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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.

Pro Football Hall of Fame Running Back Franco Harris featured on NFL Network’s A Football Life

NFL Editor
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Pro Football Hall of Fame Running Back Franco Harris featured on NFL Network’s A Football Life

‘Franco Harris: A Football Life’ Premieres Friday, December 23 at 9:00 PM ET on NFL Network

“Franco was the heart and soul of our team. When Franco arrived, we became the Pittsburgh Steelers.” – Joe Greene

The 11th season of the Emmy-nominated and highly acclaimed NFL Films-produced series A Football Life continues Friday, December 23 at 9:00 PM ET on NFL Network with a profile of Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris. Premiering on the 50th anniversary of the Immaculate Reception, the one-hour show features sit-down interviews with Harris, former teammates such as Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene and Jack Ham, and others.

Among the topics discussed in Franco Harris: A Football Life include:

  • Growing up in Mount Holly, New Jersey before starring at Penn State
  • Being a surprise first round pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers, where he initially struggled before breaking out and winning 1972 Rookie of the Year
  • Catching the Immaculate Reception, the greatest play in NFL history, to start the Pittsburgh Steelers’ dynasty
  • Winning four Super Bowls and establishing himself as one of the greatest running backs ever
  • Working in his local community of Pittsburgh throughout his career where he won NFL Man of the Year and later helped to restore the famous Crawford Grill

Emmy-nominated actor Josh Charles narrates.

Franco Harris: A Football Life includes interviews with the following people:

  • Franco Harris
  • Terry Bradshaw – Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback & Pittsburgh Steelers teammate
  • Joe Greene – Pro Football Hall of Fame defensive tackle & Pittsburgh Steelers teammate
  • Rocky Bleier– Four Time Super Bowl Champion and Pittsburgh Steelers teammate
  • Lydell Mitchell– Former All-Pro running back & Penn State teammate
  • Phi Villapiano– Super Bowl XI Champion and former Oakland Raiders linebacker
  • Jack Ham – Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker & Pittsburgh Steelers teammate
  • Mel Blount – Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback & Pittsburgh Steelers teammate
  • Najee Harris – Pittsburgh Steelers running back
  • Errol “Mobutu” Reynolds – Crawford Grill Musician
  • Dwayne Dolphin – Crawford Grill Musician
  • Dr. Nelson Harrison – Crawford Grill Musician

Provided below are some select quotes from Franco Harris: A Football Life:

– “Franco was the heart and soul of our team. When Franco arrived, we became the Pittsburgh Steelers.” – Joe Greene

– “Franco is a legend. You’re going to be remembered by the games and the moments you had, just like we’re still talking about the Immaculate Reception to this day.” – Najee Harris

– “Sports were an opportunity for a lot of people who didn’t have a lot of opportunities. Getting a football scholarship changed my whole world.”  – Franco Harris

– “If I was one step later, if I was one step faster, it never would have happened. The timing was just immaculate.'” – Franco Harris on catching the Immaculate Reception

– “He had so many different styles of running, like a good musician. He would be running and it might look like a piano player, but then when he hit the line it might sound like a drum. He was poetry in motion and he was music to the ear.” – Mel Blount on Harris’ running style

– “My teammates were men of character, with a lot of heart and soul. This is the team that I belonged to, a team that will live forever. ” – Franco Harris during his 1990 Pro Football Hall of Fame speech

All NFL Network programming is available across multiple devices (smartphone, PC, tablet and connected TVs) through the NFL app and NFL Network app for subscribers of participating NFL Network providers, and with NFL+. Visit NFL.com/watch for more information on how to watch and visit NFL.com/plus/learn-more for more information on NFL+.

Below is a broadcast schedule for remaining episodes of A Football Life this season:

  • January 13 – 1972 Miami Dolphins

2022 NFL Playoff Scenarios for Week 16

NFL Editor
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2022 NFL Playoff Scenarios for Week 16

AFC

CLINCHED:

Kansas City Chiefs – AFC West division title

Buffalo Bills – playoff berth

BALTIMORE RAVENS (9-5)

Week 16 – vs. Atlanta (5-9), Saturday, 1:00 PM ET, FOX

Week 17 – vs. Pittsburgh (6-8)

Week 18 – at Cincinnati (10-4)

Baltimore clinches playoff berth with:

  1. BAL win + MIA loss or tie + NE loss or tie OR
  2. BAL win + MIA loss or tie + NYJ loss or tie OR
  3. BAL win + NE loss or tie + NYJ loss or tie OR
  4. BAL tie + NE loss + NYJ loss OR
  5. BAL tie + NE loss + MIA loss + LAC win OR
  6. BAL tie + NE loss + MIA loss + NYJ tie OR
  7. BAL tie + NE loss + NYJ tie + LAC win OR
  8. BAL tie + NE tie + NYJ loss + MIA loss OR
  9. BAL tie + NE tie + NYJ tie + MIA loss + LAC win OR
  10. NE loss + NYJ loss + CLE loss or tie + LV loss or tie + TEN loss or tie + LAC win

BUFFALO BILLS (11-3)

Week 16 – at Chicago (3-11), Saturday, 1:00 PM ET, CBS

Week 17 – at Cincinnati (10-4)

Week 18 – vs. New England (7-7)

Buffalo clinches AFC East division title with:

  1. BUF win or tie OR
  2. MIA loss or tie

CINCINNATI BENGALS (10-4)

Week 16 – at New England (7-7), Saturday, 1:00 PM ET, CBS

Week 17 – vs. Buffalo (11-3)

Week 18 – vs. Baltimore (9-5)

Cincinnati clinches playoff berth with:

  1. CIN win or tie OR
  2. NYJ loss or tie

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (8-6)

Week 16 – at Indianapolis (4-9-1), Monday, 8:15 PM ET, ESPN

Week 17 – vs. L.A. Rams (4-10)

Week 18 – at Denver (4-10)

L.A. Chargers clinch playoff berth with:

  1. LAC win + LV loss or tie + NE loss + NYJ loss OR
  2. LAC win + LV loss or tie + NE loss + NYJ tie + MIA loss OR
  3. LAC win + LV loss or tie + NE tie + NYJ loss + MIA loss

NFC

CLINCHED:

Minnesota Vikings – NFC North division title

San Francisco 49ers – NFC West division title

Dallas Cowboys – playoff berth

            Philadelphia Eagles – playoff berth

NEW YORK GIANTS (8-5-1)

Week 16 – at Minnesota (11-3), Saturday, 1:00 PM ET, FOX

Week 17 – vs. Indianapolis (4-9-1)

Week 18 – at Philadelphia (13-1)

N.Y. Giants clinch playoff berth with:

  1. NYG win + WAS loss + DET loss OR
  2. NYG win + WAS loss + SEA loss OR
  3. NYG win + DET loss + SEA loss

PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (13-1)

Week 16 – at Dallas (10-4), Saturday, 4:25 PM ET, FOX

Week 17 – vs. New Orleans (5-9)

Week 18 – vs. N.Y. Giants (8-5-1)

Philadelphia clinches NFC East division title with:

  1. PHI win or tie

Philadelphia clinches homefield advantage and NFC’s lone first-round bye with:

  1. PHI win OR
  2. PHI tie + MIN loss or tie

The Starting 11 — ‘Tis the season for miracles in the NFL

NFL Editor
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The Starting 11 — ‘Tis the season for miracles in the NFL

Happy Holidays and Happy Anniversary. This week, the NFL celebrates both. And after arguably the most miraculous single week in NFL annals, in a year full of miracles, ‘tis indeed the season to be jolly.

That’s because last week three teams – MINNESOTA (NFL-record 33-point comeback), CINCINNATI (17) and JACKSONVILLE (17) – overcame deficits of at least 17 points to win. Never in a single week in the 103-year history of the NFL have as many teams come back from 17-or-more points in victories. Entering the final three weeks of the regular season, every lead – no matter how seemingly safe – is an endangered species. A by-the-numbers look at a historic Week 15 and a historic 2022 season so far:

  • 71 – games this season in which a team has come back to win or tie after trailing in the fourth quarter, the most through the first 15 weeks of a season all-time.
  • 56 – games this season decided by a game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime, the most through the first 15 weeks of a season all-time.
  • 44 – games this season in which a team has overcome a deficit of at least 10 points to win or tie, the most through the first 15 weeks of a season all-time.
  • 7 – teams last week that recorded a game-winning score in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime, tied for the most in a single week all-time.
  • 6 – teams last week that won after erasing fourth-quarter deficits.

This week, the NFL celebrates another winning score in the final seconds, a play immortalized at Pittsburgh International Airport. Side by side, two statues greet visitors as they arrive in Western Pennsylvania. George Washington took Fort Duquesne to plant the seeds of an American Revolution. FRANCO HARRIS made the Immaculate Reception to plant the seeds of a Steelers dynasty.

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of the iconic play, the NFL scheduled the venerable franchises involved in that Dec. 23, 1972, playoff clash – the LAS VEGAS RAIDERS (6-8) and PITTSBUGH STEELERS (6-8) – to meet on Christmas Eve (8:15 PM ET, NFL Network).

The Raiders are fresh off their own miraculous “reception,” an electrifying 48-yard return by defensive end CHANDLER JONES that broke a tie and gave Las Vegas a 30-24 victory with no time remaining. His touchdown was one of five game-winning scores on the final play in Week 15, tying the NFL record for most in a single week.

The Raiders-Steelers contest is one of 11 scheduled for Christmas Eve, on what figures to be a very cold Saturday across the league. Then, on Christmas Day, three more games await. In addition to playoff berths, division titles and even a potential No. 1 seed, will NFL teams also unwrap more miracles this week?

The Starting 11 entering Week 16…

1.   EVERYTHING’S BIGGER IN TEXAS: This week, the NFL’s top two teams in takeaways, turnover ratio and sacks – the PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (13-1) and DALLAS COWBOYS (10-4) – clash in a Christmas Eve NFC East showdown with significant playoff implications at AT&T Stadium (4:25 PM ET, FOX).

  • The Eagles lead the NFL in three categories: Turnover ratio (plus-12), sacks (55) and passing defense (172.4 yards allowed per game). No team since the 1970 league merger has led the NFL in all three metrics.
  • Philadelphia linebacker HAASON REDDICK is the first player since 1982, when sacks became an official individual statistic, to record double-digit sacks with three different franchises in three consecutive seasons.
  • Dallas linebacker MICAH PARSONS is just the third player since 1982 with at least 13 sacks in each of his first two NFL seasons, joining ALDON SMITH (2011-12) and Pro Football Hall of Famer REGGIE WHITE (1985-86).
  • The last time Philadelphia and Dallas met in the regular season with each team having at least 10 wins was Jan. 3, 2010 (they also met a week later that season in the NFC playoffs).

2.   NUMBER OF THE WEEK – 1: The number of first-round playoff byes in each conference. While Philadelphia (13-1) can clinch the NFC’s coveted bye this week, three teams – BUFFALO (11-3), KANSAS CITY (11-3) and CINCINNATI (10-4) – are main characters in what figures to be a thrilling AFC plot. The Bills enter Week 16 in the pole position for the AFC’s only bye, owning the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Chiefs. Cincinnati also has in its back pocket a head-to-head victory over Kansas City. But all eyes, at least to start this week, will be on Buffalo. After a trip to Chicago, where the high temperature is forecast to be 9 degrees on Saturday (1:00 PM ET, CBS), the Bills have to travel to Cincinnati in Week 17. Drama awaits at every turn.

3.   CLOSE-GAME ENCOUNTERS: The NFL in 2022 has seen 133 games decided by eight points or less. That’s the most one-possession games through 15 weeks in league history. Two of the season’s best teams in that category – the NEW YORK GIANTS (8-5-1) and MINNESOTA VIKINGS (11-3) – square off Saturday at U.S. Bank Stadium (1:00 PM ET, FOX). The Vikings are a league-best 10-0 in one-possession contests, including the most prolific comeback in NFL history last week, a 39-36 overtime victory. Minnesota is just the third team ever to win 10 games within a single season by eight points or fewer, joining the 2019 Seattle Seahawks and 1978 Houston Oilers. The Giants, 8-2-1 in games decided by eight points or less, own the NFL’s second-most wins in one-possession games this season.

4.   SPOTLIGHT – INDIVIDUAL MATCHUP: Detroit has built a phenomenal nucleus of young talent, including tackle PENEI SEWELL, an important cog in the Lions’ offense. Sewell has helped that unit tie for the fewest sacks allowed (19) and paved the way for JAMAAL WILLIAMS, who leads the NFL with 14 rushing touchdowns. This week, when DETROIT (7-7) plays at CAROLINA (5-9) on Saturday (1:00 PM ET, FOX), Sewell draws BRIAN BURNS. The Panthers’ defensive end has established career highs in sacks (10.5) and tackles for loss (14) this season. Burns also had two sacks and broke up a pass in Carolina’s last game against Detroit, in 2020.

  • On defense, Detroit’s AIDAN HUTCHINSON (seven sacks) and JAMES HOUSTON (five) rank first and second among NFL rookies in sacks. Houston is just the third rookie since sacks became an official individual statistic in 1982 with a sack in each of his first four NFL games, joining SANTANA DOTSON (1992) and TERRELL SUGGS (2003). No player has ever recorded sacks in each of his first five NFL games. Plus, only one team has since 1982 finished a season with players ranked first and second among NFL rookies in sacks: The 1999 Tennessee Titans (JEVON KEARSE and JOHN THORNTON).
  • The Panthers, meanwhile, control their own destiny in the NFC South, needing three straight wins to capture the division title.

