* The League-leading Bruins remained undefeated at TD Garden, while the Metropolitan Division-leading Devils picked up an overtime win at Scotiabank Arena to keep pace.
* New NHL “Ironman” Phil Kessel skated in his 1,000th consecutive game as Vegas earned a victory versus his former club.
* Ten of 13 games contested Thursday were decided by a one-goal margin or two-plus including an empty-netter, which marked the most in a single day in NHL history.
* The Kings, who are 5-1-0 in their last six outings and occupy second place in the Pacific Division, will contest a third consecutive game in Western Canada before concluding their road trip in Seattle on Saturday.
BRUINS, DEVILS EXTEND LENGTHY WINNING STREAKS
The top two teams in the Eastern Conference continued their winning ways as Boston (15-2-0, 30 points) collected another two points at TD Garden and New Jersey (14-3-0, 28 points) extended its double-digit winning streak:
* Jim Montgomery and the Bruins defeated the Flyers to improve to 10-0-0 at TD Garden in 2022-23 and become the fifth team in NHL history with wins in each of their first 10 or more home games to start a season. Of the four previous instances, two also involved a new head coach with a club: Billy Reay (1963-64 w/ CHI) and Alex Curry (1925-26 w/ SEN).
* Montgomery (17 GP) also matched the fewest games by a head coach to record his first 15 wins with a new team, a mark set by John Paddock (17 GP in 2007-08 w/ OTT).
* Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves and Yegor Sharangovich scored at 0:57 of overtime as the Devils extended their overall and road winning streak to 11 and seven games, respectively. New Jersey is now two games shy of matching its franchise record for longest winning streak, a mark set from Feb. 26 to March 23, 2001 (13-0-0).
* Vanecek improved to 8-0-0 in his last nine appearancesdating to Oct. 25 (1.78 GAA, .933 SV%, 1 SO), which was when the Devils’ 11-game run began.
KESSEL FIRST IN NHL HISTORY TO REACH 1,000 CONSECUTIVE GAMES
Three weeks after passing Keith Yandle for sole possession of the NHL “Ironman” record on Oct. 25, Golden Knights forward Phil Kessel became the first player in League history to appear in 1,000 consecutive games when he took to the ice Thursday. Prior to Vegas’ 4-1 victory versus Arizona, the club celebrated Kessel’s accomplishments in a pre-game ceremony.
FIVE CENTRAL DIVISION TEAMS EARN VICTORIES
Five of the seven Central Division clubs in action Thursday registered wins:
* Roope Hintz celebrated his 26th birthday by scoring two of his team’s six goals and Jason Robertson picked up an assist to help Dallas (10-5-2, 22 points) stymie Florida’s comeback attempt at FLA Live Arena and maintain the top spot in the Central Division. Hintz(6-9—15 in 10 GP) and Robertson (9-10—19 in 10 GP) both extended their point streaks to 10 games and became the first Stars players with a double-digit run since Patrick Sharp from Dec. 19, 2015 to Jan. 9, 2016 (6-9—15 in 12 GP).
* After Teemu Selanne and Teppo Numminen were inducted into the Winnipeg Jets Hall of Fame during a pre-game ceremony, Kyle Connor netted his third career NHL hat trick to help the hosts improve to 10-4-1 (21 points) and reach the 10-win mark in 15 games for the first time in franchise history. Only four players have posted more hat tricks with the Jets/Thrashers than Connor, who also moved up the club’s all-time multi-goal games list: Ilya Kovalchuk (11), Patrik Laine (8), Mark Scheifele (5) and Nikolaj Ehlers (4).
* The Avalanche (9-5-1, 19 points) and Predators (8-8-1, 17 points) kept pace with the Stars and Jets on Thursday. Colorado goaltender Pavel Francouz made a career-high 46 saves and Artturi Lehkonen scored the overtime winner, while Nashville captain Roman Josi recorded four assists including three in the opening 9:41 of the first period.
* Thomas Greiss (47 saves) fell four saves shy of the most in a game by a Blues goaltender as St. Louis captured its fifth straight win on the heels of an eight-game losing streak. Only two teams in NHL history have recorded a longer winning streak immediately after suffering losses in eight or more consecutive games: Philadelphia in 2017-18 (6-0-0) and San Jose in 2005-06 (6-0-0). Each team had lost their previous 10 contests.
OVECHKIN CLIMBS NHL’S ALL-TIME POINTS LIST; CROSBY MAINTAINS LEAD
A pair ofveterans had themselves a big night as Alex Ovechkin (1-2—3) continued his ascent of the League’s all-time points list, while Sidney Crosby (2-2—4) recorded the 36th four-point game of his NHL career to remain ahead of his longtime rival.
* The first of Ovechkin’s three points was his 401st career road goal, moving the Capitals captain within one of Wayne Gretzky (402) for the most in NHL history. Two days after Crosby passed Bryan Trottier on the League’s all-time points list, Ovechkin’s Thursday-night performance witnessed him do the same.
BLUE JACKETS, CANADIENS QUICK GOALS IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates included many more notes from a busy Thursday, including a wild six-goal third period between the Canadiens and Blue Jackets that saw the two teams combine for four goals in less than two minutes. Columbus would hold on to win its sixth consecutive game versus Montreal dating to Nov 19, 2019, which stands as its longest active winning streak against one opponent.
QUICK CLICKS
* NHL announces updates to the 2022-23 regular-season schedule
* NHL proud to support the Trevor Project
* NHL and KEMB Productions re-release podcast, “Slim and None”
* Jonathan Toews rebound season helping Blackhawks to surprising start
* Ivan Miroshnichenko inspired by call from Mario Lemieux after Hodgkin’s diagnosis
KINGS, CANUCKS SET TO CLASH AT ROGERS ARENA ON FRIDAY
Friday’s slate features Los Angeles (11-7-1, 23 points) visiting Vancouver (5-9-3, 13 points) in the first contest of the Pacific Division rivals’ four-game season series. The Canucks are 8-0-2 in their last 10 outings against the Kings dating to Nov. 24, 2018 (LAK: 2-5-3), which marks Vancouver’s longest active point streak versus one franchise.
