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NHL Preview: Calgary Flames 14-12-6) at San Jose Sharks (10-17-6)

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NHL Preview: Calgary Flames 14-12-6) at San Jose Sharks (10-17-6)

CALGARY FLAMES NOTES:

FLAMES LAST GAME RECAP
DECEMBER 18, 2022 – CALGARY FLAMES [5] vs. SAN JOSE SHARKS [2]
The Calgary Flames begun a four-game California road trip with their first of two stops in San Jose on Sunday Night. The Flames opened the scoring with Tyler Toffoli picking up his 11th on the season and first goal in San Jose since October 12th of 2016. The Sharks would equal things later in the frame with a Timo Meier power play goal to square the game at one and it would remain that way through 20 minutes of play. The lone tally in the second would come off the stick of Milan Lucic who scored his first of the year to restore the Flames lead heading into the final stanza. The Flames came out of the gates in the third firing on all cylinders with Elias Lindholm scoring 0:16 seconds in, followed by his second of the night just 19 seconds later and 0:35 seconds into the final frame it was 4-1 Calgary. Dillon Dube would join in on the scoring parade for Calgary picking up his sixth 2:10 into the period and the Flames scored the third fastest three goals to open a period in franchise history. Tomas Hertl would get one back for the Sharks later, but the Flames prevailed 5-2.

CGY GOAL SCORERS: Toffoli (11), Lucic (1), Lindholm (10,11), Dube (6)
GOALIE: Markstrom (24/26, .923 Sv%)
PP: 1/4 (25%)
PK: 5/7 (71.4%)

FLAMES LAST FIVE RESULTS, RECORD: 1-2-2
DATE RESULT GWG CGY GOALIE OPP. GOALIE
December 18, 2022 CGY [5] at SJS [2] Lindholm Markstrom Kahkonen
December 16, 2022 STL [5] vs. CGY [2] Buchnevich Markstrom Greiss
December 14, 2022 VAN [4] vs. CGY 3 Kuzmenko* Markstrom Martin
December 12, 2022 CGY [1] at MTL 2 Dach* Markstrom Allen
December 10, 2022 CGY [4] at TOR 5 Marner Vladar Murray
*shootout winning goal

FLAMES UPCOMING SCHEDULE:
DATE TIME
(MST) OPPONENT VENUE
December 20, 2022 8:30pm at San Jose Sharks SAP Center
December 22, 2022 8:30pm at Los Angeles Kings Cryto.com Arena
December 23, 2022 8:30pm at Anaheim Ducks Honda Center
December 27, 2022 7:00pm vs. Edmonton Oilers Scotiabank Saddledome
December 28, 2022 8:00pm at Seattle Kraken Climate Pledge Arena

TONIGHTS STORYLINES & STATS
This is the second of four matchups this season between the Flames and Sharks. The Flames won their opening game against the Sharks on Sunday night by a score of 5-2. This is a Pacific Division Matchup; The Flames have an overall record of 4-2-1 against Pacific Division opponents this season and a record of 8-4-1 against Western Conference opponents.

MAGNIFICENT MARKSTROM:
Jacob Markstrom played in his 400th NHL game on Sunday night in San Jose and celebrated it with a 5-2 win. Markstrom turned aside 26 of the 28 shots he faced at the SAP Center and is currently second in wins among all goalies from the 2008 NHL draft, trailing only Braden Holtby. Markstrom was a second-round pick by Florida and spent parts of four seasons with the Panthers. He was then traded to Vancouver where he spent seven seasons and earned his first All-Star Game nod with the Canucks in 2020. He signed with the Flames as a free agent during the 2020 off-season and has played in 128 games with Calgary.

HUBERDEAU 700:
Flames forward Jonathan Huberdeau skated in his 700th career game in the NHL on Sunday night in San Jose. The SaintJerome, QC native notched the primary assist on Elias Lindholm’s game-winning goal and skated in 16:42 of ice-time in game 700. Huberdeau was drafted third overall in 2011 by the Florida Panthers and skated in a franchise leading 671 games with the Panthers. He also leads the Florida Panthers franchise in assists (415), points (613) and even strength goals (150). Since being acquired by Calgary, Huberdeau has five goals and 14 assists for 19 points so far this season and his 429 career assists currently lead all skaters from the 2011 NHL draft.

LETHAL ELIAS:
Elias Lindholm set a Flames franchise record with the fastest two goals to start a period by one player with his pair of tallies coming just 0:35 seconds into the third period on Sunday night in San Jose. Lindholm is now tied for the eighth-fastest two goals by one player to start a period in NHL history. The last skater to score two faster period-opening tallies was Mike Knuble who scored a pair of goals 0:27 into the opening period on Feb. 14, 2003 while he was a member of the Bruins. With the pair of goals, Lindholm is now 9th in multi-goal games by a centre in Flames franchise history with 16 multi-goal efforts as well as moving into second in career game winning goals by a European player in franchise history with 26, only trailing Mikael Backlund’s 32 GWG’s.

POSITIVE PLAY:
Defenseman Rasmus Andersson and Noah Hanifin were both a season-high +4 on Sunday night in San Jose. That is the highest plus/minus rating of any skater on the Flames so far this season and for Rasmus Andersson the third time he has been a +4 in his career. As for Noah Hanifin, he has been a +4 or higher four times in his career and the pair both recorded an assist in the 5-2 win.

GAME INFO:
Calgary Flames vs. San Jose Sharks
7:30pm PT
SAP Center
TV: Sportsnet West
Radio: Sportsnet Fan 960
2022-23 Season Series: 1-0-0 (Home: 0-0-0, Road 1-0-0)
Dec. 18, 2022 – CGY [5] at SJS [2]
Dec. 20, 2022 – CGY at SJS
Mar. 25, 2023 – SJS at CGY
Apr. 12, 2023 – SJS at CGY

2021-22 Season Record vs. SJS: 1-3-0 (Home: 0-2-0, Road: 1-1-0)
Last Home Win vs. SJS: December 31, 2018 – San Jose [5] vs. Calgary [8]
Last Road Win @ SJS: December 18, 2022 – Calgary [5] at San Jose [1]
Last Home Loss vs. SJS: March 22, 2022 – San Jose [4] vs. Calgary [3]
Last Road Loss @ SJS: December 7, 2021 – Calgary [3] at San Jose [5]

2022-23 CALGARY FLAMES
FLAMES RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Nov. 27 – reassigned Dennis Gilbert (D) to Calgary (AHL)
Dec. 8 – placed Kevin Rooney (F) on waivers; cleared waivers
Dec. 8 – recalled Matthew Phillips (F) from Calgary (AHL)
Dec. 9 – recalled Radim Zohorna (F) from Calgary (AHL)
Dec. 18 – recalled Dennis Gilbert (D) from Calgary (AHL); placed Chris Tanev (D) on IR (retroactive)

FLAMES RECENT INJURIES (Total man games lost – 26)
Noah Hanifin – illness (1 game: Oct. 21)
Chris Tanev – upper-body (5 games: Nov. 3 – Nov. 10)
Jonathan Huberdeau – upper-body (3 games: Nov. 8 – Nov. 12)
Michael Stone – lower-body (11 games: Nov. 7 – Nov. 25)
MacKenzie Weegar – non-COVID illness (1 game: Dec. 12)
Elias Lindholm – upper-body injury (1 game: Dec. 12)
Chris Tanev – upper-body injury (3 games: Dec. 14 – Dec. 18)
Radim Zohorna – non-COVID illness (1 game: Dec. 18)

GAME INFO:
Calgary Flames vs. San Jose Sharks
7:30pm PT
SAP Center
TV: Sportsnet West
Radio: Sportsnet Fan 960

2022-23 Season Series: 1-0-0 (Home: 0-0-0, Road 1-0-0)
Dec. 18, 2022 – CGY [5] at SJS [2]
Dec. 20, 2022 – CGY at SJS
Mar. 25, 2023 – SJS at CGY
Apr. 12, 2023 – SJS at CGY

2021-22 Season Record vs. SJS: 1-3-0 (Home: 0-2-0, Road: 1-1-0)
Last Home Win vs. SJS: December 31, 2018 – San Jose [5] vs. Calgary [8]
Last Road Win @ SJS: December 18, 2022 – Calgary [5] at San Jose [1]
Last Home Loss vs. SJS: March 22, 2022 – San Jose [4] vs. Calgary [3]
Last Road Loss @ SJS: December 7, 2021 – Calgary [3] at San Jose [5]
2022-23 CALGARY FLAMES

FLAMES RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Nov. 27 – reassigned Dennis Gilbert (D) to Calgary (AHL)
Dec. 8 – placed Kevin Rooney (F) on waivers; cleared waivers
Dec. 8 – recalled Matthew Phillips (F) from Calgary (AHL)
Dec. 9 – recalled Radim Zohorna (F) from Calgary (AHL)
Dec. 18 – recalled Dennis Gilbert (D) from Calgary (AHL); placed Chris Tanev (D) on IR (retroactive)

FLAMES RECENT INJURIES (Total man games lost – 26)
Noah Hanifin – illness (1 game: Oct. 21)
Chris Tanev – upper-body (5 games: Nov. 3 – Nov. 10)
Jonathan Huberdeau – upper-body (3 games: Nov. 8 – Nov. 12)
Michael Stone – lower-body (11 games: Nov. 7 – Nov. 25)
MacKenzie Weegar – non-COVID illness (1 game: Dec. 12)
Elias Lindholm – upper-body injury (1 game: Dec. 12)
Chris Tanev – upper-body injury (3 games: Dec. 14 – Dec. 18)
Radim Zohorna – non-COVID illness (1 game: Dec. 18)

SAN JOSE SHARKS NOTES:

LAST GAME
Game 33 – 12/18 – SJS 2 vs CGY 5…San Jose was unable to mount a comeback after allowing three goals within the first 2:10 of the third period. Erik Karlsson (0g, 2a) tallied his 700th NHL point with a first period assist, becoming the 12th fastest defenseman in NHL history to the mark. Timo Meier (1g, 0a) scored his team-leading 16th goal of the season.

SJ Goals: Meier (16 pp), Hertl (11 pp)
SF: 26
SA: 25
SJ PP: 2/7
SJ PK: 3/4
W: Markstrom
L: Kahkonen

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
12/18 Assigned D Nick Cicek and F C.J. Suess to the San Jose Barracuda
12/17 Placed F Luke Kunin on IR; activated F Matt Nieto off IR
12/12 Activated G James Reimer off IR; Assigned G Eetu Makiniemi to the San Jose Barracuda
12/7 Activated F Nico Sturm off IR
12/6 Placed F Matt Nieto on IR; recalled F C.J. Suess from the San Jose Barracuda
12/6 Assigned G Aaron Dell to the San Jose Barracuda; recalled G Eetu Makiniemi from the San Jose Barracuda
12/1 Assigned F Jeff Viel to the San Jose Barracuda

TONIGHT’S OPPONENT
San Jose and Calgary are playing at SAP Center at San Jose for the second time in the last three days. The Sharks fell in game one of the mini-series, 5-2, on Sunday as the Flames scored three goals within the first 2:10 of the second period, including a pair of strikes by leading-scorer Elias Lindholm. Matt Benning and Matt Nieto can play in their 400th and 600th NHL games, respectively, with appearances tonight. San Jose will close out pre-Holiday break play with a home contest against Minnesota on Dec. 22 while the Flames will visit Los Angeles and Anaheim on back-to-back nights on Dec. 22 and 23 before their four-day break begins. San Jose earned a 3-1-0 record against the Flames last season and were led in scoring by Logan Couture (4g, 2a, three-point night on Dec. 7). Toma Hertl (4g, 1a) registered the Sharks first hat trick of the 2021-22 campaign in a Dec. 7 home tilt against the Flames. Calgary’s two leading scorers against the Sharks last season are no longer with the club, with Matthew Tkachuk (1g, 5a) having been traded to Florida and Johnny Gaudreau (2g, 3a) signing with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

STORYLINES
EK65…Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson continues to lead NHL defensemen in goals and points and was the first defenseman this season to hit the 10-goal and 40-point marks. With a pair of assists on Dec. 18 against Calgary, Erik Karlsson crossed the 40-point threshold, becoming the fastest defenseman to reach 40 points in a season in franchise history. He needed eight fewer games than Brent Burns, who reached 40 points in 41 games on three separate occasions (2015-16, 2016-17, 2018-19). It was also the fewest games Karlsson has needed to reach 40 points in a season in his career.

His first assist of the evening also marked his 700th NHL point. Per NHL PR, he became the 12th fastest defenseman to reach 700 career points, and fastest since Brian Leetch, who achieved the mark in 725 games on April 18, 1998. Karlsson is the third Swedish-born defenseman to cross the 700-point threshold (Nicklas Lidstrom and Borje Salming) and he leads all defensemen in assists and points since debuting in 2009. In November, Karlsson became the first Sharks defenseman to reach 20 points in a calendar month with a position-leading 21 points (6g, 15a) in just 15 games. He has factored into 41 of 99 goals scored for San Jose this season (41.4%). Per NHL PR, the highest-ever rate in the NHL’s modern era (since the 1943-44 season) at which a defenseman factored into team goals for a season was Bobby Orr at 43.3% in 1969-70.