5.   SPOTLIGHT – TEAM MATCHUP: Among active NFL head coaches, only BILL BELICHICK (328) has won more combined regular-season and postseason games than ANDY REID (263) and PETE CARROLL (170). Reid and Carroll square off for the fifth time when SEATTLE (7-7) travels to KANSAS CITY (11-3) for an interconference battle on Saturday (1:00 PM ET, FOX). The two coaches have split their previous four meetings. Their first game was Dec. 19, 1999, at Philadelphia’s Veterans Stadium. In Reid’s first season as an NFL head coach and Carroll’s final campaign at the reins of New England, the Eagles registered a 24-9 win, thanks in part to two interceptions by TROY VINCENT.

  • Chiefs quarterback PATRICK MAHOMES enters the game with an active streak of 20 completions. The NFL record is 25, held by four players.

     

6.   STREAK SPEAK: The SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS (10-4) have won seven consecutive games, the NFL’s longest active winning streak. It’s the 10th time in franchise history the 49ers have strung together at least seven wins within a regular season, including 1981, 1984, 1994 and 2019, when they went to the Super Bowl. This week, the newly crowned NFC West division champions host the WASHINGTON COMMANDERS (7-6-1), who enter Week 16 carrying the NFC’s final playoff berth, on Saturday (4:05 PM ET, CBS).

7.   DID YOU KNOW?: The Washington coaching staffs of MIKE SHANAHAN from 2010-13 contained four future head coaches: MATT LAFLEUR, MIKE MCDANIEL, SEAN MCVAY and KYLE SHANAHAN. Two of those individuals, LaFleur and McDaniel, will meet for the first time as NFL head coaches on Christmas Day, when the GREEN BAY PACKERS (6-8) travel to face the MIAMI DOLPHINS (8-6) at Hard Rock Stadium (1:00 PM ET, FOX).

8.   UNDER-THE-RADAR STORYLINE: In last week’s win, Jacksonville’s DAWUANE SMOOT turned in one of the top efforts on an individual play this season, breaking up a third-quarter pass intended for Tony Pollard. According to Next Gen Stats, from snap to whistle, the 275-pound defensive lineman covered 35.5 yards on the play, reaching a top speed of 16.88 miles per hour. For the 1.2 seconds Dak Prescott’s pass was in the air, Smoot traveled 9.9 yards. The effort forced the Cowboys to settle for a 53-yard field goal to take a 17-point lead. Jacksonville then outscored the Cowboys 30-7 over the final 28 minutes, including a 52-yard touchdown return on an overtime interception by RAYSHAWN JENKINS. …JACKSONVILLE (6-8) now controls its own destiny in the AFC South race, starting with its game at the NEW YORK JETS (7-7) on Thursday Night Football (8:15 PM ET, Prime Video). The Jaguars have won four of their last six and quarterback TREVOR LAWRENCE has 14 touchdown passes and one interception in that stretch.

9.   TREND TIME: With JOE BURROW under center, the Bengals are 12-4 over their last 16 games on the road, including playoffs. In those 16 road games, Burrow has passed for 4,069 yards and 35 touchdowns, compiling a 102.3 passer rating, including a 17-point comeback win last week at Tampa Bay and an 18-point comeback win at Kansas City in the 2021 AFC Championship Game. This week, CINCINNATI (10-4) goes back on the road, at NEW ENGLAND (7-7), for a Christmas Eve matinee (1:00 PM, CBS).

10. THIS WEEK IN NFL HISTORY: Dec. 23, 1972 (50 years ago) – On fourth-and-10 from the Pittsburgh 40-yard line, down 7-6 to the Raiders with 40 seconds remaining in an AFC Divisional playoff, rookie FRANCO HARRIS snags a deflected pass off his shoestrings and races 60 yards for a touchdown that gives the franchise its first postseason victory. Hours later, longtime Pittsburgh sportscaster Myron Cope hears his phone ring at the WTAE-TV studios, moments before going on the air with his report of the Steelers’ improbable triumph. A fan named Sharon Levosky tells Cope that her friend, Michael Ord, suggests calling the catch the “Immaculate Reception.” Two days before Christmas, Cope loves it, uses it on the air, and the rest is history.

11. AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST: The LOS ANGELES CHARGERS (8-6), one of seven teams last week that earned a win in the final two minutes of regulation or in overtime, are at INDIANAPOLIS (4-9-1) on Monday Night Football this week. So far this season, 172 games have been within one score (eight points) in the fourth quarter, the most such games through the first 15 weeks in NFL history. …Last week, Chargers quarterback JUSTIN HERBERT reached 4,000 passing yards and became the first player ever to hit that target in each of his first three NFL seasons.

WEEK 16 NFL SCHEDULE

(All times Eastern)

Thursday, December 22Jacksonville at New York JetsPrime Video8:15
Saturday, December 24Atlanta at BaltimoreFOX1:00
Detroit at CarolinaFOX1:00
Buffalo at ChicagoCBS1:00
New Orleans at ClevelandCBS1:00
Seattle at Kansas CityFOX1:00
New York Giants at MinnesotaFOX1:00
Cincinnati at New EnglandCBS1:00
Houston at TennesseeCBS1:00
Washington at San FranciscoCBS4:05
Philadelphia at DallasFOX4:25
Las Vegas at PittsburghNFLN8:15
Sunday, December 25Green Bay at MiamiFOX1:00
Denver at Los Angeles RamsCBS4:30
Tampa Bay at ArizonaNBC8:20
Monday, December 26Los Angeles Chargers at IndianapolisESPN8:15

NHL Preview: Tampa Bay Lighting (20-9-1) at Toronto Maple Leafs (19-7-6)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Tampa Bay Lighting (20-9-1) at Toronto Maple Leafs (19-7-6)

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING NOTES:

LAST GAME
Lightning 5 at Montreal 1
The Tampa Bay Lightning skated to a season-best, fifth-straight victory with a 5-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night at Bell Centre…The Bolts improved to 20-9-1 on the season with a road record of 8-5-0…The Lightning opened the scoring 2:57 into the contest when Brandon Hagel took a stretch pass from Ian Cole and beat Jake Allen under the pad for his 11th goal of the season…Tampa Bay doubled the lead to 2-0 with 8:21 left in the opening period with Nick Paul jumping on a rebound in front and sweeping the puck past Allen for his 13th goal of the year…The Bolts continued to push forward in the second period with Anthony Cirelli scoring his first goal of the season on the power play, banging home a rebound in front to make it a 3-0 game with 10:34 left in the middle frame…The Lightning added a second power-play goal at the 17:47 mark of the second with Hagel scoring his second goal of the contest when he redirected a shot from Victor Hedman past Allen…MTL got on the board 16 seconds into the third period with Nick Suzuki scoring the lone goal of the game for the Canadiens…Nikita Kucherov wrapped up the 5-1 win with his 12th goal of the season when he completed a give-and-go with Hagel before roofing a shot past Allen with 1:59 remaining in regulation…Andrei Vasilevskiy earned a third-straight victory with 23 saves on 24 shots against.
PP: TBL – 2-6 MTL 0-3
SOG: TBL – 27 MTL – 23
Attendance: 21,105

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Lightning and the Maple Leafs are playing the second of three matchups this season and the only meeting at Scotiabank Arena…The Bolts grabbed a victory in the first meeting with a 4-3 overtime win Dec. 3 at AMALIE Arena…After a scoreless first period, Mitch Marner opened the scoring for TOR with a shorthanded goal at the 5:18 mark of the second before Vladislav Namestnikov tied the game with his first goal of the season just 2:22 later…TOR took a 2-1 lead into the second intermission following a goal from William Nylander with 3:10 remaining in the middle frame…Nikita Kucherov tied the game at two with a power-play goal just 1:51 into the third period before Ross Colton gave Tampa Bay a 3-2 lead with a power-play goal of his own 2:43 after Kucherov’s game-tying goal…Marner forced overtime when he scored on the power play for his second goal of the night with 8:05 remaining in regulation…Just 33 seconds into overtime, Anthony Cirelli forced a turnover at the Lightning blue line and went the other way before sending a pass to Alex Killorn, who ripped a wrist shot from the right circle that beat Matt Murray and closed out the 4-3 win for the Bolts…Andrei Vasilevskiy got the start in goal for Tampa Bay and earned his 10th win of the season with 36 saves on 39 shots against…Corey Perry skated in his 1,200th career game in the win…Cirelli recorded two assists in his season debut…Kucherov has recorded points in 11 consecutive games vs. TOR (9-7—16)…Kucherov has pointed in five straight games at TOR (4-5—9) and has notched at least one point in 12 of 14 career games at TOR (7-13—20)…Stamkos has pointed in four straight games vs. TOR (2-8—10)…Stamkos has notched a four-point night in three of his last eight games at TOR, collecting 15 points total during that span (5-10—15)…Since joining the Lightning, Perry has six points in five games vs. TOR (0-6—6)…Victor Hedman has nine points in his last 11 games vs. TOR (2-7—9)…Vasilevskiy is 6-3-1 in his last 10 starts vs. TOR with a .919 save percentage and 2.70 goals against average…In 13 career starts at TOR, Vasilevskiy is 8-4-1 with a .929 SV%, 2.17 GAA and one shutout…Tampa Bay is 45-50-8 with two ties all-time vs. TOR, including a road record of 22-25-5 with one tie…Stamkos (22-37—59) holds the Lightning franchise records for career points, assists and goals (tied) vs. TOR.

TBL ALL-TIME POINT LEADERS VS. TOR

  1. Steven Stamkos – 59 pts. (22-37—59, 46 GP)
  2. Vincent Lecavalier – 52 pts. (22-30—52, 50 GP)
  3. Martin St. Louis – 49 pts. (18-31—49, 47 GP)
  4. Nikita Kucherov – 31 pts. (14-17—31, 29 GP)
  5. Brad Richards – 26 pts. (12-14—26, 27 GP)

TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
Tampa Bay is playing the second game of a four-game road trip tonight…The Bolts will play just five of their 14 games in December on the road…The Lightning are 7-3-0 against Atlantic Division opponents this season…Tampa Bay is 8-5- 0 on the road this season and have won four of their last five road contests…The Lightning and Leafs are playing for the second time this month before the final matchup in Tampa April 11…Tampa Bay is looking to extend a season-long, five-game win streak tonight…The Bolts have allowed two or less goals in every game of the current win streak.

INJURIES
2022-23 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 75
Current Injuries:
Rudolfs Balcers (Upper-body injury; Out indefinitely) 10 Games
Mikhail Sergachev (Upper-body injury; Day-to-day) 2 Games

TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 3 – Re-assigned D Philippe Myers to AHL Syracuse
Dec. 3 – Assigned F Cole Koepke to AHL Syracuse

KLUTCHEROV
Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov scored one goal and added one assist Dec. 17 at MTL to extend his point streak to seven games (2-10—12)…Kucherov has pointed in 13 of his last 15 games vs. MTL (10-10—20) with nine multipoint performances during that span…Kucherov has picked up points in seven of his last eight contests at MTL (5-7—12)…Kucherov has recorded assists in six consecutive games…Kucherov has eight points over his last three games (1-7—8)…Kucherov has picked up points in 10 of his last 11 games (2-17—19)…Kucherov has recorded more games with three or more points (7) than he has zero-point games (5) this season…Kucherov (12-35—47) ranks second in the NHL in assists, is tied for fourth in points and is tied for sixth in power-play points (20)…Kucherov leads the Lightning in points, assists, power-play points, even-strength points (27) and shots (107)…Kucherov recorded his 400th career assist Dec. 13 vs. SEA in his 590th career game, the sixth-fewest games needed to reach the mark among active players…Kucherov is the fifth player in Bolts franchise history to hit the 400-assist mark with the club…Since Nov. 19, no NHL skater has more assists than Kucherov’s 19…Kucherov has recorded points in 10 of 13 road games this season (5-13—18) and 25 of 30 games overall.

NHL ASSIST LEADERS

  1. Connor McDavid – 36 assists (28-36—64, 33 GP)
  2. Nikita Kucherov – 35 assists (12-35—47, 30 GP)
  3. Leon Draisaitl – 33 assists (21-33—54, 33 GP)
  4. Artemi Panarin – 32 assists (8-32—40, 33 GP)
  5. Josh Morrissey – 31 assists (5-31—36, 31 GP)

HOW ABOUT HAGEL?
Lightning forward Brandon Hagel recorded his second-straight game with two goals and one assist Dec. 17 at MTL…Hagel has picked up points in a career-high (tied) five consecutive games (5-4—9)…Hagel has recorded 13 points over his last 11 contests (7-6—13)…Hagel (12-14—26) ranks fifth in points, tied for fourth in goals and tied for sixth in assists among all Bolts skaters…Hagel is the only Tampa Bay skater with a shorthanded goal this season…Hagel’s plus-10 rating trails only Nick Paul (plus-14) for the team lead among forwards…Hagel leads all NHL forwards with 42 takeaways…Since the NHL began tracking takeaways in 2005-06, only five forwards have ever recorded more takeaways than Hagel’s 42 in their first 30 games of a season (most: Pavel Datsyuk – 51, 2007-08).

