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NHL Preview: Winnipeg Jets (20-9-1) at Seattle Kraken (16-10-3)

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NHL Preview: Winnipeg Jets (20-9-1) at Seattle Kraken (16-10-3)

WINNIPEG JETS NOTES:

Scene Setter
The Winnipeg Jets finish their weekend back-to-back on Sunday when they visit the Seattle Kraken. The Jets beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Saturday night in the first game of the back-to-back, which was Winnipeg’s second win in as many games. After this weekend, the Jets play the Ottawa Senators at Canada Life Centre on Tuesday night in the team’s final home game before the Christmas break.

Last Game
Winnipeg Jets 5
Vancouver Canucks 1
Jets Scorers: Connor (13), Capobianco (1), Pionk (5), Gagner (5), Jonsson-Fjällby (2)
Canucks Scorer: Horvat (22)
Jets Goaltender: Connor Hellebuyck (22 sv, 1 ga)
Canucks Goaltender: Spencer Martin (22 vs, 5 ga)
Jets PP: 1-for-2
Jets PK: 2-for-3
Recap: The Jets scored twice in the second and third periods to beat the Vancouver Canucks 5-1 on Saturday night. Kyle Connor and Sam Gagner each had a goal and an assist, while Pierre-Luc Dubois contributed three assists. Connor Hellebuyck made 22 saves in his second win in as many starts. Gagner also led the team with five shots.

Best in the West
The Jets are tied for fifth in the NHL with a .683 points percentage, which also ranks first in the Central Division and Western Conference… Winnipeg’s best points percentage in franchise history was in 2017-18 when the team finished at .695… The franchise has finished a season with
a points percentage better than .600 four times.

20 for 30
For the first time in franchise history, the Jets have won 20 games in their first 30 games of a season… The previous high was 19 during the 2018-19 season… With 101 goals, Winnipeg has scored 100 goals in the first 30 games for the fourth time in franchise history… The Jets plus-24
goal differential through 30 games also ties the franchise record from the 2018-19 season.

Road Record
With five consecutive wins away from Canada Life Centre, the Jets have tied a franchise record for longest road winning streak… It’s the fourth time in franchise history Winnipeg has won five consecutive road games, which have all occurred since the 2017-18 season… The Jets are 9-4-1 on the road this season for a .679 points percentage, which is tied with the Seattle Kraken for sixth in the NHL… Winnipeg is in the midst of playing four of five games on the road to enter the Christmas break… The Jets haven’t lost consecutive games in regulation on the road this season… Defenceman Josh Morrissey (1G, 16A) leads the Jets in scoring on the road with 17 points and has a point in eight consecutive road games, which is two shy of the franchise record (Mark Scheifele and Neal Pionk had 10-game road point streaks last season)… Pierre-Luc Dubois has a team leading seven goals… Sunday’s road game in Seattle ends Winnipeg’s first 15 road games being against Western Conference teams… Winnipeg’s first road game in the eastern time zone is Thursday in Boston.

Goals, Goals, Goals
The Jets have scored five goals or more in eight of their past 12 games… Since Nov. 25, Winnipeg leads the NHL with 50 goals in 12 games… The Jets have tallied five goals or more in 10 games this season, which is tied for fourth in the NHL.

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

Against the Pacific
Winnipeg is 5-3-1 against the Pacific Division this season… Six of Winnipeg’s 16 games in December are against Pacific Division teams… Kyle Connor (4G, 7A) leads the Jets with 11 points in nine games against the Pacific Division this season.

Back-2-Back
The Jets are playing their fifth of 13 back-to-back sets on their schedule this season, having gone 7-2-0 so far… The Jets were 6-4-2 in the first game of a back-to-back last season and 5-5-2 in the second game for an overall record of 11-9-4.

First Game Second Game
Date Opponent Record Date Opponent Record
Oct. 19 At Colorado – 4-3 OTW 1-0-0 Oct. 20 At Vegas – 5-2 L 0-1-0
Oct. 27 At Los Angeles – 6-4 W 2-0-0 Oct. 28 At Arizona – 3-2 OTW 1-1-0
Nov. 12 At Calgary – 3-2 L 2-1-0 Nov. 13 At Seattle – 3-2 OTW 2-1-0
Dec. 8 At St. Louis – 5-2 W 3-1-0 Dec. 9 At Chicago – 3-1W 3-1-0
Dec. 17 At Vancouver – 5-1 W 4-1-0 Dec. 18 At Seattle
Dec. 22 At Boston Dec. 23 At Washington
Jan. 12 At Buffalo Jan. 13 At Pittsburgh
Jan. 21 At Ottawa Jan. 22 At Philadelphia
Feb. 19 At New Jersey Feb. 20 At NY Rangers
Mar. 3 At Edmonton Mar. 4 Edmonton
Mar. 11 At Florida Mar. 12 At Tampa Bay
Mar. 18 At Nashville Mar. 19 At St. Louis
Apr. 10 San Jose Apr. 11 At Minnesota

Top 5 PK
Despite giving up four power play goals against in their past five games, Winnipeg is fifth in the NHL with a penalty kill successful 81.7% of the time… The Jets have played 134:44 on the penalty kill this season, which is fourth fewest in the NHL… The last time the Jets had a penalty kill better than 82% was in 2013-14 when they finished the season at 83.2%… The franchise record for penalty kill percentage in a season is 85.2%, which occurred in Atlanta during the 2003-04 season.

On The Power Play
The Jets are 22-for-96 (22.9%) on the power play through the first 30 games of the season… Winnipeg is 11-for-35 (31.4%) with the extra man in the past 11 games, having scored on the power play in nine of the past 11 games… Kyle Connor (2G, 11A), leads the Jets with 13 points on the power play this season.

Mo Consistency
Josh Morrissey shares the team in scoring lead with Kyle Connor with 34 points (5G, 29A) in 30 games… He has established a new career high with 29 assists, three more than he had in 2019-20 in 65 games… Morrissey has nine assists during a current eighth-game assist streak, which is the longest of his career and third point streak of at least five games this season… He has a point in 25 of his 30 games this season and hasn’t gone consecutive games without a point… Morrissey is third in the NHL among defencemen in scoring, while his 29 assists rank first among NHL defencemen and fifth overall… Morrissey is on pace for 79 assists and 93 points this season… He had a career best 12 goals and 37 points in 79 games last season… Morrissey is on pace to become the first defenceman to lead the team in scoring in franchise history… The franchise record for points by a defenceman in a season is 56, which Dustin Byfuglien did in 2013-14… Byfuglien (4 times), Toby Enstrom (twice), and Jacob Trouba (once) are the only defencemen in franchise history to post 50 points or more in a season.

Streakin’
Kyle Connor (5G, 8A) and Josh Morrissey (9A) are riding eight-game point streaks, which are tied for the longest by a member of the Jets this season… They are also tied for the third longest active point streak in the NHL.

Festive KC
With a goal and assist, Kyle Connor tallied his fourth multi-point game on Saturday during his eight-game point streak… Connor is tied for fourth in NHL scoring since Nov. 23 with 19 points (8G, 11A) in 13 games… Connor averaged 1.42 points per game in November and has 1.44 points per game in December after tallying four points in nine games in October to start the season… Thursday’s overtime winner against Nashville was Connor’s fifth game-winning goal of the season, which is more than halfway to the career high nine game-winning goals he had last season.

Back End Production
Jets defencemen have combined for 76 points this season, which is tied for third in the NHL… Five of Winnipeg’s six defenceman dressed for Saturday’s game against the Canucks had a point, including goals from Kyle Capobianco and Neal Pionk… Capobianco was the sixth defenceman to score for the Jets this season on Saturday, which is one shy for the most defenceman on a team to have a goal this season in the NHL… Defencemen have accounted for 26.8% of the team’s points this season, compared to 24.2% last season and 17.5% in 2020-21.

Three Helpings
Pierre-Luc Dubois tallied his second three-assist game of the season on Saturday against the Canucks… His other three-assist game was earlier this month on Dec. 6 vs FLA… The franchise record for most three-assist games in season is six, which was done by Blake Wheeler during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons… Dubois has 14 of his 19 assists in his past 16 games… He’s on pace for 52 assists, which would best his previous career high for 34 during the 2018-19 season when he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets…

The Rookie
Cole Perfetti is third in NHL rookie scoring with 19 points (6G, 13A) in 30 games… His assist on Saturday ended a three-game pointless drought… Perfetti could become the fifth rookie in franchise history to post 50 points in a season, previously done by Dany Heatley (67 – 2001-02), Patrik Laine (64 – 2016-17), Kyle Connor (57 – 2017-18), and Ilya Kovalchuk (51 – 2001-02).

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

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

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

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

Jets vs. SEA Notes
Season Series
The Jets and Kraken tangle three times this season… The Jets won the first meeting 3-2 in overtime on Nov. 13… The Jets entertain the Kraken in the last meeting on Feb. 14.

Recent History
The Jets have won all four games against the Kraken since entered in the NHL last season… Winnipeg has outscored the Kraken 15-8 in the quartet of games… The two power play goals the Jets scored on Nov. 13 were their first two against the Kraken

In Seattle
Winnipeg has won both games the team has played at Climate Pledge Arena… The first ever meeting between the Jets and Kraken took place on Seattle on Dec. 9/21 with Winnipeg earning a 3-0 win… Kyle Connor scored twice in the third period in that game.

Player Notes
Kyle Connor has racked up seven points (4G, 3A) in the four games against Seattle… Blake Wheeler is also averaging more than a point per game with five points (3G, 2A) in four games… Morgan Barron had two points (1G, 1A) in the first meeting with the Kraken this season.

Jets vs. SEA Season-By-Season
Year GP W L OT GF GA PIM PP% PK%
2021-22 3 3 0 0 12 6 18 0.0 75.0
2022-23 1 1 0 0 3 2 10 28.6 75.0

Jets vs. SEA Past 4 Games
Date Opp Res G GA S PPO PPG PIM SA PPOA PPGA PIMA
12/09/2021 @Sea W 3 0 33 2 0 10 25 5 0 4
02/17/2022 Sea W 5 3 29 3 0 6 23 2 1 8
05/01/2022 Sea W 4 3 27 1 0 2 30 1 1 2
11/13/2022 @Sea W 3 2 30 7 2 10 21 4 1 16

SEATTLE KRAKEN NOTES:

LAST GAME
Seattle 2 at Carolina 3
Goals: Donato, Sprong
Goalie: Grubauer (36/39)
PP: 0/2 PK: 2/2 Shots: Seattle 17 – Carolina 39

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 81)
Chris Driedger (ACL; IR) – 29 games – month-to-month
Joonas Donskoi (upper body; IR) – 29 games – day-to-day
Justin Schultz (undisclosed) – 2 games – day-to-day

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

UPCOMING GAMES
Tuesday, Dec. 20: St. Louis at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
Thursday, Dec. 22: Seattle at Vancouver, 7 p.m. PT
Wednesday, Dec. 28: Calgary at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
Friday, Dec. 30: Edmonton at Seattle, 7 p.m. PT
Sunday, Jan. 1: NY Islanders at Seattle, 5 p.m. PT

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Tonight is the fifth of nine games the Kraken will play on a Sunday this season. The team owns a 2-1-1 record in Sunday games this year.

• Seattle and Winnipeg’s first meeting of the season was also on a Sunday. The Kraken fell to the Jets 3-2 in overtime on Sunday, Nov. 13.

• If Ryan Donato were to score tonight, it would give him goals in three consecutive games, which would match his career best that he has reached on two other occasions.

• Yanni Gourde has five points (one goal, four assists) in his last five games played dating back to Dec. 6 vs. Montreal.

o An assist tonight would give Gourde an assist in four consecutive games for the first time in his career.

• Will Borgen has already tied his career high with 33 blocked shots this season and is just 11 hits shy of tying his career best of 89 that he set last year.

• The Kraken have had 16 different players score at least three goals this season. Entering play Saturday, no team had had more players on its roster score three or more goals.

