* Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano combined to score a first-of-its-kind goal in Anaheim’s win against Buffalo, with Zegras sending an alley-oop pass to Milano over the Sabres’ net.
* Morgan Rielly assisted on four of five Maple Leafs goals to record his fourth career outing with at least four helpers – the most among all defensemen since he entered the NHL in 2013-14.
* The Lightning rallied late and Andrei Vasilevskiy became the second goaltender in NHL history to record 60 wins in a single calendar year (regular season and playoffs combined).
ZEGRAS AND MILANO GO UP-AND-OVER FOR HIGHLIGHT-REEL GOAL
On the 340th day of 2021, Trevor Zegras and Sonny Milano combined for a “Goal of the Year” submission as the New York natives teamed up for a highlight-reel winner in Buffalo. With his assist, Zegras moved into a share of the NHL lead in rookie scoring – equaling Lucas Raymond at 22 points.
* Zegras (6-16—22 in 25 GP) became the third rookie in Ducks history to record at least 22 points through his first 25 games of a season, following Bobby Ryan (11-14—25 in 2008-09) and Paul Kariya (10-12—22 in 1994-95).
* From his “Michigan” attempt in March to a stick-toss celly in November, the 20-year-old is not one to shy away from the spotlight or the highlight reel through his first 49 NHL games.
RIELLY RECORDS FOURTH CAREER FOUR-ASSIST OUTING IN MAPLE LEAFS WIN
Morgan Rielly (0-4—4) factored on four of five Maple Leafs goals, including both of Auston Matthews’ tallies, as Toronto (18-7-2, 38 points) earned its NHL-leading 18th win of the 2021-22 season.
* Rielly, whose four career four-assist games trail only Borje Salming and Darryl Sittler (both w/ 6) for the most in Maple Leafs history, has recorded the most such performances among all defensemen since debuting in 2013-14.
* Matthews (2-1—3) scored to extend his goal streak to seven games, the second consecutive season he has recorded a stretch of at least that length (also 7 GP from Jan. 24 – Feb. 8, 2021). He joined Babe Dye (4x) and Dave Andreychuk (2x) as the third player in franchise history with multiple goal streaks of seven or more games.
RANGERS, WILD CONTINUE WINNING WAYS
The Rangers (17-4-3, 37 points) and Wild (18-6-1, 37 points) each collected two points on the road to extend their win streaks to seven games, tied with the Stars for the longest active run in the NHL.
* New York and Minnesota became the sixth and seventh teams to string together at least seven consecutive wins this season. The 2021-22 campaign is the first in NHL history to feature seven clubs each record a win streak of seven or more contests through the first 400 games of a season.
* Artemi Panarin collected 2-2—4 and eclipsed the 500-point mark in his career (174—329—503 in 457 GP). The Rangers forward recorded his 13th career outing with four-plus points since entering the NHL in 2015-16, behind only Connor McDavid (21), Leon Draisaitl (16), Nikita Kucherov (16) and Patrick Kane (15) for the most among all players over that span.
* Kirill Kaprizov (0-1—1) factored on one of four Wild goals and is averaging over a point per game in his career (36-45—81 in 80 GP). Only four other active players have averaged at least a point per game through their first 80 career contests: Alex Ovechkin (52-53—105 in 80 GP), Sidney Crosby (38-62—100 in 80 GP), McDavid (28-60—88 in 80 GP) and Evgeni Malkin (34-54—88 in 80 GP).
LIGHTNING RALLY LATE AS VASILEVSKIY EARNS 60TH WIN SINCE JAN. 1
In the first meeting between the Lightning and Canadiens since the 2021 Stanley Cup Final, Corey Perry tied the game for Tampa Bay with 2:09 remaining in regulation and Ondrej Palat scored the go-ahead goal with 38 seconds left on the clock to help Andrei Vasilevskiy (21 saves) earn his 60th win of the calendar year (regular season and playoffs combined).
* The Lightning recorded the seventh instance of a team overcoming a deficit in the final 150 seconds to win this season and did so for the second time in 2021-22 (also Oct. 14 at DET). They are just the second team to do so in regulation, joining the Jets (Oct. 26 at ANA).
DID YOU KNOW?
The defending Stanley Cup champions have won the first game against their Final opponent during the ensuing season on five of the last six occasions. The others: Chicago (Oct. 24, 2015 vs. TBL), Pittsburgh (Oct. 20, 2016 vs. SJS & Oct. 7, 2017 vs. NSH), Washington (Oct. 10, 2018 vs. VGK) and Tampa Bay (Feb. 27, 2021 vs. DAL).
JARVIS FINDS SCORE SHEET IN HOMETOWN ON #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The Tuesday instalment of #NHLStats: Live Updates covered win streaks, a hat trick, a goal streak, milestone accomplishments and Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis – a Winnipeg, Man., native who made his return to his hometown and defeated the team he grew up cheering for in front of nearly 40 members of his friends and family.
DYK? Sebastian Aho, who the Hurricanes players call “Fishy”, has helped the 19-year-old transition into life as an NHL player by welcoming Jarvis into his home in North Raleigh as his “billet family”.
AVALANCHE VISIT THE BIG APPLE; STARS, GOLDEN KNIGHTS SQUARE OFF ON TNT
Wednesday features four games, including Colorado (13-7-2, 28 points) clashing with New York (17-4-3, 37 points) at Madison Square Garden as well as Dallas (13-7-2, 28 points) making its NHL on TNT debut versus Vegas (14-10-0, 28 points) at T-Mobile Arena.
* The Avalanche have gone 9-2-1 (19 points) in 12 games since Nov. 11, scoring 62 goals over that span (5.17 GF/GP) including four outings with seven. The Rangers return from United Center and look to extend their home winning streak to nine contests.
* The Stars have secured victories in each of their last seven games and can establish a franchise record for longest winning streak. The Golden Knights (187-104-24, 398 points) vie to vanquish the visitors’ run and reach 400 all-time standings points.