NHL TAKEAWAY LEADERS, FORWARDS

  1. Brandon Hagel – 42 TkA (30 GP)
  2. Evgeni Malkin – 38 TkA (31 GP)
    T3. Mitch Marner – 35 TkA (32 GP)
    T3. Mark Stone – 35 TkA (34 GP)
  3. Auston Matthews – 33 TkA (32 GP)

STAMMER TIME
Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos picked up two assists Dec. 17 at MTL…Stamkos has recorded 23 points over his last 16 games (9-14—23)…Stamkos went on a 14-game point streak Nov. 13 – Dec. 13 (9-12—21), the second-longest point streak in Lightning franchise history, trailing only his 18-game point streak in 2009-10 (17-16—33)…The 14-game point streak is tied for the third-longest point streak in the NHL this season…Stamkos (16-20—36) is tied with Brayden Point (16-15—31) for the Bolts team lead in goals, ranks third in assists and trails only Nikita Kucherov (12-35—47) in points…Stamkos leads the Lightning with seven power-play goals, tied for the ninth-most in the NHL…Stamkos is three goals away from his 500th career goal…Stamkos ranks 48th all-time in NHL history with 497 career goals…Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Stamkos has scored 176 goals, the seventh-most among all NHL skaters during that span…Stamkos has recorded more career goals and points than any player in Tampa Bay franchise history.

TBL ALL-TIME POINT LEADERS

  1. Steven Stamkos – 1,008 pts. (497-511—1,008, 952 GP)
  2. Martin St. Louis – 953 pts. (365-588—953, 972 GP)
  3. Vincent Lecavalier – 874 pts. (383-491—874, 1,037 GP)
  4. Nikita Kucherov – 663 pts. (258-405—663, 592 GP)
  5. Victor Hedman – 620 pts. (135-485—620, 926 GP)

CRANK THE A/C
Bolts forward Anthony Cirelli scored his first goal of the season Dec. 17 at MTL…Since making his season debut Dec. 3 vs. TOR, Cirelli has recorded points in five of his seven games (1-6—7)…Since his debut, Cirelli ranks second in assists, tied for second in plus-minus (plus-5) and blocked shots (5) and third in shorthanded time on ice per game (1:42) among all Lightning forwards…Cirelli led the Bolts with 60 takeaways last season.

ANDREI THE GIANT
Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy picked up his 13th win of the season Dec. 17 at MTL, making 22 saves on 23 shots against…Vasilevskiy has won 10 straight games vs. MTL with two shutouts, a .944 save percentage and 1.79 goals against average…Vasilevskiy is one of just three goaltenders all-time and the first since 1941 to have a 10-game win streak against MTL…Since Nov. 24, Vasilevskiy has posted a 6-2-0 record with a .937 SV% and 1.76 GAA…Since the start of the 2017-18 season, Vasilevskiy has recorded 201 wins, 23 more than the next closest goaltender (Connor Hellebuyck, 178)…Since his debut in 2014-15, no NHL goaltender has posted more assists than Vasilevskiy’s 17…Vasilevskiy is 28 years old and already ranks fifth in all-time wins among Russian goaltenders (242)…Vasilevskiy’s .919 career SV% is the highest all-time among Russian goaltenders with over 200 games played…Vasilevskiy is one of 45 goaltenders all-time to win the Stanley Cup twice…Vasilevskiy is one of 14 goalies to ever win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of the playoffs.

NHL WIN LEADERS SINCE 2017-18

  1. Andrei Vasilevskiy – 201 wins (201-77-17, 296 GS)
  2. Connor Hellebuyck – 178 wins (178-106-31, 317 GS)
  3. Sergei Bobrovsky – 162 wins (162-89-19, 276 GS)
    T4. Frederik Andersen – 156 wins (156-75-25, 260 GS)
    T4. Marc-Andre Fleury – 156 wins (156-90-20, 267 GS)

BETTER CALL PAUL
Tampa Bay forward Nick Paul scored his 13th goal of the season Dec. 17 at MTL…Paul has scored seven goals over his last 12 contests (7-3—10)…Paul (13-8—21) ranks third in goals and seventh in points among all Lightning skaters…Paul’s three game-winning goals are tied for the second-most among all Bolts skaters…Paul has already surpassed his goal, assist and point totals from his 59 games with OTT last season (11-7—18)…Paul’s 24 blocked shots are tied with Pierre-Edouard Bellemare for the second-most among all Lightning forwards (most: Steven Stamkos, 25), while his 54 hits rank third…Paul leads all Tampa Bay skaters with a plus-14 rating…Paul’s 27 takeaways are tied with Brayden Point for the second-most on the team (most: Hagel, 42)…Paul has won 188 faceoffs, the most on the team, while his faceoff win percentage of 51.4% ranks third.

WILL TO KILL
The Lightning penalty kill has not allowed a goal against in six consecutive games, going 14-for-14 during that span…Through the first eight games of December, Tampa Bay has allowed just one power-play goal against…Since Dec. 1, the Bolts have killed off 95.5% of opposing power plays, ranking first among all NHL teams…Overall, the Lightning are killing 81% of opposing power plays this season, good for seventh in the NHL…Tampa Bay’s penalty kill is operating at 84.4% on the road, ranking third among all NHL teams.

NHL PENALTY KILL LEADERS SINCE DEC. 1

  1. Tampa Bay Lightning – 95.5% (21-for-22)
  2. Boston Bruins – 88.6% (31-for-35)
  3. Pittsburgh Penguins – 88% (22-for-25)
  4. Ottawa Senators – 87.1% (27-for-31)
  5. Dallas Stars – 84.6% (22-for-26)

GAME POINT
Bolts forward Brayden Point tied the fifth-longest goal streak in the NHL this season with goals in five straight games from Dec. 6-15…Point was the third Tampa Bay skater to record a five-game goal streak this season (also: Nikita Kucherov, 6 GP, Oct. 25 – Nov. 5; Steven Stamkos, 5 GP, Oct. 11-21)…Point has scored 10 goals over his last 11 contests (10-3—13)…Point has scored the game-winning goal in three of the Bolts’ five wins during the current win streak…Point (16-15—31) is tied with Stamkos (16-20—36) for the team lead in goals, while ranking third in points and fifth in assists…Point leads the Lightning with five game-winning goals, tied for the second-most among all NHL skaters…Point has recorded at least one shot on goal in every game this season…With his goal Dec. 15 vs. CBJ, Point became the fifth player in Tampa Bay franchise history to score 40 career game-winning goals, joining Stamkos (75), Martin St. Louis (64), Vincent Lecavalier (60) and Kucherov (41).

TBL ALL-TIME GAME-WINNING GOAL LEADERS

  1. Steven Stamkos – 75 GWG (952 GP)
  2. Martin St. Louis – 64 GWG (972 GP)
  3. Vincent Lecavalier – 60 GWG (1,037 GP)
  4. Nikita Kucherov – 41 GWG (592 GP)
  5. Brayden Point – 40 GWG (447 GP)

HED RUSH
Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman recorded an assist for a third-straight game Dec. 17 at MTL…Hedman has five assists over his last three games and seven over his last six…Hedman (1-16—17) ranks fourth in assists and eighth in points among all Lightning skaters…Hedman’s seven assists since Dec. 6 are tied for the third-most among all NHL defensemen…Hedman’s 58 shots are tied with Brandon Hagel for the fourth-most among all Tampa Bay skaters…Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Hedman leads all NHL defensemen with 391 points (86-305—391).

NHL POINT LEADERS SINCE 2016-17, DEFENSEMEN

  1. Victor Hedman – 391 pts. (86-305—391, 456 GP)
  2. John Carlson – 385 pts. (87-298—385, 461 GP)
  3. Brent Burns – 376 pts. (90-286—376, 485 GP)
  4. Roman Josi – 375 pts. (94-281—375, 456 GP)
  5. Erik Karlsson – 316 pts. (65-251—316, 392 GP)

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS NOTES:

LAST GAME
Score: Toronto 2 at Washington 5
Date: Saturday, December 17, 2022
TOR Goals: Nylander, Matthews
WSH Goals: Gustafsson (3x), van Riemsdyk, Hathaway
TOR Goaltender: Samsonov, 23/28, .821 SV%
WSH Goaltender: Lindgren, 34/36, .944 SV%
TOR Power Play: 0-for-2
TOR Penalty Kill: 2-for-2

Player Notes: – William Nylander scored Toronto’s first goal of the game. Nylander leads the Maple Leafs with 18 goals this season.

  • Auston Matthews scored at 6:25 of the second period and added an assist during Saturday’s game. Matthews has recorded 16 points (7G, 9A) through his last 10 games.
  • Conor Timmins recorded the primary assist on Matthews’ goal. Timmins is currently on a three-game assist streak where he has registered five assists.

TONIGHT’S GAME
2022-23 Matchups vs. Tampa Bay: Second of Three
2021-22 Record vs. Tampa Bay: 2-2-0
Toronto Season Record: 19-7-6
Toronto Home Record: 11-2-3

TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
The Maple Leafs are set to face-off against the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight in the second of three matchups between the clubs this season. Toronto lost their first game of the season against Tampa Bay in a 4-3 overtime decision. The Maple Leafs are 3-0-0 on home ice through the month of December and hold the second-best home record in the league with an 11-2-3 record. Toronto is playing in their first matchup of a two-game homestand with the second being played on Thursday at 2:00 pm ET against Philadelphia.

NEXT GAME
Date: Thursday, December 22, 2022
Opponent: vs. Philadelphia Flyers
Time: 2:00 pm ET
Broadcast Information: Sportsnet Ontario (TV), Sportsnet 590 (Radio)
Toronto Maple Leafs: Media Notes

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
December 19, 2022 The Maple Leafs acquired forward Dryden Hunt from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forward Denis Malgin.
December 17, 2022 The Maple Leafs have recalled Mac Hollowell from the Toronto Marlies (AHL) on an emergency basis.

INJURY REPORT
Carl Dahlström Shoulder (IR)
Calle Järnkrok Groin (IR)
Victor Mete Lower Body (IR)
Jake Muzzin Neck (LTIR)
Morgan Rielly Knee (LTIR)
Nick Robertson Shoulder (IR)

ALL-TIME VS. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:
First Matchup between Clubs: October 15, 1992 (Toronto 5 at Tampa Bay 3)
All-Time Record: 58-37-2-8 (105 Games)
All-Time Record at Home: 30-19-1-3 (53 Games)
All-Time Record on the Road: 28-18-1-5 (52 Games)
Last Home Win vs. Opponent: November 4, 2021 (Toronto 2 vs. Tampa Bay 1 – OTW)

ACTIVE LEADERS VS. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:
Games Played: John Tavares (41), Wayne Simmonds (33), William Nylander (22)
Goals: John Tavares (14), Wayne Simmonds (9), Auston Matthews (8), William Nylander (8)
Assists: John Tavares (28), Mitch Marner (12), Auston Matthews (12)
Points: John Tavares (42), Auston Matthews (20), Wayne Simmonds (19)
Penalty Minutes: Wayne Simmonds (94), John Tavares (22), Mark Giordano (19)

THE MAN ADVANTAGE IN 2022-23
Power Play: 23.3%
Power Play Goal Leader: 7 – Matthews, Tavares
Power Play Point Leader: 15 – Tavares (7G, 8A)
2021-22 Power Play: 63/231 (27.3%)

ON THE PK IN 2022-23
Penalty Kill: 79.6%
Shorthanded Goal Leader: 1 – Järnkrok, Giordano, Marner
Shorthanded Point Leader: 2 – Marner (1G, 1A), Kämpf (2A)
2021-22 Penalty Kill: 192/234 (82.1%)

FAST FACTS
Tuesday games 5th of 13 (6 home, 7 road)
Back-to-Backs played 5 of 14
Record in first game of back-to-back 2-3-0
Record in second game of back-to-back 4-0-1
December games 8th of 12 (5 home, 7 road)

NHL Preview: New Jersey Devils (21-8-2) at Carolina Hurricanes (19-6-6)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: New Jersey Devils (21-8-2) at Carolina Hurricanes (19-6-6)

NEW JERSEY DEVILS NOTES:

LAST GAME
Florida Panthers 4 New Jersey Devils 2
(15-13-4—34 PTS) (21-8-2—43 PTS)
Three Stars: 1. S. Reinhart 2. Erik Haula 3. A. Ekblad

Goals:
FLA: M. S. Reinhart PPG), Forsling, S. Reinhart, C. Verhaeghe (ENG)
SCORE 1
ST 2
ND 3
RD OT SO FINAL
Florida 1 2 1 – – 4
DEVILS 0 1 1 – – 2
New Jersey Devils: Media Notes
NJD: J. Marino, E. Haula
Game Summary | Event Summary

INJURIES/ILLNESS
PLAYER INJURY OUT SINCE GAMES MISSED
Jonathan Bernier – LTIR Lower-body, hip 2021-22 31
Ondrej Palat I.R. Lower-body Retro-active to Oct. 24 25
Nate Bastian Upper-Body Nov. 27 9
2022-23 Total Man-Games Lost to Injury/illness: 87

TRANSACTIONS
DATE PLAYER ACTION
12/1 Nico Daws Reassigned to Utica
12/2 Andreas Johnsson Recalled from Utica
12/13 Mackenzie Blackwood Assigned to Utica (conditioning loan)
12/19 Akira Schmid Reassigned to Utica
Mackenzie Blackwood Recalled from conditioning loan, Utica