• Additionally, the Kraken were one of six teams (Arizona, Calgary, Dallas, Florida, NY Islanders) this season to have four different defensemen score at least three goals entering play Saturday. Jamie Oleksiak (four), Vince Dunn (four), Adam Larsson (three) and Justin Schultz (three) have all scored at least three times for the Kraken this year.

• Martin Jones’ 13 wins were tied for the sixth-most in the NHL this season entering play Saturday.

• The Kraken are outshooting their opponents 693-625 at five-on-five this season. Their 52.6 percent shot share was good for seventh in the NHL entering play Saturday according to Natural Stat Trick.

GROUNDING THE JETS
• Oliver Bjorkstrand has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his last seven games against the Jets.

• Andre Burakovsky has seven points (two goals, five assists) in his last five games against Winnipeg dating back to Jan. 6, 2022. He registered multi-point nights in three of those five games.

• Jordan Eberle has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his last eight games against the Jets, including scoring a goal in his most recent game against Winnipeg on Nov. 13, 2022.

• Jaden Schwartz has six points (two goals, four assists) in his last six games against the Jets.

• Daniel Sprong has six points (three goals, three assists) in six career games against Winnipeg.

FAMILIAR FOES
• Brandon Tanev is the only Kraken player to have previously played for the Jets. After signing with the team as an undrafted free agent, Tanev totaled 51 points (24 goals, 27 assists) in 195 regular-season games and added eight points (five goals, three assists) in 22 playoff games.

• Assistant Coach Dave Lowry was an assistant coach and then Winnipeg’s head coach from 2020-21 to 2021-22. He is the father of Jets forward Adam Lowry.

• Kraken Assistant General Manager Jason Botterill is a Winnipeg native and played for the Jets organization during the 1999-00 season while the team was located in Atlanta.

• Chris Driedger – who is currently on injured reserve – is a native of Winnipeg.

CHEERS TO BENIERS
• Matty Beniers leads all NHL rookies this season in goals (11) and points (23), and his 12 assists were tied for third entering play Saturday.

• Beniers is ranked in the top five on Seattle’s roster in goals (second), assists (tied fifth) and points (third) this season.

• He enters tonight’s game having totaled 14 points (six goals, eight assists) in his last 12 games played, dating back to Nov. 19 vs. Los Angeles. His 14 points during that span leads all rookies and all Kraken skaters.
Seattle Kraken: Media Notes

• Beniers scored the game-winning goal in the Kraken’s game on Dec. 1, a 3-2 overtime win against the Washington Capitals. It was the first overtime goal of his career and his second game-winning goal of the season (Last: Nov. 1 at Calgary).

• Beniers’ overtime goal came seven seconds into overtime, the fastest overtime goal in franchise history. According to NHL Stats, it was also the fastest goal by a rookie from the start of a regular-season overtime in NHL history. Walter Jackson (0:08 on March 7, 1933) held the previous record.

• Entering play Saturday, Beniers was one of three rookies (Nils Lundkvist, Fabian Zetterlund) to score an overtime goal this season and is also one of three rookies (Pontus Holmberg, Shane Pinto) to score two game-winning goals this
year.

• Entering play Saturday, Beniers was the only rookie this season to have two three-point games, doing so on Nov. 23 vs. San Jose and on Nov. 27 at Anaheim.

• Beniers’ six multi-point games led all rookies and were tied with Andre Burakovsky for the team lead entering play Saturday.

• Beniers is also averaging 17:10 of ice time per game this season, which is the second-most among rookie forwards (Noah Cates; 18:12) and ranks fourth among Kraken forwards.

• The 20-year-old is currently on pace to finish the season with 31 goals, 34 assists and 65 points. Thirty-one goals would be the \most by a rookie since Patrik Laine and Auston Matthews had 36 and 40 goals, respectively, during their rookie season in 2016- 17.

EBS AND FLOW
• Jordan Eberle enters tonight’s game having recorded 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in his last 16 games played dating back to Nov. 8 vs. Nashville.

• His 17 assists this season are tied with Andre Burakovsky for the team lead and his 24 points rank second on Seattle’s roster.

• Among players from the 2008 NHL Draft class, Eberle ranked third in scoring this season entering play Saturday, trailing only San Jose’s Erik Karlsson (38 points) and Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos (34 points).

• Eberle’s 619 career points also ranked third among 2008 draftees, again trailing Stamkos (1,006) and Karlsson (698).

• Eberle was originally selected by the Edmonton Oilers in the first round (22nd overall) of the 2008 NHL Draft. He is one of 23 players from the ’08 class that are still playing in the NHL, a list that includes Kraken teammate Justin Schultz.

• The 32-year-old is currently on pace to finish the season with 20 goals, 48 assists and 68 points. Forty-eight assists would be the most of his career, surpassing his current career high of 42 that he set in 2011-12 while playing for the Oilers.

• Sixty-eight points would be the second-most of his career, eight points shy of his career-best 76 points that he had in 2011-12.

• Eberle leads all Kraken skaters in career goals (269), assists (350), points (619) and games played (887).

BENNY AND THE VETS
• Since Nov. 13 vs. Winnipeg, forwards Matty Beniers, Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann have played on a line together, totaling 142:13 of ice time at five-on-five together during that span.

• According to Natural Stat Trick, since Nov. 13 when that line is on the ice during five-on-five play, the Kraken are outscoring their opponents 13-3, outshooting them 76-66 and have 72 scoring chances to their opponents’ 54.

• One of Beniers, Eberle or McCann have scored in 12 of the last 14 games the Kraken have played dating back to Nov. 13.

SETTING THE PACE
• With 29 games played this year, the Kraken are roughly 35 percent of the way through their second season. Heading into tonight’s matchup with the Jets, eight of the 20 veteran skaters on the Kraken’s active roster are on pace to surpass their career highs in scoring.

• Will Borgen, Andre Burakovsky, Morgan Geekie and Daniel Sprong are all on pace to set new career highs in goals, assists and points.

• Borgen has already tied his career high with two goals this season.

• Jared McCann (40) and Jamie Oleksiak (14) are both on pace to finish the 2022-23 season with a new career high in goals.

• If the pace holds, it would mark the first time in his career that McCann would surpassed the 40-goal threshold.

• Ryan Donato (16) and Adam Larsson (eight) are on pace to tie their career highs in goals.

• Oliver Bjorkstrand (31), Vince Dunn (34), Jordan Eberle (48), Yanni Gourde (41), Carson Soucy (14) and Brandon Tanev (25) are all pacing to finish the year with new career highs in assists.

• Justin Schultz is pacing to finish the year with 39 assists, which would tie his career bests.

• Vince Dunn (45), Jared McCann (58), Jamie Oleksiak (24) and Brandon Tanev (37) are all playing at a pace to surpass their career highs in points.
o Adam Larsson is playing at a pace that would see him finish the year with 25 points, which would tie his career best.

ON THE DL
• This season defensemen Vince Dunn and Adam Larsson have played 480:10 together during five-on-five play, starting every game of the season on a pair.

• Only Los Angeles’ Drew Doughty and Mikey Anderson (548:33) have spent more time together at five-on-five according to Natural Stat Trick.

• From the start of the 2021-22 season, no two Kraken defensemen have spent more time together at five-on-five than Dunn and Larsson (1067:00). Will Borgen and Carson Soucy, who have played 387:39 at five-on-five together, rank second.

• According to Natural Stat Trick, the Kraken have scored 26 five-on-five goals when Dunn and Larsson are on the ice together. Only New Jersey’s Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler (29) and San Jose’s Erik Karlsson and Jayson Megna (27) have been on the ice for more of their team’s five-on-five goals.

• The pair’s plus-eight goal differential at five-on-five is tied for the sixth-most in the league among defensive pairs this season according to Natural Stat Trick.

• Additionally, according to Natural Stat Trick, the Dunn/Larsson pairing ranks sixth in the NHL with 20.6 expected goals among defensive pairs that have played at least 200 minutes together at five-on-five.

• Dunn is pacing to finish the year with 34 assists and 45 points, both of which would surpass his current career bests (28 assists, 35 points).

• Larsson is on pace to tie his career bests with eight goals and 25 points.

• The duo is pacing to finish the season as each other’s most consistent defensive partner. Prior to this year, the most amount of time Larsson had played with one partner was in 2015-16 when he played 1227:12 at five-on-five with Andy Greene.

• Dunn’s 586:49 of five-on-five ice time with Larsson last year is the most he has played with a single partner to date.

• Dunn and Larsson have been on the ice for the most five-on-five goals (48) of any defensive pairing in franchise history. The Soucy/Borgen pair ranks second with 17.

• Of any two Kraken defensemen that have played at least 200 minutes together at five-on-five, Dunn and Larsson rank third with a 51.3 percent Corsi rating.

• Mark Giordano and Jamie Oleksiak (274 minutes; 51.98 percent Corsi) and Will Borgen and Carson Soucy (387 minutes, 51.4 percent Corsi) rank first and second, respectively.

SECOND TIME AROUND
• The Kraken enter tonight’s game with an 16-10-3 record, which is good for a .603 points percentage and 35 points.

• The team won their 16th game of the season on Dec. 10 at Florida, their 27th game played of the season. Last year, it took the Kraken 48 games and 123 days from the start of the season to reach 16 wins, earning their 16th win of the season on Feb. 11, 2022, a 4-3 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

• It also took the Kraken 48 games to reach 35 points last season. This year, the Kraken earned their 35th point of the season in their 27th game played, a 5-2 win against the Panthers on Dec. 11.

• Saturday, Dec. 17 marked the 67th day of the 2022-23 NHL season, roughly 36 percent of the way through. Compared to the first 67 days of the 2021-22 regular season, the Kraken have won six more games, earned 12 more points and have improved their points percentage by 0.220.

• The Kraken’s 0.220 points percentage improvement from the first 67 days of the 2021-22 season to the first 67 days of the 2022-23 season ranks fourth the NHL, trailing the New Jersey Devils (0.302), Boston Bruins (0.251) and Montreal Canadiens (0.226).

• Their six extra wins are the fifth-best mark in the league. Only the New Jersey Devils (plus-11), New York Islanders (plus-nine), Boston Bruins (plus-nine) and Montreal Canadiens (plus-seven) have a better year-over-year win improvement.

• The team’s 12 more points through the first 67 days of the 2022-23 season are also the fifth-best points improvement, trailing the New Jersey Devils (19), Boston Bruins (18), New York Islanders (14) and Montreal Canadiens (13).

• The Kraken have been at or above a .500 points percentage the entire 2022-23 season. They did not achieve that mark past the first three games of the 2021-22 season.

• The team’s 16 wins this season have come against the Anaheim Ducks, Buffalo Sabres, Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche, Florida Panthers, Los Angeles Kings (3), Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins (2), San Jose Sharks, Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals. Nine of those 13 teams made the playoffs last season.

NHL Preview: New York Rangers (17-10-5) at Chicago Blackhawks (7-18-4)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: New York Rangers (17-10-5) at Chicago Blackhawks (7-18-4)

NEW YORK RANGERS NOTES;

LAST GAME
New York Rangers 6, Philadelphia Flyers 3 – December 17, 2022 – Wells Fargo Center
NYR Goals: A. Panarin (7), K. Miller (2), B. Goodrow (7), J. Vesey (6), J. Trouba (1), K. Kakko (7)
PHI Goals: J. van Riemsdyk (5), S. Laughton (6), M. Frost (5)
NYR Goalie: J. Halak (W – 29/32)
PHI Goalie: C. Hart (L – 29/33)
NYR Shots: 34
PHI Shots: 32
NYR PP: 0/1
NYR PK: 4/4
Game Summary | Event Summary
RECAP/NOTES: The Rangers opened the road trip and this back-to-back with their sixth-straight win. After trailing 1-0, the Blueshirts responded with three goals. Going into the third up 3-2, the Rangers scored three more goals to cap off the 6-3 victory. The Blueshirts scored six goals in a game for the sixth time this season, tied for the second most occurrences in the NHL.

