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Around the League notebook for Thursday, Jan. 8

Friday, 01.09.2015 / 9:30 AM / News

By NHL Public Relations

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Around the League notebook for Thursday, Jan. 8
Around the League notebook for Thursday, Jan. 8

THURSDAY'S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

BOSTON 3, New Jersey 0

PHILADELPHIA 3, Washington 2 (OT)

CAROLINA 5, Buffalo 2

ST. LOUIS 7, San Jose 2

NASHVILLE 3, Dallas 2 (OT)

Chicago 4, MINNESOTA 2

COLORADO 5, Ottawa 2

ARIZONA 4, Winnipeg 1

Florida 3, VANCOUVER 1

NY Rangers 4, LOS ANGELES 3

NHL MOURNS THE PASSING OF J.P. PARISE

The NHL family, along with the rest of the hockey world, mourns the passing of longtime forward J.P. Parise, the father of current Minnesota Wild forward Zach Parise.

Parise, 73, played the majority of his 14-season NHL career with the Minnesota North Stars (1967-75 and 1978-79) and New York Islanders (1974-78), totaling 238-356—594 in 890 regular-season games.

After his playing career was over, Parise served as coach and hockey director at the prestigious Shattuck-St. Mary's school in Faribault, Minn., where he mentored his sons Zach and Jordan, along with the likes of Pittsburgh Penguins forward Sidney Crosby and Chicago Blackhawks forward Jonathan Toews. Click here to learn more about his impact on hockey in Minnesota.

Click here to learn more about his career and here to see the hockey world's reaction to his passing.

ICYMI: The Wild aired a video tribute before players and fans observed a moment of silence in honor of Parise before their game against the Blackhawks.

WEBER LIFTS PREDATORS IN FIRST PLACE IN NHL

Shea Weber scored twice, including the game-winning goal just 17 seconds into overtime, to lift the Nashville Predators to a 3-2 win against the Dallas Stars and a 5-0-2 mark in seven games since Dec. 27.

* At 27-9-4 (58 points), the Predators have set franchise records for wins and points through the first 40 games of a season. They also leapfrogged the idle Anaheim Ducks (26-10-6, 58 points) into top spot in the NHL; the Predators have two games in hand and hold the ROW tiebreaker (NSH: 23, ANA: 21).

* The Predators won their fifth consecutive game at Bridgestone Arena. At 16-2-1, they lead the NHL with 16 home wins and 33 home points.

* Weber (also Dec. 30 vs. STL) and Roman Josi (Saturday at LAK and Tuesday vs. CAR) have scored each of the Predators past four game-winning goals. Per Elias, the last time defensemen scored the decisive goal in four straight Predators victories was from Feb. 21-March 4, 2004.

* Weber is the third defenseman to score in overtime for the Predators this season, joining Mattias Ekholm (Dec. 20 at MIN) and Josi (Saturday at LAK). Per Elias, the last time three different Predators defensemen had overtime goals in one season was 2009-10 when Cody Franson, Francis Bouillon, Ryan Suter and Weber all scored them.

* Josi had two assists to eclipse 100 career points (30-71—101). Weber and Josi rank tied for fifth and seventh among NHL defensemen with 10-18—28 and 7-20—27, respectively.

* Miikka Salomaki scored in his NHL debut, becoming the first Predators player to accomplish the feat since Kevin Henderson on April 19, 2013 against the Blackhawks.

KANE HELPS BLACKHAWKS KEEP PACE

Patrick Kane (1-2—3) had three points to power the Blackhawks to a 4-2 victory against the Minnesota Wild in their first visit to Minnesota since Game 6 of their Western Conference Second Round series in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs when Kane scored the series-clinching overtime goal.

* With the victory, the Blackhawks (27-12-2, 56 points) kept pace with both the Predators and Ducks in the race for top spot in the Western Conference and NHL.

* Kane has six three-point performances this season, including two against the Wild (also 1-2—3 on Dec. 16). He leads the Blackhawks and ranks seventh in the NHL with 20 goals this season.

* Per Elias, Kane is just the second player in franchise history to score at least 20 goals in each of his first eight NHL seasons. He joins Denis Savard who posted 10 straight 20-goals seasons with Chicago from 1980-90, en route to 12 straight 20-goal campaigns (two with MTL).

* Corey Crawford made a season-high 42 saves to improve to 16-8-2 this season. His 2.19 goals-against average ranks fifth in the NHL.

* Brad Richards (0-3—3) had his fifth multipoint game of the season and first three-assist game since Feb. 11, 2012 at PHI as a member of the New York Rangers.

* Bryan Bickell (2-0—2) had his third multipoint game of the season and first regular-season two-goal game since Mar. 5, 2013 vs. MIN.

BLUES RIDE POTENT OFFENSE TO ANOTHER WIN

Seven different St. Louis Blues recorded multiple points, highlighted by 0-3—3 from Jaden Schwartz, to power them to their third straight win, 7-2 against the San Jose Sharks.