WHAT TO KNOW
The Devils enter Tuesday’s hoping to snap a five-game winless streak (0-4-1), which marks a season low. The last time the Devils experienced five consecutive games without a win was the final six games of the 2021-22 season from Apr. 21 to Apr. 29 (0-4-2). Opponents have outscored Jersey’s team 20-11 over the current winless streak dating to Dec. 9, vs the New York Islanders (6-4, L). Yet, the team’s shots per game average still ranks fourth in the league since Dec. 9 at 35.0. The team’s shots against per game has dipped in the ranks. Since Dec. 9, the ranks ninth in the NHL for shots against per game at 28.0, which ranks eighth in the NHL. The team’s goals for per game since Dec. 9 ranks 26th in the NHL at 2.220. Prior to Dec. ninth the team’s goals for per game was After Thursday’s defeat, the team is now 3-1-1 when tied after two periods of play in a game this season. Prior to Dec. 9, the team’s goal for per game average was 3.69, which ranked fourth in the NHL.
Since Dec. 9, the team has allowed three empty net goals, while the team allowed just one prior to Dec. 9. Tuesday’s contest marks a first half of the team’s fourth back-to-back set for the 2022-23 campaign. The Devils visit Florida on Wed., Dec. 21. Jersey’s team is 3-2-1 overall for back-to-back games this season. The team is 1-1-1 is first games played for this matter and 2-1-0 in second games played in back-to-back sets. Jersey’s team enters tonight’s contest 15-7-2 when outshooting an opponent this season. The Devils are 7-2-0 when recording 40 or more shots in a game for 2022-23. The Devils announced on Tue., Dec. 13 that the team loaned Mackenzie Blackwood to Utica for conditioning purposes. As of Dec. 19, Blackwood is 1-1-0 in the AHL and entails a .891 save% and 3.03 GAA. The team’s 21 wins after its first 31 games to open a season are the second most wins in franchise history after 31 games played. The team earned 22 after 31 games played in 2009-10 and 1997-98, which were the most wins earned for this matter. While the Devils are experiencing a five-game winless streak, the team enters Tuesday’s contest with an 11-1-1 record in road games. The one regulation loss on the road marks the fewest in the NHL in the NHL. All-time, the one regulation loss on the road is the fewest in franchise history after the team’s overall 31 games played to start a season. The team experienced two road losses in regulation after 31 games played in 2003-04 (9-2-4 on the road) and then in 2009-10 (11-2-0 on the road).
Jersey’s team is 19-2-2 when scoring three-or-more goals in a contest this season. The Devils are 11-7-1 vs the Eastern Conference and 5-4-1 vs the Metorpolitan Division for 2022-23. Side note…the Devils entered the month of December with a share of first place, or sole possession, atop the League standings for the first time in franchise history. Jersey’s team is 18-1-2 when Nico Hischier recorded a point in a game this season and 10-2-1 when Jack Hughes scored a goal in a game for 2022-23. The Devils have allowed 1, or fewer, goals against nine times this season in a game. Jersey’s team allowed one, or fewer goals against, in a game just eight times all of last season.

2022-23 TEAM STATS
RECORD ON DAYS OF THE WEEK
The Devils record on Tuesday in 2022-23…6-1-0…at home: 3-1-0…road: 3-0-0
Record in night games in 2022-23…18-8-2…home: 8-7-1…road: 10-1-1
Record in day games in 2022-23…3-0-0…home: 2-0-0…road: 1-0-0
2022-23 Alternate jersey record…3-1-0
RECORD WHEN SCORING FIRST
Scoring first…14-5-1…Trailing first…7-3-1
The longest duration of a game this season: 2 hours, 42 minutes, 11/23, vs TOR, 7:12 pm – 9:54 pm

AROUND THE RINK THE RINK
On Sat., Dec. 17, Star Wars Night returned to the Rock. There were dozens of characters on the concourse, theme music and more.

VS CAROLINA
The Devils and Carolina meet for the first of four matchups this season.
Next: Jan. 1, 3:00 P.M.
Jan. 10, 7:00 P.M.
Mar. 12, 7:00 P.M.
The Devils were 1-2-2 vs Carolina last season.
The last time that the Devils won a season series vs Carolina was 2017-18 (3-1-0).

ALL-TIME vs CAROLINA
Record: 79-56-12-4
Home: 45-23-4-2
Road: 34-33-8-2

DID YOU KNOW…
The most goals in franchise history earned in a single game vs CAR/HFD is eight, which was earned in an 8-2 win on Nov. 22, 1991, at the Meadowlands. The most goals that the Devils allowed in a single game vs CAR/HFD is eight, which was logged in an 8-6 loss vs HFD on Jan. 27,

  1. The most shots that Jersey earned in a single game vs CAR/HFD is 54 in a 4-4 tie on Jan. 27, 1996. The most shots that the Devils allowed in a single game vs the CAR/HFD is 48 in a 2-1 loss on Mar. 28, 2009. The last time the Devils shut out the Hurricanes was in a 5-0 win on Mar. 31, 2012 at Carolina (M. Brodeur, 22 saves). The last time Carolina shut out the Devils was on Mar. 21, 2000, at the Meadowlands in a 5-0 loss.

UPCOMING SCHEDULE .
Wed. Dec. 21, at FLA, 7:00 P.M.
Fri. Dec. 23, vs BOS, 7:00 P.M.
Wed., Dec. 28, vs BOS, 7:30 P.M.
Fri. Dec. 30, at PIT, 7:00 P.M.

CAROLINA HURRICANES NOTES:

LAST GAME
The Hurricanes earned a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PNC Arena on Sunday, extending their point streak to 11 games and ending the Penguins’ seven-game win streak. Brady Skjei, Jordan Staal and Derek Stepan each recorded two points (1g, 1a), with Staal scoring his first game-winning goal against his former team. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 23 of 25 shots faced in net to extend his own point streak to nine games, marking the longest point streak by any rookie goaltender in franchise history.

INJURY REPORT
Sebastian Aho, lower-body, missed five games (12/10-12/18)
Frederik Andersen, lower-body, missed 19 games (11/9-12/18)
Jake Gardiner, upper-body, missed 31 games (10/12-12/18)
Ondrej Kase, concussion, missed 30 games (10/14-12/18)
Max Pacioretty, torn Achilles, missed 31 games (10/12-12/18)
2022-23 Man-Games Lost Due to Injury: 128

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 19 Recalled Dylan Coghlan from conditioning stint with Chicago (AHL)
Dec. 8 Recalled Maxime Lajoie from Chicago (AHL)
Dec. 7 Assigned Dylan Coghlan to Chicago (AHL) for a conditioning stint

STREAKS
Stefan Noesen has tallied a point in three consecutive games (12/15-12/18: 2g, 1a) Brady Skjei has recorded an assist/point in back-to-back games (12/17-12/18: 1g, 2a)

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT TIME TV RADIO
Dec. 20 New Jersey 7 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 22 at Pittsburgh 7 p.m. BSSO/NHLN HRN
Dec. 23 Philadelphia 7 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 27 Chicago 7 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 30 Florida 7:30 p.m. ESPN+/Hulu HRN

  • All times are Eastern | BSSO = Bally Sports South | HRN = Hurricanes Radio Network

UPCOMING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
DATE DAY LOCATION TIME
Dec. 20 Tuesday PNC Arena 10:30 a.m.
Dec. 21 Wednesday Invisalign Arena 12 p.m.
Dec. 22 Thursday PPG Paints Arena 11:30 a.m.
Dec. 23 Friday No morning skate
Dec. 24 Saturday No practice

  • All times are local. Times and locations are subject to change.

Carolina Hurricanes: Media Notes
HURRICANES vs. DEVILS SERIES NOTES
— Carolina is facing New Jersey in the first of four meetings between the teams during the 2022-23 season. The Hurricanes travel to Prudential Center on 1/1 and 3/12, and the Devils return to PNC Arena on 1/10.

— Carolina and New Jersey are meeting for the 152nd time in their regular-season histories. Carolina holds a 60-73-12-6 overall record, including a 35-32-8-2 home record.

— The Hurricanes won the season series 3-1-0 in 2021-22 (Devils: 1-2-1), and they are 6-1-0 in the teams’ last seven meetings at PNC Arena dating back to 3/2/18.

— Carolina suffered a 7-4 loss against New Jersey at Prudential Center on 1/22/22. Josh Leivo (1g, 1a) and Andrei Svechnikov (1g, 1a) each tallied two points, while Jack LaFontaine made 31 saves in net.

— The Hurricanes posted a 2-1 win over the Devils at PNC Arena on 1/29/22. Jordan Martinook and Andrei Svechnikov scored for Carolina as Antti Raanta stopped 24 of 25 shots in net.

— Carolina earned a 3-2 overtime win over New Jersey at Prudential Center on 4/23/22. After falling behind 2-0 at 8:30 of the third period, Brady Skjei (15:24, 3rd), Nino Niederreiter (18:04, 3rd) and Seth Jarvis (1:39, OT) all scored in a 6:15 span to give the Hurricanes the win. Pyotr Kochetkov made 17 saves for his first career NHL/Hurricanes win.

— The Hurricanes defeated the Devils, 6-3, at PNC Arena on 4/29/22. Jesperi Kotkaniemi recorded three first-period points (1g, 2a), and six different players lit the lamp for Carolina as Antti Raanta made 27 saves in net.

— Brent Burns has posted 16 points (4g, 12a) in 20 career regular-season games against New Jersey.

— Jesperi Kotkaniemi has earned seven points (3g, 4a) in eight career regular-season games against the Devils.

— Stefan Noesen tallied 43 points (22g, 21a) in 145 NHL games with New Jersey from 2017-19. He also played four postseason games with the Devils in 2018 and scored the game-winning goal in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference First Round, the only playoff goal of his NHL career.

— Brett Pesce is a native of Tarrytown, N.Y., about 40 miles northeast of Newark. He played youth hockey with the North Jersey Avalanche and spent one season with the EJHL’s New Jersey Hitmen in 2011-12.

— Paul Stastny’s father, Peter, spent parts of four NHL seasons with the Devils from 1990-93, posting 173 points (64g, 109a) in 217 games.

— Dougie Hamilton registered 121 points (42g, 79a) in 184 NHL games with Carolina from 2018-21 and added 14 points (6g, 8a) in 31 playoff games with the Hurricanes. He was selected to the NHL All-Star Game in 2020 and named a Second-Team All-Star in 2021. Hamilton was acquired from CGY along with Micheal Ferland and Adam Fox in exchange for Noah Hanifin and Elias Lindholm on 6/23/18.

— Erik Haula recorded 22 points (12g, 10a) in 41 games with Carolina in 2019-20. Acquired from VGK in exchange for Nicolas Roy and a fifth-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft (Oscar Plandowski) on 6/27/19, Haula was traded to FLA along with Lucas Wallmark, Eetu Luostarinen and Chase Priskie in exchange for Vincent Trocheck on 2/24/20.

— Brendan Smith tallied eight points (4g, 4a) in 45 games with the Hurricanes in 2021-22. He added four points (1g, 3a) in 14 playoff games with Carolina, scoring his first career postseason shorthanded goal in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Second Round vs. NYR.

— Devils Video Coach Jerry Dineen played two ECHL seasons in North Carolina from 1990-92, registering 28 points (10g, 18a) in 55 games with the Winston-Salem Thunderbirds and adding nine points (4g, 5a) in 31 games with the Raleigh IceCaps. His brother, Kevin, was also selected by the Whalers in the third round (56th overall) of the 1982 NHL Draft and played 708 games with Hartford/Carolina over two stints with the franchise (1984-91, 1995-99), recording 544 points (250g, 294a) and a franchise-record 1,439 penalty minutes. Kevin ranks top-four in franchise history in games played, goals, assists, points, power-play goals (71) and power-play points (173).

CENTURY MARK
Seth Jarvis looks to skate in his 100th career NHL/Hurricanes game on Tuesday. Selected 13th overall by Carolina in the 2020 NHL Draft, he would become the sixth player from his draft class to reach the milestone, joining Alexis Lafreniere (NYR), Tim Stutzle (OTT), Jamie Drysdale (ANA), Dawson Mercer (New Jersey) and Lucas Raymond (DET). Jarvis has tallied 55 career points (23g, 32a), tied with Andrei Svechnikov (2018-19: 27g, 28a) for the fifth-most of any skater in team history (since relocation) through his first 100 career games. At 20 years and 322 days old, he would also become the seventh-youngest player since relocation to skate in his 100th game.

Most points through 100 career games, since relocation:
Jeff Skinner, 2010-11: 38-43—81
Sebastian Aho, 2016-17: 27-36—63
Eric Staal, 2003-05: 25-37—62
Martin Necas, 2017-21: 23-37—60
Seth Jarvis, 2021-22: 23-32—55 (in 99 GP)
Andrei Svechnikov, 2018-19: 27-28—55

Most points through 100 career games, 2020 NHL Draft class:
Lucas Raymond (DET): 29-40—69
Anton Lundell (FLA): 22-35—57 (in 89 GP)
Seth Jarvis (Carolina): 23-32—55 (in 99 GP)
Tim Stutzle (OTT): 22-32—54
Dawson Mercer (New Jersey): 21-29—50

GETTING TO THE POINT
With a win over the Penguins on Sunday, the Hurricanes have earned a point in 11 consecutive games (11/25-12/18: 9-0-2), tied for the fourth-longest point streak in franchise history and marking the third-longest point streak by any team this season (TOR, 11/12-12/13: 12- 0-3 in 15 GP; New Jersey: 13-0-0 in 13 GP). Carolina has also won each of its last five contests (12/10-12/18), marking the team’s longest win streak in 2022-23 and tied for the NHL’s second-longest active win streak (NYR: 7). The Hurricanes are set to close their current homestand on Tuesday (12/15-12/20), and with a win over the Devils, Carolina would sweep a four-game homestand for just the sixth time in franchise history and the fourth time in the last three seasons (3/4/21-3/11/21, 10/25/21-10/31/21, 3/4/22-3/12/22).