A BENNING BONANZA…With a pair of assists on Nov. 21 against Ottawa, Matt Benning began a career-best hot streak, earning nine assists in a 10-game stretch thru Dec. 9 against Anaheim. This marked the most points Benning had recorded in a 10-game stretch in his career, with his previous most being five points (multiple times). The defenseman matched the longest point streak of his career with a point in three straight contests from Dec. 4 thru Dec. 9 (0g, 4a). He ranks second among Sharks defensemen in assists and points and is on pace to set career highs in assists, points and time on ice.

HERTL HEATING UP…Tomas Hertl has been hot offensively as of late, with seven points (2g, 5a) in his last five games and 26 points (10g, 16) since the beginning of November. The forward has now found the scoresheet in 16 of those 24 games with nine multi-point efforts and a team-leading +7 rating in that span. He recorded at least one point in six straight contests from Nov. 15 to Nov. 25 (1g, 6a), which was tied for the fourth-longest point streak of his career. He notched his 400th career NHL point on Nov. 11 with an assist and played in his 600th NHL game on Nov. 10. His .97 point-per-game pace (32 in 34) this season is the highest single-season pace of his career (above 2018-19, 74 in 77, .96 ppg)

IT’S TIMO TIME…Timo Meier ranks third on the Sharks with 30 points and is eighth in the League with 15 goals since Nov. 1. The winger took sole possession of 10th on the Sharks all-time list in goals with a strike on Nov. 10 and took sole possession of 10th on the Sharks all-time points list with a goal on Dec. 17. He logged a five-game goal-scoring streak (Nov. 1 thru Nov. 11, 6g) and found the back of the net in eight of 15 November games. With a power play goal against Calgary on Dec. 18, Meier is now on pace to set career highs in goals and power-play goals. He is just four power-play goals shy of his total (12) from last season, which he achieved in 77 games and marks the most power-play goals by a Swiss-born forward in a single season. The Herisau, Switzerland native currently ranks second in the NHL with 152 shots on goal. Last season, Meier rifled off 326 shots on net, the most by any Sharks forward (third most by a Sharks player) in a single season.

CAPTAIN COUTURE…Logan Couture ranks second on the Sharks in goal scoring after a second-period marker against Vancouver on Dec. 7. Couture’s goal was the Sharks first shorthanded tally this season and moved Couture into a tie with Owen Nolan and Marco Sturm (14) for second most shorthanded goals in franchise history. Since debuting in the 2009-10 season, the center ranks T-14th in shorthanded goals and T-15th in shorthanded points among League skaters. The captain posted a career-long five-game goal streak which ended on Nov. 27, finishing one game behind San Jose’s team record of six games. Couture has lit the lamp in 10 of the past 19 contests dating back to Nov. 10 with six multi-point efforts and 19 points (10g, 9a) in that span. He totaled 16 points (9g, 7a) in 14 November contests.

SUPREME SPECIAL TEAMS…The Sharks’ power play has been hot as of late, cashing in on 18 of 65 (27.7%) trips to the man-advantage since the start of a six-game home stand on Oct. 25, good for seventh in the NHL in that span. San Jose has gone empty in just nine games in that stretch, including Nov. 10 at St. Louis and Nov. 30 at Toronto when the team had zero power play opportunities and Nov. 17 against Detroit and Nov. 19 against the New York Rangers when they had just one each. The Sharks scored a pair of power-play goals on Dec. 19 against Calgary, pushing their power play percentage up to 22.2% this season, good for 16th in the NHL. The Sharks penalty kill has struggled as of late, allowing multiple goals in three consecutive games from Dec. 3 thru Dec. 7, but still enters tonight’s contest as the league’s second-best unit this season at 83.8%. The Sharks posted stout 6-for-6 and 3-for-3 efforts against Montreal on Nov. 29 and Toronto on Nov. 30, respectively. The Maple Leafs had a scorching 28.3% power play at home this season entering Nov. 30’s game. San Jose’s penalty kill killed off its first 22 penalties of the season before finally allowing a power play goal on Oct. 22 at New Jersey.

COMEBACK KIDS…The Sharks overcame a two-goal deficit en route to a 3-2 shootout victory on November 13 at Minnesota, the team’s first multi-goal comeback win of the season and first since 4/24/22 at Vegas, a 5-4 shootout decision. San Jose has come from behind in four of 10 wins on the year, including each contest of a three-game win streak Friday (Nov. 11) at Dallas (trailed 1-0), Sunday (Nov. 13) at Minnesota (trailed 2-0) and Tuesday (Nov. 15) at Vegas (trailed 1-0 and 2-1). San Jose was the first team to earn a win over Vegas when trailing after two periods on the year (the Knights had been 7-0-0). Per NHL PR, the three-game road trip was the first time since March 14 thru 17, 2018 that the Sharks earned three consecutive come-from-behind wins in one road stint.

REIM TIME…Sharks goaltender James Reimer returned from injury on Dec. 13 and promptly posted his 198th win of his career, having made 20 saves on 22 shots against Arizona. He earned his first shutout of the season on Oct. 23 with a 30-save performance at Philadelphia. Reimer’s shutout, his fifth as a Shark, moved him into a tie with Aaron Dell for eighth on the franchise’s all-time shutouts list. He recorded his third 41-save effort of the season on Saturday (11/19) against the New York Rangers, including saves on the first 40 shots he faced in the game. Reimer also owns a .932 shorthanded save percentage since joining the Sharks at the start of the 2021-22 season, the best in the NHL in that span (min. 10 games played) and the second best two-season stretch by a goaltender since the NHL began tracking the statistic in 1997-98 (min. 30 games played, best is Cory Schneider from 2010-12 with a .936 SV% in 58 GP).

GRIER’S GAMEPLAN…On July 5, Sharks president Jonathan Becher and Assistant General Manager Joe Will introduced Mike Grier as the team’s fifth General Manager and first black general manager in NHL history. The 47-year-old appeared in 221 games with the Sharks from 2006 through 2008 as part of a 14-season, 1,060 game NHL playing career. Just two days later, Grier was with the team as they selected center Filip Bystedt with the 27th overall pick in the 2022 NHL Draft. On July 13, the Sharks traded longtime defenseman Brent Burns and signed Matt Benning, Oskar Lindblom, Markus Nutivaara and Nico Sturm on the first day of free agency. A full list of players under NHL contract that have joined the organization since July 5 is below:

QUINN FOR THE WIN…On July 26, Grier introduced David Quinn as Head Coach of the Sharks and later named Scott Gordon, Ryan Warsofsky and Brian Wiseman as Assistant Coaches, Thomas Speer NHL Goaltending Coach and Nick Gialdini Video Coach. Quinn, who most recently served as head coach for Team USA at both the 2022 Winter Olympics and 2022 World Championship, spent three seasons as head coach of the New York Rangers from 2018 to 2021, earning a 96-87-25 record. In his three years, the Rangers held the league’s eighth-best power-play percentage (22.1%), ranked seventh in team blocked shots (4,195) and takeaways (2,244), and were tied for tenth in wins when trailing first (52). Adam Fox, who made his NHL debut under Quinn in 2019-20, was awarded the Norris Trophy following the 2020-21 season. Quinn’s first NHL win was a 3-2 overtime victory against the Sharks at Madison Square Garden with the Rangers on Oct. 11, 2018. His first NHL win with the Sharks was a 3-2 overtime victory against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Oct. 21, 2022. The 56- year-old recorded his 100th career NHL win on 11/11 at Dallas, a 5-4 final.

NHL Preview: Anaheim Ducks (9-20-3) at Los Angeles Kings (17-12-5)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Anaheim Ducks (9-20-3) at Los Angeles Kings (17-12-5)

ANAHEIM DUCKS NOTES:

LAST ANAHEIM DUCKS GAME
DEC. 17, 2022 – ANAHEIM 4 @ EDMONTON 3
The Ducks won their second straight game in a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers Saturday afternoon at Roges Place. Lukas Dostal recorded a career high 46 saves in the win, the second-most saves in a game by a Ducks rookie goaltender, trailing only Frederik Andersen’s 49 Mar. 2, 2014 vs. CAR. John Klingberg, Sam Carrick, Cam Fowler and Ryan Strome scored goals. Klingberg became he second defenseman in Ducks history to score a game-winning goal in consecutive games (also Sheldon Souray Feb. 4 and Feb. 6, 2013) while one other blueliner has done so in 2022-23 (Carolina’s Brett Pesce, Nov. 26 and 29). Mason McTavish added his second straight game with two assists (0-2=2, both primary), his fifth multi-point effort in 2022-23. The two points marked his 20th and 21st points of his career, becoming the fifth teenager in Ducks history to collect at least 20 career points with the franchise, joining Cam Fowler (13-40=53), Jamie Drysdale (7-29=36), Oleg Tverdovsky (10-24=34) and Stanislav Chistov (12-18=30). Strome also added an assist, his fourth multi-point effort as a Duck. Carrick’s goal marked his first of the campaign, while Jayson Megna recorded his first point as a Duck (assist) and Adam Henrique and Frank Vatrano tallied assists.
PP: 1-2 PK: 4-6 SF: 17 SA: 49 TOI: Adam Henrique (23:07)
Three Stars: 1. L. Dostal 2. C. McDavid 3. R. Strome Game Summary | Event Summary | Game Recap

UPCOMING GAME SCHEDULE
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME (PT) TV / AUDIO
Dec. 21 Minnesota Honda Center 7 p.m. BSW / Ducks Stream
Dec. 23 Calgary Honda Center 7 p.m. BSSC / Ducks Stream
Dec. 28 Vegas Honda Center 7 p.m. BSSC / Ducks Stream
Dec. 30 Nashville Honda Center 2 p.m. BSSC / Ducks Stream
Jan. 2 Philadelphia Honda Center 7 p.m. BSW / Ducks Stream

RECENT TRANSACTIONS:
Dec. 1 Placed D John Klingberg on Injured Reserve (IR).
Dec. 5 Reassigned LW Pavol Regenda to San Diego (AHL).
Dec. 6 Claimed C Jayson Megna on waivers from Colorado. Activated LW Max Comtois from Injured Reserve (IR) and placed C Isac Lundestrom on IR.
Dec. 9 Activated D John Klingberg from Injured Reserve (IR).
Dec. 10 Recalled G Lukas Dostal from San Diego (AHL). Placed C Derek Grant on Injured Reserve (IR).
Dec. 14 Recalled G Olle Eriksson Ek from San Diego (AHL). Placed G Anthony Stolarz on Injured Reserve (IR).
Dec. 19 Acquired D Michael Del Zotto in a three-team trade. Detroit acquires center Danny O’Regan from Anaheim while Florida receives right wing Givani Smith. Assigned D Colton White to San Diego (AHL) on a Conditioning Loan.

ANAHEIM DUCKS INJURIES
Man-Games Lost: 159

PLAYER INJURY/ILLNESS EXPECTED ABSENCE GAMES MISSED
John Moore Upper-body Indefinite 32
Jamie Drysdale Torn labrum (shoulder) 4-6 months 24
Isac Lundestrom Upper-body 6 weeks 8
Derek Grant Lower-body Day-to-day 7
Anthony Stolarz Lower-body Day-to-day 4
Max Jones Upper-body Day-to-day 3
John Gibson Lower-body Day-to-day 2
Anaheim Ducks: Media Notes

ANAHEIM DUCKS NOTES
TONIGHT’S GAME: The Anaheim Ducks conclude a season-tying five-game road trip tonight against the Los Angeles Kings at Crypto.com Arena (7:30 p.m. PT, TV: Bally Sports SoCal AUDIO: Ducks Stream). The Ducks enter tonight with wins in back-to-back games (2-0-0) while outscoring opponents 9-5. Tonight marks Anaheim’s 21st road game, which matches Arizona for the most road games in 2022-23. Tonight begins the Ducks fifth set of back-to-back contests this season, posting a 1-6-1 record overall (1-2-1 in the first game). Anaheim continues its 14-game December schedule, consisting of six home and eight road contests. All-time, Anaheim is 155-143-48 in the month of December. Since the start of 2013-14, Anaheim is 62-33-19 in December, picking up points in 81 of the 114 contests. Upcoming milestones include Trevor Zegras one point from 100 career NHL points (currently 36-63=99). Zegras can become can become the third player in Ducks history to reach the milestone in 140 games or fewer (all with Anaheim), joining Paul Kariya (45-56=101 in 98 GP) and Bobby Ryan (55-45=100 in 126 GP). Following tonight’s game, the Ducks will open a franchise record 10-game homestand tomorrow, Dec. 21 vs. the Minnesota Wild at Honda Center (7 p.m.), with the stretch of contests at home spanning 24 days (Dec. 21 through Jan. 13).

