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NFC Players of the Month – November

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NFC Players of the Month – November

VIKINGS WR JUSTIN JEFFERSON, 49ERS DL NICK BOSA & COMMANDERS K JOEY SLYE NAMED NFC PLAYERS OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER

Wide receiver JUSTIN JEFFERSON of the Minnesota Vikings, defensive lineman NICK BOSA of the San Francisco 49ers and kicker JOEY SLYE of the Washington Commanders are the NFC Offensive, Defensive and Special Teams Players of the Month for the month of November.

OFFENSE: WR JUSTIN JEFFERSON, MINNESOTA VIKINGS

  • Jefferson recorded 29 catches, 480 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions in four games during the month of November, averaging 120 receiving yards per game from Weeks 9-12, the highest mark in the NFC. He was also the only NFC player to record at least 100 receiving yards in three games during the month
  • This is the second Offensive Player of the Month award for Jefferson, also winning in November, 2021. He joins quarterback Daunte Culpepper and running back Adrian Peterson as the only Vikings to ever earn the honor twice.
  • He remains the only player ever from LSU to win an Offensive Player of the Month award. With Tampa Bay linebacker Devin White earning NFC Defensive Player of the Month honors in September, this is the first season in which two former LSU players are named a Player of the Month in the same season.

DEFENSE: DL NICK BOSA, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS

  • Bosa totaled 10 tackles, five tackles for loss and three sacks in November and was part of a 49ers defense that held their opponent to 16 or fewer points in each of their three games during the month. He is one of two NFC players to record a sack in each game from Weeks 10-12.
  • This is the second Defensive Player of the Month award for Bosa, also winning as a rookie in October, 2019. He becomes the second 49er ever to earn multiple Defensive Player of the Month honors, joining Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Haley.
  • Bosa becomes the first-ever player from Ohio State to win two Player of the Month awards. At least one former Buckeye has been named Player of the Month in each of the past four seasons.

SPECIAL TEAMS: P JOEY SLYE, WASHINGTON COMMANDERS

  • Slye converted all 10 of his field goal attempts from Weeks 9-12, including six from at least 40 yards and two from at least 50. He also connected on seven of eight point after attempts and totaled 37 points during the month, the most among all NFC kickers.
  • This is the first-career Special Teams Player of the Month award for Slye and he becomes the second-ever Washington kicker to earn the honor, joining Dustin Hopkins (September, 2016).
  • He is the second former Virginia Tech kicker to be named Special Teams Player of the Month, joining Shayne Graham (October, 2014).  

2022 NFC PLAYERS OF THE MONTH 

OffenseDefenseSpecial Teams
SeptemberQB Jalen Hurts, PhiladelphiaLB Devin White, Tampa BayP Mitch Wishnowsky, San Francisco
OctoberQB Geno Smith, SeattleLB Za’Darius Smith, MinnesotaP Tress Way, Washington
NovemberWR Justin Jefferson, MinnesotaDL Nick Bosa, San FranciscoK Joey Slye, Washington

NFL Rookies of the Month – November

NFL Editor
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NFL Rookies of the Month – November

PACKERS WR CHRISTIAN WATSON & LIONS DL AIDAN HUTCHINSON
NAMED NFL ROOKIES OF THE MONTH FOR NOVEMBER

Wide receiver CHRISTIAN WATSON of the Green Bay Packers and defensive lineman AIDAN HUTCHINSON of the Detroit Lions are the NFL Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Month for the month of November.

OFFENSE: WR CHRISTIAN WATSON, GREEN BAY PACKERS

  • Watson totaled 14 receptions for 289 yards and six touchdowns, in the month of November, the most touchdown receptions among all players this month.
  • Watson is the third Green Bay rookie to win Offensive Rookie of the Month honors, joining running backs Samkon Gado (November, 2005) and Eddie Lacy (October, 2013).
  • He becomes the second former North Dakota State player to win a Rookie of the Month award, joining Carson Wentz (September, 2016).

DEFENSE: DL AIDAN HUTCHINSON, DETROIT LIONS

  • Hutchinson totaled 13 tackles, two interceptions, one sack and one fumble recovery during November. He was the only player in the league with multiple interceptions and a sack during the month.
  • He is the third Detroit rookie to earn Defensive Rookie of the Month honors, joining safety Louis Delmas (September, 2009) and defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh (October, 2010).
  • Hutchinson is the third Michigan Wolverine to win a Defensive Rookie of the Month award, joining David Harris (November, 2007) and Pro Football Hall of Famer Charles Woodson (December, 1998).

2022 NFL ROOKIES OF THE MONTH

Offense (College)Defense (College)
SeptemberWR Chris Olave, New Orleans (Ohio State)LB Devin Lloyd, Jacksonville (Utah)
OctoberNovemberRB Kenneth Walker, Seattle (Michigan State)WR Christian Watson, Green Bay (North Dakota State)CB Tariq Woolen, Seattle (Texas-San Antonio)DL Aidan Hutchinson, Detroit (Michigan)

NFL Transactions 11-30-22

NFL Editor
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NFL Transactions 11-30-22

​The following are the NFL transactions for Wednesday, November 30. Transactions will be published each day after they are circulated to NFL clubs. This public version will include waiver requests, assignments via waivers, terminations, free agent signings, reserve list and practice squad additions and deletions, and trades. 

WAIVER SYSTEM TRANSACTIONS


ASSIGNMENT VIA WAIVER SYSTEM

SEATTLE
    Abram, JohnathanDBMississippi State   
         From GREEN BAY


TERMINATIONS VIA WAIVER SYSTEM

ARIZONA
    Daley, TaeDBVirginia Tech   

DALLAS
    Basham, TarellDEOhio   



ACTIVE LIST ADDITIONS


ACTIVATION

MINNESOTA
    Ellefson, BenTENorth Dakota State   
         From Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
  FREE AGENT SIGNINGS

CHICAGO
    Boyle, TimQBEastern Kentucky   
         From Detroit Practice Squad
    Brown, AndrewNTVirginia   
         From Arizona Practice Squad



RESERVE LIST ADDITIONS
 
ATLANTA
    Wilkinson, ElijahTMassachusetts   
         Status Changed to Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
         (Also see OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS)

BALTIMORE
    Dobbins, J.K.RBOhio State   
         Status Changed to Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
         (Also see OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS)

CHICAGO
    Cruikshank, DaneDBArizona   
         Reserve/Injured

DALLAS
    Washington, JamesWROklahoma State   
         Status Changed to Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
         (Also see OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS)

DENVER
    Boone, MikeRBCincinnati   
         Status Changed to Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
         (Also see OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS)

LOS ANGELES RAMS
    Hardy, DanielLBMontana State   
         Status Changed to Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
         (Also see OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS)

MINNESOTA
    Booth, AndrewDBClemson   
         Reserve/Injured

PHILADELPHIA
    Davis, JordanDTGeorgia   
         Status Changed to Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
         (Also see OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS)

TAMPA BAY
    Ryan, LoganDBRutgers   
         Status Changed to Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
         (Also see OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS)

TENNESSEE
    Adeniyi, OlasunkanmiLBToledo   
         Status Changed to Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
         (Also see OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS)

WASHINGTON
    Schweitzer, WesGSan Jose State   
         Status Changed to Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return
         (Also see OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS)

  PRACTICE SQUAD TRANSACTIONS


ADDITIONS

ARIZONA
    Baccellia, AndreWRWashington   

BALTIMORE
    Bridges, ShemarWRFort Valley State   

DENVER
    Langi, HarveyLBBrigham Young   
         Veteran
    Ozigbo, DevineRBNebraska   
         Veteran

KANSAS CITY
    Williams, BrandonNTMissouri Southern   
         Veteran

LOS ANGELES RAMS
    Roberson, JaquariiWRWake Forest   

NEW YORK JETS
    Ward, JonathanRBCentral Michigan   
         Exception

PHILADELPHIA
    Baker, KawaanWRSouth Alabama   
    Robinson, TyreseGOklahoma   
    Tate, AudenWRFlorida State   
         Veteran


CONTRACTS TERMINATED BY CLUB

NEW YORK JETS
    Spencer, DiontaeWRMcNeese State   

PHILADELPHIA
    Wilson, MarvinDTFlorida State   
  CONTRACTS TERMINATED BY PLAYER

ARIZONA
    Brown, AndrewNTVirginia   
         (Also see ACTIVE LIST ADDITIONS)

DETROIT
    Boyle, TimQBEastern Kentucky   
         (Also see ACTIVE LIST ADDITIONS)


OTHER TRANSACTIONS/COMMENTS


PRACTICE PERIOD EXPIRED

GREEN BAY
    Galeai, TipaLBUtah State   


RETURNED TO PRACTICE

ATLANTA
    Wilkinson, ElijahTMassachusetts   
         Remains on Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return

BALTIMORE
    Dobbins, J.K.RBOhio State   
         Remains on Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return

DALLAS
    Washington, JamesWROklahoma State   
         Remains on Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return

DENVER
    Boone, MikeRBCincinnati   
         Remains on Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return

LOS ANGELES RAMS
    Hardy, DanielLBMontana State   
         Remains on Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return

PHILADELPHIA
    Davis, JordanDTGeorgia   
         Remains on Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return

TAMPA BAY
    Ryan, LoganDBRutgers   
         Remains on Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return

TENNESSEE
    Adeniyi, OlasunkanmiLBToledo   
         Remains on Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return

WASHINGTON
    Schweitzer, WesGSan Jose State   
         Remains on Reserve/Injured; Designated for Return

Tickets now on sale for 2023 Pro Bowl Games

NFL Editor
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Tickets now on sale for 2023 Pro Bowl Games

Fans can purchase tickets to experience reimagined Pro Bowl Games in Las Vegas, as top 88 NFL stars battle it out in epic AFC vs NFC competitions

Ticketholders to see first-ever AFC vs NFC Flag football game, exciting Pro Bowl Skills, including Best Catch and Move the Chains, and major musical performance

New York, NY (December 1, 2022) – The 2023 Pro Bowl Games presented by Verizon heads to Las Vegas, this time, for a completely reimagined experience for fans and players. Today, fans can buy tickets to see all the action in person on Sunday, February 5th at Allegiant Stadium and catch the NFL’s biggest and brightest stars represent their team, city and conference.

The 2023 Pro Bowl Games, hosted in partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) and Las Vegas Raiders, will be a week-long series of AFC vs NFC competitions. On Sunday, February 5th, ticketholders to The Pro Bowl Games will be able to witness all the impressive player feats live, including epic Flag football games between the league’s best players, exciting Pro Bowl Skills and a major musical performance. Sunday’s events will also be televised from 3:00pm-6:00pm EST on ESPN & ABC. Fans can visit ProBowl.com/tickets to buy tickets, which start as low as $35.

Ticketholders will have access to Sunday’s slate of events, featuring:

  • Three (3) AFC vs NFC Flag football games
  • Pro Bowl Skills
    • Gridiron Gauntlet: A full-field relay race between six (6) AFC players and six (6) NFC players
    • Move the Chains: An offensive and defensive lineman strength and speed competition
    • Best Catch Finals: Two (2) fan-selected winners from Thursday’s Skills competition will compete for the title of ‘Best Catch’
  • Major musical performance
  • Postgame trophy and MVP celebrations
  • On-site fan activations, including a celebrity DJ, live interviews with players, giveaways, player photo opportunities, and interactive games and contests. Fans will also have the chance to win exclusive viewing experiences on the field and tickets to Super Bowl LVII via the NFL OnePass app

A key evolution of The 2023 Pro Bowl Games is the shift from a traditional tackle game to a Flag football game plus Pro Bowl Skills. With a high level of inclusivity and accessibility, Flag football has been a key part of the NFL’s participation and development strategy globally.

“This season, we are excited to offer fans an unparalleled experience with the new elements and format of The Pro Bowl Games,” said PETER O’REILLY, Executive Vice President of Club Business and League Events. “With a spotlight on Flag football and exciting Pro Bowl Skills, fans can watch their favorite players live and in person, as they compete in an entirely revamped way. We can’t wait to share this experience with our players, their families and fans.”

For the AFC vs NFC Flag football games at Allegiant Stadium, the format will be 7-on-7. Organized in partnership with RCX Sports, the NFL’s Flag football operating partner, and International Federation of American Football (IFAF), Sunday’s culminating event at The Pro Bowl Games will feature three AFC v NFC Flag games with the following elements:

  • Twenty-minute games with two halves
  • Games will take place on a 50-yard field with 10-yard end zones
  • Scoring plays are worth the traditional six (6) points with a 1-point conversion from the 5-yard line

The Pro Bowl Games will integrate Flag throughout the week, including the Play Football Opening Night and NFL FLAG Championships presented by Subway, created with RCX Sports, and will feature the top girls’ and boys’ youth Flag teams from across the country and around the world.

In addition to Sunday’s festivities, the Pro Bowl Skills Show will take place live on ESPN from 7:00pm-8:30pm EST on Thursday, February 2nd. Pro Bowl Skills will continue to be a staple of the annual AFC vs NFC competition, as the NFL’s top players are set to participate in unique competitions that showcase their football and non-football skills. This year, The Pro Bowl Games will feature both new and fan-favorite Pro Bowl Skills that will have cumulative scoring that leads up to the Flag football games on Sunday. The first two Flag football games will also contribute to each team’s score, with the third and final Flag game determining the conference winner.

While The Pro Bowl Games includes many new elements, it will maintain fan-favorite moments and events, including fan voting, which helps determine the NFC and AFC team rosters and is now open via www.nfl.com/pro-bowl-games/vote or on Twitter using the hashtag #ProBowlVote; and the East-West Shrine Bowl, where senior collegiate pro prospects have an opportunity to showcase and develop their talents, as well as engage in life-changing experiences with the patients and families of the Shriners Hospitals for Children.

For more information on The Pro Bowl Games, tickets or fan voting, visit https://www.nfl.com/pro-bowl-games/. Fans can stay tuned for additional details in the coming weeks.

NHL Preview: Carolina Hurricanes (12-6-5) at St. Louis Blues (11-11-0)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Carolina Hurricanes (12-6-5) at St. Louis Blues (11-11-0)

CAROLINA HURRICANES NOTES:

LAST GAME
The Hurricanes earned a 3-2 overtime win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday, marking their fourth straight overtime result on the road. Sebastian Aho (2a), Brett Pesce (1g, 1a) and Andrei Svechnikov (1g, 1a) each posted multi-point games, with Pesce scoring his second career overtime winner and his second consecutive game-winning goal. Martin Necas also scored for Carolina as Jordan Martinook skated in his 500th career NHL game. Pyotr Kochetkov stopped 30 of 32 shots faced in net to record his third win of the season.

INJURY REPORT
Frederik Andersen, lower-body, missed 11 games (11/9-11/29)
Jake Gardiner, upper-body, missed 23 games (10/12-11/29)
Ondrej Kase, concussion, missed 22 games (10/14-11/29)
Max Pacioretty, torn Achilles, missed 23 games (10/12-11/29)
Teuvo Teravainen, upper-body, missed nine games (11/12-11/29)
2022-23 Man-Games Lost Due to Injury: 88

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 30 Acquired Zack Hayes from Vegas in exchange for future considerations and assigned him to Chicago (AHL)
Nov. 23 Signed Pyotr Kochetkov to a four-year contract extension

STREAKS
Seth Jarvis has tallied a point in three consecutive games (11/25-11/29: 1g, 2a)
Stefan Noesen has registered a point in three straight games (11/25-11/29: 1g, 2a)
Brett Pesce has earned a point in three consecutive games (11/25-11/29: 2g, 2a)
Andrei Svechnikov has posted an assist/point in three straight games (11/25-11/29: 1g, 3a)
Martin Necas has scored a goal in back-to-back games (11/26-11/29: 2g)
Stefan Noesen has recorded an assist in back-to-back games (11/26-11/29: 2a)
Brett Pesce has scored a goal in back-to-back games (11/26-11/29: 2g)

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT TIME TV RADIO
Dec. 1 at St. Louis 8 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 3 at Los Angeles 10:30 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 6 at Anaheim 10 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 10 at NY Islanders 7:30 p.m. BSSO HRN
Dec. 13 at Detroit 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. 1 Thursday Enterprise Center 11:30 a.m.
Dec. 2 Friday Toyota Sports Performance Center 12:30 p.m.
Dec. 3 Saturday Toyota Sports Performance Center 11:30 a.m.
Dec. 4 Sunday No practice
Dec. 5 Monday Honda Center 12 p.m.

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

Carolina Hurricanes: Media Notes
HURRICANES vs. BLUES SERIES NOTES
— Carolina is facing St. Louis in the first of two meetings between the teams during the 2022-23 season. The Blues will travel to PNC Arena on 2/21.

— The Hurricanes and Blues are meeting for the 86th time in their histories. Carolina holds a 32-43-5-5 overall record, including a 14-23-3-3 road record.

— Carolina won the season series 2-0-0 in 2021-22, but the Hurricanes are 5-6-3 in their last 14 games in St. Louis (Blues: 9-4-1).