* With the victory, the Blues kept pace with both the Predators and Blackhawks in the crowded Central Division.

* The Blues have scored at least six goals in each of their past three games, including a pair of 7-2 victories over the Sharks (also 6-0 at ARI). Per Elias, the last NHL team to score at least six goals in three straight games was the Boston Bruins from Jan. 25-28, 2014 (6-1 at PHI, 6-3 at NYI, 6-2 vs. FLA). The last time the Blues accomplished the feat was from Dec. 9-15, 2000 (6-4 vs. CHI, 6-1 at CHI, 6-3 at ATL).

* Schwartz posted his third three-point performance of the season, and the sixth by a Blues player over their past three games (Tuesday vs. ARI – T.J. Oshie and David Backes; Saturday vs. SJS – Oshie, Alexander Steen and Kevin Shattenkirk). Per Elias, the Blues last had players post three-point performances in three straight games from Dec. 1-10, 2005 (four games).

* Schwartz has 4-6—10 over his past six games dating to Dec. 11 (he missed seven games due to injury). He shares third on the team with 13-20—33 in 34 games (tied with Steen).

* Steen (1-1—2) had his fourth straight multipoint game, joining Keith Tkachuk (Dec. 1-10, 2005) and Paul Kariya (Oct. 10-16, 2008) as the only Blues players to accomplish the feat in the past 11 seasons. Three other players have recorded four straight multipoint games this season: Jakub Voracek (Oct. 22-30), John Tavares (Oct. 10-16) and Mark Giordano (Nov. 2-8).

* Overall Steen has 3-8—11 in his past five games and is tied with Schwartz (13-20—33 in 34 GP) for third in team scoring with 33 points in 39 GP (11-22—33).

* Oshie (1-1—2) matched a career high with his third straight multipoint game and extended his overall point streak to seven games (6-7—13; also tying a career high).

* Jori Lehtera (1-1—2), Paul Stastny (1-1—2), David Backes (1-1—2), Jay Bouwmeester and Patrik Berglund also scored for the Blues, who had seven different goal scorers for the first time since Oct. 5, 2013 (7-0 win vs. FLA). Stastny has 2-5—7 during a four-game point streak.

* Vladimir Tarasenko had two assists to move into a share of eighth in League scoring with 22-21—43 in 41 games.

RANGERS RALLY IN STANLEY CUP REMATCH

In their first meeting since Game 5 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final, the Rangers scored four straight goals to erase an early 2-0 deficit and held off a late charge by the Los Angeles Kings to earn a 4-3 win, their fourth straight victory.

* Overall, the Rangers improved to 12-1-0 in 13 games since Dec. 8. It marks their best 13-game stretch since a 14-0-1 mark over 15 games from Jan. 7 to Feb. 10, 1973.

* At 23-11-4 (50 points), the Rangers passed the Washington Capitals (21-11-8, 50 points), who lost in overtime on Thursday, into third place in the Metropolitan Division.

* They also moved within four points of the Penguins for first place in the division and within six points of the Tampa Bay Lightning for top spot in the Eastern Conference. New York has two games in hand on Pittsburgh and four on Tampa Bay.

* Derrick Brassard had two assists to stretch his point streak to four games (3-3—6). He leads the Rangers with 22 assists and ranks second with 33 points.

* Martin St. Louis scored his first game-winning goal since Game 4 of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final and his first such goal in the regular season in a Rangers uniform.

* Dan Boyle (1-1—2) had his second multipoint game in his past three while Kevin Klein scored to stretch his point streak to a career-best four games (1-3—4).

* Making his first start since Dec. 21, Cam Talbot made 28 saves to improve to 4-1-0 with a 1.21 GAA, .957 save percentage and three shutouts in his past five appearances.

* New York improved to 10-6-1 on the road this season, including wins over the Kings, Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks. It marks the first time the Rangers have earned a road win against each of those teams during a season. Per Elias, it also marks the first time since the 1997-98 season (BOS and MTL) that any team has earned road wins against each those five clubs.

LUONGO POSTS WIN IN RETURN TO VANCOUVER

Roberto Luongo denied 32 shots to backstop the Florida Panthers to a 3-1 victory in his return to Vancouver after departing at the 2014 Trade Deadline. With the win, Luongo now has defeated all 30 NHL teams.

* With the victory, the Panthers (18-11-9, 45 points) moved within three points of the Bruins (21-15-6, 48 points) for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. Florida has four games in hand, though Boston holds the ROW tiebreaker (BOS: 19, FLA: 13).

* Luongo has earned a point in each of his past five decisions (4-0-1). Overall, he has posted a 16-7-7 record in 31 appearances and ranks among the top 10 in GAA (2.23 - 9th) and save percentage (.926 - 8th).

* He recorded his 389th career victory to move into a tie with Dominik Hasek for 11th on the NHL's all-time wins list.

* Jonathan Huberdeau had 2-1—3 to rally the Panthers from an early 1-0 deficit. It marked the fourth three-point performance of his career and first since his rookie season in 2012-13; he set a career high with 2-2—4 on Feb. 21, 2013 at PHI.