DUCKS-KINGS: Anaheim and Los Angeles begin a three-game season series tonight at Crypto.com Arena. The three contests mark the fewest scheduled in a single season between the two Southern California clubs, with 2019-20 featuring the fewest games played (three, ANA was 2-1-0), with the fourth not being played due to the final contest being cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. Anaheim has earned standings points in 30 of the last 44 overall meetings vs. Los Angeles (25-14-5) dating to 2013-14 with 26 of the 44 games decided by one goal in that stretch. The Ducks own a 74-55-27 all-time record vs. the Kings, including a 32-34-11 mark in Los Angeles. Cam Fowler (7-15=19 in 55 GP) leads active Ducks skaters in career scoring and assists vs. the Kings and co-leads in goals alongside Jakob Silfverberg (7-11=18 in 36 GP). These two teams will continue their season series Feb. 17 in Orange County (6 p.m.) and finish the three-game set Apr. 13 at Honda Center (7 p.m.).

ANA-LAK SEASON SERIES:
DATE LOCATION TIME / RESULT TV / AUDIO
Dec. 20 Crypto.com Arena 7:30 p.m. PT Bally Sports SoCal / Ducks Stream
Feb. 17 Honda Center 6 p.m. PT ESPN / Ducks Stream
Apr. 13 Honda Center 7 p.m. PT Bally Sports SoCal / Ducks Stream

ANA-LAK ALL-TIME SERIES:
Overall @ Anaheim @ Los Angeles
All-Time Series: 74-55-27 42-21-16 32-34-11
Current Streak: Three LAK wins Two LAK wins One LAK win
Last ANA Win: Nov. 30, 2021 (5-4 SO) May 1, 2021 (6-2) Nov. 30, 2021 (5-4 SO)
Last LAK Win: Apr. 23, 2022 (4-2) Apr. 19, 2022 (2-1) Apr. 23, 2022 (4-2)
ANA Last 10: 3-7-0 4-6-0 5-4-1

CLUTCH COMEBACKS: The Ducks co-lead the NHL with three third-period, multi-goal comebacks wins this season (also NYI), including Oct. 12 vs. SEA (5-4, OT win, trailed 4-2 with 15:51 in third), Oct. 30 vs. TOR (4-3 OT win, trailed 3-1 with 12:36 remaining) and Nov. 5 @ SJS (5-4 shootout win, trailed 4-2 with 9:33 remaining). The Ducks four multi-goal comeback wins this season rank second behind only Chicago’s four. Anaheim’s comeback win over San Jose marked the second time in franchise history the club has come back from a multi-goal deficit in the final 5:00 of regulation in the regular season (also Dec. 7, 2016 vs. CAR). Anaheim has recorded four third-period, multi-goal comeback victories in a single regular season just three times in franchise history (six in 2014-15 and five in 2009-10 & 4 in 2013-14).

TERRY TALK: Right wing Troy Terry leads Anaheim in points (12-16=28), goals, PPG (4) and assists this season, and he co-leads the club with eight multi-point outings. Terry has earned 4-3=7 points his last nine games and 5-3=8 points his last 12 outings. He also has collected 8-11=18 points his last 22 appearances and 8-13=21 points his last 25 contests. He had a career-best five-game assist streak Oct. 30-Nov. 6 (1-7=8), surpassing his prior best of four straight games with an assist Nov. 9-16, 2021 (3-4=7). Terry’s 28 points in 32 games are on pace for 73 points this season which would surpass his career high 37-30=67 points set last season.

GENERATION Z: Center Trevor Zegras co-leads Anaheim in PPP (2-6=8) and is second among Ducks in points (10-15=25), goals and assists. Zegras has 2-6=8 points his last 11 games, 3-10=13 points his last 18 outings and 6-14=20 points his last 23 games. Zegras’ career 36-63=99 points in 131 GP are the second-most points by an Anaheim player 21 or younger, trailing only Paul Kariya (68-79=147 in 129 GP). Zegras currently co-leads Anaheim with eight multi-point efforts this season, and paces the Ducks in multi-point outings (29) since his debut in 2020-21. On Nov. 27 vs. SEA, he tied a career high with three assists (0-3=3), his third career three assist game, the most by a Ducks skater before the age of 22. His three points also tied his single-game career high (last: Feb. 19, 2022 @ VAN; 0-3=3). It was his fourth career three-point game, tying Ryan Getzlaf for the second-most three-point games by a Duck at age 21 and trailing only Paul Kariya (12).

M(A)C ATTACK: Rookie center Mason McTavish has picked up consecutive multi-assist games his last two outings (0-4=4), marking 4-14=18 points this season. He co-leads Anaheim in PPP (2-6=8) and PPA, and ranks third among team leaders in points and assists. He currently has seven assists his last eight games (0-7=7) to rank second among NHL rookies in assists and is fourth in points. McTavish recorded his sixth multi-point outing of his career Dec. 17 @ EDM, with Cam Fowler the only Ducks player with more before age 20 (nine times).

CAM’S CORNER: Defenseman Cam Fowler leads Anaheim blueliners in points (4-12=16), and assists, and co-leads in goals through 32 games. Fowler has 4-11=15 points his last 16 games, including four multi-point outings (three multi-assist). Since Nov. 15, Fowler’s 15 points (4-11=15 in 16 GP) rank tied for fourth among all NHL defensemen in that span, trailing only Winnipeg’s Josh Morrissey (4-17=21), Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin (3-17=20) and San Jose’s Erik Karlsson (2-17=19). Fowler had a career-tying five-game point streak Nov. 15-23 (2-6=8), matching his prior high set four prior times; last: Nov. 7-16, 2021; 1-4=5). The last Ducks defenseman with a longer run was Chris Pronger (six games, Oct. 29-Nov. 7, 2009; 3-6=9). Fowler recorded three straight multi-point efforts Nov. 15-19 (1-5=6), joining Karlsson (four straight multi-point games, Oct. 27-Nov. 3; 7-4=11) as the only defensemen in the NHL with three or more consecutive multi-point outings. Fowler is one of four defensemen in Ducks history with multiple points in three consecutive games and the first since Scott Niedermayer in 2008-09.

KLING-ON: Defenseman John Klingberg has scored three goals his last two games (3-0=3), netting the game-winning goal in back-to-back games. He became the second defenseman in Ducks history to score a game-winning goal in consecutive games (also Sheldon Souray Feb. 4 and Feb. 6, 2013) while only Carolina’s Brett Pesce has done so this season (Nov. 26 and 29). Klingberg co-leads all Ducks skaters in game-winning goals (2), while he co-leads Anaheim blueliners in goals (4), and ranks second in points (4-7=11) and is tied for second in assists.

GIBBY’S GAME: John Gibson ranks third among NHL goalies in saves (677) and is tied for fifth in appearances and starts (22). Gibson leads the NHL with nine games of 35-plus saves this season, three more than any other goaltender, while he co-leads the league with four 40-save performances (also WPG’s Connor Hellebuyck). Gibson was one of seven goalies the last 10 years with eight 35-plus save contests through the first 19 starts in a season, and is the only goalie to do so twice (also 2018-19). Gibson has recorded four 40-plus save games this season (Dec. 3 @ MIN, 45; Nov. 23 vs. NYR, 41; Nov. 6 vs. FLA, 43; Oct. 12 vs. SEA, 44), co-leading the NHL with Connor Hellebuyck (WPG). Gibson earned his fifth career helper, the primary assist, on Troy Terry’s OT winning goal Oct. 12 vs. SEA and tied J.S. Giguere for second in Ducks all-time goaltender assists with his sixth career helper Nov. 3 @ VAN. Gibson stopped his eighth career penalty shot (10th attempt) against Alexander Kerfoot Oct. 30 vs. TOR. He has stopped an NHL-leading six penalty shots since the start of 2020-21, with two goalies tied with three penalty shot saves (Connor Hellebuyck, WPG & Frederik Andersen, CAR/TOR).

QUE RICO!: Center Adam Henrique has earned 1-2=3 points his last two outings and also has 9-9=16 points his last 22 contests. He ranks third among team leaders in goals (9) and is tied for fourth in scoring overall (9-8=17). He recorded points in a season-long six straight games Nov. 5-19 (5-3=8), his best as a Duck and one short of his career-long point streak set over 10 years ago in seven straight contests with New Jersey Nov. 25-Dec. 8, 2011 (2-7=9). He scored goals in a season-best three straight games Nov. 5-12 (3-0=3, +3; missed Nov. 9 due to birth of first child), including his 100th goal as a Duck (100-90=190) Nov. 12 vs. CHI, becoming the 10th player in franchise history to reach the milestone.

LOS ANGELES KINGS NOTES:

DEC. 20 vs. ANAHEIM DUCKS – 7:30 PM PT // Venue: Crypto.com Arena // TV: Bally Sports West // Radio: iHeartRadio, Tu Liga
-The LA Kings host the Anaheim Ducks for the first of three meetings between the clubs this season (Feb. 17, April 13).
-The Kings aim for their fourth consecutive win over the Ducks (4-2 on April 23, 2022; 2-1 on April 19, 2022; 4-1 on Feb. 25, 2022).
-Tonight’s game marks the second game of the Kings’ three-game homestand (3-2 SOW, Dec. 17 vs. SJS; Nov. 22 vs. CGY).

WARM-UPS
1) The Kings are 3-0 in shootouts this season.

2) Anze Kopitar has 2,996 career shots on goal. Only three LA Kings skaters have eclipsed 3,000 shots in their career with the Kings: Marcel Dionne (3,848), Dustin Brown (3,360) and Luc Robitaille (3,091).

3) Pheonix Copley has four wins in five starts this season with a 2.71 goals-against average and .904 save percentage. With his secondary assist on Phillip Danault’s first period goal Saturday night versus San Jose, Copley become the 13th different goaltender to record a point this season.

4) With one more goal, Matt Roy can establish a new career-high of five goals. Prior to this season, his previous career-high was four established in 70 games during the 2019-20 season.

5) The Kings are 11-1 when leading after two periods of play this season.

vs. ANAHEIM ALL-TIME:
All-Time Record: 71-57-11-17
Home: 41-24-4-8
Away: 30-33-7-9
OT: 19-18 (10 ties)
Shootout: 9-10
2021-22: 3-0-1
2022-23: 0-0-0

FRANCHISE LEADERS vs. ANAHEIM:
Anze Kopitar* – 83 GP, 80 PTS (28-52=80)
Dustin Brown – 96 GP, 59 PTS (30-29=59)
Drew Doughty* – 68 GP, 38 PTS (7-31=38)
Alex Frolov – 46 GP, 32 PTS (12-20=32)
Luc Robitaille – 38 GP, 27 PTS (9-18=27)
L’ubomir Visnovsky – 40 GP, 27 PTS (4-23=27)
*-denotes active roster player

LAST MEETING vs. ANAHEIM: April. 23, 2022 – LAK 4 vs. ANA 2
Venue: Crypto.com Arena
LAK Goals: Kaliyev (14), Roy (2), Edler (3), Iafallo (17)
ANA Goals: Zegras (22), Mayhew (10)
Goalies: LAK: Quick (W, 19 saves, 21 shots) ANA: Stolarz (L, 36 saves, 39 shots)
LAK PP: 1-for-5
LAK PK: 2-for-3

THE NEXT THREE:
Thurs., Dec. 22 | vs. Calgary Flames | 7:30 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o Alex Edler has 42 points (7-35=42) in 72 career games against Calgary, the second-most among active defensemen behind Brent Burns (79 GP, 13-35=48).

Fri., Dec. 23 | at Arizona Coyotes | 7:30 p.m. MT (6:30 p.m. PT) | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o The LA Kings have won their last three consecutive games against Arizona and five of their last six (5-0-1). Tues., Dec. 27 | vs. Vegas Golden Knights | 7:30 p.m. PT | Bally Sports West | LA Kings iHeart Radio Audio Network
o No skater has more points against the Golden Knights in league history than Anze Kopitar (11-19=30).

INJURY & MGL REPORT
Player, Games Missed, Date(s), Status
F Alex Iafallo, 23 games, Oct. 18 – Dec. 3 (lower-body)
F Brendan Lemieux, 17 games, Nov. 14 – Pres. (lower-body)
F Quinton Byfield, 6 games, Oct. 27 – Nov. 5 (illness)
F Viktor Arvidsson, 2 games, Oct. 13 (illness); Oct. 25 (illness)
D Sean Durzi, 2 games, Nov. 19 – Nov. 22. (lower-body)
D Drew Doughty, 1 game, Dec. 11 (lower-body)
F Gabriel Vilardi, 1 game, Nov. 27 (lower-body)
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games List: 52

RECENT TRANSACTIONS (as of 12/20/22)
Dec. 4 – Aidan Dudas (F) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
Dec. 7 – Brandt Clarke (D) loaned to Team Canada (IIHF).
Dec. 12 – Rasmus Kupari (F) and Jordan Spence (D) recalled from Ontario (AHL). Viktor Arvidsson (F) granted non-roster status.
Dec. 16 – Samuel Fagemo (F), Rasmus Kupari (F) and Tobias Bjornfot (D) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
Dec. 18 – Rasmus Kupari (F) and Jordan Spence (D) loaned to Ontario (AHL).
Dec. 19 – Rasmus Kupari (F) and Jordan Spence (D) recalled from Ontario (AHL).