— The Hurricanes earned a 3-2 win over the Blues at PNC Arena on 11/13/21. Sebastian Aho (1g, 1a), Tony DeAngelo (2a) and Andrei Svechnikov (2a) each tallied two points, while Alex Lyon made 27 saves in his Hurricanes debut.

— Carolina posted a 7-2 win over St. Louis at Enterprise Center on 3/26/22. Ian Cole (2a), Jesper Fast (2a), Seth Jarvis (2g), Martin Necas (1g, 1a), Brett Pesce (1g, 1a), Andrei Svechnikov (2g) and Teuvo Teravainen (2a) each posted multi-point games as Antti Raanta stopped 30 of 32 shots faced in net.

— Sebastian Aho has registered seven points (3g, 4a) in nine career regular-season games against the Blues.

— Brett Pesce has tallied eight points (2g, 6a) in 10 career regular-season games against St. Louis.

— Antti Raanta has posted a 6-3-2 record, 2.25 goals-against average, .936 save percentage and one shutout in 11 career regular-season games against the Blues.

— Paul Stastny played parts of four seasons with the Blues from 2015-18, earning 175 points (56g, 119a) in 267 games and serving as an alternate captain in his final three campaigns with the team. He also spent part of his childhood in St. Louis, as his father, Peter, registered 18 points (6g, 12a) in 23 games with the Blues over his final two NHL seasons (1993-95) and then worked as a Blues scout for two seasons (1996-98). Paul played youth hockey with the Jr. Blues and attended Chaminade College Prep in St. Louis for his freshman and sophomore years of high school (2000-02). He has earned 36 points (16g, 20a) in 31 career regular-season games against the Blues, the eighth-most points against St. Louis of any active NHL player.

— Hurricanes Head Coach Rod Brind’Amour was drafted ninth overall by St. Louis in the 1988 NHL Draft and recorded 110 points (43g, 67a) in 157 NHL games with the Blues from 1989-91.

— Justin Faulk was selected by Carolina in the second round (37th overall) of the 2010 NHL Draft and skated in 559 NHL games with the Hurricanes from 2011-19, posting 258 points (85g, 173a). He was traded to St. Louis on 9/24/19 along with a fifth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft (Pavel Novak) in exchange for Joel Edmundson, Dominik Bokk and a seventh-round pick in the 2021 NHL Draft (Nikita Guslistov). Faulk ranks first in goals, points and game-winning goals (19), third in games played and fourth in assists among all defensemen in Whalers/Hurricanes history.

— Josh Leivo played in the Hurricanes’ organization in 2021-22, recording three points (1g, 2a) in seven NHL games with Carolina and adding 46 points (22g, 24a) in 54 AHL games with Chicago while serving as one of the Wolves’ alternate captains. He also earned an AHL-leading 29 points (15g, 14a) in 18 playoff games as Chicago won the 2022 Calder Cup and won the Jack A. Butterfield Trophy as the league’s playoff MVP.

BRETT LEVEL MIDNIGHT
Brett Pesce scored his second career NHL/Hurricanes overtime goal at PIT (11/29) after scoring his first such goal last season (2/21/22 at PHI). He is one of five NHL defensemen with overtime goals in each of the last two campaigns, alongside Erik Karlsson (SJS), Shea Theodore (VGK), Noah Dobson (NYI) and Justin Faulk (STL). Pesce also joined Brent Burns as the second Hurricanes player to score an overtime winner in 2022-23, as Carolina became the second NHL team to have multiple blueliners score an overtime goal this season (also WPG: Josh Morrissey, Neal Pionk). He has now scored the game-winning goal in back-to-back contests (also 11/26 vs. CGY), becoming the fourth defensemen in franchise history to accomplish the feat (Joe Corvo: 3/7/09-3/9/09, 12/16/08- 12/18/08; Jay Harrison: 1/12/12-1/14/12; Ron Hainsey: 10/27/15-10/29/15). Pesce also tallied an assist on Tuesday for his first multipoint game of the season, and he has extended his point streak to three games (11/25-11/29: 2g, 2a), one game shy of tying his career-long point streak (1/31/21-2/7/21: 1g, 4a in 4 GP). Twelve of his 18 career multi-point games have now come on the road, including each of his last seven dating back to 2/7/21 at CBJ.

MAKING SVECH HAPPEN
Andrei Svechnikov recorded two points (1g, 1a) against the Penguins on Tuesday for his sixth multi-point game of the season, tied with Sebastian Aho for the second-most on the team. He has tallied 10 points in his last 10 games (11/10-11/29: 6g, 4a), including an active three-game assist/point streak (11/25-11/29: 1g, 3a), tied for the longest assist streak by any Hurricanes skater in 2022-23. Svechnikov registered an assist on the power play in back-to-back games to begin the streak (11/25-11/26) and has posted a team-high nine points (3g, 6a) on the man-advantage this season. He ranks third on the team with 24 points (14g, 10a) in 2022-23, and his 14 goals rank tied for fourth in the NHL, trailing only Jason Robertson (DAL, 19), Bo Horvat (VAN, 17) and Connor McDavid (EDM, 17). Svechnikov’s goal against the Penguins marked his ninth road goal of the season, and he trails only Horvat (10) for the league lead in that category. He also led all Hurricanes skaters with four points (2g, 2a) in two games against St. Louis last season and has found the scoresheet in each of his last four games against the Blues (3/1/19-3/26/22: 3g, 3a).

YUNG JARVY
Seth Jarvis tallied an assist at PIT (11/29), and he has now earned four points in his last five games (11/21-11/29: 1g, 3a), including an active three-game point streak (11/25-11/29: 1g, 2a). He scored his fourth goal of the season vs. CGY (11/26), ending an 11-game goal drought (11/6-11/25). Jarvis also registered seven hits against the Penguins on Tuesday, marking a new single-game career high (previous: 3/28/22 at WSH, 6) and the most by any Hurricanes skater in any game this season (previous: Jordan Staal, 11/3 at TBL, 6).

HEAT CZECH
Martin Necas scored a goal at PIT (11/29), and he has now recorded six points in his last seven games (11/17-11/29: 4g, 2a), with a team-high four goals over that span. He earned 12 points (6g, 6a) in 14 games in November, tied with Andrei Svechnikov for the most goals by any Hurricanes skater during the month. Necas has now registered 25 points (11g, 14a) this season, tied with Sebastian Aho (9g, 16a) for the team lead in scoring, and he has reached the mark in seven fewer games than in any previous campaign (2020-21: 9- 19—28 in 30 GP, 2019-20: 10-15—25 in 40 GP, 2021-22: 8-18—26 in 44 GP).

ROARING 20
Sebastian Aho recorded two assists at PIT (11/29), marking his sixth multi-point game and his team-leading fifth multi-assist game in 2022-23. His five multi-assist outings rank tied for the eighth-most by any NHL skater this season, and he has now posted 106 multipoint games in his NHL/Hurricanes career, tying Pat Verbeek (1989-95) for the fourth-most multi-point outings in franchise history. He finished the month of November with a team-high 15 points (5g, 10a) in 14 games, marking his second-most November points in any season (2019-20: 10-6—16 in 15 GP). Aho will look to continue that scoring pace in December (33-28—61 in 61 GP) and January (28- 34—62), the two months in which he has been a point-per-game player during his career (min. 7 GP).

Most multi-point games, franchise history:
Ron Francis (1981-91, 1998-04): 297
Eric Staal (2003-16): 186
Kevin Dineen (1984-91, 1995-99): 132
Sebastian Aho (2016-present): 106
Pat Verbeek (1989-95): 106

ROAD SCHOLARS
With Tuesday’s win over the Penguins, the Hurricanes have now earned a point in each of their last five road games (11/14-11/29: 2-0-3), with each of their last four road contests decided in overtime (also 11/19: OTL at MIN, 11/21: OTL at WPG and 11/25: OTL at BOS). They are now 2-5 in games ending in overtime this season, with both of their overtime wins coming on the road (also 10/29 at PHI). Carolina has posted a 7-3-4 road record in 2022-23, tied for the fourth-most road wins of any NHL team behind only NJD (10), VGK (10) and SEA (8). The Hurricanes have already played 14 road games, tied for the second-most of any team (ARI: 16), and they are scheduled to play each of their next five contests away from home (12/1-12/13).

GIMME THAT
Jaccob Slavin registered four takeaways at PIT (11/29), tied for his most in any game this season (also 11/3 at TBL). He has now posted multiple takeaways in 14 games in 2022-23, including three of his last four contests (11/23-11/29: 9). Slavin paces the NHL with 40 takeaways this season, 10 more than any other NHL skater (Evgeni Malkin, PIT: 30) and 19 more than any other Hurricanes skater (Brady Skjei: 21). He has led the team in takeaways in five of his seven previous NHL seasons, and his 519 career takeaways rank second in the league since he debuted in 2015-16 (Mark Stone, OTT/VGK: 621).

Most takeaways by a defenseman, since 2015-16:
Jaccob Slavin (Carolina): 519
Brent Burns (SJS/Carolina): 437
Erik Karlsson (OTT/SJS): 398
Alex Pietrangelo (STL/VGK): 375
Kris Letang (PIT): 323

SHOOTERS SHOOT
The Hurricanes outshot the Penguins 39-32 on Tuesday, and they have now outshot their opponents in 19 of 23 games in 2022-23, including all 12 of their wins. Carolina has registered 35 or more shots in 13 games this season, tied for the third-most such outings of any NHL team behind only NJD and FLA (both with 17). The Hurricanes are posting the third-most shots per game of any team (35.3) while allowing the fewest (26.1), and their +9.2 shot differential ranks second in the NHL behind NJD (+10.1). Jordan Martinook and Martin Necas led the team with five shots apiece against the Penguins, as Martinook posted a new season high (previous: 11/23 vs. ARI, 4).

MARTY PARTY
Jordan Martinook skated in his 500th career NHL game against the Penguins on Tuesday (ARI: 247 GP, Carolina: 253 GP). Acquired by the Hurricanes on 5/3/18, he has tallied 75 points (31g, 44a) in his Hurricanes career after earning 65 points (26g, 39a) with the Coyotes. Martinook ranks seventh on the team with nine points (4g, 5a) in 22 games this season, including a three-game point streak earlier this month that tied for the longest of his career (11/10-11/14: 2g, 3a). Selected by PHX in the second round (58th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft, he became the 19th player and 10th forward from his draft class to reach the milestone, and the third skater from that group to accomplish the feat this season (Colton Parayko, STL; Radek Faksa, DAL).

ST. LOUIS BLUES NOTES:

CURRENT INJURIES
Scott Perunovich – Shoulder (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Oct. 4)
Marco Scandella – Right Hip (Re-evaluated in 6 months, announced on Sep. 20)
Logan Brown – Upper-Body (Placed on IR on Nov. 9)
2022-23 Total Man Games Lost: 83

Recent Transactions
November
28 – Recalled forward Jake Neighbours from the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
28 – Assigned forward Nikita Alexandrov to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)
23 – Activated defenseman Robert Bortuzzo off injured reserve
23 – Assigned defenseman Tyler Tucker to the Springfield Thunderbirds (AHL)

BLUES VS. HURRICANES
-The Blues and Hurricanes will meet for the first of 2 matchups this season (Feb. 21 at CAR)

-The Blues went 0-2-0 against the Hurricanes last season

-The Blues are 5-3-0 in their last 8 games against Carolina

-The Blues lost their last game against Carolina at Enterprise Center, but won their previous 3 home matchups with the Hurricanes (3-1-0 in last 4)

-The Blues have scored a power play goal in 3 straight games against Carolina, going 4 for 13 (30.8%) on the power play in those 3 games

-The Blues are 4-1-0 in their last 5 home games overall (Since. Nov. 10)

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
12/3 – at Pittsburgh
12/5 – at NY Rangers
12/6 – at NY Islanders
12/8 – vs. Winnipeg
12/11 – vs. Colorado

COMEBACK KIDS
-The Blues recorded a 3-goal 3rd period comeback to win in overtime on a goal by Kyrou on Saturday at Florida

-The Blues overcame a 3-goal third period deficit to win for the third time in franchise history (Dec. 14, 2019 vs. Chicago & Nov. 29, 2000 at Toronto)

-The Oilers also recorded a 3-goal third period comeback win on Saturday at the New York Rangers, marking just the 6th time in NHL history that 2 different teams earned a 3-goal third period comeback victory on the same day

-The Blues’ and Oilers’ 3-goal third period comeback wins were the 2nd and 3rd time this season a team has rallied after being down by 3 in the third period to win (Dallas on Nov. 23 vs. Chicago, 6-4 win)

BLUES POST HISTORIC 7-GAME WIN STREAK
-The Blues won 7 straight games (Nov. 10-21) following an 8-game losing streak (all of which came in regulation)

-Their 7-game win streak is the longest winning streak in NHL history by a team immediately after they suffered losses in eight or more consecutive games

-In the 4 major North American Sports Leagues, a team has posted a win streak of 7+ games after losing 8+ straight games just 6 times in NBA history and just 16 times in MLB history

-The last team to post a 7+ game win streak after losing 8+ games in a row, was the Houston Rockets (NBA), who won 7 straight games following a 15-game losing streak last season

-Since Nov. 10 vs. San Jose, the Blues’ 8 wins share the 2nd most in the NHL (1. New Jersey, 9)

-The Blues have scored 39 goals since Nov. 10, which is the 4th most in the NHL (1. Dallas, 41 / 2. New Jersey/San Jose, 40)

-Since Nov. 10, Buchnevich and Kyrou share 5th in the NHL with 14 points (1. Robertson, 17), while Thomas shares 18th in the NHL with 12 points

-Thomas shares 2nd in the NHL with 6 power play assists (1. Kucherov, 7) and also shares 2nd with 10 assists since Nov. 10 (1. Karlsson, 12)

WIN STREAK BEFORE AND DURING (NHL Ranks*)
Oct. 15-Nov. 9 (9 games) Nov. 10 – Nov. 21 (7 games)
Points: 6 (T-31st) Points: 14 (1st)
Wins: 3 (T-31st) Wins: 7 (1st)
GF/G: 2.09 (32nd) GF/G: 4.14 (5th)
GA/G: 3.91 (29th) GA/G: 2.29 (7th)
PP%: 20.7% (18th) PP%: 26.3% (11th)

FAST STARTS ARE KEY FOR BLUES
-The Blues are 6-1-0 this season when leading after the first period and are 7-0-0 when leading after 2 periods

-Their 6 wins when leading after the first share 10th in the NHL (1. Boston, 13-0-0)

-The Blues are also 9-3-0 this season when scoring first

-Their 9 wins when scoring first share 8th in the NHL (1. Boston/Vegas, 13)

DEFENSEMEN BIG REASON FOR BLUES SUCCESS
-The Blues defensemen have accounted for 16.1% of the Blues’ goals this season, which shares 10th in the NHL (1. NYI, 24.4%)

-The Blues are 7-0-0 this season when a defenseman scores

-They have also contributed 4 game-winning goals, which shares 2nd in the NHL (1. Boston, 5)

-Torey Krug and Justin Faulk share the team lead among defensemen with 4 goals, which also shares 12th in the NHL among all defensemen (1. Karlsson, 11)

-Torey Krug’s 3 power play goals share the lead on the Blues (Buchnevich/Kyrou) and share 3rd in the NHL among all defensemen (1. Dahlin/Makar, 4)

-Justin Faulk’s 2 game-winning goals share the 4th most among all defensemen in the NHL (1. Fox/Karlsson/Morrissey, 3

BLUES CONSISTENT UNDER ARMSTRONG
-Since Doug Armstrong took over the reigns as the Blues General Manager in 2010-11, the Blues have posted a 532-304-99 record

-Their 532 wins since then rank 5th in the NHL (1. PIT, 553)

-The Blues have made the postseason 10 out of the 12 seasons since Armstrong became GM, 1 of 5 teams in the NHL to clinch 10 or more playoff berths since 2010-11 (PIT, 12/WSH, 11/BOS & NSH, 10)

-Armstrong is also just 1 of 2 GMs to clinch 10 or more playoff berths since 2010-11 (David Poile, 10) -Since 2010-11, the Blues rank 8th with 2.91 goals per game (1. VGK, 3.20) and rank 3rd in the NHL with 2.58 goals against per game (1. BOS, 2.46)

-The Blues also have the 3rd best penalty kill (82.8%) under Armstrong (1. BOS, 83.3%), and have the 5th best power play (20.8%) in the league (1. WSH, 21.5%)

BINNINGTON CHASING BLUES HISTORY
-Jordan Binnington, who has 99 career wins in 179 GP, will become the 6th goaltender in franchise history to reach 100 wins as a Blue with his next win (Liut/Allen/Joseph/Fuhr/Elliott)

-Binnington is on pace to become the 3rd fastest goaltender to reach 100 wins with the Blues

-Binnington also shares 7th on the Blues all-time franchise list with 11 shutouts, just 1 of 8 goaltenders in franchise history to record at least 11 shutouts

Fastest to 100 career wins with the Blues:

  1. Brian Elliott – 175 GP
  2. Jake Allen – 176 GP
  3. Curtis Joseph – 209 GP

BLUES STAY STRONG UNDER BERUBE
-Since taking over on Nov. 18, 2018, Berube has led the Blues to a 167-92-36 record (370 points)