Longest point streaks, franchise history:
4/15/21-5/6/21: 9-0-4 in 13 GP
3/9/17-3/30/17: 9-0-4 in 13 GP
10/12/05-11/11/05: 11-0-1 in 12 GP
11/25/22-12/18/22: 9-0-2 in 11 GP
10/26/02-11/19/02: 5-0-4-2 in 11 GP

MEETING AT THE TOP
With a win vs. PIT (12/18), Carolina has improved to 19-6-6 (44 points) in 2022-23 and now ranks tied with New Jersey (21-8-2, 44 points) for the Metropolitan Division lead entering their matchup on Tuesday. The Devils (16-4-0, 32 points) were eight points clear of the Hurricanes (10-6-4, 24 points) through 20 games, but Carolina has not suffered a regulation loss in its last 11 games, whereas New Jersey is 5-4-2. The teams are now tied for the second-highest points percentage (.710) of any team behind only BOS (25-4-2: .839), and the Hurricanes’ .938 points percentage in December (7-0-1) leads the league.

8 GOING ON 800
Brent Burns registered two power-play assists vs. DAL (12/17) and paces all Hurricanes skaters with 18 assists in 2022-23. He also leads the team in power-play assists (9) and power-play points (11), and he has now recorded double-digit points on the man-advantage in 14 of the last 16 seasons (2007-23). His 274 power-play points (78g, 196a) over that span trail only Keith Yandle (ARI/NYR/FLA/PHI, 39-252—291) for the league lead among blueliners. Burns has posted four multi-assist games and five multi-point games in 2022-23, and his four multi-assist games trail only Sebastian Aho (5) for the team high. He has now tallied 799 points (231g, 568a) in his NHL career and needs one more point to become the 18th defenseman in NHL history and the eighth player from the 2003 NHL Draft class to reach the 800-point plateau.

SKJEI HIS NAME
Brady Skjei registered two points (1g, 1a) vs. PIT (12/18), marking his first multi-point game in 2022-23 and the ninth multi-point game of his Hurricanes career. He has now earned a point in six of his last seven games (12/3-12/18: 3g, 3a), including a season-long, four-game point streak from 12/3-12/13 (3g, 1a). Skjei scored the game-tying goal in the third period on Sunday, and his six goals this season pace all Hurricanes defensemen. He has scored 12 even-strength goals in this calendar year, tied for the fourth-most of any NHL blueliner behind only Noah Dobson (NYI, 14), Justin Faulk (STL, 14) and Gustav Forsling (FLA, 14). Carolina’s blue line has now combined for 26 points in the team’s last 11 games (11/25-12/18: 7g, 19a; 2.4 points/game) after posting 30 points in the Hurricanes’ opening 20 contests (10/12-11/23: 7g, 23a; 1.5 points/game).

THE PUCK STOPS HERE
Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 23 of 25 shots faced vs. PIT (12/18), improving to 9-1-4 in 2022-23. He has now posted a 7-0-2 record in his last nine games (11/25-12/18), passing Alex Nedeljkovic (4/8/21-5/3/21: 7-0-1) for the longest point streak by any rookie goaltender in franchise history. Only Cam Ward (2005-18) has posted a longer point streak for Hartford/Carolina, with three 10-game point streaks in his Hurricanes career: 3/14/09-4/7/09 (9-0-1), 1/4/16-2/19/16 (6-0-4) and 12/2/17-1/4/18 (8-0-2). Kochetkov has now allowed two or fewer goals in all nine of his wins this season and ranks first in shutouts (3), second in goals-against average (2.01) and save percentage (.923) and tied for second in wins (9) among all rookie netminders in 2022-23 (min. 2 GP).

STEP UP
Derek Stepan tallied two points (1g, 1a) vs. PIT (12/18) for his first multi-point game of the season and the fourth multi-point game of his Hurricanes career. After opening the scoring against the Penguins, he has now scored two goals in his last three games (12/15-12/18) despite being held without a goal in any of his first 25 contests this season.

THE RIGHT STEF
Stefan Noesen registered his 10th assist of the season vs. PIT (12/18), extending his point streak to three games (12/15-12/18: 2g, 1a). He has earned eight points in his last 11 games (11/25-12/18: 3g, 5a) and ranks tied with Seth Jarvis (3g, 5a) for third on the team in scoring over that span (Brent Burns: 1-8—9, Andrei Svechnikov: 4-5—9). Noesen has posted double-digit assists for just the second time in his NHL career, previously accomplishing the feat with New Jersey in 2017-18 (13-14—27 in 72 GP).

CAPTAIN CLUTCH
Jordan Staal earned an assist on Brady Skjei’s game-tying goal at 8:17 of the third period vs. PIT (12/18) before scoring the eventual game winner at 13:33. He has now scored two game-winning goals in 2022-23, and the game marked his third multi-point outing this season. Staal led the Hurricanes to their ninth comeback win of the campaign, the second-most of any NHL team (NYI: 10). He has now scored four goals in eight December games, matching his total through 23 games in October and November.

FORCE OF NECAS
Martin Necas recorded two points (1g, 1a) vs. DAL (12/17) for his team-leading ninth multi-point game of the season, topping his 78- game total from 2021-22 (8). He scored his fourth career overtime goal, tied for the fourth-most in team history (since relocation) and tied for the seventh-most of any NHL skater since 2020-21. He became the third player to score an overtime goal for Carolina this season, joining Brent Burns (10/29 at PHI) and Brett Pesce (11/29 at PIT). Necas was the 12th Hurricanes skater to score a game-winning goal in 2022-23, tied with BOS, New Jersey and WSH for the second-most of any team (TOR: 14). Carolina is 5-6 in games going past regulation and 3-6 in games decided in overtime this season, and the Hurricanes’ nine overtime decisions are a league high.

NIU Men’s Basketball: Huskies Make Long Awaited Return Home for Tuesday Matinee

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NIU Men’s Basketball: Huskies Make Long Awaited Return Home for Tuesday Matinee

NIU will then conclude non-conference play Thursday at Indiana State

DEKALB, Ill. — The Northern Illinois University men’s basketball team will be back home for the first time in over a month as the Huskies host UAlbany on Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 20, at 1 p.m. in the NIU Convocation Center. Tuesday’s contest is Pup Club Christmas Day, with a pregame kids zone with Santa. Fans can receive a free kids ticket (under 13) with the purchase of each adult ticket at the box office on the day of the game.

NIU concluded an eight-game trip away from home on Saturday (Dec. 17) with a setback at VCU. Keshawn Williams (Chicago Heights, Ill./Tulsa) scored a team-high 16 points against the Rams and currently ranks sixth in the Mid-American Conference in scoring at 18.0 points per game. Williams ranks in the top-25 in field goal percentage, three-point percentage and free throw percentage and is one of just two players in the conference, along with Eastern Michigan’s Emoni Bates, to rank in the top-25 in all three of those categories as well as in the top-25 in rebounding.

Zarique Nutter (Newark, N.J./Clarendon College) scored 11 points at VCU, his seventh game scoring in double figures this season. Nutter also leads the Huskies in rebounding, pulling down 5.3 boards per game, which ranks 13th in the MAC.

UAlbany is playing its second game in three days in Chicagoland as the Great Danes fell at Loyola Chicago, 68-56, on Sunday (Dec. 18). Two players score in double figures for UAlbany, led by 13.6 points per game from Gerald Drumgoole Jr. Jonathan Beagle adds 11.2 points, and a team high 7.2 rebounds, per contest. The matchup between the Huskies and Great Danes will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.

Following Tuesday’s contest, the Huskies will have one more pre-Christmas game as they travel to Indiana State on Thursday, Nov. 22.

The Sycamore have a 9-3 record after falling at Duquesne, 92-86, last time out (Dec. 17). Three players score in double figures for Indiana State, led by Courvoisier McCauley at 17.2 points per game. Cameron Henry adds 12.2 points per contest and Cooper Neese is averaging 10.7 points per game. NIU will be the third MAC foe for Indiana State this season as they defeated Ball State, 83-71, and Miami, 88-61.

Thursday’s game is scheduled for 6 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+ as well as 94-9 WDKB and The Varsity Network app.

WNBA’s Atlanta Dream Make Long-Term Commitment to Head Coach and General Manager

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WNBA’s Atlanta Dream Make Long-Term Commitment to Head Coach and General Manager

Sign AP Coach of the Year Tanisha Wright and 2x Executive of the Year Dan Padover to five-year extensions

ATLANTA, Ga. (December 20, 2022) – Head coach Tanisha Wright, AP Coach of the Year in her first season, and Dan Padover, two-time WNBA Executive of the Year, have each signed five-year contract extensions that will keep them in Atlanta through the 2027 season.  Per team policy, terms of the contracts were not disclosed.

“We are essentially building the Atlanta Dream from scratch, and that takes time,” said Larry Gottesdiener, primary owner of the Atlanta Dream. “What Tanisha and Dan accomplished with this team in less than a year is extraordinary, and is something that should put the sports world on notice of exciting things to come from our franchise.”

Wright was named AP Coach of the Year in her first season as a head coach, helped guide Rhyne Howard to a WNBA All-Star appearance and Rookie of the Year award, and is credited throughout the league for establishing a culture of accountability, professionalism and integrity.

“I feel extremely blessed to partner with an organization that has a long-term perspective, is willing to invest heavily, and honors the work that Dan and I are doing to build an organization in the right way” said head coach Tanisha Wright. “Our staff and players set a foundation last year and knowing that ownership trusts us to accomplish the goals that we have all set is exciting. This level of commitment and stability will allow us to take the long view as we build our team and our culture, and attract quality professionals and players in pursuit of a championship.”

Padover brought in eight new players to the roster in 2022, including All-Star and WNBA Kia Rookie of the Year Rhyne Howard, after orchestrating a trade for the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA Draft. Padover, a two-time WNBA Executive of the Year, was attracted to the Dream by the blank slate opportunity to build a team from the ground up, in the right way.

“I want to thank Larry Gottesdiener, Suzanne Abair, and Renee Montgomery for reiterating their confidence in Tanisha and me” said Padover.  “When we started on this journey, I had the belief that this ownership group and this leadership team could build something special here in Atlanta. I am even more confident in that belief today. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but we are all looking forward to the challenge of making the Dream a perennial championship contender.

“I also want to thank a phenomenal group of players and staff that took a leap of faith with us last season” Padover added. “Every individual took pride in the common goal of resetting the trajectory of the Atlanta Dream and I will forever be grateful for everyone’s buy-in. I believe that when the history is written, Dream ’22 will be known as the team that turned the franchise around.”

NHL Preview: New York Rangers (18-10-5) at Pittsburgh Penguins (18-9-4)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: New York Rangers (18-10-5) at Pittsburgh Penguins (18-9-4)

NEW YORK RANGERS NOTES:

LAST GAME
New York Rangers 7, Chicago Blackhawks 1 – December 18, 2022 – United Center
NYR Goals: F. Chytil (8), A. Panarin (8), K. Kakko (8), J. Trouba (2), V. Trocheck (11), V. Kravtsov (2), J. Brodzinski (1)
CHI Goals: P. Kurashev (4)
NYR Goalie: I. Shesterkin (W – 29/30)
CHI Goalie: A. Soderblom (L – 19/26)
NYR Shots: 26
CHI Shots: 30
NYR PP: 1/1
NYR PK: 1/1
Game Summary | Event Summary
RECAP/NOTES: For a second-straight night, the Rangers posted six-plus goals when it finished off a back-to-back with a 7-1 win over the Blackhawks on Sunday night. It was the fourth time since the 2012-13 season the Blueshirts have reached the feat (Mar. 4-6, 2021, Dec. 29-31, 2016, Apr. 18-19, 2013). In the game, the Blueshirts had six different players with multiple points and seven different goal scorers. The second time this they have had both.