LA KINGS TEAM NOTES:
HOME SWEET HOME
The Kings’ power play units at home have found consistent success and skate into tonight riding a seven-game power-play goal streak (11 PPGs) at Crypto.com Arena dating back to Nov. 12. During that time, the Kings have built a successful power play percentage of 50.0% (11-for-22), which ranks first in the league and is the only team in the league with a PP% of 50% or higher:

Best home PP% since Nov. 12, 2022
Team GP PP%
LA Kings 7 50.0% (11-for-22)
Edmonton Oilers 9 38.2% (13-for-34)
Boston Bruins 11 36.4% (16-for-44)
Toronto Maple Leafs 8 33.3% (9-for-27)
Buffalo Sabres 9 31.3% (10-for-32)

With a power play goal tonight, the Kings can extend their power play home goal streak to eight games; a feat that was last accomplished from Feb. 17, 2007 to March 17, 2007 (11 PPGs). In the past month, since Nov. 20, the Kings have scored nine power play goals in their last 19 man-advantage opportunities (47.4%) at Crypto.com Arena. Overall, LA’s power-play at home sits sixth in the league:

Best home PP% this season
Team GP PP%
Edmonton Oilers 18 35.3% (24-for-68)
Minnesota Wild 18 32.1% (18-for-56)
Boston Bruins 19 31.2% (24-for-77)
Buffalo Sabres 17 30.2% (19-for-63)
Colorado Avalanche 15 29.4% (19-for-63)
LA Kings 15 29.3% (17-for-58)

DUCK DUCK JUICE
Forward Adrian Kempe skates into tonight’s game with points in his last five consecutive games against Anaheim (4-3=7), dating back to May 1, 2021. No Kings skater has more points versus Anaheim in that time than Kempe and only Timo Meier (7), Kyle Connor (6), Leon Draisaitl (5) and Elias Lindholm (5) have scored more goals than Kempe. Since his NHL debut on Feb., 16, 2017, only Anze Kopitar (6-15=21) has scored more points against Anaheim than Kempe’s 17 (11-6=17). Among skaters from the 2014 NHL Draft class, Kempe’s 17 points versus the Ducks are third-most while fellow teammate Kevin Fiala’s 15 (10-5=15) is tied for fourth:

Most points versus Anaheim among 2014 NHL Draftees
Player GP PTS
Leon Draisaitl 26 33 (17-16=33)
Nick Schmaltz 22 18 (5-13=18)
Adrian Kempe 26 17 (11-6=17)
Kevin Fiala 19 15 (10-5=15)
Nikolaj Ehlers 15 15 (10-5=15)
Sam Reinhart 15 14 (3-11=14)

KOPI GOING DUCK HUNTING
LA Kings captain Anze Kopitar has consistently found the scoring sheet throughout his career against the Pacific Division rival Ducks. Kopitar leads all active skaters in points versus Anaheim with 80 (28-52=80) in 83 career games. The next closest active skater behind Kopitar is Chicago’s Patrick Kane with 51 points (16-35=51) in 48 career games. Kopitar enters tonight sitting three points shy of tying Mike Modano for the most points against Anaheim in league history:

Most points vs. Anaheim in league history
Player GP PTS
Mike Modano 82 83 (28-55=83)
Anze Kopitar 83 80 (28-55=83)
Joe Thornton 91 76 (19-57=76)
Patrick Marleau 123 75 (35-40=75)
Shane Doan 109 75 (34-41=75)
Jarome Iginla 74 63 (30-33=63)
Kopitar is one of two active skaters to have 20 or more goals against Anaheim in their career (Logan Couture, 22) and one of three
skaters all-time to have 50 or more assists (Joe Thornton, 57; Mike Modano, 55).

THE CAPTAIN’S HOUSE
Anze Kopitar sits at 596 (198-398=596) career home points, trailing only Marcel Dionne (288-412=700) and Luc Robitaille (322- 347=669) in club history. With four more points, Kopitar can become the fifth active player to eclipse 600 career home points:

Most home points among active skaters
Player GP Points
Sidney Crosby 566 802 (290-512=802)
Alex Ovechkin 650 746 (391-355=746)
Evgeni Malkin 508 657 (249-408=657)
Patrick Kane 571 633 (223-410=633)
Anze Kopitar 621 596 (198-398=596)
On Dec. 11, Kopitar surpassed Dave Taylor (198-298=496) for the second-most all-time road points in franchise history behind Dionne (262-345=607).

SHOOTOUT GURU
Forward Trevor Moore scored the game-deciding shootout goal for the LA Kings for the second consecutive game on Saturday, guiding the team to a 3-2 win over the San Jose Sharks. Moore’s shootout goal marked the third of his career in his fourth-ever attempt (75%). All three of his shootout goals have been game-deciding tallies. Moore is one of four players this season with multiple game-deciding shootout goals, joining Montreal’s Kirby Dach (2) and Nick Suzuki (2) and Colorado’s Evan Rodrigues (2).

MULTI-POINT KING
Forward Kevin Fiala leads the team with 34 points (9-25=34) in 34 games this season. Fiala’s two-point night last Thursday in Boston marked his team-leading 10th multi-point effort of the season (6 GP with 2 PTS; 3 GP with 3 PTS; 1 GP with 4 PTS). With one more three-plus point game, Fiala can become the first Kings skater since the 2017-18 season, and second in the last 15 years, to have at least five three-plus point games in a season (Anze Kopitar, 7 GP in 2017-18; 5 GP in 2014-15; 7 GP, 2009-10; 6 GP, 2008-09). Fiala’s 25 assists are tied for seventh-most in the league among forwards. Of Fiala’s 34 points, 24 have come at even-strength. Since his first full NHL season in 2017-18, Fiala’s 216 even-strength points sit fifth among 2014 NHL draftees.

NHL Preview: St. Louis Blues (16-15-1) at Seattle Kraken (17-10-3)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: St. Louis Blues (16-15-1) at Seattle Kraken (17-10-3)

ST. LOUIS BLUES NOTES:

CURRENT INJURIES
Scott Perunovich – Shoulder (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Oct. 4)
Marco Scandella – Right Hip (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Sep. 20)
2022-23 Total Man Games Lost: 117

Recent Transactions
December
19 – Activated forward Logan Brown from injured reserve
18 – Recalled forward Logan Brown from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
18 – Assigned forward Will Bitten to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
17 – Signed defenseman Marc-Andre Gaudet to a three-year, entry-level contract
15 – Assigned forward Logan Brown to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL) on a conditioning assignment

BLUES VS. KRAKEN
-This will be the 2nd of 3 matchups between the Blues and Kraken this season
-The Blues won 4-3 at Seattle on Oct. 19, with a goal by Justin Faulk in overtime
-Their final meeting of the season will come on Feb. 28 in St. Louis
-The Blues are 4-0-0 against Seattle since they entered the NHL in 2021-22
-The Blues have won both of their games against the Kraken in Seattle since 2021-22
-The Blues have outscored the Kraken 15-5 in their 4 meetings, allowing more than 1 goal to the Kraken just once
-The Blues are 9-2-0 against the Pacific Division this season
-The Blues have won 4 straight games overall and are 4-0-1 in their last 5 games since Dec. 11 vs. Colorado, outscoring their opponent 16-9 during that stretch
-The Blues are 5-2-0 this season in the 2nd game of back-to-back sets (5 straight wins in that scenario), which shares the most wins in the NHL with Carolina (5-0-0) in the 2nd game of back-to-back sets
-Robert Bortuzzo is expected to dress in his 400th game as a Blue

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
12/23 – at Vegas
12/27 – vs. Toronto
12/29 – vs. Chicago
12/31 – vs. Minnesota
1/3 – at Toronto

A LOOK AHEAD
-The Blues have 5 games remaining in December (3 at home; 2 away)
-The Blues will continue their season-long 10-day, 5-game road trip Tuesday at Seattle (3-0-0 so far, outscoring opponents 13-6)
-The Blues will play their next 2 games, including Tuesday at Seattle, against the Western Conference, as well as 4 of their last 5 games to finish the calendar year
-The Blues will face 4 teams in their last 5 games who currently hold a playoff spot

BLUES COMEBACK AGAINST EDMONTON
-Thursday at Edmonton, the Blues came back to win despite being down 3-1 in the third period
-It was their 2nd multi-goal 3rd period comeback of the season
-Vladimir Tarasenko scored his 1st career shorthanded goal with just 20 seconds left in the game to tie it at 3-3
-Tarasenko’s goal to tie the game marked just the 4th time in franchise history the Blues have scored a shorthanded goal with under a minute left in regulation to tie the game
-Tarasenko’s goal also marked just the 13th time in NHL history a team scored a game-tying goal while shorthanded in the final 20 seconds
-The Blues account for 3 of the 13 instances, including the last 2 (Last: Nov. 3, 2021)

DEFENSEMEN CONTRIBUTING OFFENSE FOR BLUES
-The Blues defensemen have combined for 12 goals this season
-The Blues are 8-1-0 this season when a defenseman scores
-The Blues’ defense has contributed 5 power play goals this season, which shares 2nd in the NHL (1. Ottawa, 6)
-They have also contributed 5 game-winning goals, which shares 1st in the NHL with Boston, Carolina, Columbus, Florida, Minnesota, and Winnipeg
-Torey Krug leads Blues d-men with 5 goals, which also shares 14th in the NHL among all defensemen (1. Karlsson, 12)
-Torey Krug’s 4 power play goals share 2nd on the Blues (1. Kyrou, 6) and share 2nd in the NHL among all defensemen (1. Chabot, 5)
-Justin Faulk’s 2 game-winning goals share the 7th most among all defensemen in the NHL (1. 6 players, 3)

BLUES CONSISTENT UNDER ARMSTRONG
-Since Doug Armstrong took over the reigns as the Blues General Manager in 2010-11, the Blues have posted a 537-308-100 record
-Their 537 wins since then rank 5th in the NHL (1. PIT, 560)
-The Blues have made the postseason 10 out of the 12 seasons since Armstrong became GM, 1 of 5 teams in the NHL to clinch 10 or more playoff berths since 2010-11 (PIT, 12/WSH, 11/BOS & NSH, 10)
-Armstrong is also just 1 of 2 GMs to clinch 10 or more playoff berths since 2010-11 (David Poile, 10)
-Since 2010-11, the Blues rank 7th with 2.92 goals per game (1. VGK, 3.19) and rank 3rd in the NHL with 2.59 goals against per game (1. BOS, 2.45)
-The Blues also share the 3rd best penalty kill (82.7%) under Armstrong (1. BOS, 83.4%), and have the 6th best power play (20.8%) in the league (1. WSH, 21.5%)

BLUES STAY STRONG UNDER BERUBE
-Since taking over on Nov. 18, 2018, Berube has led the Blues to a 171-95-37 record (379 points)
-The Blues 379 points since Nov. 21, 2018 (Berube’s first game), rank 10th in the NHL (1. TBL, 417), while their 171 wins also rank 10th (1. TBL, 198)
-Their 3.23 goals per game share 7th in the NHL under Berube (1. TBL, 3.55)
-The Blues have posted a mark of 2.87 goals against per game under Berube, which ranks 10th in the NHL (1. BOS, 2.49)
-The Blues also have the 4th best power play in the NHL at 23.7% since Berube became head coach (1. EDM, 27.1%)
-On Dec. 11 vs. Colorado, Berube became the 4th Head Coach in Blues history to reach 300 games behind the bench (1. Quenneville, 593 / 2. Hitchcock, 413 / 3. B. Sutter, 320)
-Last season on Dec. 29 vs. EDM, Berube became the 7th different coach in NHL history to win 200 games and play in at least 1,000 career games

Wins as Coach / Games Played
Craig Berube – 246 / 1,054
Randy Carlyle – 475 / 1,055
Bob Pulford – 363 / 1,079
Craig MacTavish – 301 / 1,093
Red Kelly – 278 / 1,316
Brent Sutter – 215 / 1,111
Larry Robinson – 209 / 1,384

BINNINGTON REACHES CENTURY MARK
-On Dec. 12 vs. Nashville, Binnington stopped all 25 shots he faced for his 100th career win and his 12th career shutout
-Binnington became the 6th goaltender in franchise history to record at least 100 wins with the club (Liut/Allen/Joseph/Fuhr/Elliott)
-Binnington recorded his 100th win in his 184th career game, becoming the 3rd fastest in franchise history to reach 100 wins with the team
-With his shutout in his 100th career win, Binnington also moved into a tie for 6th on the Blues all-time franchise list with 12 shutouts, 1 of just 7 goaltenders to record at least 12 shutouts with the Blues
-Since Nov. 10, Binnington has 9 wins, which shares 3rd in the NHL (1. Jarry/Shesterkin, 10)
-In his last 4 starts (since Dec. 11), Binnington is 3-0-1, with a 1.70 GAA, a .940 SV%, and 1 shutout -Binnington has appeared in 24 games this season, which matches the most games played by a goaltender in the NHL (Hart/Shesterkin/Hellebuyck)