-The Blues 370 points since Nov. 18, 2018, rank 10th in the NHL (1. TBL, 403), while their 167 wins also rank 10th (1. TBL, 191)

-Their 3.22 goals per game rank 9th in the NHL under Berube (1. FLA/TBL, 3.53)

  • The Blues have posted a mark of 2.84 goals against per game under Berube, which ranks 10th in the NHL (1. BOS, 2.50)

-The Blues also have the 4th best power play in the NHL at 23.7% since Berube became head coach (1. EDM, 26.5%)

-Last season on Dec. 29 vs. EDM, Berube became the 7th different coach in NHL history to win 200 games and play in at least 1,000 career games

Wins as Coach / Games Played
Craig Berube – 242 / 1,054
Randy Carlyle – 475 / 1,055
Bob Pulford – 363 / 1,079
Craig MacTavish – 301 / 1,093
Red Kelly – 278 / 1,316
Brent Sutter – 215 / 1,111
Larry Robinson – 209 / 1,384

BINNINGTON FINDING HIS FORM
-During the Blues’ 7-game win streak, Jordan Binnington posted a 6-0-0 record, with a 2.00 GAA and a .940 SV%

-Since Nov. 10, Binnington’s 6 wins are the most in the NHL

-Binnington is 5-3-0 on the road this season, with a 2.76 GAA, a .916 SV%, and 1 shutout

-His 5 road wins this season share 6th in the NHL (1. Thompson, 7)

BUCHNEVICH STEPPING UP FOR BLUES
-Pavel Buchnevich recorded 4 points (2g, 2a) on Nov. 19 vs. Anaheim, the 2nd 4-point game of his career (also: Mar. 17, 2021 w/ NYR: 2g, 2a vs. PHI)

-Buchnevich has 10 points in his last 7 games (5g, 5a)

-Buchnevich also has 14 points in his last 11 games (5g, 9a), after posting just 2 points (1g, 1a) in his first 6 games of the season

-Since Nov. 10, Buchnevich shares 5th in the NHL with 14 points (5g, 9a) (1. Robertson, 17), and shares 8th in the NHL with 9 assists (1. Karlsson, 12)

-Buchnevich shares 1st on the Blues this season with 3 power play goals (Krug/Kyrou)

-Buchnevich set career-highs with 30 goals, 46 assists, and 76 points last season

BRAYDEN IS SCHENN-SATIONAL
-Brayden Schenn ranks 3rd on the Blues with 17 points this season (6g, 11a) (1. Thomas, 19)

-He also shares 2nd on the Blues with 6 goals (1. Kyrou, 9) and shares 2nd with 11 assists (1. Thomas, 15)

-Schenn has 5 points in his last 7 games (3g, 2a)

-Schenn recorded 10 points in the first 10 games of the season, matching the 2nd best start of his career in the first 10 games of the season (10 points (6g, 4a) in 2020-21 in first 10 games / 11 points, (8g, 3a) in 2019-20 in first 10 games)

-Schenn has 24 power play goals since the start of the 2019-20 season, which ranks 2nd among all Blues in that span (1. Perron, 26)

KYROU FINDING HIS SCORING TOUCH
-Jordan Kyrou scored twice, including his first career overtime winner, on Saturday at Florida

-Kyrou posted a career-long 8-game point streak (5g, 8a), from Nov. 14-26, including a career-long 6 game assist streak from Nov. 16-25 (2g, 8a)

-Saturday at Florida was also Kyrou’s 10th career multi-goal game, which is the 3rd most among all Blues since his debut in 2018-19 (Perron – 14 / Tarasenko – 13)

-Kyrou leads the Blues with 9 goals and shares 1st on the team with 3 power play goals (Buchnevich/Krug) and 7 power play points (Thomas)

-Since Nov. 10, Kyrou shares 5th in the NHL with 14 points (1. Robertson, 17) and shares 8th in the NHL with 6 goals (1. Robertson, 10)

-Kyrou now has 15 points (6g, 9a) in his last 13 games after recording just 3 points (3g) in his first 9 games of the season

THE CAPTAIN IS COMING ALIVE
-Ryan O’Reilly has 8 points in his last 10 games (4g, 4a)

-O’Reilly has recorded 9 points (5g, 4a) in his last 12 games after just recording 1 point (1g) in his first 10 games of the season

-O’Reilly scored the Blues’ first shorthanded goal of the season on Nov. 16 at Chicago, the 11th of his career

-Nov. 12 at Vegas was O’Reilly’s 300th game as a Blue

NHL Preview: Vegas Golden Knights (17-6-1) at Pittsburgh Penguins (11-8-4)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Vegas Golden Knights (17-6-1) at Pittsburgh Penguins (11-8-4)

VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES:

GOLDEN KNIGHTS UPCOMING GAMES
Golden Knights 2022-23 Record: 17-6-1, 35 points (7-5-0 at Home, 10-1-1 on Road)

DATE OPPONENT TELEVISION RADIO SPANISH RADIO
Dec. 1 at Pittsburgh Penguins AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM None
Dec. 3 at Detroit Red Wings AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM None
Dec. 5 at Boston Bruins AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM None
Dec. 7 vs. New York Rangers TNT Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Dec. 9 vs. Philadelphia Flyers AT&T SportsNet Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM

GOLDEN KNIGHTS LAST GAME RECAP
November 28 – Vegas Golden Knights 3, Columbus Blue Jackets 2 SO
The Vegas Golden Knights (17-6-1) kicked off their road trip with a 3-2 shootout victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets (7-12-2) on Monday night at Nationwide Arena. After a quiet 15 minutes to start the game, William Karlsson and William Carrier scored 56 seconds apart to give the Golden Knights a 2-0 lead. Columbus battled back with goals from Johnny Gaudreau and Boone Jenner to send the game beyond regulation. Overtime passed without a goal and the game required a shootout. In the seventh round, Paul Cotter deked around the goaltender to lift Vegas to the 3-2 victory. Logan Thompson finished with 26 saves and stopped six-of-seven shootout bids from the Blue Jackets.

LAST GAME BY THE NUMBERS

  • Karlsson has three points in four games (2-1—3)
  • Cotter scores in his first NHL shootout to win it for Vegas
  • Logan Thompson earns his firt shootout win (1-3) despite stopping 83.3% of the shootout attempts he has faced (20-of-24)
  • Vegas improves to 17-6-1 overall and 10-1-1 on the road

Cotter the Kid
Paul Cotter participated in his first NHL shootout on Monday night and it was his tally that gave Vegas the two points. The rookie’s breakaway talent has been useful in the Golden Knights’ success a couple times already this season. In his first game since Oct. 18, Cotter posted his first multi-point game of his career on Nov. 10 in Buffalo. The rookie assisted on a goal and then scored one of his own on a breakaway in the second period. Appearing in 14 games this season, Cotter now has two goals and an assist, including the game-winning goal that secured the Golden Knights’ first home win of the season on Oct.13, also on a breakaway.
Carrier-ing the 4th

William Carrier has scored eight goals in 23 games for Vegas, just one goal shy of his season career high. The forward had his first multi-goal game of his career on November 21 in Vancouver and followed it up with another goal on November 23. He now has five goals in the last seven games.

Stingy Knights
Logan Thompson secured his first career shootout win in Columbus on Monday. This was the third time Thompson has defended Vegas in a shootout, and has stopped 83.3% of shootout attempts faced in his career (20-of-24); only Boston’s Linus Ullmark has a better shootout save percentage among active NHL goaltenders who have faced at least 20 attempts in their career. The Golden Knights’ goaltender tandem of Thompson and Adin Hill is one of the best in the NHL, as Vegas is seventh in team defense, allowing just 2.60 goals per game. Thompson is second in the league in wins (12) behind Ullmark (13). Thompson and Hill’s combined save percentage of .913 is sixth in the league. Last season, the Golden Knights ranked 15th in the league in team defense (2.98 goals allowed per game).

Road Trip Warriors
The VGK road record stands at 10-1-1, the best in the NHL. 21 of Vegas’ 35 points have come on the road, including the 10 straight points the Golden Knights brought home after a 5-0-0 trip in November. This is the Golden Knights best road start in franchise history, crushing their previous recorded of 8-4-0 in the 2020-21 shortened season.

Martinez Block Party
Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez leads the NHL with 102 blocked shots in 24 games and is the first player in the league to reach the century mark this season. Martinez has led the team in blocked shots in 17 of 24 games. After snapping his 114-game streak with at least one blocked shot on Nov. 23, Martinez recorded 7 blocked shots in the first period last Friday against Seattle. Martinez also recently recorded a season high of nine blocked shots against the San Jose Sharks on November 15, matching his career high and the franchise record, which he shares with Deryk Engelland.

First Things First
William Karlsson’s first-period goal against Columbus marked the 15th time Vegas has scored first in a game. The Golden Knights have scored seven times in the first five minutes of the first period through 24 games, most recently when Nicolas Roy scored in Toronto 23 seconds into the opening period. The Golden Knights are outscoring opponents 28-14 in the first period and lead the NHL in first-period goals. Vegas is 13-2-0 when it scores first and 8-2-0 when leading after the first period.

O from the D
Vegas defensemen have accounted for an NHL-leading 52 assists and 60 points total, which trail only San Jose. Both Alex Pietrangelo (T-6th, 21 points) and Shea Theodore (12th, 17 points) are among the top 15 defensemen in scoring league-wide.

The Shorty King
Reilly Smith netted his third shorthanded goal of the season against St. Louis on November 12. Smith leads the league with his three shorties and Vegas is tied for first as the team with four short handed goals. His 11 shorthanded goals since joining Vegas in 2017-18 are the most in franchise history.

Hey Shea!
Shea Theodore has recorded five points over the course of Vegas’ last six games (0-5—5) and ranks 12th amongst defensemen in the league in points so far this season (17). Theodore has had four multi-point games, second to Pietrangelo (six) for the most multi-point games by a Golden Knights defenseman this season.

Jack of all Trades
Jack Eichel has points in 12 of the last 16 games for Vegas (8G-11A), including five multiple-point efforts. His 26 points are tied for seventh in the league and his +15 rating is tops among all NHL forwards (sixth overall).

Aye-Aye Captain!
Captain Mark Stone matched his career-best goal streak with tallies in four straight games Nov. 17-23 (5G-1A). Stone’s nine goals on the year are two off Jack Eichel’s team lead and he is fourth on the team in scoring with 18 points.

Easy Steph-y
Chandler Stephenson has 19 points in Vegas’ 24 games, to go with three game-winning goals. Stephenson’s 63.5 faceoff win percentage ranks second in the NHL among all qualified skaters. Stephenson has recorded a point in five straight games twice this season including seven assists during his most recent point streak.

Spreading the Wealth
Ten Golden Knights have recorded 10 or more points this season, tied with four other teams for the most of any team in the league. Jack Eichel leads the club with 26 points, followed by Alex Pietrangleo with 21 points and Chandler Stephenson with 19 points.

Golden Knights Point Leaders

  1. Jack Eichel – 26 (11G, 15A)
  2. Alex Pietrangelo – 21 (3G, 18A)
  3. Chandler Stephenson – 19 (6G, 13A)
  4. Mark Stone – 18 (9G, 9A)
    Jonathan Marchessault – 17 (8G, 9A)
  5. Shea Theodore – 17 (3G, 14A)

Against the Penguins
Vegas’ contest with Pittsburgh is the first of two meetings this season. The Golden Knights own a 3-5-0 record against the Penguins, and were swept 0-2-0 in their series in 2021-22. Vegas has only won once at PPG Paints Arena, on Oct. 10, 2019, in four trips. In their last meeting, the Golden Knights fell to the Penguins in Pittsburgh, 5-2, seeing scoring from Jack Eichel and Alex Pietrangelo. Mark Stone owns 19 points (10-9—19) in 15 meetings against the Penguins in his career.

2022-23 Season PIT Series: 0-0-0 (Home: 0-0-0, Road: 0-0-0)
Dec. 1 – at Pittsburgh
Jan. 5 – at Vegas

2021-22 Season PIT Series: 0-2-0 (Home: 0-1-0, Road: 0-1-0)
Jan. 17 – at Vegas (Vegas 3, Pittsburgh 5)
Mar. 11 – at Pittsburgh (Vegas 2, Pittsburgh 5)

PITTSBURGH PEGNUINS NOTES:
LAST 2 GAMES
Nov. 29: Carolina 3, Pittsburgh 2 (OT) – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Crosby, Guentzel
Multiple Points: Crosby (1G-1A), Guentzel (1G-1A)
Goalie: Jarry (36 saves/39 shots)
Key Stats: Jake Guentzel scored the game-tying goal with under a minute left as Pittsburgh was able to salvage a point in overtime.
PP: 0-2
PK: 2-2

Nov. 26: Toronto 4, Pittsburgh 1 – PPG Paints Arena
PIT Goals: Rakell
Multiple Points: None
Goalie: DeSmith (37 saves/41 shots)
Key Stats: Pittsburgh’s win streak was snapped at five games as Pittsburgh fell at home.
PP: 0-2
PK: 3-3

INJURIES
Position Player Status Consecutive Games Missed Total Games Missed
D Kris Letang Stroke 1 2
2022-23 Total Regular-Season Man-Games Lost: 31

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Date Transaction
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.
Nov. 7 F Filip Hallander recalled from the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (AHL).
Nov. 6 F Drew O’Connor re-assigned to WBS (AHL).

Pittsburgh’s All-Time Record vs. Vegas: 5-3-0
In Pittsburgh: 3-1-0
In Vegas: 2-2-0
OT Record vs. Golden Knights: 0-0-0
Shootout Record vs. Golden Knights: 0-0
2021-22 Results: Pittsburgh went 2-0-0.

Penguins All-Time Point Leaders vs. VEGAS:
Evgeni Malkin: 7 GP, 8 PTS (2G-6A)
Sidney Crosby: 7 GP, 6 PTS (2G-4A)
Jake Guentzel: 7 GP, 6 PTS (3G-3A)
Phil Kessel: 4GP, 6 PTS (5G-1A)

TONIGHT’S GAME
-The Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Vegas Golden Knights for their first of two meetings this year and only the ninth meeting all-time. The Penguins will host the first game tonight at PPG Paints Arena at 7:00 PM ET (TV: AT&T SportsNet; Radio: 105.9 The X).

-The Penguins are 3-1-0 at home against the Golden Knights and 5-3-0 alltime.

-Last season the Penguins were 2-0-0 against the Vegas Golden Knights, outscoring them 10-5 and converting at 33.3% (2/6) on the power play.

-Jeff Carter led the Penguins with four points (1G-3A) against the Golden Knights last season in two games played.

QUICK HITS
1) Pittsburgh has points in nine of its last 11 games overall (7-2-2). Since this 11-game stretch began on Nov. 9, only the New Jersey Devils (18) and Toronto Maple Leafs (18) have picked up more points than Pittsburgh (16).

2) Jeff Carter has 13 points (8G-5A) in 18 career games against Vegas. Only six players in NHL history have more goals versus the Golden Knights than Carter’s eight – Anze Kopitar (11), Ryan O’Reilly (11), Kyle Connor (10), Bo Horvat (10), Matthew Tkachuk (9) and Nick Bonino (9).

3) When Marcus Pettersson has recorded a point this season the Penguins are 8-0-2. He has recorded an assist in 10 different contests this year.

4) Sidney Crosby, Brock McGinn and Jake Guentzel are all tied for fifth in the NHL with three game-winning goals this season.

5) In four career starts versus Vegas, Tristan Jarry is 3-1-0 with a 2.27 goalsagainst average and a .927 save percentage.

TEAM NOTES
PENALTY KILLIN’ IT
Pittsburgh’s penalty killing unit was perfect for the eighth-straight game, going 2-for-2 on Tuesday night against Carolina, and has now killed off 19-straight penalties in that eight-game stretch, and 23 of its last 24 penalties over the last nine games. Below is a look at Pittsburgh’s penalty kill by month, which finished first in the NHL in November:

Month PK PK% Rank
October 22/31 71.0% 28th
November 37/41 90.2% 1st
Total: 59/72 81.9% 8th

Since Teddy Blueger returned to the lineup from injury, the Penguins have not allowed an opposing power-play goal.

EVEN-STRENGTH EXPERT
Sidney Crosby leads Pittsburgh and is seventh in the NHL with 31 points (12G-19A) in 23 games this season. Of his 31 points, 26 of them (11G-15A) have come at even strength which is most in the NHL:

Player EVP
Sidney Crosby 26
Erik Karlsson 24
Jason Robertson 24
Connor McDavid 22
Matthew Tkachuk 20

Since Nov. 5, Crosby is second in points in the NHL:
Player GP G A PTS
Jason Robertson 12 12 9 21
Sidney Crosby 12 7 12 19
Nikita Kucherov 11 5 14 19
Jamie Benn 12 9 9 18
Mitch Marner 14 6 12 18

MULTI-POINT MANIA
Sidney Crosby registered a goal and an assist on Tuesday night, giving him multiple points in four of his last seven games (5G-9A). Crosby has recorded multiple points in over one third of his games played this season (8/23), and his 429 multi-point efforts are the most among all active players, and 11th most in NHL history:

Multi-Point Game Leaders (Active Players)
Player GP MPG % of GP w/Multiple Points
Sidney Crosby 1,131 429 37.9%
Alex Ovechkin 1,298 403 31.0%
Patrick Kane 1,129 318 28.2%
Evgeni Malkin 1,004 313 31.2%
Steven Stamkos 944 273 28.9%

Crosby has more games where he has recorded multiple points (429) than he has games with zero points (329).