RANGERS RUNDOWN

  • The New York Rangers complete their three-game road trip with their first meeting of the season against the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena (7:00 PM ET – TV: MSG Network – Radio: ESPN 1050 AM).
  • The Blueshirts have won seven games in a row and are 8-1-1 over their last 10 games. A win tonight would mark their longest win streak since the 2015-16 season.
  • Both the Rangers and Knicks are riding seven-game win streaks, the first time in history they both have simultaneously been on streaks as long. In 1993-94, the year both teams reached their respective finals, both teams had a six-game win streak at the same time.
  • These two teams will meet for the first time since their thrilling seven-game First Round series in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs was capped off by Artemi Panarin’s overtime winner at MSG.
  • Last regular season, the Rangers went 3-1-0 (2-0-0 at home, 1-1-0 on the road) against the Penguins, winning their last three games against them. New York outscored the Penguins 11-4 over the course of the season.
  • New York’s seven occurrences of six or more goals this year are the second most in the NHL (BUF – 8). Their three games with seven or more goals this season are tied for the most in the league, also with Buffalo.
  • The Blueshirts have scored on the power play in six of their last eight games and seven of their last 11 contests. The Rangers’ penalty kill has been perfect in their last four games (7-for-7).
  • The Rangers defensemen group has collected 81 points, the third most in the NHL. New York’s 64 assists by defensemen are the third most in the league while their 17 goals are tied for the fifth most.
  • The Blueshirts have 10 players with five goals this season, tied for the second most amount in the NHL. Five Rangers have 20 or more points this year (Zibanejad, Fox, Panarin, Kreider, Trocheck), tied for the seventh most in the NHL.
  • New York ranks third in the NHL in hits with 926

UPCOMING GAMES (ALL TIMES ET)
DATE/TIME OPPONENT/LOCATION TV RADIO
Dec. 22/7:00 PM Islanders/MSG MSG Network ESPN 1050 AM
Dec. 27/7:00 PM Washington/MSG MSG 2 ESPN 1050 AM
Dec. 29/7:00 PM Tampa Bay/Amalie Arena MSG 2 ESPN 1050 AM
Jan. 1/5:00 PM Florida/FLA Live Arena MSG Network/NHLN TBD
Jan. 3/7:00 PM Carolina/MSG MSG Network TBD

LAST FIVE GAMES
DATE OPPONENT RESULT
Dec. 18 at Chicago W, 7-1
Dec. 17 at Philadelphia W, 6-3
Dec. 15 Toronto W, 3-1
Dec. 12 New Jersey OTW, 4-3
Dec. 9 at Colorado SOW, 2-1

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
December 9 – Ryan Carpenter re-assigned to Hartford.
December 5 – Jonny Brodzinski recalled from Hartford
December 4 – Jonny Brodzinski re-assigned to Hartford.
December 3 – Recalled Ben Harpur and Jonny Brodzinski from Hartford. Re-assigned Zac Jones to Hartford.
November 23 – Acquired fifth round pick in 2025 NHL Draft in exchange for Ryan Reaves

ALL-TIME RECORD 135-118-23-16 (309 PTS)
2022-23 0-0-0
2021-22 3-1-0
NYR HOME 76-55-9-8 (169 PTS)
NYR AWAY 59-63-14-8 (140 PTS)
LAST FIVE MEETINGS 3-2-0
LEADING SCORER(S) – CURRENT RANGERS IN CAREER G: Panarin (13) – A: Panarin (17) – Pts: Panarin (30)
LEADING SCORER(S) – ALL-TIME IN GAMES W/NYR G: Ratelle (23) – A: Leetch (70) – Pts: Leetch (89)

TEAM NOTES
RANGERS ON A ROLL
The Rangers have won seven games in a row win. It is tied for the second longest streak since the 2015-16 and is the 19th time in franchise history the team has won seven or more games in a row. New York is the seventh different team in the NHL this year to post a seven-plus game win streak. A win tonight would give the Blueshirts’ their seventh eight-game win streak in team history and only third since 1976. Since December 5, the date the streak started, the Rangers rank first in wins (7), first in goals (32), first in PP% (50%), and third in PK% (88.9).

SHESTERKIN IN NET
Igor Shesterkin is 16-4-4 on the season, his 16 wins are tied for the second most in the NHL. Shesterkin is 6-0-1 in his last seven starts with a .935 save percentage and 1.95 GAA. Shesterkin has allowed one goal or fewer in four of his last five games. On the road, Shesterkin is 9-0-1. Shesterkin is the 12th goalie in NHL history who have recorded a point in at least 10 of their first road starts in a season. (Pyotr Kochetkov of the Hurricanes has an active run of 10 such games this season). Two other Rangers have done this: Dave Kerr in 1939-40 (11 games) and John Ross Roach in 1931-32 (10 games).

GLORY ROAD
On the road, the Blueshirts are 11-4-1 for 23 points and have earned a point in 11 of its last 13 games (10-2-1) away from home. The team ranks among the NHL best in multiple road categories:

TROCHECK-ING THE BOX SCORE
Vincent Trocheck has a point streak of four games (2G-5A), has two multi-point performances in his last three games, and has 10 points (3G-7A) in his last seven games. Trocheck’s seven power play goals are the second most on the Rangers while his 25 points are the fourth most on the
team. He is one of only two NHL players who have registered 25+ points and 80+ hits this season (along with Alex Ovechkin). In 30 of 33 games this season, Trocheck has had either 1+ points, 3+ hits, or a 50.0%+ faceoff win percentage; he has hit two of the three categories in 18 of the 33 games, and he hit all three categories in the same game three times (Dec. 15 vs. TOR, Dec. 5 vs. STL, Nov. 8 vs. NYI).

PANARIN PUTTING UP POINTS
On Sunday night, Artemi Panarin recorded his 65th career three-point game. Since Panarin’s NHL debut in 2015-16, only Connor McDavid (93 GP) and Leon Draisaitl (69 GP) have more three-point outings. Panarin has points in eight of his last nine games (2G-13A) and multi-point games in five of his last eight contests has points in seven of his last eight games (1G-11A) and multi-point games in four of his last seven contests.
Since December 2, Panarin’s 13 assists are the most in the NHL. Panarin has points in 11 of his last 13 games (3G-15A), 28 points in his last 25 games (4G-24A) and 40 points (8G-32A) in 33 games this season. Panarin’s 30 points against the Penguins are his fourth most regular season points against any one team in the NHL (PHI – 39) and his 13 goals against Pittsburgh are tied for his most against one team in the NHL. Panarin has points in threestraight games against Pittsburgh (1G-3A) and in nine of his 11 games with New York against the Penguins (4G-11A).

MIKA’S MISSION
on Sunday, Mika Zibanejad recorded his 400th point with the Rangers in his 437th game with the club. He required the fifth-fewest games to reach the mark with the franchise, behind Mark Messier (322 GP), Brian Leetch (380 GP), Phil Esposito (405 GP) and Andy Bathgate (423 GP). He has points in nine of his last 11 games (5G-9A), 14 of his last 17 games (6G-13A) and in 21 of his last 25 contests (11G-18A).

WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY?
Adam Fox has seven goals and 27 assists for 32 points this season. He has points in six of his last nine games (1G-8A), eight of his last 12 games (1G-10A), 10 of his last 15 games (2G-12A), and 17 of his last 22 games (5G-20A). Fox has recorded at least one point in 23 of 33 games this year. Fox has tallied three three-assist game of the season, the most among all defensemen in the NHL. His 34 multi-assist games since 2019-20 are the second most in the league (Roman Josi – 39). When Fox records multiple points, the Rangers are 7-0-0. Fox has skated over 20:00 minutes in every game this season, over 25 minutes in 15 contests and his season-high was 30:04 against the Devils on Nov. 28.

BLUESHIRT BULLETS

  • Braden Schneider’s four goals since November 22 are tied for the most among NHL defensemen in that span.
  • Jacob Trouba has 103 hits and 83 blocked shots. He is the only player in the NHL with both 100+ hits and 75+ blocked shots. Trouba ranks seventh in the NHL in hits and second in blocked shots.
  • K’Andre Miller has points in five of his last seven games (2G-5A). Miller’s 28 takeaways this year are the third most for a defensemen.
  • Sammy Blais ranks third in the NHL (min. 25 games played) in hits per 60 (20.37).
  • Among players who have skated in 20 games this year, Julien Gauthier ranks third in penalties drawn/60 (2.65).
  • Filip Chytil has four goals in his last six games and has compiled six points (4G-2A) in those six games.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:

LAST 2 GAMES
Dec. 18: Carolina 3, Pittsburgh 2 – PNC Arena
PIT Goals: Rakell (PP), McGinn
Multiple Points: Guentzel (2G), Crosby (2A), Malkin (1G-1A),
Letang (1G-1A)
Goalie: DeSmith (26 saves/29 shots)
Key Stats: The Penguins seven-game winning streak came to a close as they fell to the Hurricanes for the second time this season.
PP: 1-5
PK: 3-3

Dec. 15: Pittsburgh 4, Florida 2 – FLA Live Arena
PIT Goals: Guentzel (2), Letang (SH), Malkin (PP)
Multiple Points: Guentzel (2G), Crosby (2A), Malkin (1G-1A),
Letang (1G-1A)
Goalie: Jarry (32 saves/34 shots)
Key Stats: Pittsburgh scored at even strength, on the power play and shorthanded for the second time this season as the team stayed undefeated in December.
PP: 2-3
PK: 3-3

INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
D Jeff Petry Upper-Body 3 3
F Jason Zucker Lower-Body 2 2
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 42

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Date Transaction
Dec. 13 F Drew O’Connor and D Mark Friedman recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Dec. 13 D Jeff Petry placed on LTIR, retroactive to Dec. 11.
Nov. 15 F Teddy Blueger activated off of LTIR. F Filip Hallander re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Nov. 13 D Mark Friedman re-assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Nov. 11 D Mark Friedman recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL). F Sam Poulin re-assigned to WBS

Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. Rangers: 134-122-36
In Pittsburgh: 70-54-20
In New York: 64-68-16
OT Record vs. Rangers: 25-11-17
Shootout Record vs. Rangers: 7-4
2021-22 Results: Pittsburgh went 1-3-0.

Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. RANGERS:
Mario Lemieux: 70 GP, 132 PTS (61G-71A)
Sidney Crosby 78 GP, 98 PTS (37G-61A)
Evgeni Malkin 67 GP, 67 PTS (30G-37A)

TONIGHT’S GAME
-The Penguins take on the New York Rangers at PPG Paints Arena for the first time this season (TV: AT&T SportsNet, TVA; Radio 105.9 The X).
-Pittsburgh has points in 14 of its last 19 games versus New York (11-5-3), and is 15-7-3 in its last 25 games versus the Rangers.
-Here at home, Pittsburgh has points in eight of its last nine home games versus New York (7-1-1) dating back to Jan. 14, 2018.
-The Penguins are in the midst of a four-game stretch versus divisional opponents. Pittsburgh is 3-1-1 against Metropolitan Division foes this year, outscoring their opponents by a combined 18-11 margin.

QUICK HITS
1) Excluding a stretch where the Penguins were winless for seven games (0-6-1) from Oct. 24-Nov. 5, Pittsburgh has gone 18-3-3 on the year.

2) Rickard Rakell has nine points (3G-6A) in 15 career games against the New York Rangers.

3) Kasperi Kapanen has eight points (4G-4A) over his last eight games. Since Dec. 1, his eight points are fifth on Pittsburgh.

4) Tristan Jarry enters tonight’s game with a six-game winning streak. Only Tampa Bay’s Brian Elliott (7) has a longer active win streak than Jarry. During this streak he has a 2.00 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.

5) Kris Letang has 43 points (11G-32A) in 59 career regular-season games against the Rangers. His 43 points are eight more against New York than any other active defenseman.

TEAM NOTES
‘TIS THE SEASON
Pittsburgh enters tonight’s game as one of the hottest teams in the NHL. Dating back to November 9, Pittsburgh has points in 16 of its last 19 games overall (14-3-2). Since this 19-game stretch began, no one has picked up more points than the Penguins (30), and they have vaulted from 27th in the league standings to 10th.

WIN-TER WONDERLAND
The Penguins have won each of their last five home games, which trails only Minnesota (7) for the longest active home winning streak in the league. This season, there has only been three home winning streak longer than the Penguins current streak (Boston, 14; Minnesota, 7; New Jersey, 6). It’s the longest home winning streak since the team won eight-straight home games last season from Dec. 11, 2021- Jan. 25, 2022.
Sidney Crosby leads all Penguins with 21 home points (11G-10A) in 14 games. He’s only been held off the scoresheet twice in 14 home games, and his 0.79 goals-per-game average at home is sixth in the league

SIDNEY CLAUS
Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby has been nothing short of dominant all season, as he enters tonight’s game tied for ninth in the NHL with 40 points (17G-23A) in 31 games. Of his 40 points, 32 of them have come at even strength (15G-17A) which is first in the NHL, and he ranks in the top-20 in almost every major offensive category

MERRY MALKIN
Evgeni Malkin comes into tonight riding a eight-game point streak, notching two goals and 10 assists in that span. Only Connor McDavid (12), Mats Zucarello (10), David Pastrnak (9), Kyle Connor (9) and Josh Morrissey (9) have longer active point streaks than him. Malkin’s point streak is the longest by a Penguin this season. He is also one of just four players along with McDavid, Boston’s David Pastrnak and Vancouver’s J.T. Miller to have multiple point streaks of seven or more games this season. Malkin currently sits one point shy of tying Sergei Fedorov for the second-most points in NHL history among a Russian-born player

KRIS-KRINGLE
Defenseman Kris Letang enters tonight’s game on the verge of becoming just the seventh player in franchise history to record 400 even-strength points Letang is also looking to become just the third active defenseman along with Brent Burns (496) and Erik Karlsson (436) to accumulate 400 points at even strength. Only 22 blueliners in NHL history have accomplished this feat.

JOLLY JEFF
Jeff Carter enters tonight’s game one assist from 400 in his career and is set to become the sixth player from the 2003 draft class to collect 400 goals and 400 assists along with Eric Staal, Patrice Bergeron, Joe Pavelski, Corey Perry and Zach Parise. He would also become the 100th player in NHL history to accomplish this feat. Jeff Carter has recorded 25 points (9G-16A) in 56 career games against the Rangers.

MERRY TRIST-MAS
Tristan Jarry enters tonight’s game having picked up points in each of his last 12 games (10-0-2), which is the longest point streak of his career. The last time a Penguins goalie had a longer point streak was MarcAndre Fleury, who had points in 14-consecutive starts from Nov. 12-Dec. 11, 2010 (13-0-1). Jarry has been one of the hottest goalies in the NHL since Nov. 17:

Stats Since Nov. 17 (min. 5GP)
Stat NHL Rank
Wins (10) 1st
GAA (1.89) 2nd
SV% (.941) 1st
SO (1) T-4th
Assists (1) T-1st

Overall on the season, Jarry ranks in the top-10 among all NHL goalies (min. 10GP) in wins (13, T-4th), save percentage (.921, 11th) and assists (2, T-1st).

REIRDEN’S REINDEER
Pittsburgh’s power play converted for the eighth-consecutive game on Sunday in Carolina, going 1-for-5 on the night. The Penguins power play
has gone 11-for-32 (34.4%) in the past eight games, a figure that is fifth in the NHL.