RANGERS RUNDOWN

  • The New York Rangers continue their three-game road trip and complete their seventh back-to-back of the season with a Sunday night matchup against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center (7:30 PM ET – TV: ESPN – Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM).
  • The Blueshirts have won a season-long six games in a row and are 7-1-1 over their last nine games. A win tonight would match their longest streak last season (7 GP) which was reached with a win over the Blackhawks in Chicago on December 7, 2021.
  • The Rangers have won four of their last five games against the Blackhawks dating back to January 2019.
  • On the road, the Blueshirts are 10-4-1 for 21 points, the fourth most road wins in the NHL. New York has earned a point in 10 of its last 12 games (9-2-1) away from home.
  • The Rangers’ penalty kill has been perfect in their last three games (6-for-6). On the road this season, New York’s 86.5 penalty kill percentage (32-for-37) is the highest in the league.
  • The Rangers have allowed the second fewest goals per game on the road in the NHL with a 2.33 GA/GP.
  • 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 sixth most in the NHL.
  • New York ranks third in the NHL in hits with 911.
  • The Rangers defensemen group has collected 75 points, tied for the fourth most in the NHL. New York’s 58 assists by defensemen are tied for the fifth most in the league while their 17 goals are tied for the fourth most.

UPCOMING GAMES (ALL TIMES ET)
DATE/TIME OPPONENT/LOCATION TV RADIO
Dec. 20/7:00 PM Pittsburgh/PPG Paints Arena MSG Network ESPN 1050 AM
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

LAST FIVE GAMES
DATE/TIME OPPONENT/LOCATION TV RADIO
Dec. 20/7:00 PM Pittsburgh/PPG Paints Arena MSG Network ESPN 1050 AM
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

LAST FIVE GAMES
DATE OPPONENT RESULT
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
Dec. 7 at Vegas W, 5-1

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 245-250-98-2 (590 PTS)
2022-23 0-1-0
2021-22 2-0-0
NYR HOME 124-118-55-0 (303 PTS)
NYR AWAY 121-132-43-3 (287 PTS)
LAST FIVE MEETINGS 4-1-0
LEADING SCORER(S) – CURRENT RANGERS IN CAREER G: Kreider/Zibanejad (7) – A: Trocheck (11) – Pts: Trocheck (16)
LEADING SCORER(S) – ALL-TIME IN GAMES W/NYR G: Bathgate (55) – A: Bathgate (103) – Pts: Bathgate (158) 2022-23 SEASON SERIES
December 3 at Madison Square Garden L, 5-2
December 18 at United Center 7:30 PM ET

TEAM NOTES
RANGERS ON A ROLL
New York’s season-high win streak sits at six games, tying their third longest streak since the 2015-16 season. In that span, this is the Rangers’ fifth win streak of six or more games. Since December 5, the date the streak started, the Rangers rank tied for first in wins (6), first in PP% (45.5), third in PK% (88.2), and fourth in goals (25).

LONGEST WIN STREAKS SINCE 2015-16
STREAK LENGTH DATES
9 GP Oct. 25-Nov. 15, 2015
7 GP Nov. 21-Dec. 7, 2021
6 GP Dec. 5, 2022-Present
6 GP Oct. 31-Nov. 11, 2017
6 GP Feb. 2-Feb. 13, 2017

SHESTERKIN IN NET
Igor Shesterkin is 15-4-4 on the season, his 15 wins are tied for the second most in the NHL. Shesterkin is 5-0-1 in his last six starts with a .930 save percentage and 2.10 GAA. Shesterkin has allowed one goal or fewer in three of his last four games. On the road, Shesterkin is 8-0-1. There have been 11 goalies 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 Rangers have done this: Dave Kerr in 1939-40 (11 games) and John Ross Roach in 1931-32 (10 games).

TROCHECK-ING THE BOX SCORE
Vincent Trocheck has eight points (2G-6A) in his last six games. He is one of only two NHL players who have registered 20+ points and 80+ hits this season (along with Alex Ovechkin). In 29 of 32 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 17 of the 32 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
Artemi Panarin has points in seven of his last eight games (1G-11A) and multi-point games in four of his last seven contests. Panarin became the fourth player in the NHL this season to reach 30 assists (32 GP). He is already just the fifth Rangers player in the past 30 years to reach the mark in as many games (also 29 GP in 2020-21). The others: Jaromir Jagr (30 GP in 2006-07), Brian Leetch (29 GP in 2000-01), Sergei Zubov (31 GP in 1993-94) and Mark Messier (28 GP in 1992-93).

MOST ASSISTS IN THE NHL
PLAYER ASSISTS
Nikita Kucherov 35
Connor McDavid 34
Leon Draisaitl 33
Artemi Panarin 30

Since December 2, Panarin’s 10 assists are tied for the fourth most in the NHL. Panarin has points in 10 of his last 12 games (2G-13A), 25 points in his last 24 games (3G-22A) and 37 points (7G-30A) in 32 games this season.

MIKA’S MISSION
Mika Zibanejad sits one point away from 400 as a New York Ranger. With his latest point on December 17 at Philadelphia, he passed Anders Hedberg for 18th place on the franchise’s all-time points list, as well as passed Hedberg for the most points by a European born and trained player in franchise history. If Zibanejad records his 400th point with NYR in his 436th game, he would have 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). Zibanejad has a team leading 15 goals this season and 10 on the power play. He has points in eight of his last 10 games (5G-7A), 13 of his last 16 games (6G-11A) and in 20 of his last 24 contests (11G-16A).

WHAT DOES THE FOX SAY?
Adam Fox has seven goals and 24 assists for 31 points this season. He has points in five of his last eight games (1G-5A), seven of his last 11 games (1G-7A), nine of his last 14 games (2G-9A), and 16 of his last 21 games (5G-17A). Fox has recorded at least one point in 22 of 32 games this year. When Fox records multiple points, the Rangers are 6-0-0. 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.

FOX AMONG NHL D-MEN
RANKS THIS SEASON
CATEGORY D-MEN RANK
Goals T-5th (7)
Assists 5th (24)
Points 4th (31)
Game-Winning Goals T-1st (3)
Total TOI 2nd (777:41)
Takeaways 2nd (27)

KREIDING TO MAKE HISTORY
Chris Kreider has 14 goals on the year, including seven in his last 13 games. Kreider has points in 17 of his last 24 games (12G- 8A) and nine points (7G-2A) in his last 13 games.

MOST GOALS IN RANGERS HISTORY
RANK PLAYER GOALS
6th Camille Henry 256
7th Mark Messier 250
8th Steve Vickers 246
9th Chris Kreider 243

Kreider has 36 career game-winning goals, tied him with Adam Graves for the seventh most in franchise history. In addition, Kreider has 87 career go-ahead goals, the sixth most in Rangers history behind only Rod Gilbert (131), Jean Ratelle (96), Camille Henry (90), Vic Hadfield (90) and Adam Graves (89).

BLUESHIRT BULLETS

  • Braden Schneider’s four goals since November 22 are tied for the most among NHL defensemen in that span.
  • Jacob Trouba has 101 hits and 80 blocked shots. He is the only player in the NHL with both 100+ hits and 75+ blocked shots. Trouba ranks eighth in the NHL in hits and second in blocked shots.
  • K’Andre Miller has points in five of his last six games (2G-5A). Since December 5, Miller’s seven points are tied for the second most among NHL defensemen. Miller’s 28 takeaways this year are the second most for a defensemen.
  • Sammy Blais ranks third in the NHL (min. 25 games played) in hits per 60 (20.71).
  • Among players who have skated in 20 games this year, Julien Gauthier ranks second in penalties drawn/60 (2.65).

SPECIAL TEAMS

  • The Rangers have scored on the power play in five of their last seven games and six of their last 10 contests.
  • The Blueshirts have scored multiple power play goals in five games this season.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV: ESPN – Mike Monaco (PxP), Ryan Callahan (analyst) and Emily Kaplan (analyst)
RADIO: WGN-AM 720 – John Wiedeman (PxP) and Troy Murray (analyst)
SPANISH RADIO: Univision Sports Radio 1200 AM – Miguel Esparza (PxP) and Jorge Moreno (analyst) 

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Dec. 21 vs. NSH, 7:30 p.m. CT (NBCSCH, WGN Radio, Univision (Spanish))
Friday, Dec. 23 vs. CBJ, 7:30 p.m. CT (NBCSCH+, WGN Radio, Univision (Spanish))
Tuesday, Dec. 27 at CAR, 6:00 p.m. CT (NBCSCH, WGN Radio)
Thursday, Dec. 29 at STL, 7:00 p.m. CT (NBCSCH, WGN Radio)
Saturday, Dec. 31 at CBJ. 12:00 p.m. CT (NBCSCH, WGN Radio)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 13 – Activated Tyler Johnson off IR and assigned Filip Roos to Rockford … Dec. 12 – Activated Petr Mrazek off injured reserve and assigned Jaxson Stauber to Rockford … Dec. 7 – Assigned Lukas Reichel to Rockford … Dec. 6 – Recalled Lukas Reichel and placed Petr Mrazek on IR … Dec. 1 – Recalled Ian Mitchell from Rockford and placed Jarred Tinordi on IR … Nov. 24 – Assigned Ian Mitchell to Rockford … Nov. 23 – Activated Seth Jones off IR … Nov. 18 – Recalled Ian Mitchell from Rockford … Nov. 17 – Assigned Alec Regula to Rockford … Nov. 11 – Activated Ian Mitchell (left wrist) off IR and assigned him to Rockford (AHL) … Nov. 8 – Assigned Dylan Wells to Rockford (AHL).

LAST TIME OUT
Score: Chicago (1) at Minnesota (4) – Fri., Dec. 16 – Xcel Energy Center
CHI Goals: Toews (10; PP)
MIN Goals: Zuccarello (11), Kaprizov (18), Zuccarello (12; PP), Zuccarello (13; EN)
Goalies: CHI – Mrazek (18/21, 59:41) MIN – Fleury (29/30, 60:00) 
CHI PP: 1/5; PK: 1/2
MIN PP: 1/2; PK: 4/5
Recap: The Blackhawks lost their eighth-straight game, falling to the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Friday … Chicago outshot the Wild 30-21 … Jonathan Toews scored the Blackhawks’ lone goal on the power play, giving him points in three-straight games (2G, 1A) … His six power-play goals share the team lead (Domi) … Patrick Kane and Seth Jones picked up the assists on the goal … Jones has assists in consecutive contests … He also posted a game-high five shots on goal and four blocked shots.

TONIGHT’S OPPONENT – NEW YORK RANGERS
The Blackhawks close out the season series against the Rangers tonight … In the two teams’ first meeting this season, Chicago defeated the Rangers 5-2 … Max Domi (2G, 1A) and Patrick Kane (1G, 2A) each notched three points in the victory, while Seth Jones and Jake McCabe each tacked on two assists each … The Blackhawks are 6-4-1 in their last 11 games against the Rangers … Kane has points in seven of his last eight games against the Rangers (4G, 7A) … Jones has assists in four of his last five against New York (6A) … Andreas Athanasiou has points in six of his last seven games against the Rangers (6G, 3A), including three multi-point efforts … Connor Murphy’s father, Gord Murphy, has been an assistant coach for the Rangers since 2021.

2022-23 Schedule/Results: HOME: Dec. 18 | AWAY: Dec. 3 (5-2)
All-Time Record: 252-242-101 | Home: 134-118-46 | Road: 118-124-55
Last Home Win: Oct. 25, 2018 (4-1) | Last Road Win: Dec. 3, 2022 (5-2) | Last Home Loss: Dec. 7, 2021
(2-6) | Last Road Loss: Dec. 4, 2021 (2-3)

ACTIVE BLACKHAWKS VS. NYR ALL-TIME
GOALS: Jonathan Toews/Patrick Kane, 7; Andreas Athanasiou/Max Domi, 6; Tyler Johnson, 5
ASSISTS: Seth Jones, 15; Patrick Kane, 12; Jonathan Toews, 9
POINTS: Seth Jones/Patrick Kane, 19; Jonathan Toews, 16; Max Domi, 13

TEAM NOTES
TWO FOR THE SHOW: Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane are set to play in their 1,000th career regular-season game together on Sunday … They will become the 11th pair of teammates in NHL history to have skated in at least 1,000 regular-season games together and the second pair of Blackhawks players to have done so, joining defensemen Brent Seabrook and Duncan Keith who skated in 1,069 career games together … In the 999 games Toews and Kane have played together, the Blackhawks own a record of 530-346-123 … The two have also both combined to factor into 298 total goals in their careers, with Toews having scored 116 goals that Kane has assisted on, Kane having scored 101 goals that Toews has assisted on and both earning an assist on 81 goals.