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%
Sidney Crosby
81 GWG
Evgeni Malkin
78 GWG
Jaromir Jagr
78 GWG
Mario Lemieux
74 GWG
Jean Pronovost
42 GWG

PENGUINS’ ALL-TIME GAME-WINNING GOAL LEADERS
JOSEPH’S CAREER YEAR
Defenseman P.O Joseph picked up an assist on Sidney Crosby’s goal on Tuesday against Carolina, helping him establish a new career-high assist/point total of six in a career-best 19 games. He also has set career highs this season in hits (24) and blocked shots (8), all while averaging 14:49 of time-on-ice per game. Joseph has been plus or even in 16 of his 19 games this season, and his plus-7 is fourth-best on the team and second among team defensemen behind Jan Ruuta (+8).

QUICK STRIKE
Pittsburgh struck first on Tuesday against Carolina thanks to a goal from Sidney Crosby. It marked the sixth time in the last seven games and 14th time in 23 games that the Penguins scored the first goal of the game. Their 14 games scoring first are tied for fifth in the NHL:

Team Times Scoring 1st Goal
Dallas 16
Vegas 15
New Jersey 15
Florida 15
Pittsburgh 14

Pittsburgh is 8-3-3 in games when they score first. Crosby (5) is tied with John Tavares (5) for the most game-opening goals in the NHL.

CARTER 400
Jeff Carter enters tonight’s game three assists 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 (441G-593A), Patrice Bergeron (409G-592A), Joe Pavelski (431G-517A), Corey Perry (408G-456A) and Zach Parise (415G-441A). He would also become the 100th player in NHL history to accomplish this feat. Carter has points in four of seven home games this season (2G-3A), and has points in eight of his last 11 home games (3G-6A) dating back to Apr. 14 of last season.

RAK CITY
Rickard Rakell has put together a solid start to the season, registering 14 points (9G-5A) and a team-high plus-12 in 23 games this season. His nine goals are third on Pittsburgh, and his 14 points are fifth most. He is one goal shy of reaching the 10-goal plateau for the seventh time in his career. Rakell, who was selected 30th overall by Anaheim in the 2011 NHL draft, currently sits one assist shy of 200 in his career. He’s looking to become the 15th member of his draft class to accumulate 200 or more assists, and his 366 career points (167G-199A) are also 15th among players drafted in 2011.

BRICK WALL
Tristan Jarry stopped 36 of 39 shots (.923 SV%) on Tuesday night, helping Pittsburgh pick up a point. Jarry has been one of the hottest goalies in the NHL since Nov. 17:

Stats Since Nov. 17 (min. 3GP)
Stat NHL Rank
Wins (4) T-2nd
GAA (1.76) 2nd
SV% (.943) T-1st
SO (1) T-1st
Assists (1) T-1st

Jarry enters tonight’s game having stopped 130 of his last 135 shots (.963 SV%) over his last four starts.

TOP-LINE TRIO
The Penguins have found success with the top line of Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, going 8-1-2 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 11 games together:

Player GP G A PTS
Sidney Crosby 11 7 14 21
Jake Guentzel 11 6 7 13
Rickard Rakell 11 4 2 6

LETANG SUFFERS STROKE
Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is out indefinitely after suffering a stroke on Monday. His not experiencing any lasting effects of the stroke and will continue to undergo a series of tests. His condition is not believed to be career threatening.

In 2014, the defenseman missed over two months due to a stroke. During that time period, testing revealed that he was born with a very small hole in the wall of his heart. Although the small defect in the wall is apparent in all individuals, it typically closes on its own in most people. Since his initial stroke eight years ago, he has played 543 regular-season games and made 69 playoff appearances.

Letang has one goal and 12 points in 21 games this season and leads the team in time on ice, averaging 23:54 minutes. The Montreal, Quebec native has played his entire 17-year career with Pittsburgh, recording 662 points (145G-517A) in 962 regular-season games. He is the team’s all-time leader among defensemen in regular-season and playoff games played, goals, assists and points, and has helped the team to three Stanley Cup Championships (2009, ’16, ’17).

NFL: Week 13 Quick Capsule – Buffalo Bills (8-3) at New England Patriots (6-5)

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NFL: Week 13 Quick Capsule – Buffalo Bills (8-3) at New England Patriots (6-5)

WEEK 13
BUFFALO BILLS (8-3) @ NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (6-5)
DATE: Thursday (12/1/22)
STADIUM: Gillette Stadium
TIME: 8:15 PM ET
REFEREE: Shawn Hochuli

REGULAR-SEASON SERIES HISTORY
LEADER Patriots lead all-time series, 76-46-1
STREAKS Bills have won 3 of last 4
LAST GAME 12/26/21: Bills 33 at Patriots 21
LAST GAME AT SITE 12/26/21

BUFFALO BILLS
LAST WEEK: W 28-25 at Detroit (Thanksgiving)
COACH VS. OPP. Sean McDermott: 4-7
PTS. FOR 28.1
OFFENSE 415.9
PASSING Josh Allen: 262-410-3,183-23-11-95.2
RUSHING Josh Allen (QB): 81-561-6.9-5
RECEIVING Stefon Diggs: 84-1,110-13.2-9
PTS. AGAINST 18.1
DEFENSE 327.3
SACKS Von Miller: 8
INTs Jordan Poyer: 4
TAKE/GIVE +1 (20/19)
PUNTING (NET) Sam Martin: 48.4 (42.4)
KICKING Tyler Bass: 101 (32/33 PAT; 23/26 FG)

BILLS NOTES
• QB JOSH ALLEN totaled 331 yards (253 pass, 78 rush) & 3 TDs (2 pass, 1 rush) vs. INT last week & is 1 of 2 QBs with 250+ pass yards & 75+ rush yards in multiple games this season. Has 75+ rush yards in 3 of past 4. Had 314 pass yards & 3 TDs vs. 0 INTs with 104.4 rating & rushed for 64 yards in last meeting. Has 9 TDs vs. 0 INTs with 115.3 rating in his past 3 starts at NE. Has 13 TDs (10 pass, 3 rush) & 108.1 rating in 4 career starts on Thursday. Ranks 2nd in NFL with 3,183 pass yards this season.
• RB DEVIN SINGLETARY rushed for 72 yards in Week 12. Aims for 3rd in row with 80+ scrimmage yards. Has rush TD in 2 of past 3. Had 78 scrimmage yards (39 rush, 39 rec.) & rush TD in last meeting. Has TD in 3 of his past 4 vs. division.
• WR STEFON DIGGS had 8 catches for 77 yards & TD last week. Aims for 3rd in row with rec. TD. Has 5+ catches & 75+ rec. yards in 6 of past 7. Had 85 rec. yards & TD catch in last meeting & has 4 rec. TDs in his past 3 vs. NE. Aims for his 19th in row on road with 60+ rec. yards. Ranks 2nd in NFL with 84 catches & 3rd with 1,110 rec. yards.
• WR ISAIAH MCKENZIE had 6 catches for season-high 96 rec. yards & TD in Week 12. Set career highs in catches (11) & rec. yards (125) & had rec. TD in last meeting.
• WR GABE DAVIS has 5+ catches & 65+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3.
• TE DAWSON KNOX had TD catch in last meeting. Has 50+ rec. yards in 2 of past 3.
• S JORDAN POYER led team with season-high 10 tackles last week. Aims for 4th in row with 5+ tackles. Aims for 3rd in row vs. NE with TFL.
• LB MATT MILANO had 7 tackles, TFL & PD last week. Aims for 6th in row with TFL.
• DT ED OLIVER had sack, 2 TFL & 1st FF & FR of season in Week 12. Aims for 4th in row with TFL & 3rd in row with 2+ TFL. Had sack in last meeting.

NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
LAST WEEK: L 33-26 at Minnesota (Thanksgiving)
COACH VS. OPP. Bill Belichick: 36-10
PTS. FOR 21.7
OFFENSE 325.9
PASSING Mac Jones: 162-234-1,768-6-7-87.3
RUSHING Rhamondre Stevenson: 151-680-4.5-4
RECEIVING Jakobi Meyers: 47-571-12.1-3
PTS. AGAINST 18.4
DEFENSE 307.8
SACKS Matthew Judon: 13
INTs Jonathan Jones: 3
TAKE/GIVE +1 (18/17)
PUNTING (NET) Michael Palardy: 44.0 (40.0)
KICKING Nick Folk: 95 (23/23 PAT; 24/28 FG)

PATRIOTS NOTES
• QB MAC JONES set season highs in completions (28), pass yards (career-high 382), TD passes (2) & rating (119.8) last week. Aims for 4th in row with 0 INTs & 3rd in row with 100+ rating. Has 100+ rating in 3 of 4 career home starts vs. division. Has 112.9 rating in 2 career Thursday starts.
• RB RHAMONDRE STEVENSON led team with 112 scrimmage yards (career-high 76 rec., 36 rush) with career-high 9 catches last week. Aims for his 10th in row with 70+ scrimmage yards. Has 6+ catches & 55+ rec. yards in 4 of past 5. Has TD in 2 of past 3 at home. Ranks 3rd among RBs this season with career-high 50 catches.
• WR JAKOBI MEYERS aims for his 6th in row vs. division & 3rd in row overall with 50+ rec. yards. Had 6 catches for 59 yards in last meeting.
• WR DEVANTE PARKER led team with 80 rec. yards in Week 12. Had 8 catches for 85 yards in his last game vs. Buf. (10/31/21 w/ Mia.).
• TE HUNTER HENRY had 63 rec. yards & 2nd TD catch of season last week.
• LB MATTHEW JUDON has 4.5 sacks in his past 3 & has 10 sacks in 5 home games this season. Aims for his 5th in row at home wth 1.5+ sacks. Has sack in 2 of his past 3 vs. Buf. Leads NFL with career-high 13 sacks this season.
• LB JOSH UCHE had sack last week & has sack in 3 of past 4.
• LB RAEKWON MCMILLAN had seaosn-high 2 TFL last week. Aims for 4th in row with TFL.
• DB JONATHAN JONES had season-high 7 tackles, tied career high with 3 PD & had 3rd INT of season last week. Aims for 4th in row with PD & has INT in 2 of past 3.
• DB KYLE DUGGER led team with season-high 9 tackles in Week 12. Aims for 3rd in row with 6+ tackles. Had TFL in last meeting.

NHL Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning (13-8-1) at Philadelphia Flyers (8-10-5)

NHL Editor
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NHL Preview: Tampa Bay Lightning (13-8-1) at Philadelphia Flyers (8-10-5)

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING NOTES:

LAST GAME
Lightning 1 at Boston 3
The Tampa Bay Lightning fell to the Boston Bruins 3-1 on Tuesday night at TD Garden…The Bolts fell to 13-8-1 on the season with a road record of 6-5-0…Tampa Bay is 0-2-0 against the Bruins this season…Taylor Hall opened the scoring for Boston just 1:07 into the first period…Steven Stamkos tied the game at one with a quick one-timer on the power play at the 18:20 mark of the first period with Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point picking up the assists…Stamkos has picked up points in eight of his last 10 games vs. BOS (8-4—12) and has points in five consecutive games at TD Garden (4-1—5)…Kucherov has picked up 10 points in his last 10 games at BOS (5-5—10)…Point has collected points in three straight games at BOS (1-4— 5)…Hall gave the Bruins a 2-1 lead with a power-play goal in the third period with 17:11 remaining in regulation…Brad Marchand added an empty-net goal at the 19:19 mark of the third…Andrei Vasilevskiy got the start in goal for Tampa Bay and made 23 saves on 25 shots against…Pierre-Edouard Bellemare returned to the lineup for the Lightning after missing the past two games…Sixteen of Tampa Bay’s 18
skaters recorded a shot on goal.
PP: TBL – 1-2 BOS – 1-1
SOG: TBL – 28 BOS – 26
Attendance: 17,850

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
The Lightning and the Flyers are playing the second of three matchups this season and the only meeting at Wells Fargo Center…Tampa Bay fell to Philadelphia 3-2 in the first meeting Oct. 18 at AMALIE Arena…Steven Stamkos scored both of the Bolts goals in the second period with both tallies coming on the power play…Nikita Kucherov assisted on both of the Stamkos goals, while Victor Hedman and Vladislav Namestnikov also picked up a helper in the loss…Scott Laughton made it a 2-1 game with 9:17 left in the second before Philadelphia scored twice in the third period to skate to a 3-2 win over Tampa Bay…Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 21 shots in the loss…The Bolts are 7-3-0 in their last 10 road games at PHI and 9-1-0 in the last 10 matchups overall…Stamkos has recorded points in five straight games vs. PHI (4-6—10) and 11 of the last 12 matchups (9-15—24)…Stamkos has pointed in 13 of 18 career games at PHI (9-9—18)…Kucherov has recorded four points in his last two games vs. PHI (1-3—4)…Kucherov has pointed in nine of his last 11 games vs. PHI (4-16—20)…Hedman has four points in his last two games vs. PHI (0-4—4)…Hedman has pointed in eight of his last 10 games vs. PHI (2-13—15)…Brayden Point has recorded points in eight of his 11 career games vs. PHI (7-4—11)…Vasilevskiy has won three straight starts at PHI…The Lightning are 50-45-3 with eight ties all-time vs. PHI, including a road record of 22-22-1 with seven ties…Martin St. Louis (15-43—58) holds the Lightning franchise records for career points and assists vs. PHI.

TBL ALL-TIME POINT LEADERS VS. PHI

  1. Martin St. Louis – 58 pts. (15-43—58, 44 GP)
  2. Steven Stamkos – 51 pts. (27-24—51, 38 GP)
  3. Vincent Lecavalier – 42 pts. (15-27—42, 52 GP)
    T4. Victor Hedman – 28 pts. (7-21—28, 34 GP)
    T4. Brad Richards – 28 pts. (7-21—28, 26 GP)

TONIGHT’S STORYLINES
Tampa Bay is playing the third and final game of a three-game road trip, matching their longest road trip of the season thus far…The Bolts will play five of their 14 games in December on the road…The Lightning are 3-4-1 against Metropolitan Division opponents this season…Tampa Bay is 6-5-0 on the road this season and have won four of their last six road contests…Since the start of the 2017-18 season, the Bolts have posted an NHL-best .646 points percentage (121-63-14) on the road.

INJURIES
2022-23 Regular Season Man Games Lost: 59
Current Injuries:
Rudolfs Balcers (Upper-body injury; Out Indefinitely) 2 Games
Anthony Cirelli (Shoulder surgery; Out) 22 Games

TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 28 – Assigned F Alex Barre-Boulet to AHL Syracuse
Nov. 25 – Recalled F Alex Barre-Boulet from AHL Syracuse
Nov. 12 – Claimed F Rudolfs Balcers off waivers from FLA

STAMMER TIME
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos scored one goal Nov. 29 at BOS to extend his season-long point streak to eight games (6-8—14), the second-longest point streak among Tampa Bay skaters this season…Stamkos has now recorded 999 career points (494-505—999)…Stamkos finished November with points in 10 of the Lightning’s 13 contests (6-12—18)…Stamkos’s 18 points in November were tied for the eighth-most among NHL skaters…Stamkos (13-14—27) leads the Bolts in goals, ranks second behind Nikita Kucherov (10-25—35) in points and is tied with Brayden Point (10-14—24) for the third-most assists…Stamkos’s 13 goals are tied for the seventh-most in the NHL…Stamkos’s seven power-play goals lead all Tampa Bay skaters and trail only Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid (8 each) for the NHL lead…Stamkos’s 494 career goals are the 48th-most in NHL history…Stamkos became the second player in Lightning history to record 500 assists with the franchise Nov. 15 vs. DAL (also: Martin St. Louis, 588 assists)…Stamkos has recorded more career goals and points than any player in Tampa Bay franchise history.