This stretch marks the first time the Penguins have scored on the power play in eight-consecutive games since Pittsburgh scored on the man advantage in 12-consecutive games from Feb. 3-26, 2013 (16 PPG).

The Penguins stretch of eight-consecutive games with a power-play goal is the longest active such streak in the league. There have only been two such streaks longer all season (Boston and Tampa Bay, 10 games).

HO HO HEINEN
Danton Heinen currently sits one assist shy of 100 in his career. Heinen, who was drafted in the fourth round (116th overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft, is looking to become the 21st member of his draft class to register 100 assists. Of the 20 players with 100 assists, only six players (Christian Dvorak and Brandon Montour, 2nd Round; Brayden Point, 3rd Round; Viktor Arvidsson and Devon Toews, 4th Round; Kevin Lebanc, 6th Round) were selected outside of the first round

NHL Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets (10-19-2) at Philadelphia Flyers (10-15-7)

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NHL Preview: Columbus Blue Jackets (10-19-2) at Philadelphia Flyers (10-15-7)

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS NOTES:

Dec. 20, 2022 Game No. 32 (10-19-2, 22 pts.)
at Philadelphia Flyers (10-15-7, 27 pts.), Wells Fargo Center Road Game No. 12 (2-8-1, 5 pts.) The Blue Jackets Press Box website, which includes game notes, stats, releases and video/audio clips as well as the 2022-23 Media Guide can be accessed at bluejackets.com/pressbox. Follow @BlueJacketsPR on Twitter for comprehensive information and updates on the team.

THE LAST GAME: DEC. 19, 2022 – CBJ 1 vs. DAL 2
CBJ Goal Scorers: Johnson (7)
DAL Goal Scorers: Johnston (8), EN – Robertson (24)
Goalies: CBJ – Tarasov (32/33; 58:17); DAL – Oettinger (27/28; 60:00)
CBJ PP: 0/1; PK: 0/0 | Shots: CBJ: 28 / DAL: 34
3 Stars: 1. Oettinger, DAL; 2. Tarasov, CBJ; 3. Johnston, DAL
Noteworthy: CBJ lost their 4th-straight game… CBJ had their 4-game home points streak vs. DAL (3-0-1) snapped in the loss… DAL scored the 1st two goals, 55 seconds into the 2nd and the eventual GWG with an empty net goal with 1:07 remaining… CBJ were not whistled for a penalty for 19th time in franchise history… Johnson got CBJ on the board with 15 seconds left… Roslovic and Nyquist picked up assists on the goal… Dunne made his CBJ season debut… Gudbranson set career high in blocked shots (8) while Bjork added 6 and Berni had 5.

OhioHEALTH INJURY REPORT
Danforth (torn labrum); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 25); 6 months (25 games)
Boqvist (broken foot); Placed on Injured Reserve (Oct. 26); 6 weeks (23 games)
Voracek (upper body); Placed on Injured Reserve (Nov. 4); out indefinitely (20 games)
Blankenburg (ankle); Placed on IR (Nov. 10); 6-8 weeks (18 games)
Werenski (torn labrum); Placed on IR (retro to Nov. 10); Expected to miss rest of regular season (18 games)
Bean (shoulder); Placed on IR (retro to Nov. 15); out indefinitely (17 games)
Korpisalo (lower body); Placed on IR (retro to Dec. 9); 1-2 weeks (5 games)
Jenner (thumb); Placed on IR (Dec. 19); approximately 4 weeks (1 game)
Sillinger (upper body); day-to-day (1 game)
Chinakhov (ankle); Placed on IR (Dec. 20); out indefinitely
TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 186

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 20 Placed Chinakhov on Injured Reserve and added Greaves to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL)
Dec. 19 Signed Richards to a one-year, two-way NHL/AHL contract for rest of 2022-23 season
Dec. 19 Placed Jenner on Injured Reserve and recalled Dunne from Cleveland (AHL)
Dec. 12 Recalled Tarasov from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Greaves to Cleveland (AHL)
Dec. 10 Placed Korpisalo on Injured Reserve and added Greaves to roster on emergency recall from Cleveland (AHL)
Dec. 5 Recalled Marchenko from Cleveland (AHL) and assigned Fix-Wolansky to Cleveland (AHL)
Dec. 1 Activated Laine and Merzlikins off IR and assigned Tarasov to Cleveland (AHL)
Dec. 1 Signed 2022 2nd round pick Luca Del Bel Belluz and 2021 5th round pick James Malatesta to 3-year entry level contracts

TONIGHT’S GAME BROADCAST INFO
7:00pm ET | Bally Sports Ohio | 97.1 FM
AGAINST THE FLYERS
2022-23 Series: 2-0-0 (0-0-0 at PHI)
2021-22 Series: 2-1-0 (2-0-0 at PHI)
All-Time Series: 25-15-3-2 (10-11-1-0 at PHI)
Last 10 (Overall | Road): 5-4-1 | 6-4-0
All-Time GF/GA: 128/130
All-Time SF/SA: 1,298/1,416
All-Time PP: 26-of-136
All-Time PK: 138-of-161

THE LAST GAME VS. PHI: NOV. 15, 2022 – CBJ 5 vs. PHI 4 (OT)
CBJ Goal Scorers: Kuraly (3), PP – Jenner (5), Jenner (6), Robinson (2), OT – Gavrikov (2) PHI Goal Scorers: Hayes (4), Cates (3), Seeler (2), PP – Konecny (7)
Goalies: CBJ – Merzlikins (15/17; 32:16), Korpisalo (18/20; 30:58); PHI – Hart (28/33; 63:14) CBJ PP: 1/1; PK: 1/2 | Shots: CBJ: 33 / PHI: 37
3 Stars: 1. Jenner, CBJ; 2. Gavrikov, CBJ; 3. Konecny, PHI
Noteworthy: CBJ picked up a point in 3rd-straight game (2-0-1)… CBJ scored the 1st goal for the 3rd consecutive contest… CBJ scored a goal in all 3 periods for the 3rd time this season… CBJ scored 2 goals in 13 seconds (Jenner- 3:22 into the 3rd period and Robinson at 3:35)… Jenner notched his 2nd multi-goal/3rd multi-point game of the campaign (2-0-2), notching his 150th career goal with CBJ…Gavrikov (1-1-2) scored his 2nd career OT winner/5th career GWG… Robinson tallied his 10th career multi-point outing with 1-1-2…Bjork notched his 1st career NHL assist.
SEASON SERIES LEFT: Apr. 11 at PHI

NOTED (Team Highlights vs. PHI)
CBJ are 23-9-2 vs. PHI since the start of the 2013-14 season… CBJ have won 5 of the last 7 games at PHI dating back to 3/15/18, including both games at PHI in the 2021-22 series… CBJ have killed off 13-of-14 Flyers’ power play attempts in the past 5 games.… Winning team has scored 4+ goals in 12 of the past 14 games dating back to 3/15/18… Most goals scored at PHI: 5 – 3x (MR: 3/15/18)… Most goals allowed at PHI: 9 (11/5/11).

NOTED (Player Highlights vs. PHI)
Bean skated in his 100th career NHL game on 4/5/22 at PHI… Bjork notched his 1st career NHL assist on 11/15/22 vs. PHI… Gavrikov notched his 1st career NHL assist on 10/26/19 at PHI… Korpisalo earned 1st NHL win on 12/19/15 vs. PHI… Meyer tallied 1st career goal and assist on 4/5/22 at PHI.

PLAYER NOTABLES vs. PHI
•Gaudreau – 6-14-20 in 15 career GP, including points in 12 of contests with four three-point efforts

•Gavrikov – 1-4-5 in 8 career GP, including points in two of his last three games (1-2-3) after picking up the OT winner and adding an assist in the November 15 contest

•Laine – 4-4-8 in 12 career GP, including goals in two of his last three games at Philadelphia (2-0-2)

•Robinson – 2-3-5 in 9 career GP with all of his points recorded in the last four meetings

BLUE JACKETS NOTES
HIT THE ROAD, (BLUE) JACK(ETS)
The Blue Jackets lost their fourth-straight game and fell to 7-10-2 in the last 19 games overall following a 2-1 loss to Dallas at Nationwide Arena on Monday. Columbus continues a road dominant stretch, heading out on the road for two more games (Tue. at Philadelphia and Fri. at Chicago) prior to the NHL Holiday Break. The club is in the middle of a stretch of six-of-eight contests away from Nationwide Arena from December 13-29. The team plays 15 games in the month of December with two sets of back-to-back games (Dec. 6 at PIT/Dec. 7 vs. BUF; Dec. 19 vs. DAL/Dec. 20 at PHI).

FROM THE BLUELINE
CBJ blueliners have collected 2-8-10 in the last 10 games and 13-34-47 in 31 games this season. Vladislav Gavrikov, who has 0-5-5 in his last 11 games, notched his second career overtime winner and fifth career game-winning goal on Nov. 15 vs. the Flyers, finishing with 1-1-2, while also skating in a career-high 28:40 TOI (previous 28:20 on Apr. 22, 2022 vs. OTT). He became the fifth different defenseman in NHL history to score each of his first two or more goals of a season in overtime and is also one off the franchise record for overtime goals by a defenseman in a single season (3; Seth Jones, 2016-17 & 2018-19). Erik Gudbranson, who has 0-2-2 in the last five contests, ranks second on the Blue Jackets in blocked shots (60) and fourth in hits (59) and has collected 1-7-8 and 19 penalty minutes in his first 30 contests with Columbus this season. He set a career-high and a CBJ season high in blocked shots with eight on Monday vs. Dallas.

ROOKIE REPORT
The club currently has 10 rookies on the roster with forwards Josh Dunne, Liam Foudy, Kent Johnson, Kirill Marchenko and Carson Meyer along with defensemen Tim Berni, Nick Blankenburg (injured), Marcus Bjork and Jake Christiansen as well as goaltender Daniil Tarasov. They have combined for 13-18-31 in 31 games in 2022-23. CBJ rank second-T among NHL team rookies in goals and fifth-T in points. Johnson ranks fourth-T among NHL rookies in goals, sixth-T in points and seventh points-per-game (.54; min. 15 GP) with 7- 8-15 in 28 games after notching CBJ’s lone goal on Monday. He has registered 4-5-9 in his last 17 outings. Bjork, who recorded an assist on Saturday, has posted 2-5-7 in his first 18 NHL games. He ranks second-T among NHL rookie defensemen in points-per-game (.39; min. 10 GP). The blueliner tallied points in his first two NHL games after scoring his first career goal in his NHL debut on Nov. 12 at NY Islanders and picking up his first career assist on Nov. 15 vs. Philadelphia. He is the first blueliner and seventh player overall in franchise history to score in his debut.

HERE’S JOHNNY!
Left wing Johnny Gaudreau collected his team-leading ninth multi-point effort of the season with two assists on Saturday. The forward has posted points in eight of his last 12 outings (3-12-15). He ranks fifth-T in the NHL in assists – two off the League lead – and ninth-T in points since November 10 with 5-19-24 in 19 contests. The six-time All-Star leads the club in assists and points and ranks second in goals with 10-23-33 in 31 games while recording points in 20 of his contests. The winger has done most of his damage at home with 9-16-25 in 20 outings. He played in his 325th consecutive game on Monday, the third-longest active iron man streak in the NHL and trailing only Phil Kessel (1,015) and Brent Burns (710). The Salem, New Jersey native, who signed a seven-year contract with Columbus in July, ranks third in the League in assists and points for the 2022 calendar year with 38-77-115 in 84 contests with the Flames and Blue Jackets.

LAINE IT UP
Winger Patrik Laine recorded his fifth multi-point effort of the season with one goal and one assist at Boston on Saturday. The forward, who has missed two separate stretches due to elbow and ankle injuries, ranks fourth-T in the NHL in goals in the month of December with 7-4-11 in 10 outings. A season after finishing at a point-per-game pace for the first time in his career at 26-30-56 in 56 contests, the 24-year-old has registered 9-6-15 in his first 18 contests of the 2022-23 campaign.

CAPTAIN BOONE JENNER
Boone Jenner, who scored his team-leading 11th goal of the season on Saturday, will undergo thumb surgery today and will miss approximately four weeks. He 3-5-8 in his last 10 contests and 10-8-18 in his past 20 contests since Nov. 4. He finished the month of November with 8-3-11 in 11 contests, which was the third-most goals in the month in franchise history (tied). The forward ranks fifth in the NHL in faceoff wins (355-of-635 faceoffs; 55.9 pct.). The 29-year-old, who was selected 37th overall at the 2011 NHL Draft, is the longest-tenured Blue Jacket in his 10th season with the club, including his second as the team’s captain. The forward skated in his 600th career game on Nov. 4 vs. Colorado, becoming just the third player to reach the milestone with the franchise. With his second goal on Nov.15 vs. Philadelphia, Jenner notched his 150th career goal with the Blue Jackets and became the third player to reach the milestone with the franchise, joining Rick Nash (289) and Cam Atkinson (213). He also ranks fifth on the franchise’s all-time list in points (306).