Teammates to play in 1,000 career games together:
GP PLAYER PLAYER TEAMS SEASONS
1353 Gordie Howe Alex Delvecchio Detroit 1950-51 to 1970-71
1276 Henrik Sedin Daniel Sedin Vancouver 2000-01 to 2017-18
1158 Anze Kopitar Dustin Brown Los Angeles 2006-07 to 2021-22
1107 Nicklas Lidstrom Kris Draper Detroit 1993-94 to 2010-11
1069 Brent Seabrook Duncan Keith Chicago 2005-06 to 2019-20
1062 Larry Robinson Bob Gainey Montreal 1973-74 to 1988-89
1044 Tim Horton George Armstrong Toronto 1952-53 to 1969-70
1028 Drew Doughty Anze Kopitar Los Angeles 2008-09 to 2022-23
1020 Nicklas Backstrom Alex Ovechkin Washington 2007-08 to 2021-22
1008 Mark Messier Kevin Lowe Edmonton/NY Rangers 1979-80 to 1995-96
999 Patrick Kane Jonathan Toews Chicago 2007-08 to 2022-23

O CAPTAIN! MY CAPTAIN!: Jonathan Toews scored a power play goal and went 16-for-21 (76.2%) from the faceoff circle on Friday night against the Wild … Toews is currently riding a three-game point streak (2G, 1A), marking the third time this season he’s registered points in at least three-straight games … The captain currently paces the NHL with a 65.4% faceoff win percentage this season … He is tied for first on the Blackhawks with 10 goals and shares 17th in the League and first on the team with six power-play goals in 2022-23 … Toews also ranks third on the team with 17 points (10G, 7A) … Toews skated in his 1,037th career game on Dec. 3, moving him past Bobby Hull and into sole possession of fifth place in franchise history … The 34-year-old recorded an assist on Nov. 23 at Dallas for the 500th of his career … His 502 career assists are good for eighth in franchise history … Toews logged a seven-game point streak (5G, 2A) from Oct. 23 – Nov. 3 … His seven-game point streak is tied for the third-longest of his career while it marks his longest point streak since the 2018-19 season when he also tallied points (4G, 6A) in seven-straight games from Feb. 14 – 27 … Toews scored the overtime goal on Nov. 3 for the 16th of his career, which is tied for sixth in NHL history.

ROCK YOU LIKE A HURRI-KANE: Patrick Kane tallied an assist on Friday night at Minnesota for his second helper in the last three games (2A) … Kane enters Sunday’s tilt having registered six points (1G, 5A) over his last eight games and nine points (2G, 7A) in his last 12 … The forward paces the Blackhawks with 18 assists and 22 points (4G, 18A) this season … Kane posted three points (1G, 2A), including the 1,200th
point of his career, on Dec. 3 … He is the third active player to reach the mark, joining Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin, while he’s just the second Blackhawks player to accomplish the feat (Stan Mikita – 1,467 points) … Kane posted three-straight multi-point efforts from Oct. 23-27 (2G, 5A) … The 34-year-old logged two assists and three points (1G, 2A) against Edmonton on Oct. 27, moving him past Doug Weight (755) into fifth place on the League’s all-time assist list among U.S.-born players.

MR. JONES AND ME: Seth Jones recorded an assist and added team highs with five shots and four blocked shots in Friday’s contest at Minnesota … Jones has now posted helpers in back-to-back games (2A) and has four assists over his last seven games … The defenseman currently shares 14th in the NHL and paces the Blackhawks with 24:26 TOI/G … Jones is now tied for fourth on Chicago and shares first among club blueliners with eight assists this season … He also shares first among Blackhawks defensemen with nine points (1G, 8A) in 2022-23 … Jones enters Sunday’s contest just three games shy of skating in his 100th in a Blackhawks sweater.

TO THE MAX: Max Domi scored a goal against the Capitals on Tuesday night and now has five goals and six points (5G, 1A) in his last eight games … He notched three points (2G, 1A) against the Rangers on Dec. 3 for his second three-point outing of the campaign … Domi comes into Sunday’s matchup having earned six goals and eight points (6G, 2A) over his last 11 games … The Winnipeg, Man. native is tied for first on the team with 10 goals, while he ranks second in assists (10) and points (20) so far this season … He also shares 17th in the NHL and paces the Blackhawks with six power play goals in 2022-23 … The forward scored two power play goals on Nov. 30, marking the second time he’s notched two power play goals in a game … Domi registered a four-game point streak from Oct. 21-27 (3G, 3A) … It marked his first streak of at least four games since the 2020-21 campaign when he also logged points in fourstraight games (2G, 3A) from April 6 – 12.

TAYLOR MADE: Taylor Raddysh was held off the scoresheet on Friday, snapping his three-game point streak (2G, 1A) … It was the second time this season and the third time in his career Raddysh has earned points in at least three-straight games … The forward has now recorded six points (5G, 1A) in his last 10 games … Raddysh now ranks third on Chicago with nine goals and four power play goals this season … The Caledon, Ont. native also ranks fourth on the team with 13 points (9G, 4A) in 28 games … Raddysh skated in his 100th career NHL game and scored a goal on Dec. 9 … He also scored goals in back-to-back games from Nov. 25 – 27 (2G) … It’s the fourth time in Raddysh’s career that he’s scored goals in consecutive games and the first since April 12 – 14, 2022 (2G, 1A).

TYLER, THE CREATOR: Tyler Johnson lit the lamp against Washington on Tuesday night in his return to the lineup … Johnson missed the previous 20 games due to a right ankle injury … The 32-year-old has recorded seven points (3G, 4A) in 2022-23, having notched at least one point in five of his eight games played on the season.

JAKE THE GREAT: Jake McCabe posted one assist, four hits and three takeaways in Tuesday’s contest … He’s now registered three helpers in his last seven games, including two assists on Dec. 3 for his first multi-point game of the season … It marked McCabe’s first multi-point outing since he logged two helpers on March 12, 2022 at Ottawa … The blueliner has posted four assists in his last nine games and has five assists over his last 11 contests … McCabe is tied for first among Blackhawks defensemen with eight helpers and nine points (1G, 8A) this season … He also paces the team with 68 blocked shots and ranks second on the squad with 59 hits.

COMEBACK KIDS: The Blackhawks overcame a two-goal deficit on Nov. 12 en route to a 3-2 win at Anaheim … The win marked Chicago’s fourth multi-goal comeback win this season which is good for first in the League … The club recorded each of the previous three this season over a three-game span from Oct. 15 – 23 for the team’s first three wins of 2022-23 … Chicago became the ninth team in NHL history to post three or more consecutive multi-goal comeback wins, and the first since Detroit did so during the 2018-19 season … Additionally, the Blackhawks are the fourth team in NHL history to overcome a multi-goal deficit in each of their first three wins of a season, joining St. Louis (3 GP in 2006-07), Detroit (3 GP in 1990-91) and the New York Islanders (3 GP in 1985-86).

LONG STORY SHORTHANDED: The Blackhawks have scored four shorthanded goals this season, all of which came in a three-game span from Oct. 15 – 23 … Chicago’s four shorthanded tallies in 2022-23 are tied for third in the NHL … The team’s three-game streak of scoring a shorthanded goal tied the longest in franchise history, which has happened six times previously, most recently from Feb. 5 – 11, 2009 … Chicago is the first club to score a shorthanded goal in three-straight games since the Ottawa Senators accomplished the feat during the 2019-20 campaign … Sam Lafferty scored two shorthanded goals against the Sharks on Oct. 15 … He is just the seventh Blackhawks player since 1933-34 (when goals by type officially began being tracked) to score two shorthanded goals in a single period, joining Rene Bourque (Feb. 28, 2008), Patrick Sharp (Nov. 3, 2007), Steve Sullivan (Jan. 26, 2001), Rick Paterson (Jan. 16, 1985), Chico Maki (Dec. 9, 1970) and Pep Kelly (Dec. 26, 1940).

NHL Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins (18-8-4) at Carolina Hurricanes (18-6-6)

NHL Editor
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0
NHL Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins (18-8-4) at Carolina Hurricanes (18-6-6)

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS NOTES:

LAST 2 GAMES
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

Dec. 12: Pittsburgh 2, Dallas 1 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Joseph (PP), Malkin
Multiple Points: Zucker (2A)
Goalie: Jarry (26 saves/27 shots)
Key Stats: Evgeni Malkin’s go-ahead goal with under a minute left extended Pittsburgh’s NHL-best win streak to six games.
PP: 1-3
PK: 2-2

INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
D Jeff Petry Upper-Body 2 2
F Jason Zucker Lower-Body 1 1
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 40

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. Hurricanes: 76-59-20
In Pittsburgh: 41-29-8
In Carolina: 35-30-12
OT Record vs. Hurricanes: 10-8-11
Shootout Record vs. Hurricanes: 5-2
2022-23 Results: Pittsburgh is 0-0-1.

Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. HURRICANES:
Mario Lemieux: 40 GP, 74 PTS (30G-44A)
Jaromir Jagr: 45 GP, 68 PTS (22G-46A)
Sidney Crosby 52 GP, 59 PTS (19G-40A)

TONIGHT’S GAME
-The Penguins take on the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena for their second of three matchups this season (TV: AT&T SportsNet; Radio 105.9 The X).

-Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby each recorded a goal and an assist as the Penguins dropped the first game of the series to the Hurricanes in overtime.

-The Penguins are 12-5-3 in their last 20 games against the Hurricanes overall dating back to Jan. 17, 2016.

-Here in Raleigh, Pittsburgh has points in four-straight games (2-0-2). Going back further, the Penguins have points in eight of their last nine visits to PNC Arena (5-1-3) dating back to Jan. 12, 2016.

-Pittsburgh is 3-0-1 against Metropolitan Division opponents this year, outscoring their opponents by a combined 16-8 margin.

QUICK HITS
1) Jake Guentzel’s five empty net goals this season are tied with Alex Ovechkin for most in the NHL. The franchise record for empty net goals in a season is seven set by Mario Lemieux in 1988-89, and there have only been three instances in team history where a Penguin had six or more empty netters in a season.

2) Evgeni Malkin is averaging nearly a point per game against the Hurricanes, registering 41 points (14G-27A) in 43 games.

3) The Penguins have points in nine-consecutive road games (8-0-1), which is the longest road point streak in franchise history. The previous record was eight road games from Mar. 14-Apr. 14, 1993.

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 scored his fifth career shorthanded goal on Thursday. In doing so, he surpassed Larry Murphy (4) and Randy Carlyle (4) for most in team history by a defenseman. The only active defensemen with more is Mark Giordano (13).

TEAM NOTES
‘TIS THE SEASON
Pittsburgh enters tonight’s game with a seven-game winning streak, which is the longest active win streak in the NHL. Dating back to November 9, Pittsburgh has points in 16 of its last 18 games overall (14-2-2). Since this 18-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 ninth.

Stat First 12 Games Last 18 Games
Record 4-6-2 14-2-2
Points 11 30
PTS% .417 .833
Standings 27th 1st
GF/GM 3.50 3.50
GA/GM 3.67 2.33

WIN-TER WONDERLAND
The Penguins have won each of their last six road games, which is tied with Vancouver (6) for the longest active road winning streak in the league. This season, there has only been one road winning streak longer than the Penguins current streak (New Jersey, 11).

Pittsburgh’s current road win streak is tied for the fourth-longest road winning streak in franchise history:
Year Streak Dates
2015-16 8 Mar. 11-Apr. 7, 2016
2009-10 7 Oct. 3-Nov. 3, 2009
2010-11 7 Nov. 6-Dec. 11, 2010
2022-23 6 Nov. 17, 2022-Present
Four Instances 6 N/A

RAK’N AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE
Rickard Rakell will be playing his 600th NHL game tonight, which have come split between Pittsburgh and the Anaheim Ducks. Rakell, who was drafted by Anaheim in the first round and 30th overall in the 2011 draft, has recorded 170 goals, 202 assists and 372 points through 599 games played.