Fastest to 100 career wins with the Blues:

  1. Brian Elliott – 175 GP
  2. Jake Allen – 176 GP
  3. Jordan Binnington – 184 GP

BUCHNEVICH STEPPING UP FOR BLUES
-Pavel Buchnevich ranks 2nd on the Blues with 10 goals (1. Kyrou, 16) and ranks 5th with 23 points (1. Kyrou, 32)
-Buchnevich has 7 points in his last 6 games (4g, 3a)
-Buchnevich also has 21 points in his last 17 games (9g, 12a), recording at least 1 points in 13 of those 17 games
-Buchnevich shares 2nd on the Blues this season with 4 power play goals (1. Kyrou, 6)
-Buchnevich recorded 4 points (2g, 2a) on Nov. 19 vs. Anaheim, the 2nd 4-point game of his career (also: Mar. 17, 2021 w/ NYR: 2g, 2a vs. PHI)
-Buchnevich set career-highs with 30 goals, 46 assists, and 76 points last season

BUCHNEVICH CLOSING IN ON CENTURY MARK WITH BLUES
-Pavel Buchnevich sits just 1 point shy of recording 100 points as a Blue
-Buchnevich has recorded 99 points (40g, 59a) in 96 games as a Blue
-If Buchnevich can reach 100 points in his next 4 games, he would become just the 8th player in Blues franchise history to record at least 100 points in their first 100 games or fewer with the team
-If he can reach 100 points in his next game, he will be the 6th fastest in franchise history to reach 100 points with the team

THE TARASENK-SHOW
-Last night at Vancouver, Tarasenko recorded 3 assists, marking the 7th time in his career he has recorded 3 assists in a game (2nd time this season; also Oct. 19 at Seattle)
-It was also Tarasenko’s 144th career multi-point game, which ranks 5th on the Blues all-time franchise list (4. Unger, 153)
-Vladimir Tarasenko has 12 points in his last 12 games (5g, 7a)
-Tarasenko ranks 3rd on the Blues with 25 points (1. Kyrou, 32)
-Tarasenko also shares 3rd on the Blues with 9 goals (1. Kyrou, 16) and shares 3rd on the Blues with 7 even-strength goals (1. Kyrou, 10)
-He also ranks 4th on the Blues with 17 even-strength points (7g, 10a) (1. Kyrou/Thomas, 20)
-Tarasenko also ranks 5th on the Blues all-time franchise list in goals (261) and points (549)

BRAYDEN IS SCHENN-SATIONAL
-Brayden Schenn ranks 4th on the Blues with 24 points this season (7g, 17a) (1. Kyrou, 32)
-He also ranks 2nd on the Blues with 17 assists (1. Thomas, 22)
-Schenn has 4 points in his last 4 games (1g, 3a) and has 7 points in his last 8 games (1g, 6a)
-Schenn ranks 3rd on the Blues with 19 even-strength points this season (6g, 13a) (1. Kyrou/Thomas, 20)
-Schenn scored the overtime winner on Dec. 12 vs. Nashville, the 9th overtime goal of his career
-Schenn has 24 power play goals since the start of the 2019-20 season, which ranks 2nd among all Blues in that span (1. Perron, 26)
-Schenn dressed in his 800th career NHL game on Dec. 3 at Pittsburgh
-Schenn recorded his 300th point as a Blue on Friday at Calgary

KYROU IS RED HOT
-Jordan Kyrou has a 4-game point streak (6g, 4a)
-Kyrou has also posted 3 straight multi-point games (6g, 3a)
-Jordan Kyrou scored twice, including his first career overtime winner, on Nov. 26 at Florida
-Kyrou posted his first career hat trick last night at Vancouver (3g, 1a)
-Since Kyrou’s debut in 2018-19, he has the 3rd most multi-goal games among Blues with 12 (Perron, 14 / Tarasenko, 13)
-Kyrou posted 6 goals and 9 points on the Blues three-game Western Canada road trip (Dec. 15-19), which marks the most goals by a Blue during a three-game Western Canada road trip (Previous: Brett Hull – 5g, 4a in 3 GP from Feb. 12-17, 1991 & Brad Boyes – 5g, 1a in 3 GP from Mar. 8-11, 2008)
-Kyrou leads the Blues with 16 goals and also leads the team with 6 power play goals
-Kyrou also leads the Blues with 32 points and 11 power play points
-Since Nov. 14, Kyrou has posted 27 points (12g, 15a) in 18 games, which ranks 3rd in the NHL over that span (1. McDavid, 32 points / 2. Thompson, 31 points)
-Kyrou posted a career-long 8-game point streak (5g, 8a), from Nov. 14-26, including a career-long 6 game assist streak from Nov. 16-25 (2g, 8a)

THOMAS CONTINUING STRONG SEASON
-Robert Thomas leads the Blues with 22 assists and ranks 2nd with 30 points this season (1. Kyrou, 32)
-Thomas has a 3-game point streak (2g, 3a) and has 11 points in his last 10 games (4g, 7a)
-In his last 20 games, Thomas has recorded 23 points (6g, 17a), recording at least 1 point in 16 of those 20 games
-He also leads the Blues with 8 power play assists and ranks 2nd on the Blues with 10 power play points (1. Kyrou, 11)
-Thomas also shares 1st on the Blues with 20 even-strength points (6g, 14a) (Kyrou)

SEATTLE KRAKEN NOTES:

LAST GAME
Winnipeg 2 at Seattle 3
Goals: Eberle, Donato, McCann
Goalie: Grubauer (15/17)
PP: 0/2 PK: 1/3 Shots: Winnipeg 17 – Seattle 35

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 83)
Chris Driedger (ACL; IR) – 30 games – month-to-month
Joonas Donskoi (upper body; IR) – 30 games – day-to-day

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
Dec. 12, 2022: Recalled D Gustav Olofsson from Coachella Valley (AHL); Claimed F Eeli Tolvanen off of waivers from Nashville; Placed F Karson Kuhlman on waivers
Dec. 13, 2022: F Karson Kuhlman claimed off of waivers by Winnipeg
Dec. 18, 2022: Reassigned D Gustav Olofsson to Coachella Valley (AHL)

UPCOMING GAMES
Thursday, Dec. 22: Seattle at Vancouver, 7 p.m. PT
Wednesday, Dec. 28: Calgary at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
Friday, Dec. 30: Edmonton at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
Sunday, Jan. 1: NY Islanders at Seattle, 5 p.m. PT
Tuesday, Jan. 3: Seattle at Edmonton, 6 p.m. PT

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Tonight is the Seattle’s second of three meetings with St. Louis this season and the final one at Climate Pledge Arena this year. The game is also the team’s final home game before the NHL’s Christmas break, which will begin on Dec. 23.
• If Ryan Donato were to score tonight, it would give him goals in four consecutive games for the first time in his career.
• Yanni Gourde has six points (one goal, five assists) in his last six games played dating back to Dec. 6 vs. Montreal.
• An assist tonight would give Gourde an assist in five consecutive games, extending his career-best assist streak.
• Will Borgen has already set a career high with 36 blocked shots this season and is just six hits shy of tying his career best of 89 that he set last year.
• The Kraken have had 16 different players score at least three goals this season. Entering play Monday, no team had had more players on its roster score three or more goals.
• Additionally, the Kraken were one of six teams (Arizona, Calgary, Dallas, Florida, NY Islanders) this season to have four different defensemen score at least three goals entering play Monday. Jamie Oleksiak (four), Vince Dunn (four), Adam Larsson (three) and Justin Schultz (three) have all scored at least three times for the Kraken this year.
• Martin Jones’ 13 wins were tied for the sixth-most in the NHL this season entering play Monday.
• The Kraken are outshooting their opponents 771-701 at five-on-five this season. Their 53.2 percent shot share was good for seventh in the NHL entering play Monday according to Natural Stat Trick.

SINGING THE BLUES
• Oliver Bjorkstrand has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 10 career games against the Blues. He recorded his 100th NHL point against St. Louis on Nov. 1, 2019.
• Andre Burakovsky has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his last 14 games against St Louis. Since Jan. 1, 2020, only Nathan MacKinnon (23), Cale Makar (19) and Mark Stone (16) have recorded more points against the Blues.
• Ryan Donato has totaled seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last seven games against the Blues.
• Jordan Eberle scored his 200th NHL goal on Jan. 15, 2019 against St. Louis.
• Philipp Grubauer has won four of his last five starts against St. Louis dating back to Jan. 2, 2020, posting a 2.21 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and one shutout during that span.
• Jared McCann and Jamie Oleksiak both scored their first NHL goals against the Blues – McCann on Oct. 16, 2015 and Oleksiak on Oct. 28, 2014.

FAMILIAR FOES
• Tonight will mark the second matchup of the season against St. Louis for former Blues Vince Dunn and Jaden Schwartz.
• Dunn was drafted by St. Louis in the second round (56th overall) of the 2015 NHL Draft and totaled 102 points (32 goals, 70 assists) in 267 regular-season games with the Blues. Dunn was Seattle’s selection from St. Louis in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.
• During Dunn’s four-season tenure with St. Louis, only one St. Louis defenseman score more goals than his 32 (Alex Pietrangelo; 44), and his 70 assists and 102 points were both the third-most among St. Louis blueliners during that span.
• Schwartz was taken by St. Louis in the first round (14th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft and went on to play for the Blues for 10 seasons (2011-12 to 2020-21) before signing with Seattle as a free agent.
• Schwartz recorded 385 points (154 goals, 231 assists) in 560 regular-season games with the Blues and remains ranked in the top 20 in St. Louis franchise history in goals (16th), assists (14th), points (14th) and games played (18th).
• Both Dunn and Schwartz were a part of St. Louis’ Stanley Cup-winning team in 2019.
• Assistant Coach Dave Lowry played for St. Louis from 1988-19 to 1992-93.

CHEERS TO BENIERS
• Matty Beniers leads all NHL rookies this season in goals (11) and points (24), and his 13 assists were tied for third entering play Monday.
• Beniers is ranked in the top five on Seattle’s roster in goals (second), assists (tied fifth) and points (third) this season.
• He enters tonight’s game having totaled 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his last 13 games played, dating back to Nov. 19 vs. Los Angeles. His 15 points during that span leads all rookies and all Kraken skaters.
• Beniers scored the game-winning goal in the Kraken’s game on Dec. 1, a 3-2 overtime win against the Washington Capitals. It was the first overtime goal of his career and his second game-winning goal of the season (Last: Nov. 1 at Calgary).
• Beniers’ overtime goal came seven seconds into overtime, the fastest overtime goal in franchise history. According to NHL Stats, it was also the fastest goal by a rookie from the start of a regular-season overtime in NHL history. Walter Jackson (0:08 on March 7, 1933) held the previous record.
• Entering play Monday, Beniers was one of three rookies (Nils Lundkvist, Fabian Zetterlund) to score an overtime goal this season and is also one of three rookies (Pontus Holmberg, Shane Pinto) to score two game-winning goals this year.
• Entering play Monday, Beniers was the only rookie this season to have two three-point games, doing so on Nov. 23 vs. San Jose and on Nov. 27 at Anaheim.
• Beniers’ six multi-point games led all rookies and were tied with Andre Burakovsky for the team lead entering play Monday.
• Beniers is also averaging 17:13 of ice time per game this season, which is the second-most among rookie forwards (Noah Cates; 18:10) and ranks fourth among Kraken forwards.
• The 20-year-old is currently on pace to finish the season with 30 goals, 36 assists and 66 points. Thirty goals would be the most by a rookie since Patrik Laine and Auston Matthews had 36 and 40 goals, respectively, during their rookie season in 2016-17.

EBS AND FLOW
• Jordan Eberle enters tonight’s game having recorded 17 points (seven goals, 10 assists) in his last 16 games played dating back to Nov. 8 vs. Nashville.
• His 17 assists and 25 points both rank second on Seattle’s roster, trailing Andre Burakovsky’s 18 assists and 28 points.
• Among players from the 2008 NHL Draft class, Eberle ranked third in scoring this season entering play Monday, trailing only San Jose’s Erik Karlsson (41 points) and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos (36 points).
• Eberle’s 620 career points also ranked third among 2008 draftees, again trailing Stamkos (1,008) and Karlsson (701).
• Eberle was originally selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. He is one of 23 players from the ’08 class that are still playing in the NHL, a list that includes Kraken teammate Justin Schultz.
• The 32-year-old is currently on pace to finish the season with 22 goals, 46 assists and 68 points. Forty-six assists would be the most of his career, surpassing his current career high of 42 that he set in 2011-12 while playing for the Oilers.
• Sixty-eight points would be the second-most of his career, eight points shy of his career-best 76 points that he had in 2011-12.
• Eberle leads all Kraken skaters in career goals (270), assists (350), points (620) and games played (888).