TBL ALL-TIME POINT LEADERS

  1. Steven Stamkos – 999 pts. (494-505—999, 944 GP)
  2. Martin St. Louis – 953 pts. (365-588—953, 972 GP)
  3. Vincent Lecavalier – 874 pts. (383-491—874, 1,037 GP)
  4. Nikita Kucherov – 651 pts. (256-395—651, 584 GP)
  5. Victor Hedman – 613 pts. (135-478—613, 918 GP)

KLUTCHEROV
Bolts forward Nikita Kucherov recorded one assist Nov. 29 at BOS and extended his point/assist streak to three games (0-7—7)…Kucherov (10-25—35) required just 20 games to hit the 30-point mark for the second time in his career (also: 2017-18, 18 games)…Kucherov leads the NHL in assists and ranks third in points…Kucherov’s 23 points (7-16—23) in November were tied with Jamie Benn (10-13—23) for the second-most among NHL skaters…Kucherov (256-395—651, 584 GP) has a career average of 1.11 points per game, tying him with Bryan Trottier (524-901-1425, 1279 GP) for the highest P/GP average of a second-round draft pick in NHL history and marking the highest P/GP average in Bolts franchise history…Kucherov leads all Tampa Bay skaters in points, assists, power-play points (17) and game-winning goals (3)…Kucherov has recorded points in nine of 11 road games this season (4-12—16) and 18 of 22 games overall…Kucherov is the only Bolts skater and one of seven NHL players to record a 10-game point streak this season…Kucherov also recorded an NHL-best (tied) six-game goal streak Oct. 25 – Nov. 5 (7- 5—12)…Kucherov’s 18 power-play points are the second-most among NHL skaters…Since the start of the 2016-17 season, only Connor McDavid (1.48 P/GP) has recorded a higher point-per-game average than Kucherov’s 1.35.

NHL P/GP LEADERS SINCE 2016-17 (MIN. 100 GP)

  1. Connor McDavid – 1.48 P/GP (240-448-688, 464 GP)
  2. Nikita Kucherov – 1.35 P/GP (188-314—502, 373 GP)
  3. Leon Draisaitl – 1.25 P/GP (246-343—589, 471 GP)
  4. Brad Marchand – 1.21 P/GP (205-319—524, 434 GP)

GAME POINT
Lightning forward Brayden Point recorded one assist Nov. 29 at BOS and extended his point streak to three games (4-2—6)…Point has eight points and three multi-point performances over his last five games (4-4—8)…Point (10-14—24) ranks third in points, tied for fourth in assists and tied for second in goals among all Tampa Bay skaters…Point (177-215—392, 439 GP) has posted a 0.89 career point-per-game average, the fifth-highest average for a third-round pick in NHL history.

NHL ALL-TIME P/GP LEADERS, THIRD-ROUND DRAFT SELECTIONS (MIN. 100 GP)

  1. Mark Messier – 1.07 P/GP (694-1,193—1,887, 1,756 GP)
  2. Charlie Simmer – 1.00 P/GP (342-369—711, 712 GP)
    T3. Jake Guentzel – 0.92 P/GP (172-190—362, 394 GP)
    T3. Brad Marchand – 0.92 P/GP (358-455—813, 888 GP)
  3. Brayden Point – 0.89 P/GP (177-215—392, 439 GP)

POWER UP
The Lightning have scored a power-play goal in eight consecutive games and are 12-for-28 with the man advantage during that span…Since Nov. 13, the Bolts 12 power-play goals are tied with Boston for the most in the NHL while their 44.4% power-play percentage leads the league…The Lightning power play converted on 32% of its power-play chances in November, the third-highest conversion rate in the NHL…Tampa Bay’s 24 power-play goals this season are the second-most in the NHL (most: Boston, 25) and their 28.6% power-play percentage ranks fifth in the league.

STORM SERG
Bolts defenseman Mikhail Sergachev (4-18—22) has the fifth-most points, third-most power-play points (11) and is tied for the fifth-most assists among all NHL defensemen…Sergachev ranks second in assists, fourth in points and third in power-play points (11) among all Lightning skaters…Sergachev, who was drafted ninth overall by MTL in the 2016 NHL Draft, leads all defensemen selected in 2016 in games played (384) and points (40-156—196)…Sergachev is the only player in NHL history to have played more than 75 playoff games (91) and won two Stanley Cups by the
age of 24…Sergachev (0.51 P/GP) ranks fourth all-time among Russian defensemen in points per game (min. 100 GP), trailing only Sergei Zubov (0.72), Sergei Gonchar (0.62) and Andrei Markov (0.58).

NHL POWER-PLAY POINT LEADERS, DEFENSEMEN

  1. Cale Makar – 13 pts. (4-9—13, 20 GP)
  2. Rasmus Dahlin – 12 pts. (4-8—12, 21 GP)
  3. Mikhail Sergachev – 11 pts. (2-9—11, 22 GP)
  4. Quinn Hughes – 10 pts. (0-10—10, 19 GP)

BRAVO, BELLY
Tampa Bay forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare skated in his 607th career game Nov. 29 at BOS…Bellemare tied Antoine Roussel for the most games played by a France-born player in NHL history…Bellemare’s plus-20 rating over the past two seasons ranks third among Lightning skaters.

PHILADELPHIA FLYERS NOTES:

UPCOMING GAMES
DATE OPPONENT LOCATION TIME BROADCAST INFO.
Sat., Dec. 3 New Jersey Devils Wells Fargo Center 7 p.m. NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic
Mon., Dec. 5 Colorado Avalanche Wells Fargo Center 7 p.m. NBCSP, 93.3 WMMR
Wed., Dec. 7 Washington Capitals Wells Fargo Center 7 p.m. NBCSP, 97.5 The Fanatic

CURRENT INJURIES
PLAYER INJURY DATES GAMES MISSED
Wade Allison IR-oblique muscle strain, hip pointer 11/13-present 9
Cam Atkinson upper body 9/25-present 23
Sean Couturier IR-back 9/19-present 23
Tony DeAngelo lower body 11/29-present 1
Ryan Ellis LTIR-groin/hip/back 10/11-present 23
Travis Konecny IR-upper body 11/19-present 6
James van Riemsdyk IR-upper body 10/27-present 17
2022-23 TOTAL MAN GAMES LOST: 136

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
11/29 – Activated F Scott Laughton from Injured Reserve; Loaned F Jackson Cates to Lehigh Valley (AHL)
11/28 – Placed F Travis Konecny on IR; Recalled D Egor Zamula from Lehigh Valley
11/22 – Placed F Scott Laughton on IR; Recalled F Jackson Cates from Lehigh Valley

FLYERS VS. LIGHTNING: HEAD-TO-HEAD
FLYERS LIGHTNING
48-42-16 ALL-TIME RECORD 50-45-11
23-18-11 HOME 28-23-3
25-21-5 ROAD 22-22-8
1-3-1 LAST 5 MEETINGS 4-1-0
1-5-4 LAST 10 MEETINGS 9-1-0
314 GOALS SCORED 318
20.4% POWER PLAY 17.1%
82.9% PENALTY KILL 79.6%
Hayes: 11 pts (5-6=11) in 17 GP
Provorov: 9 pts (4-5=9) in 15 GP
Ristolainen: 9 pts (1-8=9) in 30 GP
TEAM SCORING LEADERS Stamkos: 51 pts (27-24=51) in 38 GP
Hedman: 28 pts (7-21=28) in 34 GP
Perry: 25 pts (9-16=25) in 23 GP
Hart: 1-5-1, 3.91 GAA, .878 SV% in 7 GP
Sandstrom: Has not faced TBL
TEAM GOALTENDERS
Vasilevskiy: 10-3-0, 2.35 GAA, .928 SV%, 3 SO in 14 GP
Elliott: 8-4-0, 2.01 GAA, .936 SV% 3 SO in 12 GP

2022-23 SEASON SERIES (ALL TIMES EASTERN)
October 18 Amalie Arena PHI (3), TB (2)
December 1 Wells Fargo Center 7 p.m.
March 7 Amalie Arena 7 p.m

TEAM NOTES
QUICK HITS

  • Philadelphia plays 21 games in 40 days from Nov. 8-Dec. 17 – tied for the most games played among other NHL teams in that span (STL).
  • The Flyers have allowed the opposing team to score first in 17 of its 23 games this season. Philadelphia ranks T-3rd in the NHL with six wins when trailinsg first in a game. The Flyers are 2-2-2 when scoring first.
  • Philadelphia recorded a franchise-best 59 hits Nov. 12 vs. OTT. The 59 hits are tied for the ninth-most in a regular season game in NHL history.
  • The Flyers rank second in the NHL with 417 blocked shots and with 700 hits.
  • Philadelphia ranks sixth in the NHL in team rookie scoring percentage (11.0) and ninth in team rookie points (17).
  • The rookies have netted a combined seven goals to rank fourth among NHL team rookie goal percentage (12.5) and seventh in rookie goals.

HOME SWEET HOME

  • Philadelphia continues its five-game homestand Thursday – it’s second-longest homestand of the season. The Flyers will host a seven-game homestand, March 14-28.
  • The Flyers are 5-5-1 on home ice this season, including a 1-1-0 record against an Atlantic Division opponent.
  • Philadelphia ranks T-2nd in the NHL in shorthanded goals (2) and shorthanded assists (3) collected on home ice this season.
  • The Flyers have scored 28 of its 56 goals this season on home ice (.500) and out of those 28 home goals, 22 have been tallied at even strength.
  • The Flyers are 2-0-1 in one-goal games on home ice, ranking T-8th in the NHL in one-goal games win percentage (.667).

‘TIS THE SEASON

  • The Flyers play 14 contests during the month of December, tied for their second-most in a month this season (also, March).
  • Philadelphia will play six games at home and eight on the road, including the start to five road games in a row, Dec. 22-Jan. 2, that will be split up by the NHL Holiday Break, Dec. 24-26.
  • Philadelphia owns a 352-221-82-30 all-time record for games played in the month of December – its second-most wins in a single month.
  • The Flyers rank second in NHL history with a .596 winning percentage during the month of December (VGK – .750 in 56 all-time games) and rank seventh with 352 December wins.
  • The December schedule also features Philadelphia’s 21st all-time game held on New Year’s Eve, its 20th on the road, when the Flyers visit the Kings on Dec. 31. Philadelphia is 9-7-2-2 all-time in New Year’s Eve contests, 8-7-2-2 on the road.

LUCKY NUMBER 13

  • Kevin Hayes netted two goals Tuesday vs. NYI, including his first game-winning goal of the season, to stretch his point streak to three games (3-2=5). The contest marked his ninth career multi-goal game, first of the season.
  • He owns back-to-back multi-point games (2-2=4) for the sixth time in his career and ranks T-1st on the team with seven multi-point games this season.
  • He owns 14 points (7-7=14) in the last 13 games, including a season-high six-game point streak (Nov. 12-21).
  • The 30-year-old leads the team in goals (8), assists (16), PPA (6) and points (24) this season.
  • He collected eight points (1-7=8) in a career-high five-game season-opening point streak, Oct. 13-22.
  • He tallied his 200th career assist Oct. 19 at FLA.
  • Set a career-high three-game PPP streak (3a) from Oct. 13-18.

IVAN THE GREAT

  • Ivan Provorov tallied an assist Tuesday, his second helper in as many games and his third assist in the last four contests.
  • He recorded his 200th career NHL point (assist) Nov. 26 at NYI to become the seventh defenseman in Flyers history to reach the 200-plus point milestone.
  • He ranks T-4th in team history for goals by a defenseman with Shayne Gostisbehere (60).
  • The blueliner ranks third on the team in assists (10) and shots (51), fourth in scoring (11) and sixth in hits (38) this season.
  • The 25-year-old leads the Flyers and ranks third in the NHL with 60 blocked shots.
  • He tallied two assists, a plus-4 rating and 10 blocked shots in Philadelphia’s season opener on Oct. 13 vs. NJ.
  • The Russian native’s 10 blocked shots tied the franchise record for most in a game for the third time: Andrew MacDonald (3/11/16); Provorov (11/2/17 & 10/13/22).

CZECH HIM OUT

  • Lukas Sedlak registered two assists Tuesday night, including his first career shorthanded assist.
  • He owns back-to-back multi-point games for the first time in his career (1-3=4) and has three multi-point games on the season.
  • The forward has seven points (2-5=7) with the Flyers since being claimed on waivers from Colorado on Oct. 19.
  • The Czech Republic native’s five assists are his second-most in a season (6 in 2016-17) and his seven points are his third-most in a season (13 in 2016-17, 8 in 2017-18).

SANNY ON A ROLL

  • Travis Sanheim netted his first career shorthanded goal Tuesday vs. NYI to become the 41st defenseman in Flyers history to record a SHG.
  • He went scoreless in the first nine games of the season but now owns seven points (2-5=7) in the last 14 contests, including five points (2-3=5) in the last six games.
  • The blueliner ranks T-1st on the team in assists, second in scoring and T-2nd in goals since Nov. 19 and ranks T-4th among NHL defensemen in even-strength points (4), T-6th in goals and T-8th in points in that span.
  • The 26-year-old signed an eight-year, $50 million contract extension ($6.25 AAV) on Oct. 13.

EMERGING TALENT

  • Noah Cates recorded his first career shorthanded point (assist) on Tuesday night vs. NYI.
  • He owns seven points (3-4=7) in the last 12 games.
  • He tallied his first power-play point of the season (assist), Nov. 15 at CBJ.
  • The 23-year-old recoded his first game-winning goal of the season, second career, Oct. 18 at TBL.
  • The forward leads team rookies with eight points (3-5=8) and ranks T-10th among NHL rookies in goals and is one of 17 rookies to register a GWG.

WHOLE LOT OF HART

  • Carter Hart has seen 30-plus shots in 11 of his 16 games this season – he is 6-1-4 in those contests.
  • He ranks T-4th among NHL goaltenders in shots against (519) and saves (476).
  • He opened the season on an eight-game point streak (6-0-2) to become the fourth goaltender in team history to have started a season on an eight-game plus point streak: Pete Peeters (22-0-5 in 1979-80), Bob Froese (9-0-1 in 1982-83) and Dominic Roussel (8-0-0 in 1993-94). (NHL Stats)
  • He made a career-high 48 shots and tied his career high with 51 shots faced vs. FLA on Oct. 27.
  • He recorded a career-high season-opening five-game win streak.
  • Per NHL Stats, he became the seventh goaltender in Flyers history to win each of his first five games of a season and first since Ron Hextall (5-0-0 in 1995-96). The longest such stretch in franchise history is eight straight games, achieved by Dominic Roussel (1993-94) and Bob Froese (1982-83).
  • The 24-year-old’s 48 saves tied for the eighth-most by a Flyers goaltender while his 51 shots faced T-10th. Per NHL Stats, his 48 saves mark the highest single game save total by a Flyers goaltenders since Steve Mason on March 22, 2016 (51 at CBJ).
  • Outside of Philadelphia, he only has two NHL teams he has not earned a win against: Colorado and St. Louis.

BUZZIN’ JOEL

  • Joel Farabee has four points (2-2=4) in the last six games.
  • He owns eight points (2-6=8) in the last 12 games, including a season-high three-game assist streak, Nov. 8-12, and two three-game point streaks, Nov. 8-12 & Nov. 19-23.
  • He ranks third on the Flyers in scoring (14) and fourth in goals and assists (9) this season.
  • The forward tallied a season-high three points (1-2=3) on Oct. 22 at NSH.
  • He tied his career-high five shots for the seventh time on Oct. 19 at FLA.
  • The 22-year-old is one of six Flyers players with a GWG this season, notching his fourth career on Oct. 27 vs. FLA.

TIP OF THE HAT

  • Owen Tippett recorded a career-high 21:14 TOI Nov. 21 vs. CGY.
  • He registered his first career multi-goal game and a season-high six shots Nov. 19 at MTL.
  • The Ontario native collected five points (3-2=5) in a four-game point streak (Nov. 13-19), matching his career-best four-game point streak also set March 9-15, 2021.
  • He has seven points (4-3=7) in the last 12 contests.
  • He owns 10 points (6-4=10) in 18 games this season, setting a career best in a Flyers sweater.
  • He leads the team in PPG (3), ranks second in shooting percentage (14.3), third in goals and T-5th in scoring this season.
  • The forward recorded his first multi-point game (1-1=2) of the season vs. STL (11/8).
  • The 23-year-old has 17 points (10-7=17) in 39 career games with the Flyers in two seasons.

NHL Preview: Nashville Predators (10-9-2) at New Jersey Devils (19-4-0)

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NHL Preview: Nashville Predators (10-9-2) at New Jersey Devils (19-4-0)

NASHVILLE PREADTORS NOTES:

ALL-TIME vs. NEW JERSEY
OVERALL (33 GP) 18-9-(0)-6
HOME (17 GP) 7-5-(0)-5
ROAD (16 GP) 11-4-(0)-1

PLAYOFFS Never Met
− The Predators are 18-9-(0)-6 all-time against the Devils, including an 11-4-(0)-1 record on the road.

− This is the first of two matchups between Nashville and New Jersey in 2022-23; it is the first and only at the Prudential Center.

− Nashville went 2-0-0 vs. New Jersey last season, including a 3-2 victory away from home on Dec. 10.

− The Predators are 5-0-0 in their last five games against the Devils; they are 8-0-2 in their last 10; and 5-0-0 in their last five on the road.

− Nashville hasn’t lost in regulation to New Jersey since March 3, 2015, going 9-0-3 in that time span. Since the start of the decade, the Predators are 11-3-4 against the Devils, earning points in 16 of their 19 meetings.

− The Predators have won six in a row at the Prudential Center dating back to Oct. 13, 2015. Nashville has averaged nearly four goals-per-game (3.8) in those six contests.

