* Saturday marks the 24th annual Scotiabank Hockey Day In Canada and Sportsnet’s Ron MacLean will host the day-long celebration from Victoria, B.C. with a cast of special guests and in-depth features. The four-game slate is set to include 17 players headed to 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend, including Auston Matthews looking to continue his 71-goal pace with the Maple Leafs and Connor McDavid aiming to extend his point streak to 13 contests with the surging Oilers.
* Quinn Hughes contested several games at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre during the 2019 World Junior Championship, which was one chapter in Victoria’s rich hockey history that also includes teams from the city winning a Stanley Cup against the Canadiens and serving as a feeder club to the Maple Leafs.
* Vancouver will be the fifth team to contest a Hockey Day in Canada game while ranking first in the NHL standings entering play that date (also TOR on Feb. 13, 2021, VAN on Feb. 12, 2011, DET on Feb. 9, 2008 & OTT on Feb. 15, 2003). Winnipeg and Boston enter Saturday occupying first place in the Central and Atlantic Division, respectively.
* Kirill Kaprizov and Brock Faber each recorded three points on the man advantage Friday as Minnesota matched its franchise record and became the second team to score five power-play goals in a game this season.
ALL SEVEN CANADIAN CLUBS IN ACTION FOR SCOTIABANK HOCKEY DAY IN CANADA
Saturday is set to feature all seven Canadian teams in action during the 24th annual Scotiabank Hockey Day In Canada, with Ron MacLean hosting the marathon broadcast from Ship Point at Victoria Harbour. The day-long celebration starts when PWHL New York faces PWHL Boston on Sportsnet 360 at 12:30 p.m. ET, which is followed by a four-game NHL slate.
* The Jets are set to square off with the Senators after allowing two goals against or fewer in each of their last 13 games dating to Dec. 20. Adam Lowry spent countless hours on outdoor rinks in the Calgary community of McKenzie Lake while his father, Dave, played and worked for the Flames. The elder Lowry was head coach of the Western Hockey League’s Victoria Royals for five seasons from 2012-13 to 2016-17; the Royals’ lengthiest playoff run during the elder Lowry’s tenure was in 2016, when they fell to Rourke Chartier and the Kelowna Rockets in overtime during Game 7 of the Second Round.
* The Canadiens and Bruins will clash for the 760th time in the regular season, which marks the most games between a Canadian and American team in NHL history. Alex Newhook, who is expected to return to Montreal’s lineup soon, moved nearly 5,000 miles from his hometown of St. John’s, N.L., to play for the British Columbia Hockey League’s Victoria Grizzlies from 2017-18 to 2018-19. His tenure with the team included donning the “C” and recording over 100 points during his final season en route to winning the Vern Dye Memorial Trophy and Brett Hull Trophy as the MVP and top scorer, respectively.
* The Canucks carry a seven-game point streak into their matchup, while the Maple Leafs snapped a winless streak of four contests Thursday thanks in part to a hat trick by Auston Matthews. Noah Gregor, who assisted on one of Matthews’ three tallies, was grabbed by the Victoria Royals with the No. 55 pick in the 2013 WHL Bantam Draft and re-acquired by the club on Dec. 11, 2017. Gregor scored the overtime winner against the Vancouver Giants in Game 6 of the 2018 First Round as the Royals avoided elimination before earning a series-clinching victory the following day.
* The Oilers can overtake the 1967-68 Canadiens for sole possession of the longest winning streak by a Canadian NHL team, with Edmonton’s run marking the lengthiest by a club entering a Hockey Day in Canada contest (previous: 8-0-0 by OTT on Jan. 30, 2010). Zach Hyman (4-8—12 in 7 GP) has the most career points during Hockey Day in Canada games among players currently with one of the eight clubs in action Saturday, while Leon Draisaitl (6-3—9 in 7 GP) has the most goals. Draisaitl’s six tallies in Hockey Day in Canada games are tied with Canadiens assistant coach Alexandre Burrows (6-4—10 in 13 GP) for the second most in NHL history behind Flames special advisor to the general manager Jarome Iginla (8-7—15 in 13 GP).
* Across the ice from the Oilers and looking to halt their ‘Battle of Alberta’ rivals will be Jonathan Huberdeau and the Flames, who have a 7-3-0 mark across their last 10 contests. Huberdeau, a Saint-Jerome, Que., native, is one of eight Canadians on Calgary’s roster and has positively impacted the lives of communities he’s been a part of, including Calgary and his hometown.