Team GP G A PTS
Anaheim 550 154 185 339
Pittsburgh 49 16 17 33

Rakell ranks fourth among Swedish players in even-strength goals, sixth in goals and 13th in points since his NHL debut in 2013.
Player GP EVG
Filip Forsberg 595 163
Gabriel Landeskog 656 159
Mika Zibanejad 708 142
Rickard Rakell 599 134
Elias Lindholm 693 132

PENGUINS COACH’S CHALLENGES
2022-23 Record: 3-for-4, 75.0%
All-Time (Since 2015-16): 29-for-52, 55.8%
Last Challenge: (L) Nov. 12, 2022 – Call upheld; Video review confirmed no goaltender interference infractions occurred prior to Cole Caufield’s goal in Montreal.
Type of Challenge: Play Stoppage: 1-for-1, 100.0% Interference: 12-for-28, 42.9% Offsides: 16-for-23, 70.0%

MERRY MALKIN
Evgeni Malkin comes into tonight riding a seven-game point streak, notching two goals and nine assists in that span. Only Connor McDavid (12), Mats Zuccarello (9), Kyle Connor (8), Alex DeBrincat (8), David Pastrnak (8) and Josh Morrissey (8) have longer active point streaks than him. With a point tonight, Malkin would become the first Penguins this season to string together a point streak of eight or more games. 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 two points shy of tying Sergei Fedorov for the second-most points in NHL history among Russian-born players:
Player GP PTS PTS/GM
Alex Ovechkin 1,307 1,445 1.11
Sergei Fedorov 1,248 1,179 0.94
Evgeni Malkin 1,011 1,177 1.16
Alexander Mogilny 990 1,032 1.04

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:

Player EVP
Mario Lemieux 951
Sidney Crosby 920
Jaromir Jagr 743
Evgeni Malkin 720
Jean Pronovost 428
Rick Kehoe 419
Kris Letang 399
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. Carter has recorded 27 points (13G-14A) in 40 career games against Carolina. When Carter records a point against the Hurricanes, his team is 15-0-3.

2022-23 REGULAR-SEASON SPECIAL TEAMS BREAKDOWN
Power Play Penalty Kill
PPG/PPO PP% Situation Killed/Times SH PK%
22-101 21.8% Overall 78-95 82.1%
19-97 19.6% 5-on-4 78-92 84.8%
1-1 100.0% 5-on-3 0-0 00.0%
2-5 40.0% 4-on-3 0-1 00.0%

NO HOLIDAY HURRICANE
Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby has 59 points (19G-40A) in 52 career games against the Carolina Hurricanes. Crosby’s 59 points versus the Hurricanes are third-most among active players, and his 1.13 points-per-game average against them is fifth best (min. 15 GP).

Player GP G A PTS PTS/GM
Alex Ovechkin 86 47 52 99 1.15
Nicklas Backstrom 64 15 47 62 0.97
Sidney Crosby 52 19 40 59 1.13
John Tavares 43 28 24 52 1.21
Claude Giroux 48 13 33 46 0.96

Crosby has goals/points in four-consecutive games against Carolina (4G-3A) and has 12 points (5G-7A) in his last 11 games versus them. Only Alex Ovechkin (9), Adam Henrique (6) and Steven Stamkos (6) have more game-winning goals against the Hurricanes than Crosby (5).

THE CHRISTMAS TREE-0
The Penguins have found success with the top line trio of Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, going 15-1-2 in the games that they’ve played together this season (Oct. 13-20, Nov. 17-Present). Below is a look at their production in their 18 games together:

Player GP G A PTS
Sidney Crosby 18 12 18 30
Jake Guentzel 18 10 13 23
Rickard Rakell 18 7 5 12

CAROLINA HURRICANES NOTES:

LAST GAME
The Hurricanes posted a 5-4 overtime win against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Saturday, extending their point streak to 10 games. Seth Jarvis, Martin Necas, Stefan Noesen, Andrei Svechnikov and Teuvo Teravainen all scored for Carolina, with Noesen and Teravainen converting on the power play. Jalen Chatfield also tallied an assist as Necas registered a career-high eight shots on goal. Don Waddell earned his 500th career win as an NHL general manager, and Antti Raanta made his first appearance in six games, making 26 saves to register the win.

INJURY REPORT
Sebastian Aho, lower-body, missed four games (12/10-12/17)
Frederik Andersen, lower-body, missed 18 games (11/9-12/17)
Jake Gardiner, upper-body, missed 30 games (10/12-12/17)
Ondrej Kase, concussion, missed 29 games (10/14-12/17)
Max Pacioretty, torn Achilles, missed 30 games (10/12-12/17)
2022-23 Man-Games Lost Due to Injury: 123

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

STREAKS
Calvin de Haan has tallied an assist in back-to-back games (12/15-12/17: 2a)
Stefan Noesen has scored a goal in back-to-back games (12/15-12/17: 2g)
Andrei Svechnikov has registered a goal/point in back-to-back games (12/15-12/17)

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT TIME TV RADIO
Dec. 18 Pittsburgh 5 p.m. BSSO HRN
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

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

UPCOMING PRACTICE SCHEDULE
DATE DAY LOCATION TIME
Dec. 18 Sunday No morning skate
Dec. 19 Monday PNC Arena 12 p.m.
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.

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

Carolina Hurricanes: Media Notes
HURRICANES vs. PENGUINS SERIES NOTES
— Carolina is facing Pittsburgh in the second of four meetings between the teams during the 2022-23 season. The Penguins return to PNC Arena on 1/14, and the Hurricanes travel to PPG Paints Arena on 12/22.

— Carolina and Pittsburgh have met 155 times in their regular-season histories. Carolina holds a 68-69-11-7 overall record, including a 37-32-5-3 home record and a 41-39-4-7 record since relocation.

— The Hurricanes lead the season series 1-0-0 in 2021-22 (Penguins: 0-0-1), and they are 6-2-0 in the teams’ last seven matchups (Pittsburgh: 2-3-3).

— Carolina earned a 3-2 overtime win at PPG Paints Arena on 2/20/22. Sebastian Aho (2a), Brett Pesce (1g, 1a) and Andrei Svechnikov (1g, 1a) each posted multi-point games, with Pesce also scoring the overtime winner, while Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 30 of 32 shots faced in net.

— Brent Burns has tallied 18 points (8g, 10a) in 23 career regular-season games against Pittsburgh.

— Jordan Staal played 431 games with Pittsburgh from 2006-12, registering 248 points (120g, 128a) and winning the Stanley Cup in 2009. Selected second overall by the Penguins in the 2006 NHL Draft, Staal was acquired by the Hurricanes in exchange for Brandon Sutter, Brian Dumoulin, and a first-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (Derrick Pouliot) on 6/22/12. He has posted 12 points (4g, 8a) in 28 career regular-season games against Pittsburgh.

— Dumoulin was selected by the Hurricanes in the second round, 51st overall, of the 2009 NHL Draft but was traded before playing a game with the organization.

— Stefan Noesen skated in six games with the Penguins in 2019-20, scoring one goal.

— Paul Stastny has recorded 16 points (5g, 11a) in 20 career regular-season games against Pittsburgh.

— Hurricanes Assistant Coach Jeff Daniels was selected by Pittsburgh in the sixth round, 109th overall, of the 1986 NHL Draft. He played 134 games with the Penguins from 1990-94, posting 19 points (8g, 11a).

— Kasperi Kapanen’s father, Sami, was selected by Carolina in the fourth round, 87th overall, of the 1995 NHL Draft and recorded 348 points (145g, 203a) in 520 games with the Hurricanes from 1995-03, representing the team at the All-Star Game in 2000 and 2002.

— Brock McGinn was selected by Carolina in the second round, 47th overall, of the 2012 NHL Draft and earned 106 points (51g, 55a) in 345 games with the Hurricanes from 2015-21. He also tallied 12 points (6g, 6a) in 34 playoff appearances and scored the double-overtime, series-clinching goal at WSH in Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference First Round.

— Penguins President of Hockey Ops Brian Burke served as the Whalers’ General Manager in 1992-93 but resigned from the role to become the NHL’s Senior VP and Director of Hockey Operations.

— Penguins Assistant Coach Mike Vellucci served as the Hurricanes’ Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations from 2014-19 and also coached the Charlotte Checkers from 2017-19, leading them to a Calder Cup championship in 2019.

CASE-IN-POINTS
With a win over the Stars on Saturday, the Hurricanes have registered a point in 10 consecutive games (11/25-12/17: 8-0-2), tied for the fifth-longest point streak in franchise history. Carolina’s last point streak of double-digit games came in 2020-21, when the Hurricanes tied the franchise record with a 13-game point streak from 4/15/21-5/6/21 (9-0-4).

Point streaks of 10+ games, 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
10/26/02-11/19/02: 5-0-4-2 in 11 GP
11/25/22-12/17/22: 8-0-2 in 10 GP
3/14/09-4/7/09: 9-0-1 in 10 GP
12/29/05-1/19/06: 9-0-1 in 10 GP
1/20/82-2/10/82: 6-0-4 in 10 GP

IN GOOD HANDS
Saturday’s win marked Hurricanes President and General Manager Don Waddell’s 500th career win as an NHL general manager, as he became the 34th GM in NHL history to reach the milestone. He led the Thrashers to 308 wins from 1998-10, and the Hurricanes have now posted a 192-92-34 record in his five seasons as Carolina’s general manager (2018-present), with the third-highest points percentage (.657) of any team over that span. Waddell has become the fourth Whalers/Hurricanes GM to reach the 500-win mark in his career, joining Emile Francis (1983-89), Brian Burke (1992-93) and Jim Rutherford (1994-14). His 192 wins are the third-most by any GM in franchise history behind only Rutherford (655-623-111-101) and Emile Francis (213-225-42), who are both in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

A NOESEN IN THE SUN
After scoring Carolina’s first penalty shot goal in five seasons on Thursday, Stefan Noesen opened the scoring vs. DAL (12/17), giving him goals in back-to-back games for the first time since 2019-20 with SJS (3/3/20-3/5/20: 2g, 1a). The tally came on the power play, where he has now scored four goals this season, tied with Andrei Svechnikov for the team lead. Noesen ranks fourth on the team with seven points in Carolina’s last 10 games (11/25-12/17: 3g, 4a), including points in three of his last four contests (12/10-12/17: 2g, 1a).

FEEL THE BURN
Brent Burns registered two power-play assists vs. DAL (12/17) and now 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.

THE GREAT 88
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 marking the most of any Hurricanes skater since 2019-20. 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 also the 12th Hurricanes skater to score a game-winning goal in 2022-23, tied with BOS and NJD for the second-most of any team (TOR: 14). Carolina is now 5-6 in games going past regulation and 3-6 in games decided in overtime in this season, and their nine overtime decisions are a league high.

MAKING SVECH HAPPEN
Andrei Svechnikov tallied two points (1g, 1a) vs. DAL (12/17) for his seventh multi-point game of the campaign, and he has now earned four points in his last four games (12/10-12/17: 2g, 2a). His goal marked his team-leading 17th goal in 2022-23 and gave him goals in back-to-back games for the second time this season (10/17-10/20: 5g, 1a). Svechnikov has now scored a team-high 14 of his 17 goals at even strength and ranks tied with Cole Caufield (MTL) and Connor McDavid (EDM) for fourth in the NHL in that category in 2022-23.

TURBO BOOST
Teuvo Teravainen earned two points (1g, 1a) vs. DAL (12/17), including his first goal of the season, for his third multi-point game in 2022-23. He also registered two assists vs. BUF (11/4) and EDM (11/10). Both of Teravainen’s points came on the power play, doubling his point total on the man-advantage through his first 19 games of the campaign (0-1—1).

TAKING ADVANTAGE
Stefan Noesen and Teuvo Teravainen each scored on the power play vs. DAL (12/17), marking the fifth time this season that the Hurricanes converted twice on the man-advantage in a single game (now 3-1-1 in those contests). Carolina has scored nine power-play goals in its last 10 games (11/25-12/17: 9-for-27, 33.3%) after being held without a goal on the man-advantage in six straight contests from 11/12-11/23 (0-for-20).