− On Jan. 30, 1999, Sebastien Bordeleau scored the game-winning goal (2:34) for Nashville over New Jersey in the franchise’s first overtime victory.

NOTABLES vs. NEW JERSEY
− Head Coach John Hynes served in the same position for the Devils from 2015-19, posting a 150-159-45 record.

− Mattias Ekholm posted an eight-game point streak vs. New Jersey from Dec. 3, 2016-Jan. 30, 2020, picking up four goals and seven assists with a +8 rating.

− Matt Duchene has produced at a point-per-game pace in his career vs. the Devils, tallying seven goals and 20 points in 20 games. He has 11 points (4g-7a) in his last seven meetings with New Jersey, including consecutive three-point efforts on Feb. 6, 2018 and Nov. 6, 2018.

− Roman Josi has 14 points (5g-9a) in his last 11 games against the Devils. He’s operating at a point-per-game in his career vs. New Jersey, recording 16 points (5g-11a) in 16 games.

− Mikael Granlund has 13 points (6g-7a) in 15 career games vs. New Jersey.

− Ryan McDonagh has played 39 career games against the Devils – the most among current Predators skaters – tallying 20 points (3g-17a). He scored his first career NHL goal on April 9, 2011 vs. New Jersey (Martin Brodeur).

− Yakov Trenin scored his first career NHL goal on Dec. 7, 2019 vs. New Jersey (Louis Domingue).

− Predators prospect Marc Dec Gaizo is a native of Basking Ridge, N.J.

− Devils forward Erik Haula played in 51 games for Nashville in 2020-21, tallying 21 points (9g-12a).

LAST TIME OUT
− Anaheim Ducks 1, Nashville Predators 2 (OT) – Nov. 29 (Bridgestone Arena)
− NSH goals: Sissons (2), Josi – GWG/OT (5)
− ANA goals: Terry (10)
− Goaltenders: NSH – Saros (W, 34/35); ANA – Gibson (OTL, 39/41)
− Power plays: NSH 0-2; ANA 0-0
− Notes: Nashville improved to 7-3-2 at home in 2022-23… The Predators moved to 3-2 in overtime/shootouts this season (1-1 in OT; 2-1 in shootout)… Three of Nashville’s last four games have required OT… Nashville pushed its home point streak to six games (5-0-1)… Roman Josi scored his seventh career OT winner… Matt Duchene assisted on both of Nashville’s goals for his first multi-point game since Nov. 1 at Edmonton (2a)… Colton Sissons tallied his second goal of the season to open the scoring… Juuse Saros made 34 saves, his most since stopping 36 on Nov. 19 vs. Tampa Bay… Yakov Trenin returned to the lineup after missing four games with a lower-body injury.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS GAME NOTES
Dec. 1, 2022 at New Jersey Devils

INJURY REPORT
Player Designation Dates Missed Games Missed
Mark Borowiecki Upper body – IR Oct. 27-Nov. 29 14
Total man-games lost: 24
Borowiecki – 15; Trenin – 5; Jankowski – 2; Glass – 1; McCarron – 1

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
− Nov. 23: Assigned forward Zach Sanford to Milwaukee (AHL).
− Nov. 14: Signed forward Nolan Burke to a three-year, entry-level contract.
− Nov. 12: Recalled forward Juuso Parssinen from Milwaukee (AHL). Reassigned defenseman Jordan Gross to Milwaukee (AHL).

SIX-GAME STREAK AT HOME
− The Predators extended their home point streak to six games by defeating Anaheim on Tuesday. Nashville has gone 5-0-1 at Bridgestone Arena since Nov. 12.

− It is Nashville’s longest home point streak since a seven-game stretch from Oct. 8-31, 2019 (5-0-2).

− Nashville went 4-0-1 during its season-long five-game homestand from Nov. 12-21, picking up wins over the NY Rangers, Minnesota, NY Islanders and Arizona and earning a point in an OT loss vs. Tampa Bay.

− Roman Josi has led the Predators in points (9) and assists (7) during the team’s six-game home point streak.

− Nino Niederreiter and rookie Juuso Parssinen have shared the team lead in goals with three.

− Juuse Saros has started each of Nashville’s last five games at home, going 5-0-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .936 save percentage. He’s stopped 189 of 202 shots faced.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS GAME NOTES
Dec. 1, 2022 at New Jersey Devils
MR. 100
− John Hynes won his 100th game as Predators head coach on Nov. 17 vs. the Islanders.

− He’s up to 252 career NHL wins, moving him into a tie for 64th on the NHL’s all-time list (Jared Bednar).

− Hynes won his 100th game in his 183rd contest in charge of the Predators. Peter Laviolette hit the 100-win mark as Nashville’s head coach in his 189th game (Dec. 6, 2016); Barry Trotz reached it in his 274th game (Dec. 6, 2011).

THE CAPTAIN
− Roman Josi has 16 points (5g-11a) in his last 14 games after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime on Tuesday vs. Anaheim.

− It was Josi’s seventh career OT goal, tying him with Shea Weber for the third-most in franchise history.

− The goal also moved Josi one point closer to passing David Legwand for the most in franchise history. Josi (559) needs seven points to tie Legwand (566) and eight to pass him.

− Tallying four assists on Nov. 17 vs. the NY Islanders, Josi notched the seventh four-point game of his NHL career, the most among active NHL defensemen. He led all NHL blueliners with four four-point games in 2021-22. In that same game, he became the ninth different defenseman in NHL history to record three assists in the first 10 minutes of a contest; he also became the fourth active blueliner to record three points in the opening 10 minutes of a game.

− Since Oct. 27, Josi is tied for fourth among NHL defensemen in points (16) and goals (5) and is tied for 10th in assists (11).

− His goal on Tuesday vs. Anaheim was the 145th of his NHL career. Since making his NHL debut in 2011-12, only two defensemen have scored more goals than Josi – Brent Burns (175) and Erik Karlsson (146).

Where Josi ranks among NHL defensemen
Category Total Rank
Shots on Goal 92 First
Average TOI 25:05 Seventh
Goals 5 Tied for Ninth
Points 17 Tied for 12th
Assists 12 Tied for 18th

JUICE IS LOOSE
− Goaltender Juuse Saros is 5-0-1 with a 2.10 goals-against average and .936 save percentage in his last six games dating back to Nov. 12.

− His five wins since Nov. 12 are tied for the most in the NHL. Among NHL goalies with at least four games played in that time span, Saros is third in goals-against average and save percentage.

− Additionally, Saros owns a 6.21 goals saved above average (GSAA) since Nov. 12, the second-best mark in the League (per Natural Stat Trick). GSAA measures the goals a goalie prevented given his save percentage and shots faced vs. the NHL average save percentage on the same number of shots.

− Per Natural Stat Trick, Saros has made 120 high-danger saves this season, the fifth-most among League netminders.

DREAM DEBUT
− Forward Juuso Parssinen, 21, who made his NHL debut on Nov. 12 vs. the Rangers, has five points (3g-2a) in his first seven career NHL games.

− He became the first Predators player to make his NHL debut this season.

− He is the only rookie in Predators history to score three goals in his first four career NHL games.

− He is one of three rookies in team history to record five points in his first four career NHL games, joining Denis Arkhipov (2g-3a in 2000-01) and Marek Zidlicky (2g-3a in 2003-04).

− On Nov. 17 vs. the NY Islanders (2g-1a), Parssinen also became the 15th rookie in franchise history to record a three-point game and is one of three to do so within his first three career NHL games, joining Smith, who did so in his second on Oct. 8, 2011 at St. Louis (1g-2a), and Tommy Novak, who did so in his third on Oct. 23, 2021 at Winnipeg (3a).

− Scoring his first career NHL goal on his first shot, Parssinen joined an exclusive group of Predators players. He became the fifth Nashville skater to score in his NHL debut, joining Miikka Salomaki (2014-15), Kevin Henderson (2012-13), Smith (2011-12) and Mikko Lehtonen (2006-07).

NASHVILLE PREDATORS GAME NOTES
Dec. 1, 2022 at New Jersey Devils
− The No. 210 overall pick (seventh round) in the 2019 NHL Draft became the sixth player in the last decade to score in his first career NHL game after being selected in the seventh round.

− Parssinen had nine points (2g-7a) in 10 games with Milwaukee (AHL) prior to his recall.

NUMBER NINE
− Filip Forsberg (483) passed Martin Erat (481) and moved into sole possession of third place on the Predators’ all-time points list on Nov. 8 at Seattle. He is 12 points from becoming the third player in team history to reach the 500-point milestone.

− After recording his 12th assist of the season on Nov. 21 vs. Arizona, he leads Nashville in points with 19 (7g-12a) and has four multi-point outings in his last 13 games. He posted a three-game point streak (1g-2a) from Nov. 8-12.

− Forsberg has 16 points (5g-11a) in his last 14 games dating back to Oct. 22 vs. Philadelphia. He’s recorded two three-point games in that time frame – Oct. 27 vs. St. Louis (3a) and Nov. 1 at Edmonton (1g-2a).

− Nov. 1 at Edmonton was Forsberg’s 32nd career three-point game, the most in Predators history.

EL NINO
− Nino Niederreiter, who signed as a free agent with Nashville in July, has nine goals and 11 points in his first 21 games with the Predators to begin 2022-23.

− He tallied a three-game goal streak (3g) from Nov. 15-19. It was the first three-game goal streak by a Predators player this seaso and was Niederreiter’s first since scoring in three straight from Dec. 7-13, 2018 (4g) with Minnesota.

− Two of his team-leading nine goals have been on the power play, with the most recent coming on Nov. 1 at Edmonton. Niederreiter has scored at least one goal on the man advantage in each of his last 10 seasons.

− He found the back of the net three times in Nashville’s two games against San Jose in Prague, including twice in the second half of the back-to-back.

− Niederreiter became the second player in franchise history to score three or more goals through his first two career games with the Predators, joining Steve Sullivan (4g in 2004). He also became the fourth player in team history to score at least one goal in each of his first two career games with Nashville and the first since Luke Kunin in 2020-21.

QUICK HITS
− Predators defensemen have taken 459 shot attempts, the ninth-most among all NHL teams.

− Nashville’s 215 shots on goal from blueliners are the eighth-most in the NHL.

− The Predators are fourth in the NHL in face-off percentage (53.3 percent).

− Among NHL players who have taken at least 300 faceoffs, Ryan Johansen is second at 62.2 percent.

− Johansen won at least 50 percent of his faceoffs in a franchise-record 23 consecutive games, a streak that came to an end Wednesday at Detroit. The previous record was held by current Predators Assistant GM Scott Nichol, who did so in 17 straight games during the 2006-07 season.

− Colton Sissons is third in the NHL in shorthanded faceoffs won (42).

− Mark Jankowski was selected by Calgary in the first round (21st overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft. That pick was initially held by Nashville but was traded to Buffalo on Feb. 27, 2012 for Paul Gaustad and a fourth-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft, with which the Predators used to select Juuse Saros. To close the pick history, Buffalo traded the 21st overall choice in the 2012 NHL Draft to Calgary with a second-round pick in the 2012 NHL Draft (Patrick Sieloff) for the 14th overall pick (Zemgus Girgensons).

NEW JERSEY DEVILS NOTES:

LAST GAME
New Jersey Devils 5 New York Rangers 3
(19-4-0—38 PTS) (10-9-4—24 PTS)
Three Stars: 1. Y. Sharangovich 2. M. McLeod 3. J. Hughes

Goals:
NYR: A. Panarin, M. Zibanejad, V. Trochek (PPG)
SCORE 1
ST 2
ND 3
RD OT SO FINAL
New York 2 0 1 – – 1
DEVILS 2 2 1 – – 5
New Jersey Devils: Media Notes
NJD: T. Tatar, Y. Sharangovich, J. Hughes, M. McLeod, Y. Sharangovich (ENG)
Game Summary | Event Summary

INJURIES/ILLNESS

PLAYER INJURY OUT SINCE GAMES MISSED
Jonathan Bernier – LTIR Lower-body, hip 2021-22 23
Ondrej Palat I.R. Lower-body Retro-active to Oct. 24 17
Mackenzie Blackwood Lower-Body, MCL sprain Nov. 3 12
Nate Bastian Upper-Body Nov. 27 1
2022-23 Total Man-Games Lost to Injury/illness: 58

DATE PLAYER ACTION
11/22 Kevin Bahl Reassigned to Utica
Alexander Holtz Reassigned to Utica
11/23 Tyler Wotherspoon Recalled from Utica
11/27 Tyler Wotherspoon Reassigned to Utica
11/28 Kevin Bahl Recalled from Utica
Nico Daws Recalled from Utica
Alexander Holtz Recalled Utica

The Devils return home while riding a three-game winning-streak since the team’s 13-game winning streak ended on Nov. 23, vs Toronto. Jersey’s team if fresh off defeating the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday, and extended its road winning streak to 10 games, which tied a franchise record.

Below, the longest road winning streaks in franchise history:
10 Feb. 27, 2001-Apr. 7.
10 Oct. 20, 2022-PRESENT
9 Oct. 8, 2009-Nov. 12

The Devils are 9-3-0 at home this season, which ranks second in the NHL behind Boston (13-0-0). Keep in mind that the team won 16 home games last season, and 11 road games. Jersey’s team is 10-1-0 on the road this season, which ranks second behind Vegas (10-1-1). The Devils set an NHL record for the most wins in the month of November with 13 (13-1-0). Keep in mind the Devils won 13 games in a single month one other time via March 2001 (13-2-0). “Only four teams in NHL history have recorded more wins in a single calendar month: Colorado (15 in Jan. 2022), Boston (15 in March 2014), Pittsburgh (15 in March 2013) and Columbus (14 in Dec. 2016),” per NHL Pr.

There are eight other instances when an NHL team earned 12 wins for the month of November:
TEAM RECORD SEASON
Toronto 12-2-0 2021-22
Chicago 12-2-0 2013-14
Boston 12-0-0 2011-12
Vancouver 12-1-0 2002-03
Philadelphia 12-2-0 1985-86
NY Islanders 12-1-2 1980-81
Montreal 12-2-1 1975-76
Buffalo 12-2-3 1974-75

After erasing a 2-0 deficit in the first period on Monday, the Devils earned their eighth comeback win for the 2022-23 campaign which is tied with EDM, NYI, TBL & TOR for the most in the NHL this season. The team erased a 2-0 deficit on Oct. 18 vs Anaheim (4-2, W) and then a 3-1 deficit at Edmonton (4-3, W) on Nov. 3. It also marked the team’s third comeback win when trailing by two goals in a game this season, which is tied for second (MTL & ANA) for the most in the NHL behind Chicago (4). The Devils earned three comeback wins when trailing by two goals all of last season. Devils will enter December with a share of first place, or sole possession, atop the League standings for the first time in franchise history.

Jersey’s team is 12-3-0 when scoring first this season, which ranks third behind Boston (13-0-0) and Vegas (13-2-0). The Devils are 7-1-0 when trailing first this season, which is tied with Toronto for the most wins in the NHL for that matter. New Jersey is 7-1-0 when leading after the first period this season. The Devils are 16-0-0 when leading after the second period, which ranks first in the NHL. The Devils are 9-1-0 in their last 10 games played. As of Nov. 30, 2022, that marked an NHL best with Boston. The team is an NHL best 16-1-0 since Oct. 25, while the team’s 70 goals scored ranks first since that time (DAL, 66, 2nd). The team’s 31 goals against since that time ranks second behind Boston (29).

Keep in mind that the Devils are 14-4-0 when outshooting opponents this season, which ranks first in the NHL. Boston ranks second at 12-2-0. Jersey is 4-0-0 when outshot in a game this season and 1-0-0 when shots were even. Jersey’s team is 17-0-0 when Nico Hischier recorded a point in a game this season and 9-0-0 when Jack Hughes scored a goal in a game for 2022-23.

Keep an eye on…As of Nov. 30, the Devils ranked first (tied, LAK) in the NHL with 34 goals scored in the second period of play this season (SEA, 2nd, 32 GF). The team’s +14 goal differential for the second period of play this season also ranked first in the NHL, while Toronto ranked second at +12, as of Nov. 30. The Devils have allowed 1, or fewer, goals against eight times this season in a game. Jersey’s team allowed one, or fewer goals against, in a game just eight times all of last season. As of Nov. 30, the Devils ranked second in the NHL with a 2.22 GAA, while Boston ranked first at 2.18 GAA. Yet, Jersey’s team also ranked fourth in the NHL for goals, per game, at 3.78 (BOS, 1st , 3.95).

As of Nov. 30, the Devils ranked second in the NHL for shots against, per game at 26.3, while Carolina ranks first at 26.1. Additionally, as Nov. 30, the Devils are ranked second for shots on goal, per game, at 36.4 behind the Florida Panthers (40.2). Since 1994-95, the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship, the Devils have finished a season averaging under 25 shots against, per game seven times:

23.7 1997-98
24.7 1998-99
24.7 2000-01
23.2 2001-02
23.6 2002-03
24.4 2003-04
23.1 2012-13

The team clinched a playoff berth in six of those seasons, while winning a Stanley Cup championship in 2002-03, plus advancing to the Stanley Cup final in 2000-01. The team didn’t clinch a playoff berth in the shortened (lockout year) in 2012-13. Since 1994-95, the team’s highest shots per game total is 33.1, which was earned in 1999-00. The team then won its second Stanley Cup championship. As of Nov. 30, Jersey ranked fifth in the NHL with a 53.2 overall face-off%. Head coach Lindy Ruff became the fifth bench boss in NHL history who earned 800 wins. Only four other NHL coaches all-time are in the “800 club.”