BENNY AND THE VETS
• Since Nov. 13 vs. Winnipeg, forwards Matty Beniers, Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann have played on a line together, totaling 153:09 of ice time at five-on-five together during that span.
• According to Natural Stat Trick, since Nov. 13 when that line is on the ice during five-on-five play, the Kraken are outscoring their opponents 15-3, outshooting them 80-68 and have 78 scoring chances to their opponents’ 54.
• In the Kraken’s last game on Dec. 18 vs. Winnipeg, when the Beniers/Eberle/McCann line was on the ice at five-on-five, the Kraken outscored the Jets 2-0, outshot them 4-2 and had six scoring chances while not allowing one against.
• One of Beniers, Eberle or McCann have scored in 13 of the last 15 games the Kraken have played dating back to Nov. 13.

SETTING THE PACE
• With 30 games played this year, the Kraken are roughly 37 percent of the way through their second season. Heading into tonight’s matchup with the Blues, nine of the 20 veteran skaters on the Kraken’s active roster are on pace to surpass their career highs in scoring.
• Will Borgen, Andre Burakovsky, Morgan Geekie and Daniel Sprong are all on pace to set new career highs in goals, assists and points.
• Borgen has already tied his career high with two goals this season.
• Ryan Donato (18), Jared McCann (41) and Jamie Oleksiak (13) are both on pace to finish the 2022-23 season with a new career high in goals.
• If the pace holds, it would mark the first time in his career that McCann would surpassed the 40-goal threshold.
• Adam Larsson (eight) is on pace to tie his career highs in goals.
• Oliver Bjorkstrand (30), Vince Dunn (36), Jordan Eberle (46), Yanni Gourde (42), Justin Schultz (40), Carson Soucy (14) and Brandon Tanev (25) are all pacing to finish the year with new career highs in assists.
• Vince Dunn (46), Adam Larsson (27), Jared McCann (59), Jamie Oleksiak (23) and Brandon Tanev (36) are all playing at a pace to surpass their career highs in points.

ON THE DL
• This season defensemen Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson have played 498:18 together during five-on-five play, starting every game of the season on a pair.
• Only Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson (566:59) and Carolina’s Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce (499.57) have spent more time together at five-on-five according to Natural Stat Trick.
• From the start of the 2021-22 season, no two Kraken defensemen have spent more time together at five-on-five than Dunn and Larsson (1085:08). Will Borgen and Carson Soucy, who have played 398:14 at five-on-five together, rank second.
• According to Natural Stat Trick, the Kraken have scored 27 five-on-five goals when Dunn and Larsson are on the ice together. Only New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler (30) and San Jose’s Erik Karlsson and Jayson Megna (28) have been on the ice for more of their team’s five-on-five goals.
• The pair’s plus-nine goal differential at five-on-five is tied for the fourth-most in the league among defensive pairs this season according to Natural Stat Trick.
• Additionally, according to Natural Stat Trick, the Dunn/Larsson pairing ranks seventh in the NHL with 21.3 expected goals at five-on-five.
• Dunn is pacing to finish the year with 36 assists and 46 points, both of which would surpass his current career bests (28 assists, 35 points). Larsson is on pace to tie his career bests with eight goals and set a career high with 27 points.
• The duo is pacing to finish the season as each other’s most consistent defensive partner. Prior to this year, the most amount of time Larsson had played with one partner was in 2015-16 when he played 1227:12 at five-on-five with Andy Greene.
• Dunn’s 586:49 of five-on-five ice time with Larsson last year is the most he has played with a single partner to date.
• Dunn and Larsson have been on the ice for the most five-on-five goals (49) of any defensive pairing in franchise history. The Soucy/Borgen pair ranks second with 18.
• Of any two Kraken defensemen that have played at least 300 minutes together at five-on-five, Dunn and Larsson rank second with a 51.50 percent Corsi rating, trailing only Will Borgen and Carson Soucy (51.53).

NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators (14-15-2) at Winnipeg Jets (20-10-1)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators (14-15-2) at Winnipeg Jets (20-10-1)

OTTAWA SENATORS NOTES:

LAST GAME: Dec. 18, 4-2 loss at Minnesota: The Wild won their seventh consecutive home game with a 4-2 defeat of Ottawa at Xcel Energy Center. Kaprizov paced the home side with his fifth three-point game (one goal, two assists) of the season, the second of which was his 200th career point becoming the first skater to reach the milestone with the franchise in less than 200 career games. Zuccarello would provide a multi-point effort (one goal, one assist) for Minnesota to register his second double-digit point streak with the franchise while Spurgeon and Gaudreau (into an empty net) also scored for the home side. Kastelic provided his third of the year to establish a new career high while Giroux moved into a tie for first on the Senators with his sixth road goal of the campaign. Former Senator Gustavsson earned the with for Minnesota in the first game against his former team with 26 saves while Forsberg took the loss for Ottawa by way of turning aside 19 shots. Scratches: Heatherington, Lucchini, Sabourin; Injuries: Bernard-Docker, Joseph, Norris, Stützle, Zub; Shots: OTT – 27, MIN – 23; PP: OTT – 0-3, MIN – 0-3.

BROADCAST INFORMATION: This evening’s game against Winnipeg will be broadcast regionally on TSN5 and RDS. On the radio, the game will be available locally via TSN 1200 (English) and 94,5 Unique-FM (French).

WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa begins a three-game homestand against Washington on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET. The contest will mark the second of three regular-season meetings and the second of two matchups at Canadian Tire Centre.

INJURY REPORT: D Bernard-Docker, RW Joseph, C Norris, C Stützle and D Zub are on IR and will not oppose the Jets this evening. Total man-games lost: 85.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Re-assigned F Sabourin to Belleville (AHL) on Dec. 18.
OTTAWA vs. WINNIPEG – History:
2022-23 (0-0-0): Dec. 20 @ Winnipeg, Jan. 21 @ Ottawa
2021-22 (1-1-0): 3/24/22 @ Winnipeg (5-2 win), 4/10/22 @ Ottawa (4-3 loss)
Series record (includes Atlanta): Overall: 41-26-2-8; Home: 20-12-1-6; Away: 21-14-1-2
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: 5/3/21 (2-1); @ Winnipeg: 3/24/22 (5-2)
Last Winnipeg win: @ Ottawa: 4/10/22 (4-3); @ Winnipeg: 4/5/21 (4-3)
Last OT result: 1/19/21 (4-3 OT loss) @ Ottawa
Last shootout: 11/5/15 (3-2 SO win) @ Ottawa
Most goals, game: Scored: 8, (2x, Last: 1/2/03, 8-1 win); Allowed: 8, (1/2/06, 8-3 loss); Both teams: 12, (10/21/00, 6-6 tie)
Last Game: 4/10/22, 4-3 loss @ Ottawa; OTT Goals: Tkachuk (x2), Norris; WPG Goals: Ehlers, Dubois, Statsny, Connor; OTT Scratch: Del Zotto; OTT Injuries: Batherson*, Chabot, Ennis, Murray, Pinto, Sanderson, Stützle; OTT Goalie: Sogaard; WPG Goalie: Hellebuyck; OTT PP: 2-4; WPG PP: 2-4; Shots: 34-25. Career vs. Winnipeg: Giroux leads all players in career games played (33), in assists (22), in points (30) and is tied with Tkachuk in goals (eight); Tkachuk leads in penalty minutes (32) against Winnipeg.

SWEATER WEATHER: The Senators enter their third season of wearing a primary logo which sees the organization return to its roots with the implementation of the modified original “2D” logo. The team has earned a 68-80-13 all-time record (13-13-2 this season) while wearing its current sweater. Ottawa unveiled their Reverse Retro jersey on Oct. 20 and will wear the sweater on five occasions in 2022-23 (1-1-0 this season). The Senators hold an all-time record of 113-76-7-25 when wearing an alternate; 27-19-2-5 when wearing a red alternate, 85-56-5-19 when wearing a black alternate and 1-1-0-1 when wearing a cream alternate.

HOME ON THE RANGE: Ottawa has a record of 8-8-0 at home this season … Claude Giroux is the Senators leader with eight goals at home while Alex DeBrincat and Tim Stützle maintain the club lead with 13 assists at Canadian Tire Centre … Through 16 home games, Stützle leads the team with 19 points on home ice … The Senators earned a record of 15-22-4 at home through 41 home contests in 2021-22.

ROAD SCHOLARS: The Senators have a record of 6-7-2 on the road this season … Giroux and Tkachuk lead with six goals on the road this season while Tkachuk ranks first with 12 assists while the Senators serve as visitors … Through 15 road games this season, Tkachuk maintains the club lead with 18 points … The Senators registered an 18-20-3 record over 41 road contests in 2021-22.

FRANCHISE RECORD: Ottawa has posted an all-time record of 1,018-997-115-178 over 2,308 games … The Senators are 556-443- 60-97 through 1,156 all-time home games and 462-554-55-81 through 1,152 all-time road games.

BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Ottawa will play back-to-back games on 12 occasions in 2022-23 and will open their third set of the season on Thursday when Washington comes to Canadian Tire Centre before hosting Detroit the following evening … The Senators played 17 back-to-back sets last season and earned a record of 6-9-2 in the first half of contests on consecutive nights (2-0-0 this season) while posting an 8-8-1 record (1-1-0 this season) in the second half of games on consecutive days.

ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 34 for 121 (28.1%) on the power-play in 2022-23 … Drake Batherson leads with seven power-play goals while DeBrincat maintains the club lead with 18 points while the team enjoys a man advantage … Ottawa has recorded multiple power-play goals 10 times in an individual contest in 2022-23 after having done so 11 times in 2021-22. Ottawa Senators: Media Notes

ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 93 of the 116 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2022-23 to maintain an efficiency of 80.2% through 31 regular-season games … The team has registered two (Joseph, Motte) shorthanded markers this season after recording nine such goals in 2021-22.

INDIVIDUAL NOTES
COACH SMITH: D.J. Smith was introduced as the Senators’ 14th head coach in franchise history on 5/23/19. A native of Windsor, Ont., Smith spent the four previous NHL seasons as an assistant coach with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to joining the Maple Leafs (which was also the team for which he made his NHL playing debut in 1996-97), Smith guided the Ontario Hockey League’s Oshawa Generals to a record of 135-53-3-13 over three campaigns which included his having been recognized as the OHL’s Coach of the Year in 2013-14. One year later, he helped the team capture the Mastercard Memorial Cup. His 95 head coaching victories with Ottawa see him rank in a tie for fourth in franchise history.

SECOND SEASON AS CAPTAIN FOR CHUCKY: Two-time NHL All-Star Brady Tkachuk was appointed the 10th captain in Senators franchise history on 11/5/21. A native of St. Louis, Tkachuk succeeded Erik Karlsson who served in the role for four seasons from 2014-15 to 2017-18. The bronze medal winner with Team U.S.A. at the 2018 IIHF World Junior Championship is the first American-born skater to serve as team captain. Tkachuk is assisted by full-time alternates Thomas Chabot and Claude Giroux.

OTTAWA’S POWER ROAD: Despite not registering a goal with the extra attacker in Sunday’s 4-2 loss at Minnesota, Ottawa continues to sit in second overall for road power-play percentage at 30.2%. With the total, the club is on pace to eclipse its previous high in powerplay percentage as visitors which currently stands as the 25.0% recorded during the 2013-14 campaign. With 16 total goals on the power-play while serving as visitors, Ottawa sits in a tie for second (Dallas), one goal behind Buffalo for the league lead. The Senators have managed at least one power-play goal in 10 of 15 road games so far this season, including two games of three extra attacker goals to join Seattle as the only two teams to register multiple three-plus power-play goal games on the road. The Senators are paced by Alex DeBrincat whose eight-road power-play points (three goals, five assists) see him sit in a tie for 10th leaguewide while Brady Tkachuk’s 22 shots during road power-plays are tied for the fourth highest total in the NHL.

ALL-TIME LEADERS: Chris Phillips is the Senators’ all-time leader in games played (1,179) … Daniel Alfredsson leads in goals (426), assists (682) and points (1,108) … Following Phillips is Alfredsson (1,178), Chris Neil (1,026), Wade Redden (838), Radek Bonk (689), Jason Spezza (686) and Mike Fisher (675) … Neil leads in penalty minutes (2,522) while Patrick Lalime holds the lead in shutouts (30) and ranks second (283) to Craig Anderson (435) in games played among goaltenders. Anderson leads in wins (202).

WINNIPEG JETS NOTES:

Scene Setter
The Winnipeg Jets play their last home game before the Christmas break on Tuesday when they entertain the Ottawa Senators at Canada Life Centre. The Jets split a pair of road games on the weekend, winning 5-1 in Vancouver on Saturday and losing 3-2 in Seattle on Sunday. After Tuesday’s game, the Jets play in Boston against the Bruins on Thursday and on Washington against the Capitals on Friday before having three days off for the Christmas break.