VITAMIN D
Jalen Chatfield recorded an assist vs. DAL (12/17), marking his first point in 2022-23. Entering tonight’s game, he was one of two NHL skaters without a point this season through at least 29 games played (also Justin Braun, PHI). Chatfield tallied three assists in 16 games with the Hurricanes in 2021-22. Calvin de Haan also tallied an assist for the second straight game, while Brady Skjei added an assist of his own, finding the scoresheet for the fifth time in six games (12/3-12/17: 3g, 2a). With Brent Burns also registering two assists, four different Hurricanes defensemen earned a point in the same game for just the second time this season (11/10 vs. EDM). Carolina’s blue line has combined for 24 points in the team’s last 10 games (11/25-12/17: 6g, 18a; 2.4 points/game) after posting 30 points in the opening 20 contests (10/12-11/23: 7g, 23a; 1.5 points/game).

WORTH A SHOT
Carolina outshot DAL 38-30 on Saturday, and the Hurricanes have now outshot their opponents in 24 of 30 contests this season (now 16-5-3 in those games). Carolina has posted 35+ shots in 17 games in 2022-23, including five of its last eight, and the team’s 17 such games are the third-most of any NHL team this season (FLA, NJD: 19). The Hurricanes are registering the fourth-most shots on goal per game of any team (35.0) while allowing the fewest (26.0), and they were led individually on Saturday by Martin Necas, who posted a career-high eight shots, the most in a single game by any Hurricanes skater this season.

FROM RUSSIA WITH GLOVE
Pyotr Kochetkov allowed his first goal in three games at 11:26 of the second period vs. SEA (12/15), ending his shutout streak at 151:26 dating back to 12/10 at NYI. His streak marked the sixth-longest shutout sequence in franchise history and passed Jason Muzzatti (3/22/96-4/6/96: 130:12) for the longest shutout sequence by any Whalers/Hurricanes rookie netminder. Kochetkov is 6-0-1 in his last seven appearances (11/29-12/15), with two or fewer goals allowed in all six of those wins. Since he was recalled from Chicago on 11/8, Kochetkov leads the NHL in shutouts (3) and ranks fourth in goals-against average (2.01), tied for fifth in wins (8) and tied for eighth in save percentage (.923) among goaltenders with at least five appearances over that span. He also ranks first in shutouts, second in goals-against average and save percentage and third in wins among all rookie netminders this season (min. 2 GP).

Longest shutout sequences, franchise history:
Trevor Kidd, 3/31/98-4/8/98: 219:21
Kevin Weekes, 10/22/03-10/30/03: 183:16
Arturs Irbe, 12/4/98-12/18/98: 156:47
Kevin Weekes, 3/2/03-3/10/03: 155:47
Mike Liut, 12/20/86-12/26/86: 151:34
Pyotr Kochetkov, 12/10/22-12/15/22: 151:26

GOING BACK-TO-BACK
The Hurricanes are closing their fifth of 14 sets of back-to-back games in 2022-23. Following an overtime win vs. DAL (12/17), Carolina is now 2-2-1 in the first game and 4-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs this season.

Mets sign RHP Kodai Senga

MLB Editor
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Mets sign RHP Kodai Senga

FLUSHING, N.Y., – The New York Mets today announced that they have signed RHP Kodai Senga to a five-year contract. The deal, which includes a player opt-out clause after the 2025 season, runs through 2027.

Senga, 29, spent the last 11 seasons in Japan’s Nippon Professional Baseball with the Fukuoka Softbank Hawks. He went 87-44 with a 2.59 ERA (313 ER/1,089.0 IP) and 1,252 strikeouts (10.3 K per 9) while winning six Japan Series titles since his debut in 2012, including four straight championships from 2017-2020.

“Kodai has a championship pedigree and has excelled on the brightest of stages,” Mets Owner, Chairman and CEO Steve Cohen said. “We are very excited to welcome Kodai to our Mets family in Queens.”

The 6-1, 202-pounder went 11-6 with a 1.94 ERA (31 ER/144.0 IP), 156 strikeouts, 1.06 WHIP and a 0.4 HR/9 rate in 22 starts in 2022 with the Hawks.

Senga is a three-time NPB All-Star (2013, 2017 and 2019), a two-time Pacific League Best Nine Award winner (2019, 2020), a two-time Mitsui Golden Glove Award winner (2019, 2020), has led the Pacific League in strikeouts twice (227 in 2019 and 149 in 2020) and led the Pacific League in wins with 11 in 2020.

Kodai has been on our radar for a number of years,” Mets General Manager Billy Eppler said. “I can’t thank Steve and Alex enough for their commitment to our fans and winning. Kodai has had exceptional success in his career, including helping lead his team to four consecutive Japan Series titles. We’re thrilled to add someone with his ability to our rotation.”

Senga struck out 16 and allowed one earned run over 11.0 innings in three games earning 2017 WBC All-Tournament Team honors. He hurled 3.0 scoreless innings in two appearances to help Japan earn a gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.

The Gamagori, Aichi, Japan native tossed a no-hitter with 12 strikeouts on September 6, 2019 vs. the Chiba Lotte Marines.

Senga will become the 14th Japanese-born player to appear in at least one game for the Mets, the most by any major league team.

MBB: Auburn Tigers (9-1) at USC Trojans (8-3)

NCAABB Editor
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MBB: Auburn Tigers (9-1) at USC Trojans (8-3)

The USC Trojans (8-3) are hosting the No. 19/No. 18 Auburn Tigers (9-1) at the Galen Center on Dec. 18 at 2:30 p.m. The game will air on ESPN with Roxy Bernstein and Bill Walton calling the action. Both USC and Auburn rank in the top 10 for wins the last 4 seasons among Power 6 schools.

USC’S STELLAR STRETCH — USC won a school-record 73 games over the last three seasons (22 in 2020, 25 in 2021 and 26 in 2022). The previous school record for wins in three consecutive seasons was 71 (2016-18). The three consecutive seasons of 20+ wins also equals the school record for most consecutive 20-win seasons set from 2016-18.

WINNING WAYS — USC’s 73 total wins the previous three seasons tied for the third most among all Power 6 basketball programs, trailing only the last two NCAA champions Kansas (83) and Baylor (81). Also, USC’s 160 wins the previous seven seasons ranked 13th among all Power 6 conference teams.

ENFIELD LEADING THE WAY — USC head coach Andy Enfield is in his 10th season at USC and has compiled an 191-121 record. His wins total ranks fourth on USC’s all-time wins list, trailing only Sam Barry (260), Forrest Twogood (251) and Bob Boyd (216). Including his two seasons as the head coach at FGCU (2012-13), Enfield has compiled a 232-149 record.

FACING No. 19/No. 18 AUBURN — The No. 19/No. 18 Auburn Tigers (9-1) are coming off a 72-64 home win over Georgia State on Dec. 14. Auburn won its first 8 games of the season before falling 82-73 vs. Memphis in Atlanta, Ga. on Dec. 10. Junior guard Wendell Green Jr. leads Auburn with a 13.8 scoring average. Auburn has allowed only one team to score over 70 points this season. USC is 2-0 all-time against Auburn, winning 73-66 on Dec. 15, 1972 and 85-74 on Dec. 29, 1977.

COLORADO STATE ON DECK — USC’s next game will be against the Colorado State Rams (7-4) at the Jerry Colangelo Class in Phoenix, Ariz. on Dec. 21 at 8 p.m. PT. Colorado State will play at Saint Mary’s on Dec. 18 before facing USC. Guard Isaiah Stevens leads four Rams in double figures with an 18.8 points per game average. He returned to action from an injury on Nov. 30 and has played the last four games. USC is 6-1 all-time against Colorado State, winning the last meeting 74-67 on Dec. 8, 1990.

MONTH OF MERRIMENT — USC is 3-0 this month and has gone 17-2 during the month of December the last four seasons. USC won all 6 games last December.

IT STARTS WITH DEFENSE — USC held California to 27.7 shooting on Nov. 30, the lowest by an opponent since holding Stanford to a 25.4 shooting percentage on March 3, 2021. USC has held 7 of its 11 opponents this season to 37.5 percent shooting or less. USC is holding its opponents to a 37.4 shooting percentage this season, 14th in the country. Over the last four seasons, USC’s defense has held the opposition to 38.7 FG percentage, 3rd in the country.

MORGAN HOSTING USC’S BLOCK PARTY — USC has 70 blocks in the first 11 games of the 2022-23 season, led by Joshua Morgan’s 37 blocks. USC is averaging 6.4 blocks per game, tied for 3rd in the country. Morgan’s 37 blocks this season rank second in the country. Morgan had 7 blocks vs. FGCU on Nov. 7 which tied him for fifth on USC’s all-time single game blocks list. He matched that total with 7 blocks at Cal on Nov. 30. His 37 blocks this season are more than the Trojans’ leader in that category during the 2021-22 season (Isaiah Mobley – 29). USC as a team has registered 541 blocks over the last four seasons which ranks 6th nationally.

IN THE SPIRIT OF THE HOLIDAYS, PETERSON IS GIVING TO ALL — Guard Drew Peterson leads USC and is second among Pac-12 players with 67 assists, which ranks 9th nationally. Peterson is one of two players nationally (Jalen Pickett of Penn State) averaging at least 13.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game this season. Peterson is averaging 13.9 points, 7.9 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game.

YOU CAN CALL ME JOHNSON — Sophomore guard Kobe Johnson keyed USC’s comeback from an 11-point halftime deficit to win 63-62 over Oregon State on Dec. 4. Johnson scored a career-high 17 points (1st time in double figures), made a career-best 3 three-pointers and matched a personal best with 5 steals. He followed up that game with 14 points vs. CS Fullerton on Dec. 7 and 14 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists vs. Long Beach State on Dec. 14. In the last 3 games he has averaged 15.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.3 assists and 3.3 steals.

FEAST OR FAMINE — USC made 11 three-point baskets for the third time this season in the win vs. Long Beach State on Dec. 14. In those three games, USC made 46.5 percent of its three-pointers (33-for-71), while making 24.6 percent of its three-pointers in the other eight games (33-for-134).

YOUNG GUNS — Sophomore guards Kobe Johnson and Reese Dixon-Waters and freshman guard Tre White have really been hitting their strides of late, each setting their career high in points at least once in the last three games. In the three games, Johnson has averaged 15.0 points, Dixon-Waters 12.3 points and White 13.0 points.

NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators (14-14-2) at Minnesota Wild (12-11-2)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Ottawa Senators (14-14-2) at Minnesota Wild (12-11-2)

OTTAWA SENATORS NOTES:

LAST GAME: Dec. 17, 6-3 win at Detroit: The Senators got three power-play goals to equal a season-high and extended their winning streak to four consecutive games with a 6-3 victory at Little Caesars Arena. The six goals saw Ottawa equal a franchise high in their all-time series against the Red Wings. Batherson opened the scoring to extend his point-streak to seven games while an assist from DeBrincat on the tally saw his streak move to eight consecutive contests. Chabot overtook the lead in power-play goals among NHL defencemen (five) before Batherson added his second of the contest at 1:40 of the middle stanza. With additional assists on both goals, DeBrincat became the first skater in Senators’ history to both record helpers on six consecutive goals and factor in on eight consecutive tallies. Giroux, Motte and Watson also found the back of the net for the visitors with the latter two markers coming while down a man in the third period to see the team’s first multi-goal goal game while shorthanded since 2/18/20. Tkachuk also added three assists for Ottawa while Veleno (skating in his 100th career game), Erne and Hronek scored for the Red Wings. Talbot earned the win for Ottawa in making 29 saves while Husso took the loss for Detroit by way of turning aside 22 shots. Scratches: Heatherington, Lucchini;
Injuries: Bernard-Docker, Joseph, Norris, Stützle, Zub; Shots: OTT – 28, DET – 32; PP: OTT – 3-5, DET – 1-7.