RK PLAYER TOTAL GP SEASONS WITH CBJ

  1. Rick Nash 674 2002-12 (9 seasons)
  2. Cam Atkinson 627 2011-21 (10 seasons)
  3. Boone Jenner 619 2013-current (10 seasons)
  4. Nick Foligno 599 2012-21 (9 seasons)
  5. David Savard 597 2011-21 (10 seasons)

THINGS ARE LOOKING ROSIE
Jack Roslovic picked up an assist on Monday. He has collected 2-7-9 in his last 10 games, including recording his third career four-point game in Dec. 11 vs. Los Angeles (2-2-4). He tallied 2-1-3 in the second period, matching the franchise record for most points in a period (47th time; MR: Sean Kuraly with 2-1-3 on 11/17/22 vs. MTL). The forward also recorded both a power play goal and shorthanded goal in the second frame, which is the ninth time in franchise history a player has scored a PPG/SHG in the same game (MR: Kristian Huselius, 11/19/09 at DAL) and fourth time it has been accomplished in a single period (MR: Rick Nash: second period on 1/27/09 vs. DET). He is also the first Blue Jacket since Artemi Panerin (3, 2018) with multiple four-point games in a calendar year (3-1-4 at Detroit on Apr. 9).

TOUGH TO REPLACE Z
Defenseman Zach Werenski recorded his first multi-point game of the season with 1-1-2 in a win over Philadelphia on Nov. 10 to extend his points-streak to three-straight games (1-3-4) before leaving the with an upper body injury. Unfortunately, that was the last CBJ will likely see the club’s top defenseman this regular season as it was announced Friday that he suffered a separated shoulder and torn labrum and likely to miss six months. He led the club’s blueliners in goals, assists and points at the time of the injury with 3-5-8 in 13 games. The two-time NHL All-Star blueliner set single-season career highs in assists, points and time on ice and posted the third-most assists (tied) and points by a defenseman in a single season in franchise history with 11-37-48 and 25:40 TOI in 68 games in 2021-22.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS NOTES:

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME BROADCAST INFO.
Thur., Dec. 22 Toronto Maple Leafs Scotiabank Arena 2 p.m. NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic
Fri., Dec. 23 Carolina Hurricanes PNC Arena 7 p.m. NBCSP+, 93.3 WMMR
Thur., Dec. 29 San Jose Sharks SAP Center at San Jose 10:30 p.m. NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic

CURRENT INJURIES
PLAYER INJURY DATES GAMES MISSED
Wade Allison IR-oblique muscle strain, hip pointer 11/13-present 18
Cam Atkinson upper body 9/25-present 32
Sean Couturier IR-back 9/19-present 32
Ryan Ellis LTIR-groin/hip/back 10/11-present 32
Tanner Laczynski IR-lower body 12/7-present 6
Zack MacEwen illness 12/17-present 1
Max Willman upper body 12/15-present 2
2022-23 TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 185

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
12/17 – Re-assigned F Kieffer Bellows and F Olle Lycksell to Lehigh Valley (AHL)
12/17 – Placed F Lukas Sedlak on unconditional waivers; Recalled F Kieffer Bellows from Lehigh Valley (AHL); Placed
F Cam Atkinson on Injured Reserve; Activated D Tony DeAngelo from Non-Roster status
12/15 – Recalled F Olle Lycksell from Lehigh Valley (AHL) and placed D Tony DeAngelo on Non-Roster status due to personal reasons

FLYERS VS. BLUE JACKETS: HEAD-TO-HEAD
FLYERS BLUE JACKETS
17-16-12 ALL-TIME RECORD 25-15-5
11-9-2 HOME 15-4-4
6-7-10 ROAD 10-11-1
1-3-1 LAST 5 MEETINGS 4-1-0
5-3-2 LAST 10 MEETINGS 5-4-1
130 GOALS SCORED 128
14.3% POWER PLAY 19.1%
80.9% PENALTY KILL 85.7%
Hayes: 24 pts (9-15=24) in 26 GP
Konecny: 22 pts (8-14=22) in 20 GP
van Riemsdyk: 20 pts (11-9=20) in 26 GP

TEAM SCORING LEADERS Gaudreau: 20 pts (6-14=20) in 15 GP
Jenner: 18 pts (13-5=18) in 30 GP
Nyquist: 10 pts (2-8=10) in 25 GP
Hart: 1-4-1, 3.05 GAA, .892 SV% in 6 GP
Sandstrom: Has not faced CBJ

TEAM GOALTENDERS Merzlikins: 2-2-1, 3.19 GAA, .903 SV% in 6 GP
Tarasov: Has not faced PHI

2022-23 SEASON SERIES (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
November 10 Nationwide Arena CBJ (5), PHI (2)
November 15 Nationwide Arena CBJ (5), PHI (4) OT
December 20 Wells Fargo Center 7 p.m.
April 11 Wells Fargo Center 7 p.m.

TEAM NOTES

QUICK HITS

  • Philadelphia has earned points in four of its last seven games (2-3-2).
  • The Flyers set a season-high 41 shots Dec. 11 at ARI and have outshot their opponents in six of the last 10 games, posting a 2-3-1 record in those six contests.
  • Philadelphia has allowed the opposing team to score first in 23 of its 32 games this season. The Flyers lead the NHL with eight wins when trailing first in a game. The Flyers are 2-5-2 when scoring first.
  • Philadelphia recorded a franchise-best 59 hits Nov. 12 vs. OTT. The 59 hits are tied for the ninth-most in a regular season game in NHL history.
  • The Flyers lead the NHL with 964 hits and rank second with 587 blocked shots.

HOME SWEET HOME

  • Philadelphia plays its final home game for the 2022 calendar year Tuesday vs. CBJ.
  • The Flyers are 6-9-1 on home ice this season, including a 2-4-1 record against a Metropolitan Division opponent.
  • Philadelphia ranks T-2nd in the NHL in shorthanded goals (3) and T-4th in shorthanded assists (3) collected on home ice this season.
  • The Flyers have scored 40 of its 77 goals this season on home ice (.519) and out of those 40 home goals, 29 have been tallied at even strength.

‘TIS THE SEASON

  • Philadelphia plays three games this week heading into the NHL Holiday break. The Flyers are a combined 5-0-1 in the three games leading up to the NHL Holiday break since 2019-20, not including the 2020-21 season.
  • The Flyers play 14 contests during the month of December, tied for their second-most in a month this season.
  • Philadelphia will play six games at home and eight on the road, including the start to five road games in a row, Dec. 22-Jan. 2, that will be split up by the NHL Holiday Break, Dec. 24-26.
  • Philadelphia owns a 354-226-82-32 all-time record for games played in the month of December – its second-most wins in a single month.
  • The Flyers rank second in NHL history with a .592 winning percentage during the month of December (VGK – .723 in 65 all-time games) and rank seventh with 354 December wins.
  • The December schedule also features Philadelphia’s 21st all-time game held on New Year’s Eve, it’s 20th on the road, when the Flyers visit the Kings on Dec. 31. Philadelphia is 9-7-2-2 all-time in New Year’s Eve contests, 8-7-2-2 on the road.

JvR

  • James van Riemsdyk netted his fifth goal of the season Saturday night vs. NYR.
  • He owns six points (3-3=6) in the last four games.
  • The winger tied his career-high four points (1-3=4) for the third time on Dec. 11 at ARI.
  • He missed 20 games this season due to an upper-body injury, Oct. 27-Dec. 5.
  • The 33-year-old opened the season on a four-game point streak (2-3=5), Oct. 13-19.

LOCKED ON LAUGHTON

  • Scott Laughton scored his second shorthanded goal of the season Saturday which ranks T-3rd in the NHL. He ranks first in Flyers history in SHG since entering the League in 2012-13 with six, T-20th all-time.
  • The 28-year-old owns five points (3-2=5) in the last seven games.
  • He scored his second career power-play goal Dec. 15 in New Jersey. He netted his first career PPG this season on Oct. 27 vs. FLA.
  • He leads the team in faceoff wins (200), ranks third in hits (70), third in shots (66), T-3rd in PPG and fourth in goals (6) this season.
  • He recorded a career-high 19 faceoff wins, Oct. 27 vs. FLA.
  • The forward registered his second career shorthanded goal, Oct. 15 vs. VAN.

KONNECT FOUR

  • Travis Konecny owns three points (2-1=3) in the last four games.
  • He has seven points (5-2=7) in the last nine games, including two power-play points (1-1=2).
  • He owns 20 points (8-12=20) in his last 20 games, including four multi-point contests and a seven-game point streak (3-7=10), Nov. 2-15.
  • He leads the team in goals (12) and game-winning goals (3) and ranks second in assists (14), points (26), shots (86) and multi-point games (7) this season.
  • He tallied three goals in a season-high three-game goal streak, Dec. 1-5.
  • The forward recorded his first career shorthanded assist/point vs. VAN (10/15).
  • The 25-year-old netted two goals Oct. 13 vs. NJ for his 11th career multi-goal game. Per NHL Stats, he became the second player in Flyers history to have two-or-more multi-goal games in a season opener (Bill Barber, 3x, 10/9/80, 10/9/81 & 10/7/82).
  • He ranks second in Flyers history in GWG (19), third in goals (122), fourth in scoring (297) and assists (175) and fifth in PPG (23) since entering the NHL in 2016-17.

SANNY ON A ROLL

  • Travis Sanheim tallied an assist Saturday vs. NYR for his second helper in as many games.
  • He owns seven points (2-5=7) in the last 10 games, including a season-high four-game point streak, Nov. 29-Dec. 5.
  • He netted his first career shorthanded goal Nov. 29 vs. NYI to become the 41st defenseman in Flyers history to record a SHG.
  • He registered a power-play assist Dec. 15 at NJD for his power-play point since March 1, 2020 at NYR.
  • The blueliner leads the team in assists (8), second in scoring (11) and T-4th in goals (3) since Nov. 19 and ranks T-5th among NHL defensemen in even-strength points (9) and ranks T-10th in goals in that span.
  • The 26-year-old signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension ($6.25 AAV) on Oct. 13.

WHOLE LOT OF HART

  • Carter Hart stopped 29-of-33 shots Saturday to move to a 9-9-6 record on the season and to a 2-2-2 record in his last six starts.
  • The backstop has seen 30-plus shots in 15 of his 24 games this season – he is 8-2-5 in those contests.
  • He ranks second among NHL goaltenders in shots against (766) and saves (699) this season.
  • He tied his career-high 48 saves Thursday at NJD. He also stopped 48 shots and tied his career-high 51 shots faced vs. FLA on Oct. 27 to become the second goaltender in Flyers history to have two-or-more games with 48-plus saves (Bernie Parent, 1/22/70 at BOS, 51; 1/3/77 at MTL, 49).
  • Dec. 5th’s contest was Hart’s 70th career victory to become the 11th goaltender in Flyers history to reach 70-plus wins (NHL Stats).- He opened the season on an eight-game point streak (6-0-2) to become the fourth goaltender in team history to have started a season on an eight-game plus point streak: Pete Peeters (22-0-5 in 1979-80), Bob Froese (9-0-1 in 1982-83) and Dominic Roussel (8-0-0 in 1993-94). (NHL Stats)
  • The Canadian native recorded a career-high season-opening five-game win streak, Oct. 13-27.
  • Per NHL Stats, he became the seventh goaltender in Flyers history to win each of his first five games of a season and first since Ron Hextall (5-0-0 in 1995-96). The longest such stretch in franchise history is eight straight games, achieved by Dominic Roussel (1993-94) and Bob Froese (1982-83).
  • Outside of Philadelphia, he only has one NHL team he has not earned a win against: St. Louis.

EMERGING YOUNG GUNS

  • The Flyers have 11 of its 25 players on the current roster that are 25-and-younger.
  • Philadelphia ranks eighth in the NHL in team rookie scoring percentage (10.1) and T-10th in team rookie points (21).
  • The rookies have netted a combined eight goals to rank seventh among NHL team rookie goal percentage (10.4) and ninth in rookie goals.
  • Noah Cates owns career highs in games played (32), assists (8), points (11), PPA (3) and shots (37).
  • Morgan Frost owns five points (2-3=5) in the last five games and set a career-high four points (1-3=4) Dec. 11 at ARI.
  • Cam York made his season debut on Dec. 9 at VGK, logged a season-high 24:08 TOI on Dec. 11 at ARI and netted his fourth career goal, first of the season on Dec. 13 at COL.

LUCKY NUMBER 13

  • Kevin Hayes owns five points (1-4=5) in his last seven games.
  • He owns 10 points (4-6=10) in his last 11 games.
  • He owns 19 points (8-11=19) in his last 21 games, including a season-high six-game point streak (Nov. 12-21).
  • The 30-year-old leads the team in assists (20), PPA (8), PPP (10) and points (29) and ranks second in goals (9) this season.
  • The forward collected three PPP (1-2=3) in a three-game PPP streak, Dec. 3-7 – matching his career high PPP streak, set Oct. 13-18 (3a) this season.
  • He collected back-to-back multi-point games (2-2=4), Nov. 26-29, for the sixth time in his career and leads the team with eight multi-point games this season.
  • He collected eight points (1-7=8) in a career-high five-game season-opening point streak, Oct. 13-22.
  • He tallied his 200th career assist Oct. 19 at FLA.

IVAN THE GREAT

  • Ivan Provorov recorded his 200th career NHL point (assist) Nov. 26 at NYI to become the seventh defenseman in Flyers history to reach the 200-plus point milestone.
  • He ranks T-4th in team history for goals by a defenseman with Shayne Gostisbehere (60).
  • The blueliner ranks third on the team in assists (11) and fourth in shots (65) this season.
  • The 25-year-old leads the Flyers and ranks third in the NHL with 78 blocked shots.
  • The Russian native’s 10 blocked shots on Oct. 13 tied the franchise record for most in a game for the third time: Andrew MacDonald (3/11/16); Provorov (11/2/17 & 10/13/22).
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