Last Game
Seattle Kraken 3
Winnipeg Jets 2
Jets Scorers: Scheifele (19), Dubois (15)
Kraken Scorers: Eberle (8), Donato (6), McCann (14)
Jets Goaltender: David Rittich (31 sv, 3 ga)
Kraken Goaltender: Philipp Grubauer (15 sv, 2 ga)
Jets PP: 2-for-3
Jets PK: 2-for-2
Recap: The Jets had a 1-0 and 2-1 lead, but lost 3-2 to the Seattle Kraken on Sunday night, ending their two-game winning streak… Pierre-Luc
Dubois had a goal and an assist, while Josh Morrissey had two assists for two-point nights… Mark Scheifele scored his team leading 19th goal of the season and led the team with four shots… David Rittich stopped 31 shots in the loss.

Super 7
The Jets are seventh in the NHL with a .661 points percentage, which also ranks first in the Central Division and second in the Western Conference… Winnipeg’s best points percentage in franchise history was in 2017-18 when the team finished at .695… The franchise has finished
a season with a points percentage better than .600 four times.

Goals, Goals, Goals
The Jets have scored five goals or more in eight of their past 13 games… Since Nov. 25, Winnipeg leads the NHL with 52 goals in 13 games… The Jets have tallied five goals or more in 10 games this season, which is tied for fourth in the NHL.

Busy Time of Year
Winnipeg plays 16 games in 30 days from Dec. 2-31… The stretch includes three back-to-backs… The Jets only consecutive days off in December are from Dec. 24-26 for the Christmas break… The Jets only played eight games in December last season due to COVID-related postponements, going 4-3-1.

Home Comforts
The Jets are 11-5-0 at Canada Life Centre to start the season… Winnipeg has won 15 of their past 20 home games dating back to last season… Kyle Connor (8G, 13A) leads the team with 21 points in 16 home games… Mark Scheifele’s 12 goals at home is sixth in the NHL, which is halfway to the career high 24 goals he had at home during the 2018-19 season… Connor Hellebuyck has been stellar on home ice this season, going 10-4-0 with a 1.78 goals-against average, .942 save percentage and three shutouts… Winnipeg is 240-154-36 all-time at Canada Life Centre and have posted a .500 record or better at home in six consecutive seasons.

Road Record
Winnipeg’s franchise record tying five-game road winning streak ended on Sunday in Seattle… The Jets are 9-5-1 on the road this season for a
.633 points percentage, which is seventh in the NHL… The Jets haven’t lost consecutive games in regulation on the road this season… Defenceman Josh Morrissey (1G, 18A) leads the Jets in scoring on the road with 19 points and has a point in nine consecutive road games, which is one shy of the franchise record (Mark Scheifele and Neal Pionk had 10-game road point streaks last season)… Pierre-Luc Dubois has a team leading eight goals… Winnipeg’s first road game in the eastern time zone is Thursday in Boston.

Facing Eastward
This is Winnipeg’s ninth game against an Eastern Conference opponent this season, having gone 4-4-0 so far… Tuesday’s game is the first of three consecutive games for the Jets against an Eastern Conference team… Pierre-Luc Dubois has a team leading 11 points (4G, 7A) in eight games against the Eastern Conference this season.

Top 5 PK
Winnipeg is fifth in the NHL with a penalty kill successful 82.1% of the time… The Jets have played 138:44 on the penalty kill this season, which is fifth fewest in the NHL… The last time the Jets had a penalty kill better than 82% was in 2013-14 when they finished the season at 83.2%…The franchise record for penalty kill percentage in a season is 85.2%, which occurred in Atlanta during the 2003-04 season.

On The Power Play
Winnipeg is 13-for-38 (34.4%) with the extra man in the past 12 games, having scored on the power play in 10 of the past 12 games… Winnipeg is 11th in the NHL this season with a power play clicking at 24.2%… Kyle Connor (3G, 11A), Pierre-Luc Dubois (6G, 8A), and Josh Morrissey (1G, 13A) lead the team in scoring on the power play with 14 points.

Mo Consistency
Josh Morrissey leads the Jets in scoring with 36 points (5G, 31A) in 31 games… He has established a new career high with 31 assists, five more
than he had in 2019-20 in 65 games… Morrissey is a point away from the most he’s had in a season during his career… He had a career best 12 goals and 37 points in 79 games last season… Morrissey has 11 assists during a current nine-game assist streak, which is the longest of his career and third point streak of at least five games this season… He has a point in 26 of his 31 games this season and hasn’t gone consecutive
games without a point… Morrissey is third in the NHL among defencemen in scoring, while his 31 assists rank first among NHL defencemen and fifth overall… Morrissey is on pace for 82 assists and 95 points this season… Morrissey is on pace to become the first defenceman to lead the
team in scoring in franchise history… The franchise record for points by a defenceman in a season is 56, which Dustin Byfuglien did in 2013-14…Byfuglien (4 times), Toby Enstrom (twice), and Jacob Trouba (once) are the only defencemen in franchise history to post 50 points or more in a season.

Sniper
Mark Scheifele has four goals in his past four games to reach 19 on the season… He’s halfway to his career best 38 goals, which he did during
the 2018-19 season… He’s on pace for exactly 50 goals, which has only been done twice in franchise history (Ilya Kovalchuk in 2005-05 and 2007-08).

Streakin’
Kyle Connor (5G, 9A) and Josh Morrissey (11A) are riding nine-game point streaks, which are tied for the longest by a member of the Jets this season… They are also tied for the third longest active point streak in the NHL.

Festive KC
Kyle Connor tallied his fourth multi-point game on Saturday during his nine-game point streak… Connor is fifth in NHL scoring since Nov. 23 with 20 points (8G, 12A) in 14 games… Connor averaged 1.42 points per game in November and has 1.40 points per game in December after tallying four points in nine games in October to start the season… Thursday’s overtime winner against Nashville was Connor’s fifth game-winning goal of the season, which is more than halfway to the career high nine game-winning goals he had last season.

Back End Production
Jets defencemen have combined for 78 points this season, which is fourth in the NHL… Five of Winnipeg’s six defenceman dressed for Saturday’s game against the Canucks had a point, including goals from Kyle Capobianco and Neal Pionk… Capobianco was the sixth defenceman to score for the Jets this season on Saturday, which is one shy for the most defenceman on a team to have a goal this season in the NHL… Defencemen have accounted for 26.9% of the team’s points this season, compared to 24.2% last season and 17.5% in 2020-21.

Three Helpings
Pierre-Luc Dubois has multi-point outings in back-to-back games… He tallied his second three-assist game of the season on Saturday against the Canucks… His other three-assist game was earlier this month on Dec. 6 vs FLA… The franchise record for most three-assist games in season is six, which was done by Blake Wheeler during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons… Dubois has 22 points (8G, 14A) in his past 15 games, which is the most points he’s had in a 15-game span during his career… He’s on pace for 53 assists, which would best his previous career high for 34 during the 2018-19 season when he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Rookie
Cole Perfetti is third in NHL rookie scoring with 19 points (6G, 13A) in 31 games… His assist on Saturday ended a three-game pointless drought… Perfetti could become the fifth rookie in franchise history to post 50 points in a season, previously done by Dany Heatley (67 – 2001-02), Patrik Laine (64 – 2016-17), Kyle Connor (57 – 2017-18), and Ilya Kovalchuk (51 – 2001-02).

Helle
Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck is third in the NHL with a .928 save percentage this season… His 16 wins are tied for second among the league’s netminders and he joins Detroit’s Ville Husso and Carolina’s Pyotr Kochetkov as the only goalies with three shutouts this season… Hellebuyck owns a 2.33 goals-against average this season, fourth in the NHL, while the Jets are averaging 3.53 goals per game when he’s in net… He has stopped more than 90% of the shots he’s face in eight of his past 10 starts.

Extra Time
The Jets are 7-1 in overtime this season… Winnipeg has won five consecutive OT games, which is one game shy of the franchise record in a season (Oct. 22/18-Jan. 13/19)… Winnipeg’s eight OT games are tied for the most in the NHL this season and the Jets are the only team with seven wins in overtime… Five of Winnipeg’s seven OT winners have come in the first two minutes of the extra session… Mark Scheifele holds the franchise record with 12 OT winning goals… The seven wins is two better than the five overtime wins Winnipeg had last season in 12 games decided in OT… During the past three seasons, Winnipeg is 18-9 in games decided in overtime… The franchise record for OT wins is 10, set in 2010-11.

Zeros
The Jets have registered three shutouts this season, which is tied for first in the NHL… Winnipeg’s first two shutouts were by 4-0 scores (Oct. 24 vs. STL and Nov. 5 vs. CHI), while the Nov. 29 5-0 shutout against Colorado gives the Jets all three shutout wins by at least four goals… The Jets had five shutouts last season, which is two shy of the franchise record.

Taking the Challenge
Head Coach Rick Bowness has made three challenges this season, resulting in two calls being overturned… Both challenges resulted in goals being overturned to no goals – one for offside and one for a stoppage… The Jets are 2-0-0 in games this season when they have made a duccessful coach’s challenge… Opposing coaches have made two challenges in games this season against the Jets, going 1-for-2.

Jets vs. OTT Notes
Season Series
The Jets and Senators play each other twice this season… Winnipeg makes the return trip to Ottawa on Jan. 21.

Recent History
The Jets have lost three of their past four games to the Senators, but are 13-6-1 during the past 20 games against Ottawa… The road team has won the past three meetings between Winnipeg and Ottawa.

In Winnipeg
The Jets have lost the past two meetings to the Sens at Canada Life Centre, but were 6-1-1 in the previous eight meetings prior to that… Seven of the past 10 games between Winnipeg and Ottawa at Canada Life Centre have been decided by two goals or more.

Player Notes
Blake Wheeler leads the Jets in career scoring against the Senators with 35 points (14G, 21A) in 46 games. Eleven of the 35 points have come on the power play (2G, 9A)… Mark Scheifele has 30 points (10G, 20A) in 27 games against Ottawa, including a team best three game-winning goals. He has five points (1G, 4A) during a current three-game point streak when playing the Senators… Kyle Connor (8G, 10A) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (7G, 11A) each have 18 points in 17 games against the Senators.

Jets vs. OTT Past 10 Games
Date Opp Res G GA S PPO PPG PIM SA PPOA PPGA PIMA
01/23/2021 Ott W 6 3 38 3 2 9 21 2 0 11
02/11/2021 Ott W 5 1 26 2 1 4 42 2 0 4
02/13/2021 Ott L 1 2 31 1 0 2 29 1 0 2
04/05/2021 Ott W 4 3 46 3 1 8 23 4 1 6
04/12/2021 @Ott L 2 4 26 5 1 11 24 2 1 17
04/14/2021 @Ott W 3 2 35 3 1 10 29 5 1 6
05/03/2021 @Ott L 1 2 29 6 0 8 18 3 0 14
05/08/2021 Ott L 2 4 29 2 0 4 23 2 1 4
03/24/2022 Ott L 2 5 24 0 0 2 33 1 1 0
04/10/2022 @Ott W 4 3 25 4 2 8 34 4 2 8

Twins sign Joey Gallo to one-year contract

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Twins sign Joey Gallo to one-year contract

MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL, MN – The Minnesota Twins announced today that they have signed outfielder Joey Gallo to a one-year contract.

Gallo, 29, split the 2022 season between the New York Yankees and Los Angeles Dodgers, hitting .160 (56-for-350) with eight doubles, two triples, 19 home runs, 47 RBI, 48 runs scored and 56 walks in 126 games. The two-time American League All-Star (2019 & 2021) and two-time AL Rawlings Gold Glove Award winner (2020 & 2021) has hit 170 home runs since the start of the 2017 season, tied for 12th most in baseball in that span.

In 2021, the 6-foot-5, 250-pound slugger hit 38 home runs in 153 games between the Yankees and Texas Rangers, and walked an AL-leading 111 times in 616 plate appearances. Since 2020, he ranks second among all major league outfielders in defensive runs saved with 32 (per FanGraphs) and fifth by averaging 93.5 mph on his throws from the outfield (per Baseball Savant, minimum of 500 throws). In his career, he has posted an at-bat-per-home run ratio of 13.36, which ranks fifth-best in AL/NL history (minimum of 1,500 at-bats), trailing Mark McGwire (10.61), Babe Ruth (11.76), Aaron Judge (11.99) and Barry Bonds (12.92).

The Henderson, Nevada native was originally selected by the Rangers in the first round (39th overall) of the 2012 First-Year Player Draft out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Nevada and has played in 752 career major league games across parts of eight seasons with the Rangers, Yankees and Dodgers. He has hit 177 career home runs with 386 RBI, 400 runs scored, 417 walks, a .469 slugging percentage and a .794 OPS, while averaging 38 home runs-per-162 games over his career. In 15 career games at Target Field, Gallo has posted a .632 slugging percentage with three doubles, six home runs, 13 RBI and a .954 OPS.

