #NHLStats from an 11-game Tuesday that saw all contests start within a two-hour span:
* Alex Ovechkin scored his 734th NHL goal in his 1,200th career game and moved within seven of tying Brett Hull (741) for fourth place on the League’s all-time list.
* The Sabres opened a season with a 3-0-0 record for the first time in 13 years.
* Four players scored their first NHL goal: San Jose’s Jonathan Dahlen, Detroit’s Lucas Raymond, New Jersey’s Dawson Mercer and Florida’s Anton Lundell. Click here to read more from last night’s action.
QUICK CLICKS
* 2022 NHL Draft: Shane Wright among Central Scouting’s players to watch
* Igor Shesterkin can handle expectations for Rangers, Lundqvist, Richter say
* Mike Bossy diagnosed with lung cancer, won Stanley Cup four times
* Pavel Buchnevich suspended two games for actions in Blues game
* Blackhawks honor Tony Esposito prior to home opener
WHAT’S UP FOR WEDNESDAY
The NHL on TNT’s second doubleheader of the season commences with the Bruins and Blues vying to remain undefeated when they visit the Flyers and Golden Knights, respectively, as a number of players aim to keep their streaks alive.
* Jordan Kyrou (2-4—6) and Justin Faulk (2-2—4) have recorded multiple points in each of the Blues first two contests and can become the sixth and seventh player in franchise history to open a campaign with multi-point outings in three or more straight games and first to do so since 2008-09, when Paul Kariya (4 GP) and Andy McDonald (3 GP) accomplished the feat.
* On the other end of the ice in Vegas, Chandler Stephenson (2-1—3) can become the third Golden Knights player to start a season with a goal in each of the first three or more games (James Neal: 4 GP in 2017-18 and Max Pacioretty: 3 GP in 2020-21).
* Joel Farabee (2-2—4), Travis Konecny (2-1—3) and Claude Giroux (2-0—2) have found the back of the net in each of the Flyers’ first two games of the 2021-22 campaign. If two of those forwards score on Wednesday, it would mark the first time in franchise history that multiple players have started a season with a three-game goal streak.