S. Bowman: 1,244 wins
Joel Quenneville: 969 wins
Barry Trotz: 914 wins
Ken Hitchcock: 849 wins

To Ruff’s left, Nashville head coach Jon Hynes is a familiar face to Devils skaters, staff and fans. Hynes spent parts of five seasons as New Jersey’s head coach from 2015-16 to 2019-20. Hynes ranks second all-time in franchise history for regular-season wins by a head coach with 150. Tonight’s out-of-conference affair marks the third time that Hynes returns to the Rock and faces his former squad:

Dec. 10, 2021, 3-2 NSH win
Jan. 30, 2020, 6-5, NSH shootout win

The Devils officially announced and revealed their second-ever Adidas Reverse Retro sweater, which turns back the clock and nods to the franchise’s Colorado roots. The team is scheduled to wear the sweaters four times this season and twice on the road:

Dec. 3, at PHI, 7:00 P.M.
Dec. 9, vs NYI, 7:00 P.M.
Dec. 30, at PIT, 7:00 P.M.
Jan. 7, vs NYR, 1:00 P.M.
2022-23 TEAM STATS

RECORD ON DAYS OF THE WEEK
The Devils record on Thursday in 2022-23…4-1-0…at home: 1-0-0…road: 3-1-0
Record in night games in 2022-23…16-4-0…home: 7-3-0…road: 9-1-0
Record in day games in 2022-23…3-0-0…home: 2-0-0…road: 1-0-0
2022-23 Alternate jersey record…2-0-0

RECORD WHEN SCORING FIRST
Scoring first…12-3-0…Trailing first…7-1-0

GOALS BY PERIOD
PERIOD GOALS FOR/AGAINST DIFFERENTIAL
1 23-17 +6
2 34-20 +14
3 27-14 +13
OT 3-0 +3
TOTAL 87-51 +36
As of Nov. 30, the team’s +36 goal differential ranked second in the NHL, while Boston ranked first with a +39 differential.

BACK-TO-BACK GAMES
Overall: 3-1-0
First game: 1-1-0 | home: 0-1-0 | road: 1-0-0
Second game: 2-0-0 | home: 1-0-0 | road: 1-0-0

VS MUSIC CITY
The Devils and the Music City face-off for the first of two matchups this season. Jan. 26, at NSH, 8:00 P.M. E.T. The Devils were 0-2-0 vs Nashville last season. The last time that the Devils won a regular-season series vs the Preds was in 2011-12 when the foes played each other Just once (1-0-0). The last time that the Devils earned a win vs Nashville was Mar. 10, 2018, at the Music City in a 3-2 shootout win.
The last time that the Devils defeated Nashville at home was Mar. 3, 2015, in a 3-1 victory.

ALL-TIME vs PREDS
Record: 15-12-0-6
Home: 5-8-0-3
Road: 10-4-0-3

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
Thu. Dec. 1, vs NSH, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Sat. Dec. 3, at PHI, 7:00 P.M.
Tues. Dec. 6, vs CHI, 7:00 P.M. E.T.
Fri. Dec. 9, vs NYI, 7:00 P.M.
Mon. Dec. 12, at NYR, 7:00 P.M.

NHL Preview: Colorado Avalanche (12-7-1) at Buffalo Sabres (10-12-1)

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NHL Preview: Colorado Avalanche (12-7-1) at Buffalo Sabres (10-12-1)

COLORADO AVALANCHE NOTES:

UPCOMING GAMES
Date Opponent Time (MT) TV Radio
Thu, Dec. 1 at Buffalo 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Sat, Dec. 3 at Boston 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5
Mon, Dec. 5 at Philadelphia 5 p.m. Altitude 92.5
LAST GAME – Nov. 29 (Winnipeg 5, Colorado 0 at Canada Life Centre)
Blake Wheeler had a hat trick and Connor Hellebuyck stopped all 40 shots as the Jets defeated the Avalanche, 5-0, at Canada Life Centre … Alexandar Georgiev made 18 saves for the Avs.
SF: 40 SA: 23 PP: 0-3 PK: 1-2

TONIGHT’S GAME
COLORADO at BUFFALO
5:08 p.m. MT / 7:08 p.m. ET
Altitude / 92.5
TV: Marc Moser (play-by-play), Mark Rycroft (analyst), Katie Gaus (reporter)
Radio: Conor McGahey

The Colorado Avalanche continues their four-game road trip tonight in Buffalo against the Sabres … The Avs, who opened the trip with a 5-0 loss in Winnipeg on Tuesday, will head to Boston next to face the Bruins on Saturday before wrapping up the road swing on Monday in Philadelphia … The Avs are 8-3-0 in their last 11 games after starting the year 4-4-1 in their first nine contests.

AVALANCHE & SABRES
Tonight is the first of two meetings between the Avalanche and Sabres, both of which will take place in a two-week span in December … The Avalanche have won seven straight games in this series, including their last four visits to western New York … This current seven-game win streak over Buffalo is tied for Colorado’s third-longest active streak against any opponent (7-0-0 vs. Anaheim, 8-0-0 vs. Detroit, 9-0-0 vs. Los Angeles).

SCHEDULE vs. SABRES
Dec. 2 @ BUF
Dec. 15 vs. BUF

RECORD VS. SABRES
THIS SEASON 2021-22 ALL-TIME SINCE 1995-96
Overall: 0-0-0 Overall: 2-0-0 Overall: 67-60-22 Overall: 23-10-4
Home: 0-0-0 Home: 1-0-0 Home: 40-23-12 Home: 12-5-2
Road: 0-0-0 Road: 1-0-0 Road: 27-37-10 Road: 11-5-2

JUST CAN’T WAIT TO GET ON THE ROAD AGAIN
Colorado is 7-4-0 on the road this season, 8-4-0 if you include the one “home” game in Finland … The Avs had their four-game road winning treak snapped in Winnipeg on Tuesday … The Avalanche finished a league-best 9-1 on the road during the 2022 postseason, tied for the fewest road losses by a Stanley Cup champion since 1987 (the 2012 Kings and 1995 Devils were both 10-1) … Colorado earned all four series-clinching wins on the road.

QUARTER MARK
The Avalanche played their 20thgame of the season on Tuesday night in Winnipeg, the last NHL team to reach the unofficial quarter mark of their season … Colorado has the exact same record through 20 games as each of the previous two seasons (12-7-1) and nearly the same as three years ago (12-6-2).

AVALANCHE THROUGH 20 GAMES
UNDER JARED BEDNAR
2022-23 12-7-1 25 pts
2021-22 12-7-1 25 pts
2020-21 12-7-1 25 pts
2019-20 12-6-2 26 pts
2018-19 10-6-4 24 pts
2017-18 11-8-1 23 pts
2016-17 9-10-1 19 pts

ONE MONTH AT A TIME
The Avalanche finished 8-3-0 in November, the 23rd consecutive month that the Avs posted a .500 or better record in …. And 21 of those 23 months featured a winning record.

ALL HAIL CALE
Cale Makar recorded his 200th career point on Nov. 21 in Dallas, reaching the milestone faster than any defenseman in NHL history (195th game) … Cale hit the mark in 12 fewer games than Sergei Zubov (207) … As of Wednesday, Cale was tied for sixth among NHL defensemen in scoring this season with 21 points (6g/15a) in 20 contests … He shares the team lead with two game-winning goals, giving him 15 in his career, the most of any defenseman since he made his debut in 2019-20

FASTEST DEFENSEMEN TO 200 POINTS
NHL HISTORY
195 GP Cale Makar COL
207 GP Sergei Zubov NYR, PIT
211 GP Brian Leetch NYR
212 GP Phil Housley BUF
212 GP Denis Potvin NYI
216 GP Mark Howe HFD, PHI
216 GP Bobby Orr BOS

SOMEONE SAVED MY LIFE TONIGHT
As of Wednesday, Colorado ranked third in the NHL in team save percentage at .921 … Individually, Alexandar Georgiev was fifth in that category with a .926 mark … Colorado’s netminders ranked sixth in the NHL in team goals-against average (2.57).

DROP DEAD GEOR-GIOUS
Alexandar Georgiev is 10-3-1 in 14 starts with the Avalanche, ranking among the NHL’s top 10 in wins, save percentage (.926) and win percentage (.750) … He earned his 10th victory of the season in his 13th appearance on Saturday night against Dallas, tied for the second-fewest games to 10 wins in a season in franchise history … The only netminders to reach 10 wins in 13 games or fewer are Stephane Fiset (11 games in 1994-95 and 13 in 2009-10), Dan Bouchard (11 in 1980-81), Craig Anderson (13 in 2009-10) and Jocelyn Thibault (13 in 1994-95) … Going back to last year with the Rangers, Georgiev is 18-4-1 in his last 24 games (23 starts).

THAT’S THE POWER OF LOVE
Colorado is the NHL’s top power play team at 32.4% (23-71) … The Avs scored a power-play goal in a season-high eight consecutive games from Oct. 29–Nov. 26 … The club posted a 39.3 success rate (11-28) in October, the second-best mark in a single month since relocating to Denver behind only November 2018 (40.0%) … The Avalanche’s power play scored at a 32.8% clip during the 2022 playoffs, the highest rate on record (since 1977-78) by an NHL team that played at least 20 games … During the 2021-22 regular season, Colorado finished seventh in power-play percentage (24.0%) and led all teams in power-play goals (67) … It marked the Avalanche’s fourth top-10 finish in the last five seasons.

VIEW TO A KILL
The Avalanche’s PK unit has allowed only three power-play goals in the last eight games (23/26, 88.5%), which included a season-high streak of 13 straight kills that was snapped on Saturday against Dallas …. As of Wednesday, the Avs’ PK ranked 21st at 76.8% after sitting 30th through games of Nov. 11 at 68.3%.

IT TAKES TWO BABY
Mikko Rantanen leads the Avalanche with 29 points, followed by Nathan MacKinnon with 28, both of which rank among the NHL’s top-10 scorers (as of Wednesday) … MacKinnon’s 22 assists ranked third in the league while Rantanen’s 13 goals tied him for seventh … Rantanen was named the NHL’s First Star of the Week for Nov. 7-13 after MacKinnon was the NHL’s Second Star the week before from Oct. 31–Nov. 6.

CLIMBING THE FRANCHISE RECORD BOOKS
Nathan MacKinnon is tied with Gabriel Landeskog (248) for sixth place on the franchise’s all-time goals list, while Mikko Rantanen is tied with Matt Duchene (178) for ninth … With 428 career assists, MacKinnon is two behind Milan Hejduk (430) for fifth place on the career helpers list.

HOME COOKING
Mikko Rantanen has 23 points (11g/12a) in nine home games this season, which ranks him among the league leaders in home scoring … Mikko’s 2.56 points-per-game average on home ice is by far the highest in the NHL … He has two or more points in seven of his nine home outings, which includes five 3-point efforts and three 4-point nights.

SONG SUNG BLUE(LINE)
Colorado’s defensemen have combined for 55 points (12g/43a) this year, which ranks among the top 10 in the league … The Avs defense produced 64 goals last season, a franchise record and the most by any team since the 1992-93 Capitals (94) … The Avalanche’s blueline also lead all teams in points with a franchise-record 238, the most since the 1995-96 Red Wings had 240 … Colorado’s defensemen finished with 69 points (18g/51a) during the playoffs, the most by any blueline in a four-round postseason since the 1984-85 Oilers (77).

REVERSE RETRO JERSEY
The Avalanche debuted their adidas Reverse Retro 2022 ADIZERO jerseys in Saturday night’s victory over the Dallas Stars … The 2022 Colorado Avalanche Reverse Retro uniform pays tribute to its home state by incorporating colors of the Colorado flag while reintroducing the original jersey design donned in the 1995 inaugural season … The Avs will wear the RR jersey four times this season: Nov. 26 vs. Dallas, Dec. 11 at St. Louis, Dec. 29 vs. Los Angeles and Jan. 2 vs. Vegas

DAYDREAM BELIEVER
Colorado was originally scheduled for 10 afternoon games this season, which could be reduced to nine depending on the makeup date of the postponed Nashville game from Nov. 25 …. The Avs finished 5-1-0 in day games last year, 3-0-0 at home and 2-1-0 on the road … Colorado is 13-3-1 in day contests since the start of the 2019-20 campaign and 16-3-2 in home afternoon contests since 2017-18.

BACK-TO-BACK
The Avalanche were originally scheduled for 13 back-to-backs but that may be reduced to 12 depending on the makeup date of the Nov. 25th Nashville game that was postponed. … The Avs have played four back-to-backs so far, going 2-2-0 in the first game and 2-2-0 in the second … The Avalanche posted a 15-5-2 (.727) combined record in back-to-back games last season, the second-best mark behind Minnesota (.732, 19-6-3) … The Avs finished 7-3-1 in the first game and 8-2-1 in the second (.773), with only Tampa (10-0-2, .917) posting a better record in the second half of a back-to-back.

POSTPONEMENT
The Avalanche and Predators game at Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 25 was postponed due to a water main break that significantly impacted the event level at the arena … A makeup date will be announced once it is determined.

FINNISH FIREWORKS
Led by Nathan MacKinnon’s seven combined points (0g/7a) and Mikko Rantanen’s hat trick in the opener, the Avalanche swept the two-game NHL Global Series from the Blue Jackets in early November, out-scoring Columbus 11-4 … Colorado’s six goals in the 6-3 opening win set an NHL record for a single game outside of North America while the 11 combined goals were also the most over a two-game overseas series … Rantanen’s hat trick was just the third outside of North America in history, while MacKinnon’s four helpers that first night set a record for the most assists in a single game outside of North America … Alexandar Georgiev started and won both games, allowing four goals 71 shots (2.02 GAA, .944 Sv%) … His two victories already equal the record for career wins in games played overseas … MacKinnon’s seven assists and eight career points (he had one goal in the 2017 Global Series in Sweden) are both records for games played outside North America.

SCHEDULE NOTES
The Avs will play 26 games against their division foes, meeting Arizona, Dallas, Nashville, St. Louis Winnipeg four times each (two home/away) and Chicago (two home/one away) and Minnesota (one home/two away) three times apiece … Colorado will play 24 games versus the Pacific Division (three times each) and 32 against teams from the Eastern Conference (one home/away).

MILE HIGH MAINSTAY
Erik Johnson is in his 15th NHL season and 13th with the Avalanche … His 13 seasons rank fourth in franchise history behind only Joe Sakic (20), Adam Foote (17) and Milan Hejduk (14), with Foote the only other defenseman on that list … Johnson is the longest current tenured athlete of any of Denver’s four major sports teams, followed by Gabriel Landeskog and Rockies outfielder Charlie Blackmon (both 12 seasons).

BEST SINCE 2019-20
The Avalanche are 149-59-20 (.697) since the start of the 2019-20 season, the most wins, points and best points percentage in the NHL … Only Tampa (49) has more playoff wins during that span

MOST WINS SINCE 2019-20 POINTS % SINCE 2019-20 PLAYOFF WINS SINCE 2019-20
Colorado 149 Colorado .697 Tampa Bay 49
Boston 147 Boston .691 Colorado 32
Tampa Bay 143 Carolina .668 NY Islanders 25
Florida 140 Tampa Bay .661 Vegas 23
Carolina 140 Toronto .659 Montreal 19

ROCKY MOUNTAIN HIGH; AVS WIN STANLEY CUP
The Avalanche won their third Stanley Cup championship in 2022 following 1996 and 2001 … Colorado claimed its title by going 16-4 in the postseason, which included a pair of sweeps and defeating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning in six games during the Final … The Avs became the sixth team to win a Cup with four or fewer postseason losses since 1987 when the NHL went to four rounds of best-of-seven … And of those six only one team had fewer losses, the 1988 Oilers (two) … The Avalanche did not lose consecutive games all playoffs.

ALL I DO IS WIN WIN WIN NO MATTER WHAT
The 2021-22 Avalanche equaled the NHL record for the most combined regular season/playoff wins with 72 (56 regular season, 16 playoff), a feat only three teams in NHL history had achieved before … The 2021-22 Avalanche joined the 1995-96 Red Wings, 1983-84 Oilers and 1976-77 Canadiens on that list.