To make room on the 40-man roster, the Twins have designated outfielder Mark Contreras for release or assignment. Contreras played in 28 games for Minnesota last season, hitting .121 (7-for-58) with one double, three home runs and six RBI.

Washington Nationals agree to terms with right-handed pitcher Erasmo Ramírez

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Washington Nationals agree to terms with right-handed pitcher Erasmo Ramírez

The Washington Nationals agreed to terms on a one-year contract with right-handed pitcher Erasmo Ramírez on Tuesday. Nationals President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcement.

Ramírez, 32, went 4-2 with a 2.92 ERA in 60 games for the Nationals in 2022 on his way to being named Nationals Pitcher of the Year by the Washington D.C. media. He ranked among National League relievers in innings pitched (1st, 80.1) and inherited runners scored (5th, 27.3%). He led Washington’s bullpen with a 2.46 ERA in 58 relief appearances. Ramírez made two starts last season, both against Atlanta, on June 13 and July 17. Ramírez pitched 2.0 or more innings in relief in 16 games during the 2022 season. He had a 1.43 ERA over 37.2 innings in those games.

Ramírez posted team-best scoreless innings streaks of 18.0 (Aug. 12 – Sept. 11) and 16.0 (July 17 – Aug. 9) last season. His 18.0 scoreless innings streak was the eighth-longest by a National League reliever in 2022.

Over his final 28 relief appearances last season, Ramírez went 3-1 with a 1.50 ERA (7 ER/42.0 IP), 28 strikeouts, five walks and a .189 opponents’ batting average. He allowed just three of 17 inherited runners to score over that stretch (17.6%).

A veteran of 11 Major League seasons, Ramírez is 37-42 with a 4.21 ERA in 276 career games (94 starts) with Seattle (2012-14, 2017-18), Tampa Bay (2015-17), Boston (2019), New York-NL (2020), Detroit (2021) and Washington (2022).

To make room for Ramírez on the 40-man roster, RHP Gerardo Carrillo was designated for assignment. Please see attached document for the updated 40-man roster.

Pirates sign catcher Austin Hedges to one-year contract

MLB Editor
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Pirates sign catcher Austin Hedges to one-year contract

The Pittsburgh Pirates today signed catcher Austin Hedges to a one-year contract for the 2023 season.

Hedges is regarded as one of the top defensive catchers in the league since making his MLB debut in 2015. Since the beginning of the 2015 season, Hedges leads all backstops in MLB with 75 Defensive Runs Saved according to the Fielding Bible. According to Baseball Savant, Hedges has also saved the fourth-most runs (41) in pitch framing since the stat began being tracked in 2015.

“We are excited to add Austin to our group,” said Pirates General Manager Ben Cherington. “He’s been one of the best defensive catchers in baseball for years and has earned a terrific reputation for his positive impact on pitchers.”

Hedges ranked sixth in the American League in innings caught (839.2) last season while his 3.37 catcher’s ERA ranked seventh in all of MLB among qualified backstops according to Stats LLC. He saved 4.4 runs in 2022 via pitch framing for Cleveland, which ranked 18th among all catchers in MLB according to FanGraphs while also being charged with just one passed ball for the entire season.

Hedges has also thrown out 31 percent (102-for-238) of the runners attempting to steal against him in his career with San Diego (2015-20) and Cleveland (2020-22).

A corresponding 40-man roster move will be forthcoming.

Padres sign INF/OF Matt Carpenter to one-year contract

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Padres sign INF/OF Matt Carpenter to one-year contract

Agreement includes a player option for the 2024 season

SAN DIEGO – The San Diego Padres have signed infielder/outfielder Matt Carpenter to a one-year contract through the 2023 season, President of Baseball Operations and General Manager A.J. Preller announced today. The agreement includes a player option for the 2024 season.

Carpenter, 37, hit .305 (39-for-128) in 47 games with the New York Yankees in 2022 with nine doubles, 15 home runs, 19 walks, 37 RBI, and 28 runs scored. After beginning the season with Triple-A Round Rock in the Texas Rangers organization, he was released on May 19 and signed a Major League contract with the Yankees on May 26. He proceeded to become the first player in Yankee history to hit 14 homers within his first 29 hits and just the third player in the Modern Era (since 1900) to do so with any team, joining Mark McGwire (17 HR in 1997 with St. Louis) and Derek Dietrich (16 HR in 2019 with Cincinnati). The left-handed batter hit .333 (11-for-33) against left-handed pitching and .295 (28-for-95) vs. righties, and among all players in 2022 with at least 150 plate appearances overall, Carpenter led the big leagues in OPS (1.138) and slugging percentage (.727), just ahead of former teammate and the AL MVP award winner, Aaron Judge (posted a 1.111 OPS and .686 SLG). He was the only Yankee other than Judge to win an AL Player of the Week honor (won for the week of July 11-17 after hitting .400 in a five-game span), and he appeared defensively in right field (12 games), first base (five games), left field (three games), third base (two games), and made 16 starts as the designated hitter.

Over parts of 12 Major League seasons, the three-time All-Star has posted a .263 average (1,192-for-4,531) with a .369 on-base percentage, 310 doubles, 28 triples, 170 home runs, 613 RBI, 780 runs scored, and 718 walks in 1,376 career games between the St. Louis Cardinals (2011-21) and Yankees (2022). The native of Galveston, Tex. won the NL Sliver Slugger award at second base in 2013 and finished fourth in NL MVP voting that year. His 24 leadoff home runs with the Cardinals are the most in franchise history, and his 25 leadoff home runs overall are tied for the sixth-most among active players. The 6-4, 210-pound veteran has made seven Postseason appearances in his career (2012-15, 2019-20 & ‘22) with a .228 clip (37-for-170) and 24 runs scored, nine doubles, one triple, six home runs, 21 RBI and 17 walks in 56 career playoff games.

Tigers agree to terms with RHP Michael Lorenzen

MLB Editor
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Tigers agree to terms with RHP Michael Lorenzen

DETROIT – The Detroit Tigers have agreed to terms with righthanded pitcher Michael Lorenzen on a one-year contract.

Lorenzen, 30, started 18 games with Los Angeles (AL) in 2022, posting an 8-6 record and 4.24 ERA (97.2IP/46ER), striking out 85 and limiting opponents to a .224 (81×362) batting average. He excelled in his final five starts after returning from a mid-season trip to the injured list, compiling a 2-0 record and 2.36 ERA (26.2IP/7ER) from the time he was activated on September 9 through the end of the season.

Lorenzen spent the first seven years of his Major League career with Cincinnati, pitching in 295 games, including 26 as a starter, and compiling a 23-23 record with 14 saves, a 4.07 ERA (473.1IP/214ER) and 406 strikeouts.

A native of Anaheim, CA, Lorenzen played collegiately at Cal State Fullerton, where he pitched and played outfield and established a school record with 35 career saves. In 2013, he was a finalist for the National Collegiate Baseball Writers’ Association Stopper of the Year Award and was a Louisville Slugger first-team All-America selection. Lorenzen was originally drafted by Cincinnati in the first round (38th overall) of the 2013 MLB Draft.

Lorenzen and his wife, Cassi, reside in Newport Beach, CA with their daughter, June.

With the signing of Lorenzen, the Tigers 40-man roster is now at 40.

Yankees re-sign outfielder Aaron Judge

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Yankees re-sign outfielder Aaron Judge

The New York Yankees today announced that they have re-signed four-time All-Star and 2022 American League Most Valuable Player OF Aaron Judge to a nine-year Major League contract extending through the 2031 season.

Judge, 30, hit an American League-record 62 home runs and batted .311/.425/.686 (177-for-570) with 133R, 28 doubles, 131RBI, 111BB and 16SB in 157 games during his AL MVP campaign with the Yankees in 2022. His 62 home runs were the seventh-most in a single season in Major League history as he became just the fourth Major League player to reach the mark, joining Barry Bonds (73HR in 2001 with San Francisco), Mark McGwire (70HR in 1998 and 65HR in 1999 with St. Louis) and Sammy Sosa (66HR in 1998, 64HR in 2001 and 63HR in 1999 with Chicago-NL). He also became just the second Major League player to hit at least 62 home runs and record at least 16 stolen bases in a single season, joining Sosa who accomplished the feat in 1998 with the Cubs (66HR/18SB).

In 2022, Judge led the Majors in home runs, runs scored, on-base percentage, slugging percentage, OPS (1.111), extra-base hits (90), total bases (391) and WAR (11.4, FanGraphs) and tied for first in RBI (first in AL). He ranked second in walks (first in AL) and intentional walks (19, second in AL), fifth in batting average (second in AL), sixth in multi-hit games (52, fourth in AL) and tied for eighth in hits (177, fifth in AL). According to ESPN Stats & Information, he was the first player to lead (outright or tied) the Majors in home runs, runs scored, extra-base hits and RBI since Mickey Mantle in 1956.

Judge led the Majors in home runs by 16, the largest gap to lead the Majors in a single season since Philadelphia-AL’s Jimmie Foxx (58) led the Majors in 1932 by 17 over Babe Ruth (41). Judge also led the American League in home runs by 22, the largest gap by any AL player since Babe Ruth (54) led the AL in 1928 by 27 homers over teammate Lou Gehrig (27). He also became the ninth Yankee to lead the Majors in home runs in a single season (outright or tied) and set the Yankees’ all-time single-season home run mark, surpassing Roger Maris (61 in 1961) in the penultimate game of the season.

Judge’s 391 total bases this past season were the most by a Yankee in the last 85 years (since Joe DiMaggio’s 418 total bases in 1937) and are tied for the 10th-most by a Yankee in franchise history. They were also the most total bases by any AL player since Alex Rodriguez recorded 393 total bases in 2001 with Texas.

In addition to being named the American League Most Valuable Player this past season, Judge also won the AL Hank Aaron Award and was named a Silver Slugger Award winner for the third time in his career (also 2017 and 2021). He was named a member of the All-MLB First Team and named Player of the Year by Baseball America, the Sporting News and the MLB Players Association.

Since 2017, Judge leads the Majors in home runs (216), ranks second in slugging percentage (.590) and OPS (.989), fourth in on-base percentage (.398), fifth in walks (463) and 10th in runs batted in (487) and runs scored (525). The Yankees outfielder has finished in the top four of AL MVP voting three times in the last six seasons (first in 2022, fourth in 2021 and second in 2017). He is also the only player in the American League to hit at least 25 home runs in five of the last six seasons.

Judge has played in 305 of the Yankees’ 324 games over the last two seasons (2021-22), leading the club and tying for 22nd in the Majors (tied for 11th in the AL) over that span. His 157 games played last season were the second-most by a Yankee in the last nine seasons since 2014 (Giancarlo Stanton, 158G in 2018).

Over parts of seven seasons with the Yankees (2016-22), Judge has batted .284/.394/.583 (748-for-2,638) with 535R, 121 doubles, 4 triples, 220HR, 497RBI, 472BB and 40SB in 729 games. His 220 home runs are tied with Ryan Howard for the most home runs through a player’s first 729 career games in Major League history and his 11.99 at-bat per home run ratio (2,638AB/220HR) is the third-best in Major League history (min. 1,000AB), trailing only Mark McGwire (10.61) and Babe Ruth (11.76). He has hit at least 25 home runs in five of his first seven Major League seasons, joining Joe DiMaggio (six) as the only two Yankees in franchise history to accomplish the feat.

The 6’7”, right-handed hitting outfielder was named the American League Rookie of the Year in 2017 after establishing a then-single season rookie home run record. With his 52 home runs in 2017 and his 62 home runs in 2022, he is just the seventh player in Major League history to hit at least 52 home runs in multiple seasons, joining Mark McGwire (four seasons: 1996-99), Babe Ruth (four: 1920-21, ‘27-28), Alex Rodriguez (three: 2001-02, ‘07), Sammy Sosa (three: 1998-99, 2001), Ken Griffey Jr. (two: 1997-98) and Mickey Mantle (two: 1956, ‘61). He joins Ruth and Mantle as the only Yankees to accomplish the feat, and he is the only player in Major League history to hit at least 52 home runs twice within his first seven Major League seasons.

Judge has played 630 career games in the outfield, playing 562 games (521 starts) in right field and 102 games (96 starts) in centerfield, posting a career .991 fielding percentage (12E/1,266TC). Over the last four seasons (2019-22), he has posted a .996 fielding percentage, the fifth-highest mark by any Major League outfielder over that stretch.

Judge has made the postseason in each of the last six seasons with the Yankees, batting .211/.310/.462 (36-for-171) with 29R, 4 doubles, 13HR, 25RBI, 25BB and 3SB in 44 playoff games, averaging 1HR every 13.15AB. His 13 home runs in the postseason are the fifth-most by a Yankee in franchise history and his four home runs in “winner-take-all” games are the most by any player in Major League history.

The Linden, Calif., native was originally selected by the Yankees in the first round (32nd overall) of the 2013 First-Year Player Draft out of Fresno State.

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