MORE VICTORIA HOCKEY HISTORY
Click here to read the Saturday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates, which features more notes on Victoria’s rich hockey history in addition to the ones below.
* Victoria co-hosted the 2019 World Junior Championship, with each Group B round-robin game and two quarterfinal contests played at Save-On-Foods Memorial Centre. Several players currently with one of the eight teams in action Saturday played at the venue, including Quinn Hughes, Philip Kemp, Josh Norris, Cayden Primeau and Dylan Samberg with the United States as well as Ville Heinola, Rasmus Kupari and Jesse Ylönen with Finland before the countries clashed in the gold-medal game across the Strait of Georgia at Rogers Arena.
* The Victoria Maple Leafs contested three seasons in the Western Hockey League (not to be confused with the current major junior loop of the same name) from 1964-65 to 1966-67, highlighted by winning the Lester Patrick Cup as league champions in 1966. The club was the Maple Leafs’ farm team and their roster during the championship campaign featured Stanley Cup winners Aut Erickson, Ed Litzenberger and Milan Marcetta, Lady Byng Memorial Trophy recipient Andy Hebenton as well as Fred Hucul, whose play caught the eye of the expansion Blues and allowed him to make a triumphant return to the NHL.
* The Victoria Senators (1911-12–1912-13), Aristocrats (1913-14–1915-16; 1918-19–1921-22) and Cougars (1922-23–1925-26) competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and Western Canada Hockey League during a time when member clubs could play for the Stanley Cup. The Aristocrats were swept by Toronto during a best-of-five challenge in 1914, but the Cougars defeated the Canadiens in the 1925 Final and became the only non-NHL team to win the Cup since 1917-18.
KAPRIZOV, FABER DRIVE WILD OFFENSE TO FIVE POWER-PLAY GOALS
Kirill Kaprizov (2-1—3) and rookie defenseman Brock Faber (1-2—3) each factored on three of Minnesota’s five power-play goals before Aaron Ekblad’s third career four-point game nearly helped Florida erase a three-goal, third-period deficit, but Filip Gustavsson (21 saves) made 17 of his 21 saves in the third period – including a cross-crease, highlight-reel save in the final minute – to quell the Panthers comeback once and for all.
* The Wild, who tied their franchise record for most power-play goals in a single contest, also matched the Stars (Nov. 12, 2023 at MIN) for the highest total by any team this season.
* Kaprizov tallied multiple power-play goals in a single contest for the first time in this career and became the third player in franchise history with 20 multi-goal outings, joining Marian Gaborik (41) and Zach Parise (25). He also climbed the club’s all-time multi-point games list, surpassing Ryan Suter (72) for sole possession of the fourth most.
* Faber’s second career three-point game this season (also 0-3—3 on Jan. 6, 2024) moved the 21-year-old into a tie for the third-most points among rookies in 2023-24, while also padding his League lead in assists (3-22—25 in 45 GP). He became the franchise’s fourth rookie with multiple three-point games, joining Kaprizov (3), Calen Addison (2) and Rickard Wallin (2).
NHL PODCAST WEEKLY ROUNDUP
* NHL Fantasy on Ice (1/16): Fantasy waiver wire pickups: Week 15
* NHL Fantasy on Ice (1/16): NHL | Action Network Collaboration at halfway point of season
* NHL Draft Class (1/16) : Dan Marr, VP, NHL Central Scouting; Midterm Rankings
* The Chirp (1/17): Kelly Pannek joins; PWHL momentum, Oilers on rise, Toronto’s troubles
* NHL @TheRink (1/18): Brian Boucher joins; Stamkos’ future, Flyer’s momentum, more
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates for Jan. 19, 2023
* Logan Couture to make season debut for Sharks against Ducks
* Jonathan Quick returns to where he ‘grew up,’ set to lead Rangers against Kings
* Keith Tkachuk breaks news to Pavol Demitra‘s widow about late forward’s Blues HOF induction
*Jim Rutherford signs 3-year contract to remain Canucks president
SATURDAY ALSO HAS AVALANCHE-FLYERS ON NHL NETWORK, QUICK IN LOS ANGELES
Saturday’s 12-game slate is also set to feature Nathan MacKinnon and Colorado clashing with Travis Konecny and Philadelphia on NHL Network as well as New York goaltender Jonathan Quick dressing for his first game in Los Angeles since being traded by the Kings on March 1, 2023. Quick played parts of his first 16 NHL seasons with Los Angeles and backstopped the franchise to its first two Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014.