TAKE ME HOME TONIGHT
The 2021-22 Avalanche posted their best home season in franchise history with a 32-5-4 record (68 points) … Colorado tied Florida for the league lead in home points, ending with the most home points in the NHL for the second straight season after tying Penguins for league lead with 46 in 2020-21 … The Avs are just the third team over the last 30 years to post the league’s best home record in back-to-back seasons (outright or tie), joining the 2016 and 2017 Capitals and the 2007 and 2008 Red Wings … Colorado went 30-3-3 over its final 36 contests at Ball Arena … The Avs posted an 18-game home winning streak from Nov. 11–Jan. 30, the fifth longest run in NHL history … The club had a franchise record 22-game home point streak (20-0-2) from Oct. 30–Feb. 10, the NHL’s longest since 2013-14 (Anaheim, 20-0-2) … Colorado recently completed its best 60-game home stretch in franchise history going 49-5-6 (.867) from March 10, 2021 to October 19, 2022.

RECORD REGULAR SEASON
The 2021-22 Avalanche set a franchise record with 56 wins and 119 points en route to winning their second straight division title and 11th since moving to Denver (13th in franchise history) … It marked the club’s first back-to-back division championships since their NHL-record run of nine straight from 1994-95 to 2002-03 … The Avs clinched the conference’s top spot despite facing a 10-point deficit behind the No. 1 seed on Dec. 3 … The last team to win their conference after overcoming a deficit of 10 or more points was the Rangers in 2014-15 (13) … After sweeping a back-to-back from Arizona on Jan. 15, the Avalanche remained in first place in the West over the final 106 days of the regular season … During a span of over two months from Feb 10–April 19, Colorado was first in the entire NHL for all but one day (68 out of 69)

WINS, FRANCHISE HISTORY POINTS, FRANCHISE HISTORY
56 2021-22 119 2021-22
52 2000-01 118 2000-01
52 2013-14 112 2013-14

AINT NO MOUNTAIN HIGH, AINT NO VALLEY LOW
Colorado’s Stanley Cup championship came five years after a last-place finish in 2016-17 …. The Avs became the fifth team in the expansion era (1967-68) to win a title within five years of a last place finish and the first since the 2009 Penguins … Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy the previous year in 2020-21, becoming the first NHL team to go from worst to first overall in four seasons or less since the Bruins in 1970-71.

DOWN BUT NEVER OUT
Ten of the Avalanche’s wins during the 2022 postseason were earned in come-from-behind fashion, including four third-period comebacks … olorado’s 10 comeback wins tied the 2009 Penguins for the most in NHL history … The Avs trailed in all four of their series-clinching victories, the first team in NHL history to do so.

MAGIC YEAR FOR MAKAR
After becoming the first player in franchise history to win the Norris Trophy in 2021-22, Makar followed that up by winning the 2022 Conn Smythe as playoff MVP … At 23 years, 239 days, he became the youngest defenseman in 52 years to win the Conn Smythe and just the third overall to do so at age 23 or younger, joining Bobby Orr with the 1970 Bruins (22 years, 51 days) and Serge Savard with the 1969 Canadiens (23 years, 102 days) … Makar won the Conn Smythe just five days after receiving his first Norris Trophy … He became the third player to win both awards in the same season, following Orr in 1970 and Nicklas Lidstrom in 2002 … Makar led the Avalanche and all NHL defensemen with 29 points (8g/21a) in 20 games, the fourth-highest total by a defenseman in Stanley Cup Playoff history behind Paul Coffey (37) with the 1985 Oilers, Brian Leetch (34) with the 1994 Rangers and Al MacInnis (31) with the 1989 Flames.

IN BEDNAR WE TRUST
Jared Bednar is in his seventh season as the Avalanche’s head coach … Hired on Aug. 25, 2016, he is the third-longest tenured coach in the NHL behind Jon Cooper (March 25, 2013) and Mike Sullivan (Dec. 12, 2015) … Jared led the 2021-22 Avalanche to their most successful regular season in franchise history (56-19-7, 119 points) and continued that into the postseason with a 16-4 playoff mark en route to capturing the 2022 Stanley Cup … Bednar, who won a Calder Cup with the Lake Erie Monsters in 2016 and a Kelly Cup with the South Carolina Stingrays in 2009, became the first individual to win a championship in the NHL, AHL and ECHL as a head coach … He is the winningest coach in Avalanche history with a 252-175-47 (.581) regular season record … Bednar owns a 40-22-1 (.635) record in 63 postseason games, the best playoff winning percentage among active coaches and the third highest all time (min 50 GP) behind Glen Sather (.706) and Toe Blake (.689).

SUPER JOE ACHIEVES RARE FIRST
General Manager (now President) Joe Sakic, who captained the Avalanche to a pair of titles in 1996 and 2001, became the first individual in league history to win a Stanley Cup as a captain and GM with the same organization … He was just the third to win a championship as a player and general manager with the same franchise, joining Serge Savard of the Canadiens and Milt Schmidt of the Bruins.

TIP OF CAP
Gabriel Landeskog enters his 12th NHL season and 11th as team captain … Landeskog was the youngest captain in NHL history when he assumed the role at 19 years, 286 days on Sept. 4, 2012, a title he held for four years before Connor McDavid was given the ‘C’ by Edmonton at 19 years, 266 days on Oct. 5, 2016 … Landeskog is the second-longest serving captain in franchise history behind only Joe Sakic (17 seasons, 16 consecutive) … Only three players have been captain of their current teams longer:

Sidney Crosby (PIT) ………………… 16th season (since 2007-08)
Jonathan Toews (CHI) …………….. 15th season (since 2008-09)
Alex Ovechkin (WSH) ……………… 14th season (since 2009-10)
Gabriel Landeskog (COL) …………11th season (since 2012-13)

2022-23 AVALANCHE COACH’S CHALLENGES (3 W, 0 L)
W Oct. 28 at New Jersey – call on the ice overturned. Devils player was offsides, no goal
W Nov. 23 vs. Vancouver – call on the ice overturned for goaltender interference on Canucks player. No goal
W Nov. 29 at Winnipeg – call on the ice overturned for goaltender interference on Jets player. No goal

2022-23 AVALANCHE TRANSACTIONS
Nov. 23 – Jayson Megna, Oskar Olausson recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL) … Oskar Olausson reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Nov. 24 – Anton Blidh, Sampo Ranta recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Nov. 25 – Anton Blidh, Sampo Ranta reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Nov. 26 – Kurtis MacDermid placed on Injured Reserve (retroactive to Nov. 12) … Anton Blidh, Sampo Ranta recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL) … Anton Blidh, Sampo Ranta reassigned to the Colorado Eagles (AHL)
Nov. 28 – Anton Blidh recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL) … Alex Galchenyuk signed to a one-year contract for the 2022-23 season .. Jean-Luc Foudy recalled from the Colorado Eagles (AHL)

BUFFALO SABRES NOTES:
LAST GAME
Wednesday, Nov. 30
Buffalo 5 at Detroit 4 (SO)
Goals: Cozens (2), Samuelsson, Skinner, Quinn (SO)
Goalie: Anderson (40 saves/44 shots)
PP: 1/2; PK: 7/7; Shots: Detroit 44 – Buffalo 34

CURRENT INJURIES – (Man Games Lost: 53)
Player (injury, first game missed) – total games missed
Eric Comrie (Lower body, Nov. 19; IR) – 6 games
Jacob Bryson (Lower body, Nov. 25; IR) – 3 games
Ilya Lyubushkin (Undisclosed, Nov. 30) – 1 game

TRANSACTIONS IN PAST 7 DAYS
11/25: Activated F Kyle Okposo from IR; Placed D Jacob Bryson on IR
11/27: Placed F Riley Sheahan on unconditional waivers
11/28: Terminated the contract of F Riley Sheahan

UPCOMING GAMES
Sunday, Dec. 4: San Jose at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 7: Buffalo at Columbus, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 9: Pittsburgh at Buffalo, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Dec. 10: Buffalo at Pittsburgh, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, Dec. 13: Los Angeles at Buffalo, 7 p.m.

TONIGHT’S GAME
AVALANCHE at SABRES
• This is the first of two meetings between the Sabres and the Avalanche this season.

• Last meeting: Colorado defeated Buffalo 5-3 in Buffalo on Feb. 19, 2022.

• Next meeting: Thursday, Dec. 15, 2022 in Colorado.

• The Sabres are 2-8-0 in their last 10 games against the Avalanche; 2-6-2 at home.

• This is the 150th game all-time between Buffalo and Colorado; Buffalo has a 62-63-24 series record.

• The Sabres are 38-25-11 at home against the Avalanche all-time.

THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
• Each of the last 16 meetings between these clubs has been decided in regulation.

• Tage Thompson has notched 26 points (13+13) in his last 16 games.

• Thompson recorded a hat trick in his last game against Colorado on Feb. 19, 2022.

• Jeff Skinner owns 12 points (8+4) in his last 10 games, including nine (6+3) in his last five.

• Skinner has scored at least one goal in four of his last five games.

• Skinner has recorded three points (0+3) in his last two games against Colorado and a point in tonight’s game would give him a three-game point streak against the Avalanche for the first time in his career.

• Seven Sabres skaters (Dylan Cozens, Rasmus Dahlin, JJ Peterka, Jack Quinn, Mattias Samuelsson, Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson) need one point in tonight’s game to record a three-game point streak.

• Dylan Cozens has tallied 10 points (4+6) in his last 10 games.

• Cozens has scored four goals in his last four games.

• Rasmus Dahlin has recorded nine points (1+8) in his last eight games.

• Jack Quinn owns six points (3+3) in his last six games.

MAKING HISTORY
• The Sabres have converted on 26.2 percent of their power play opportunities through their first 23 games in 2022-23.

o The current franchise record for power play percentage in a single season is 24.5 percent in 2016-17.

• Buffalo currently owns a 5-on-5 shot attempts percentage of 52.2 percent, the highest mark by a Sabres team in a single season since the league began tracking the stat in 2009-10.

• Buffalo’s 3.70 goals scored per game is highest by a Sabres team since the 1992-93 Sabres recorded 3.99 goals per game.

• Three Sabres skaters (Rasmus Dahlin, 1.18, Jeff Skinner, 1.00; Tage Thompson, 1.26) have scored at least one point per game played through the team’s first 23 games.

• The 2006-07 Sabres were the last team in franchise history to have three or more skaters with at least one point per game played (Maxim Afinogenov, 1.09; Daniel Briere, 1.17; Thomas Vanek, 1.02).

GET IN LINE
• According to Natural Stat Trick, the line of Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch owns a corsi for percentage of 62.78 and an expected goals for percentage of 55.75.

• When on the ice together, Skinner, Thompson and Tuch have recorded 24 goals and allowed just 12.

• The trio has recorded a combined 35 goals on the season, 41.18 percent of all goals scored by Buffalo skaters in 2022-23.

• Skinner (6 multi-point games), Thompson (7 multi-point games) and Tuch (5 multi-point games) have all recorded multiple points in at least five games in 2022-23.

• Following Buffalo’s game on Wednesday, Skinner and Thompson were two of the 16 NHL skaters who had recorded three or more multi-goal games.

BACK TO THE FUTURE
• According to Natural Stat Trick, despite just 43.75 percent of their faceoff opportunities coming in the offensive zone, the line combination consisting of Dylan Cozens, JJ Peterka and Jack Quinn has produced 27 high-danger scoring chances at 5-on5 for the Sabres in 72:43 of ice time at 5-on-5 together.

• All but three of the high-danger scoring chances they have created as a line have come at 5-on-5.

• At 5-on-5, the line’s expected goals for percentage is 64.48 and their corsi for percentage is 56.88.

• The line’s collective 5-on-5 corsi for percentage and 5-on-5 expected goals for percentage is higher than each individual member’s percentages without the other two.

• Cozens (21), Peterka (20) and Quinn (21) are all 21 years of age or younger.

THE TAGE OF AQUARIUS
• Through Buffalo’s first 23 games, Thompson is on pace for 103 points and would become just the sixth Sabres skater to record 100 or more points in a single season (Pat LaFontaine, 148 points in 1992-93; Alexander Mogilny, 127 points in 1992-93; Gilbert Perreault, 113 points in 1975-76 and 106 points in 1979-80; Pierre Turgeon, 106 points in 1989-90 and Rene Robert, 100 points in 1974-75).

• Thompson is also on pace to score 50 goals in 2022-23, which would make him the first Sabres skater since Alexander Mogilny (76) in 1992-93 to record 50 or more goals in a single season.

 A 50-goal season would make Thompson just the fifth skater (Danny Gare, Pat LaFontaine, Rick Martin, Mogilny) in franchise history to reach that plateau at least once.

• Following Buffalo’s game on Wednesday night and dating back to Oct. 29, Thompson ranked second in the NHL in goals (13) and points (26) and was fifth in points per game (1.63).

• Thompson leads all Sabres skaters in goals (14), points (29), even-strength points (18), points per game (1.26), shots (104) and power-play goals (5).

• Thompson is also tied for the team lead in even-strength goals (8) and shorthanded goals (1).

• Thompson is tied for first among all Sabres forwards in time on ice per game (18:32) and all Sabres skaters in time on ice per shift (0:49).

• According to Natural Stat Trick, Thompson leads all Sabres skaters with 48 individual high-danger scoring chances and 38 individual high-danger scoring chances at 5-on-5.

• Following Buffalo’s game on Wednesday, Thompson was tied for fourth in the league with 104 shots on goal and was one of seven NHL players who had recorded 100 or more shots in 2022-23.

• Thompson owned the highest shooting percentage among the seven players who had recorded 100 or more shots on goal (13.5).

MR. 300
• Rasmus Dahlin is playing in his 300th NHL game tonight.

• He is the 26th defenseman to play 300 or more games with the Sabres.

• Per NHL Stats, Dahlin is one of eight Swedish-born defensemen, and the first since John Klingberg (Nov. 11, 2014 to March 31, 2018), with 186 or more points through their first 300 NHL games.

• Of the eight Swedish-born defensemen to accomplish this feat, Dahlin is the only one who began his NHL career at 18 years of age or younger.

• With a point in tonight’s game, Dahlin would pass Tomas Jonsson (186 points) for sole possession of seventh place all-time for points by a Swedish-born defenseman through his first 300 games.

• Dahlin owns the second-most points (186) through his first 300 games among defensemen selected with the No. 1 pick in an NHL Draft, behind only Denis Potvin (289 points).

LIFE IN THE RAS LANE
• Rasmus Dahlin is on pace for 96 points this season, which would shatter Phil Housley’s single-season franchise points record by a Sabres defenseman (81).

• Dahlin is also on pace to become the first NHL defenseman to score 29 or more goals in a single season since Brent Burns (29) in 2016-17. He would also become the second Sabres defensemen, and the first since Phil Housley (29) in 1987-88, to record 29 or more goals in a single season.

• Following Buffalo’s game on Wednesday, among NHL defensemen, Dahlin ranked second in goals (8), second in points (26), third in points per game (1.18), tied for first in power-play goals (4) and power-play points (13), third in time on ice per game (26:07) and tied for fifth in shots (74).

• Through his first 22 games, Dahlin has only failed to record a point on four occasions (Oct. 27 vs. Montreal, Nov. 12 vs. Boston, Nov. 23 vs. St. Louis and Nov. 25 vs. New Jersey).

• Dahlin (574:25) and Owen Power (545:35) are the only Sabres skaters who have logged more than 500 or more minutes of ice time through the team’s first 23 games.

• Following Buffalo’s game on Wednesday, only 5 total skaters in the NHL had skated 574 or more minutes in 2022-23 and Dahlin is the only one with fewer than 23 games played.

UNLIMITED POWER
• Following Buffalo’s game on Wednesday, Owen Power and Jake Sanderson were the only defensemen aged 20 or younger who had notched 10 or more points this season.

• Following Buffalo’s game on Wednesday, Owen Power ranked third among rookie defensemen in points (10) and was second in even-strength points (7).

• Entering play on Tuesday, Power led all rookie skaters in time on ice per game (23:43), with the next closest rookie at 20:53 (Sanderson).

• Power’s time on ice per game trails just Tyler Myers (23:44) in 2009-10 by one second for the most by a Sabres rookie in a single season.

• Through Buffalo’s first 23 games, Power has recorded multiple points on three separate occasions (Oct. 20, 0+2; Nov. 2, 0+2; Nov. 5, 0+2), tied for second among rookie skaters in 2022-23 following Buffalo’s game on Wednesday.

• Following Buffalo’s game on Wednesday, Power was tied for sixth among all NHL defensemen in primary assists (8) this season.

ONE BUFFALO
• The Sabres and the Buffalo Bills are playing on the same day for the only time this season after doing so three times last season.

• The teams have previously played on the same date 251 times, with both teams winning their respective games on 54 of those days.

• The Sabres are 133-82-36 when playing on a Bills game day and the Bills enter this game 103-146-2 on those dates.

• Of the 251 days on which both teams have played, 22 have been Bills playoff game days, including the AFC Championship games in 1992, 1993 and 2021. The Sabres are 12-9-1 on Bills playoff game days.

• The last time the Sabres and Bills both won on the same date was Nov. 24, 2019.

BACK-TO-BACK
• Tonight’s game brings Buffalo’s fourth of 13 sets of back-to-back games this season to a close. The Sabres are 2-2-0 in the first game of back-to-back sets and 1-2-0 in the second game so far this season. Buffalo’s point breakdown in back-to-back sets this season is: four points (1), three points (0), two points (0), one point (0) and zero points (2).

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