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

WHAT’S NEXT: Ottawa concludes a three-game road trip against Winnipeg on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. The contest will mark the first of two regular-season meetings and the lone matchup at Canada Life Centre.

INJURY REPORT: D Bernard-Docker, RW Joseph, C Norris, C Stützle and D Zub are on IR and will not oppose the Wild this afternoon. Total man-games lost: 80.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS: Recalled D Heatherington and F Lucchini from Belleville (AHL) on Dec. 14.
OTTAWA vs. MINNESOTA – History:
2022-23 (0-1-0): Oct. 27 @ Ottawa (4-2 loss), Dec. 18 @ Minnesota
2021-22 (1-0-1): 11/2/21 @ Minnesota (5-4 OT loss), 2/22/22 @ Ottawa (4-3 win)
Series record: Overall: 13-11-1-9; Home: 7-6-0-1; Away: 6-5-1-2
Last Ottawa win: @ Ottawa: 2/22/22 (4-3); @ Minnesota: 3/31/16 (3-2)
Last Minnesota win: @ Ottawa: Oct. 27 (4-2); @ Minnesota: 11/2/21 (5-4 OT)
Last OT result: 11/2/21 (5-4 OT loss) @ Minnesota
Last shootout: 10/11/11 (4-3 SO win) @ Ottawa
Most goals, game: Scored: 6, (1/16/06, 6-1 win); Allowed: 7, (11/29/19, 7-2 loss); Both teams: 10, (2x, Last: 11/21/18, 6-4 loss)
Last Game: Oct. 27, 4-2 loss @ Ottawa; OTT Goals: DeBrincat, Chabot; MIN Goals: Zuccarello, Kaprizov, Hartman, Gaudreau; OTT Scratches: Gambrell, Holden; OTT Injuries: Norris, Talbot; OTT Goalie: Forsberg; MIN Goalie: Fleury; OTT PP: 1-4; MIN PP: 1-5; Shots: 29-40.

Career vs. Minnesota: Brassard leads all players in career games played (39), in assists (14) and in points (19); DeBrincat leads in goals (six); Watson leads in penalty minutes (19) against Minnesota.

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

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

ROAD SCHOLARS: The Senators have a record of 6-6-2 on the road this season … Tkachuk leads with six goals on the road this season while also ranking first with 11 assists while the Senators serve as visitors … Through 14 road games this season, Tkachuk maintains the club lead with 17 points … The Senators registered an 18-20-3 record over 41 road contests in 2021-22.

FRANCHISE RECORD: Ottawa has posted an all-time record of 1,018-996-115-178 over 2,307 games … The Senators are 556-443-60-97 through 1,156 all-time home games and 462-553-55-81 through 1,151 all-time road games.

BACK-TO-BACK GAMES: Ottawa will play back-to-back games on 12 occasions in 2022-23 and will conclude their second set of the season this afternoon when they visit Minnesota … The Senators played 17 back-to-back sets last season and earned a record of 6-9-2 in the first half of contests on consecutive nights (2-0-0 this season) while posting an 8-8-1 record (1-0-0 this season) in the second half of games on consecutive days.

ON THE POWER PLAY: The Senators are 34 for 118 (28.8%) on the power-play in 2022-23 … Drake Batherson leads with seven power-play goals while DeBrincat maintains the club lead with 18 points while the team enjoys a man advantage … Ottawa has recorded multiple power-play goals 10 times in an individual contest in 2022-23 after having done so 11 times in 2021-22.

ON THE PENALTY KILL: Ottawa has overcome 90 of the 113 occasions the team has been shorthanded in 2022-23 to maintain an efficiency of 79.7% through 30 regular-season games … The team has registered two (Joseph, Motte) shorthanded markers this season after recording nine such goals in 2021-22.

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

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

THE CAT IS ON TOP: Assists on each of Ottawa’s first three goals on Saturday afternoon at Detroit put Alex DeBrincat into uncharted territory in the Senators record books. After assisting on each of the team’s goals in their 3-2 win vs. Montreal on Wednesday, the Farmington Hills, Mich. native became the first skater in franchise history to earn an assist on six consecutive goals eclipsing the record of five which had previously been recorded on three separate occasions (Erik Karlsson, Filip Kuba and Daniel Alfredsson). Additionally, after the first-year Senator registered the last two of Ottawa’s goals in a 3-0 win vs. Anaheim on Monday, he became the first skater with the club to factor in on eight consecutive goals besting the record of seven which was last set by teammate Tim Stützle in 2021-22. The assists extended his point-streak to eight consecutive games, tied for the fourth-longest active streak and saw him record his seventh multi-point game of the season. With three points this afternoon at Minnesota, he would become the second player to provide three-plus points in three consecutive games joining former team captain Erik Karlsson who did so in 2011-12.

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

MINNESOTA WILD NOTES:

SERIES NOTES
UPCOMING WILD GAMES
GAME BROADCASTS
OTTAWA SENATORS
All-Time Wild Record: 14-10-4 (7-5-2 at Xcel Energy
Center, 7-5-2 at Ottawa)
2022-23: Minnesota won, 4-2, in the series opener at Ottawa (10/27)…C Freddy Gaudreau (1-1=2), C Ryan Hartman (1-1=2) and LW Kirill Kaprizov (1-1=2) led the Wild with two points each…RW Mats Zuccarello (1-0=1) also notched a goal…D Calen Addison (0-1=1), C Joel Eriksson Ek (0-1=1) and D Jared Spurgeon (0-1=1) all recorded assists…G Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27-of-29 shots faced…RW Alex DeBrincat (1-1=2) and D Thomas Chabot (1-0=1) scored for Ottawa… RW Drake Batherson (0-1=1), RW Claude Giroux (0-1=1) and D Travis Hamonic (0-1=1) posted assists…G Anton Forsberg stopped 36-of-39 shots faced for the Senators.

WILD LEADERS: Zuccarello leads Minnesota with 15 points (6-9=15) in 17 matches vs. Ottawa…D Alex Goligoski has 13 points (2-11=13) in 23 contests…D Matt Dumba owns 10 points (6-4=10) in 14 games… Spurgeon has 10 points (4-6=10) in 16 contests.

WILD GOALIES: Fleury is 20-10-2 with a 3.14 GAA, a .900 SV% and one shutout in 37 career games (35 starts) against Ottawa…G Filip Gustavsson has not faced the Senators.

SENATORS LEADERS: RW Claude Giroux leads Ottawa with 11 points (4-7=11) in 17 games against the Wild…Chabot owns four points (3- 1=4) in seven games…D Travis Harmonic has four points (2-2=4) in 19 contests.

SENATORS GOALIES: Forsberg is 1-3-0 with a 2.53 GAA and a .929 SV% in four career starts against Minnesota…Talbot is 7-7-1 with a 2.28 GAA and a .929 SV% in 15 starts.

FAST FACTS: Minnesota has earned points in 14 of its last 18 contests against Ottawa (12-4-2) dating back to Oct. 11, 2011…The Wild is on a six-game point streak at Canadian Tire Centre (5-0-1) and is 6-1-2 in its last eight games in Ottawa…The Wild has won six of its last eight meetings at Xcel Energy Center (6-2-0).

INJURIES
Brandon Duhaime: upper body
Ryan Hartman: upper body

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Dec. 7, 2022 – Dec. 17, 2022
12/17/22 Reassigned F Sammy Walker to Iowa
12/13/22 Reassigned F Nic Petan to Iowa
12/11/22 Reassigned D Andrej Sustr to Iowa
12/9/22 Recalled F Sammy Walker from Iowa and reassigned
F Joseph Cramarossa to Iowa

ON THE POWER PLAY DYNAMIC DUOS
• Through 30 games the Wild has converted 25.5 percent (25 of 98) of power-play opportunities, eighth-best in the NHL.

• The Wild have converted 34.0 percent (18 of 53) of power-play opportunities at home this season, second-best in the NHL.

• Minnesota has an active five-game power-play goal (PPG) streak dating back to Dec. 9 at EDM.

• The Wild have registered a PPG in 11 of its last 12 games. Since Nov. 23, Minnesota ranks third in the NHL with a 33.3 power-play percentage (13 of 25).

• Minnesota recorded a power-play goal in a season-high six consecutive games from Nov. 23 – Dec. 4, going eight-for-19 (42.1 pct.) during that span. The streak tied for the fifth-longest in franchise history.

• Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello have factored on the same goal 26 times this season. Per NHL Stats, the only other teammate duos to do so 25 or more times are Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (32x) as well as Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov (25x).

• In four games since Dec. 10, goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury (two starts) and Filip Gustavsson (two starts) have combined for four wins, three total goals allowed (0.75 goals allowed per game) and a .971 save percentage. Since Dec. 10, Minnesota ranks first in the NHL in save percentage and second in goals allowed per game.

PENALTY KILLERS
• Since Nov. 8, Minnesota is fifth in the NHL with a 82.6 penalty-kill percentage (57 for 69).

• Minnesota is fifth in the NHL with a 83.3 penalty-kill percentage (40 of 48) on the road this season

TOTAL TEAM EFFORT
IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
• The Wild hold an active six-game home win streak, the NHL’s longest active streak and second-longest in the NHL this season.

• Since Oct. 25, the Wild is tied for fourth in the NHL with 16 wins and tied for fifth with 33 points.

• Since Oct. 25, Minnesota is giving up 2.36 goals per game (fourth in NHL), allowing 28.3 shots per game (fifth in the NHL) and recording a .917 save percentage (tied for fifth in the NHL).

IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT
• Minnesota is 7-2-0 in the month of December, tied for first in the NHL in wins and points (14).

DYNAMIC DUOS
• Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarello have factored on the same goal 26 times this season. Per NHL Stats, the only other teammate duos to do so 25 or more times are Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (32x) as well as Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov (25x).

• In four games since Dec. 10, goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury (two starts) and Filip Gustavsson (two starts) have combined for four wins, three total goals allowed (0.75 goals allowed per game) and a .971 save percentage. Since Dec. 10, Minnesota ranks first in the NHL in save percentage and second in goals allowed per game.

WE’RE HEADED TO OVERTIME
• This season, Minnesota has five victories in games decided past regulation, tied for fifth-most in the NHL. The Wild have two overtime wins and three shootout victories.

• Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Minnesota leads the NHL with 21 victories in extra-session games.

• During the 2021-22 season, the Wild ranked second in the NHL with a franchise record 11 overtime wins and ranked tied for second with five shootout wins, good for 16 total extra-session victories.

• Minnesota went 16-7 in 23 extra session games during the 2021-22 season – its most extra session contests since 23 in 2013-14. The 16 extra session wins are the second-most in team history (17 in 2006-07).

NO FREE HANDOUTS
• Minnesota is averaging 6.00 giveaways per game (180 in 30 games) this season, the lowest rate in the NHL

SHORT (HANDED) KINGS
• Minnesota is first in the NHL with six shorthanded goals this season.

• The total is the team’s highest in franchise history through a season’s first 30 games.

NHL Morning Skate – Dec. 18, 2022

NHL Editor
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NHL Morning Skate – Dec. 18, 2022

* The League-leading Bruins became the first team to reach the 50-point mark in 2022-23 as Boston extended its home point streak to 18 games in a contest that almost featured a goalie goal.

* Rookie netminder Lukas Dostal had a standout performance Saturday as he recorded the second-most saves by a Ducks rookie goaltender in a single game.

* Jason Robertson and Mikko Rantanen became the NHL’s 11th and 12th players with 100-plus points in 2022. Only three calendar years in NHL history have featured more: 1992 (20), 1983 (15) and 1994 (14).

BRUINS FIRST TO 50 POINTS AS PASTA REACHES 20 GOALS
The Bruins (24-4-2, 50 points) extended their home point streak to 18 games (16-0-2, 34 points) to maintain their position atop the overall NHL standings while becoming the first team to reach the 50-point mark in 2022-23.

* The Bruins’ victory marked the 12th time in NHL history a team has had a home point streak of 18 games or more from the start of a season. Boston has done it once previously (21 GP in 1973-74), while Philadelphia’s 26-game run to start the 1979-80 season is the longest in NHL history.



