NHL Morning Skate – Oct. 21, 2023

October 21, 2023

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* Jack Hughes recorded 2-2—4, including the winner in overtime, to become the first player to reach the 10-point mark in 2023-24 and joined rare company in the process by doing so in just four games.

* Spencer Martin stopped 36 of 37 shots for his first win with Columbus – one shy of the most by a goaltender in their first victory with the club.

* The NHL’s first 15-game day of 2023-24 will feature 12-plus hours of action, including a four-game slate on Hockey Night Canada and a pair of games-played milestones for Kings franchise icons Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty.

HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA HEADS TO FLORIDA FOR HALF OF SATURDAY QUARTET

For a second straight game, Mitchell Marner and the Maple Leafs will face a familiar playoff foe as they visit Nikita Kucherov and the Lightning in a rematch of back-to-back First Round postseason series in 2022 and 2023 (CBC, SNO, SNW, NHLN, BSSUN). Marner and Kucherov, who each scored Thursday, will be part of a four-game Hockey Night in Canada showcase beginning at 7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet.

* Marner, who scored his first goal of 2023-24 Thursday against the Panthers, has collected a point in 12 of his past 15 regular-season games in the state of Florida dating to the start of the 2018-19 campaign. He has totaled 13-8—21 in those contests, including 4-3—7 in Tampa (6 GP).

* The star-studded Lightning lineup also includes speedy forward and 50-goal scorer Brayden Point, who entered Friday as the League leader with 37 sustained bursts of 20+ mph this season (via NHL EDGE) – ahead of second-place Nathan MacKinnon (COL).

* Two other scoring stars from this matchup are within reach of climbing all-time lists for career power-play goals: Auston Matthews (78) needs one to tie Wendel Clark (79) for fourth place in Maple Leafs history, while Lightning captain Steven Stamkos (195) needs two to match Jarome Iginla (197) for 21st place in League history.

* Approximately 250 miles southeast of Amalie Arena, another Hockey Night in Canada matchup will take place as NHL assists leader Elias Pettersson (1-7—8 in 4 GP) and the Canucks continue a five-game road trip against Sergei Bobrovsky and the Panthers. Pettersson can become the first Canucks player since 1987-88 to have at least eight assists through the team’s first five games of a season, while Bobrovsky will look to continue his pursuit of dethroning Roberto Luongo from one of his multiple thrones as a franchise leader in wins.

15-GAME SATURDAY SERVES AS APPETIZER FOR FIRST-OF-ITS-KIND FRENZY

The first 15-game day of the season will include the last two home openers – with Logan Cooley playing his first game at Mullett Arena and Connor Bedard making his debut on United Center ice – with 12-plus hours of action entertaining fans and only the Flames and Devils idle. It will be the 25th day in League history with exactly 15 games and one of four on the slate in 2023-24 (also Nov. 4, Nov. 24 & March 30).

* The action-packed Saturday will serve as a precursor for “Frozen Frenzy” on Tuesday, Oct. 24, the second 16-game day in League history (previously April 8, 2023) and one of two slated for this season (also Jan. 13, 2024). It will be a first-of-its-kind day for the NHL, with all 16 games having different start times – and ESPN debuting a “whip-around” show (starting at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN+ and 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2) – beginning at 6 p.m. ET through 11 p.m. ET including a stretch of 12 straight games starting on 15-minute intervals. Click here to skate around the clock on Tuesday’s slate.

LONGTIME KINGS TEAMMATES READY FOR GAMES PLAYED MILESTONES

Longtime Los Angeles teammates Anze Kopitar and Drew Doughty – both cornerstones of the club’s first two Stanley Cup wins in 2012 and 2014 – each are expected to hit career games played milestones when the Kings seek their first home win of the season Saturday against the undefeated Bruins (3-0-0). Kings head coach Todd McLellan is coming off a milestone game of his own, having reached 1,100 in the club’s victory Thursday in Minnesota.

* Kopitar (1,296) is set to surpass longtime teammate Dustin Brown (1,296) for the most games played in Kings history. Among franchises that have been in the League for at least 10 seasons, only two have a current member of their club as the franchise leader in games played: Washington (Alex Ovechkin) and Pittsburgh (Sidney Crosby). In addition to Los Angeles, three others are likely to be added to that list this season in Florida (Aleksander Barkov; 4 away), Columbus (Boone Jenner; 15 away) and Tampa Bay (Steven Stamkos; 32 away).

* Doughty (1,099) is set to become the fourth player and first defenseman to play as many contests with the Kings, after Brown, Kopitar and Dave Taylor (1,111). Doughty and Kopitar have skated in 1,080 regular-season games together (546-410-124), the most among active teammates and fifth most by any pair in League history (a list upon which Kopitar and Brown rank third with 1,158).

* Doughty will surpass Borje Salming (1,099) on the NHL’s all-time list for games played with one franchise among defensemen and become the 12th blueliner in League history to hit the milestone with one club (and first since Marc-Edouard Vlasic did so with the rival Sharks on Nov. 26, 2021).

HUGHES CAPS OFF FOUR-POINT NIGHT WITH OVERTIME WINNER
The Islanders tied the game three times, including a tally from Bo Horvat (2-0—2) with 1:11 remaining in regulation, but Jack Hughes (2-2—4) serpentined his way through the offensive zone in overtime en route to a game winner, a fourth point of the evening and the first claim on the 10-point mark in the 2023-24 season.

* Hughes (4-6—10 in 4 GP) – who didn’t reach a double-digit point total until his 10th game of the 2022-23 campaign en route to a franchise-record 99 points – became the fastest to reach the mark in Devils/Scouts/Rockies history, besting John MacLean (5 GP in 1988-89).

* Luke Hughes (1-0—1) also recorded his first goal of the season, making the Hughes brothers the first pair of siblings to score in the same game for the Devils. Only two other pairs of brothers have scored in the same game for the same team since 2017-18: Eric Staal and Marc Staal on Feb. 20, 2023 (w/ FLA) as well as Seth Jones and Caleb Jones on Feb. 10, 2023 (w/ CHI).

* Jack picked up the primary helper on Luke’s goal after also assisting on his first career tally on April 13 and became the fourth player in NHL history to factor on each of his brother’s first two or more career goals. The others: Henrik Sedin (3 w/ Daniel Sedin), Doug Bentley (2 w/ Max Bentley) and Ron Sutter (2 w/ Rich Sutter).

#NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES FEATURES MARTIN’S FIRST WIN IN BLUE JACKETS UNIFORM
Spencer Martin earned a nod in the Friday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates as he stopped 36 of 37 shots to record his first win with Columbus and help his team conclude its four-game season-opening homestand with a victory.

RINK BUILD UNDERWAY FOR 2023 TIM HORTONS NHL HERITAGE CLASSIC
The rink at Commonwealth Stadium, home of the CFL’s Edmonton Elks, for the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic is starting to take shape as the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the first regular-season outdoor game in League history continues ahead of the Oilers-Flames showdown on Oct. 29 (7 p.m. ET on SN, TVAS, TBS, MAX).

* Click here for the #NHLStats Pack: 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic and everything you need to know about the 38th regular-season outdoor game in League history.