* David Pastrnak (1-1—2) scored to record a 20-goal season for the seventh time in his career, tying four players for the 10th most in Bruins history. In doing so, Pastrnak also tied Peter McNab and Bobby Orr (both w/ 7) for the sixth-longest streak of 20-goal campaigns in Bruins history.
 

* ICYMI: Saturday at TD Garden featured a pair of must-see moments starting with Boston celebrating Patrice Bergeron’s recent 1,000-point milestone in a pre-game ceremony that included a special congratulations video featuring a bevy of Bruins legends. Additionally, as the third period was drawing to a close, Jeremy Swayman came within a hair of becoming the first Bruins goaltender and 13th different netminder overall to score a regular-season goal.  



22-YEAR-OLD DOSTAL DAZZLES FOR DUCKS IN NEXT GEN GAME
While Connor McDavid (1-1— 2) extended his point streak to 12 contests during Edmonton’s“Next Gen” game, it was 22-year-old goaltender Lukas Dostal (46 saves) who stole the show for the Ducks – falling three saves shy of the most by a rookie netminder in a single contest in franchise history.


 
* Dostal also turned aside 22 of 23 shots in the third period to help Anaheim preserve a one-goal lead. Only one other rookie goaltender in franchise history has posted more in a single frame: Frederik Andersen (24 in P3, March 2, 2014).  

* Conversely, 31-year-old defenseman Cam Fowler (1-0—1) and 30-year-old blueliner John Klingberg (1-0—1) provided the offense for Anaheim, with the latter notching the game winner for the second time in as many games (also Dec. 15 at MTL). Klingberg joined Sheldon Souray (2 GP from Feb. 4-6, 2013) as just the second defenseman in Ducks history to accomplish the feat in consecutive contests.

CAROLINA, WINNIPEG’S MORRISSEY EXTEND STREAKS IN RESPECTIVE WINS
Streaks were extended in Carolina and Vancouver on Saturday as the Hurricanes defeated the Stars and the Jets bested the Canucks on the road:

* After Dallas rallied from two multi-goal deficits, Martin Necas scored in overtime to help the Hurricanes (18-6-6, 42 points) overcome the Stars’ comeback attempt and extend their point streak to 10 games (8-0-2). Carolina, which gained ground on New Jersey (21-8-2, 44 points) in the Metropolitan Division, has registered a double-digit run for the fourth time in the past 15 years (also 13 GP in 2020-21: 9-0-4, 13 GP in 2016-17: 9-0-4 & 10 GP in 2008-09: 9-0-1).



* Josh Morrissey factored onone of the Jets’ five goals to record his 200th career point (45-155—200 in 453 GP), extending his assist and point streaks in the process (0-9—9 in 8 GP). Morrissey established the longest assist streak by a defenseman in franchise history and tied the longest point streak by a Jets/Thrashers blueliner. Of note, only one Winnipeg skater has had a longer stretch of consecutive games with an assist: Blake Wheeler (9 GP in 2018-19 & 2017-18).




#NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES – A GIFT THAT KEEPS ON GIVING
Despite Christmas still being seven sleeps away, #NHLStats: Live Updates is the gift that keeps on giving, with over 90 notes available from Saturday. Here are some highlights:

* Joe Pavelski scored in his 1,200th career game (432-523—955). His 432 goals are the second most among active players at the time of the milestone behind Alex Ovechkin (734 on Oct. 19, 2021), while his 955 points are the third most among active skaters, trailing only Ovechkin (1,326) and Anze Kopitar (1,059 on April 2, 2022).

* Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves to improve to 10-0-0 in his past 10 regular-season appearances against the Canadiens. He became the third goaltender in NHL history, and first in the modern era (since 1943-44), to earn a victory in 10-plus consecutive regular-season games versus Montreal. The others to do so: Alec Connell (12 GP from Feb. 28, 1925 – Feb. 22, 1927 w/ SEN) and Turk Broda (12 GP from Dec. 9, 1939 – Jan. 23, 1941 w/ TOR).  
 
* Erik Gustafsson scored his first three goals of the season to collect his first career hat trick and the second by a defenseman in 2022-23, joining Erik Karlsson (Nov. 1). He became the third blueliner in Capitals history to record a three-goal game, adding his name beside Kevin Hatcher (3-1—4 on Jan. 13, 1993) and Sergei Gonchar (3-1—4 on Jan. 4, 2000).
 

* Alex DeBrincat tallied three assists for his second consecutive three-point outing to help lift the Senators to their fourth straight victory. DeBrincat set a couple of franchise firsts in the win – he became the first Senators player to factor on eight consecutive team goals within a regular season (2-6—8 dating to Dec. 12) and the first Ottawa skater to assist on six consecutive team goals (dating to Dec. 14). Both of those runs ended with Claude Giroux’s unassisted goal at 8:14 of the third period.



QUICK CLICKS

*Luke Hughes, Devils prospect, named U.S. captain for 2023 World Juniors

*Lukas Sedlak released by Flyers after request, will play in Czech Republic

* Devils prospect Josh Filmon has 6 goals in WHL game

* CHL notebook: Canadiens prospect Filip Mesar blossoming in OHL

* Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews set to play 1,000th game together for Blackhawks

ORIGINAL SIX SHOWDOWN TAKES TO THE ICE ON ESPN
Artemi Panarin and the Rangers (17-10-5, 39 points) travel to United Center to clash with Patrick Kane and the Blackhawks (7-18-4, 18 points) in a contest broadcast nationally on ESPN. While New York has captured victories in each of its past two visits to Chicago, the latter owns an all-time home record of 134-118-46 against the visitors.

NBA Preview: Washington Wizards (11-19) at Los Angeles Lakers (12-16)

NBA Editor
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NBA Preview: Washington Wizards (11-19) at Los Angeles Lakers (12-16)

Anthony Davis has been able to avoid significant injuries so far this season, but he will sit out due to right foot soreness when the Los Angeles Lakers host the Washington Wizards on Sunday.

It will be only the fourth game Davis has missed this season, but the Lakers haven’t yet pinned down the severity of the injury.

Davis has been injury-prone over his previous 10 seasons with the New Orleans Pelicans (seven) and Lakers (three), averaging just 60.4 games per season. Los Angeles surely is hoping the current ailment doesn’t lead to a substantial absence.

Davis injured the foot during Friday night’s 126-108 home victory over the Nuggets, apparently when he collided with the leg of Denver star Nikola Jokic while both players were in the air.

The eight-time All-Star is enjoying a solid campaign with averages of 27.4 points and 12.1 rebounds in 25 games.

Fellow star LeBron James said after Friday’s game that he’s hoping it will be a short absence for Davis.

James poured in 30 points against the Nuggets, his third straight game of scoring at least that many points. He is averaging 32.7 points during the span.

Three reserves had big games for the Lakers against Denver. Thomas Bryant scored 21 points on 9-of-11 shooting, Austin Reaves had 16 points and Russell Westbrook contributed 15 points, 12 assists and 11 rebounds to extend his career triple-doubles record to 196.

Meanwhile, nothing is going right for Washington, which has lost a season-worst nine consecutive games and 12 of its past 13.

The Wizards held a 15-point lead with less than four minutes remaining in the first half on Saturday before falling 102-93 to the host Los Angeles Clippers.

The contest was the sixth straight without star guard Bradley Beal (hamstring), which prompted the Clippers to focus their defensive effort on slowing big man Kristaps Porzingis.

Porzingis scored 19 points but was just 8 of 19 from the field. He fell one point shy of his 10th consecutive 20-point outing.

Kyle Kuzma added 17 points and had his streak of 20-point outputs snapped at six. He said he didn’t think the Wizards did a good enough job of moving the ball in the second half.

The accompanying evidence agrees: Washington shot 57.1 percent from the field with 15 assists during a 57-point first half. In the second, the Wizards shot 28.6 percent with just five assists while scoring 36 points.

Washington has won 13 of the past 19 meetings with the Lakers.

NBA Preview: Charlotte Hornets (7-22) at Denver Nuggets (17-11)

NBA Editor
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NBA Preview: Charlotte Hornets (7-22) at Denver Nuggets (17-11)

The Charlotte Hornets embark on a six-game road trip through the Western Conference on Sunday night, and it starts with a tough matchup.

Charlotte has lost seven in a row and faces a Denver Nuggets team looking to erase their loss at the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night. Although the Hornets have gotten Gordon Hayward and LaMelo Ball back into the lineup, going against a grumpy Denver team will be a challenge.

Defense has been the issue for the Hornets during their losing streak. Charlotte has allowed 100 or more points in all but one game this season and is giving up an average of 132.3 points in the last three games.

Detroit scored 141 on the Hornets in Wednesday’s overtime win for the Pistons, the most Charlotte has given up this season, so the 125 Atlanta scored Friday night was an improvement.

Ball scored 27 points in his second game back while Hayward had nine in his first action since missing nine games with a fracture in his left shoulder.

Mason Plumlee, who will face his former team on Sunday, said Charlotte has to take pride in its defense.

Defense will be a point of emphasis for the Nuggets, who gave up 126 to the Lakers on Friday night. It was the fourth time in the last six games a team has scored 120 or more points on Denver.

Denver got little production from its bench in Friday night’s loss, scoring just 23 of the 108 points. The absence of Michael Porter Jr., who has missed 11 straight games with a heel injury, doesn’t help, and there’s no timeline for his return.

The Nuggets got a bit of a scare when Jamal Murray hobbled off the court late in the loss to Los Angeles. He tweaked his left ankle and he is listed as probable.

Two-time reigning MVP Nikola Jokic (right knee) also is probable.

Murray has started to round into form after missing the end of the 2020-21 season and all of last year after suffering a torn ACL in his left knee. He scored a combined 51 points in a two-game span, had just five against the Wizards but bounced back to score 23 against the Lakers.

NBA Preview: Chicago Bulls (11-17) at Minnesota Timberwolves (14-15)

NBA Editor
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NBA Preview: Chicago Bulls (11-17) at Minnesota Timberwolves (14-15)

The Minnesota Timberwolves survived one game without Karl-Anthony Towns, Rudy Gobert and D’Angelo Russell.

Missing three starters again is a scenario they would like to avoid but now the Timberwolves can say they have positive experience using virtually all of their depth.

The Timberwolves could very well be short-handed again Sunday night when they return home from a five-game road trip and host the slumping Chicago Bulls.

The Wolves went 2-3 on the trip and are 4-7 since winning five straight Nov. 13-23. Minnesota knows it will be without Towns, who will miss his ninth straight game with a strained right calf sustained Nov. 28 in Washington, but it may be without Russell and Gobert again.

Russell has missed the past two games with a knee injury and Gobert could be out for a second straight contest with a left ankle sprain.

If Russell and Gobert are out again, the Wolves are hoping for a reprise of what unfolded in their 112-110 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday.

Naz Reid started in place of Gobert and scored 28 points Friday in his first start of the season while also making 11 of 18 shots and grabbing nine rebounds.

Austin Rivers made his second straight start in place of Russell and added a season-high 20 points after missing six of seven shots in a 99-88 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.

Whoever suits up for the Timberwolves, the Bulls are hoping to reverse some poor trends. Chicago has dropped three straight and seven of 10 after enduring a 114-91 home loss to the New York Knicks on Friday, when they were outscored 56-38 in the second half.

The Bulls are also 5-11 in their past 16 games since reaching .500 last month.

Chicago comes off its worst offensive showing of the season even though it shot a respectable 46.8 percent after shooting 54 percent in Wednesday’s 128-120 overtime loss to the Knicks.

Defense was a major problem. The Bulls allowed 17 3s after conceding 18 on Wednesday. The team was also outscored 14-0 in second-chance points and scored just 16 points in the fourth quarter.

LaVine led the Bulls with 17 but DeMar DeRozan was held to a season-low 14 after scoring 66 in his previous two outings. The Bulls are hoping to see more from Nikola Vucevic after the center matched a season low with nine points.

The Bulls are hoping Sunday is similar to both wins against Minnesota last season. In their 124-120 win in Chicago on April 10, the Bulls shot 53 percent and in a 134-122 win at Minnesota on Feb. 11, they shot 63.2 percent.

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