SVEDBERG, BRUINS BLANK DEVILS

Niklas Svedberg saved all 14 shots he faced to record his second career shutout and backstop the Bruins to a 2-0 win against the New Jersey Devils and a 4-0-2 mark in their past six games at TD Garden.

* Overall, the Bruins have earned points in each of their past six games (3-0-3) and are 6-2-5 in 13 games since Dec. 13. At 21-15-6 (48 points), the Bruins occupy the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Svedberg improved to 6-5-0 in 13 career appearances (11 starts), including a 5-5-0 mark this season. Per Elias, Svedberg joins Tuukka Rask (2 SO in nine starts) as the only Bruins in the past 14 seasons to have at least two shutouts in their first 11 career starts.

* Milan Lucic (2-0—2) netted his first game-winning goal since Jan. 28, 2014 vs. FLA and first multigoal game since April 5, 2014 vs. PHI. Lucic has multiple points in each of his past two outings (0-2—2 at PIT on Wednesday) after posting three such performances through his first 39 games of the season.

* The Bruins improved to 14-3-0 in their past 17 games with the Devils dating to March 30, 2010.

DID YOU KNOW?

After setting a NHL record with 54 saves in a road shutout on Tuesday, Semyon Varlamov made 36 saves to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-2 win against the Ottawa Senators.

* Per Elias, Varlamov's 90 saves over two games are the highest two-game total by an Avalanche goaltender.

* Ron Tugnutt stopped 98 shots over two games for the Quebec Nordiques during the 1990-91 season, first stopping 70 at BOS on Mar. 21 then 28 two nights later vs. HFD.

THURSDAY NIGHT NOTABLES

Highlights from the rest of games Thursday:

* Jarome Iginla scored twice and both Alex Tanguay and Ryan O'Reilly contributed two assists to help the Avalanche win their fourth straight home game against the Senators (dating to Feb. 17, 2009). Iginla scored his 572nd career goal to move within one of tying Mike Bossy for 20th on the NHL's all-time list. Tanguay reached 800 career points with his second assist (265-535—800). Erik Johnson added his career-high 11th goal of the season, besting his previous mark of 10 goals set with the Blues in 2009-10.

* R.J. Umberger scored early in the third period to force overtime where Jakub Voracek had the game-winner to help the Philadelphia Flyers overcome a pair of one-goal deficits for a 3-2 win against the Capitals, their second straight win. Voracek scored his fourth career overtime goal and second in his past nine games (also Dec. 21 at WPG). His other two overtime goals were in 2010-11 while with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He leads the NHL with 49 points (16-33—49) in 41 games.

* The Carolina Hurricanes scored four times in the second period, highlighted by goals from Jiri Tlusty, Eric Staal and Victor Rask in a span of 1:19, to pick up their third consecutive win at PNC Center, 5-2 against the Buffalo Sabres. Per Elias, the Hurricanes scored three goals in 79 seconds or less for the first time since Oct. 28, 2006 when they set a franchise record with three goals in 43 seconds in a 6-4 win vs. TBL. Jeff Skinner (last goal: Dec. 20) and Riley Nash (Dec. 27) also scored for their first goals of the 2015 calendar year.

* Mikkel Boedker (2-1—3) and Shane Doan (1-2—3) each tallied their second three-point game of the season to power the Arizona Coyotes to their fifth win in their past six at Gila River Arena, 4-1 against the Winnipeg Jets. The Coyotes scored three straight power-play goals to open a 3-0 lead through 40 minutes, marking the second time in their past three games that the Coyotes have converted for three goals on the man advantage (3-for-4 on Saturday vs. CBJ). Prior to the game Saturday, the Coyotes last scored three power-play goals in a game on March 31, 2012 vs. ANA.

ANDERSEN UNVEILS 'FOREVER TEEMU' MASK

Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen unveiled his new mask which honors former teammate Teemu Selanne. Andersen will debut the mask during Teemu Tribute Night against Winnipeg on Sunday. The mask will then be available for bid via online auction (via the Ducks).

LOOSE PUCKS

Sharks forward Melker Karlsson scored for the fourth straight game while teammate Brent Burns stretched his point streak to five games (1-6—7) . . . Sharks coach Todd McLellan was behind the bench for his 500th NHL game (293-145-62). Per Elias, only Bruce Boudreau (301 wins) has compiled more coaching wins through 500 regular-season games in NHL history . . . Braden Holtby established a new Capitals record by making his 23rd consecutive appearance (17th straight start), surpassing Wayne Stephenson's previous mark of 22 appearances set in 1979-80 . . . Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin found the back of the net for the fifth consecutive game (5-3—8). It marks the longest active goal streak in the NHL and his longest since an equal stretch from March 17-24, 2013 . . . Despite having their three-game winning streak snapped, the Capitals earned a point for the sixth straight game . . . Devils forward Mike Cammalleri and Bruins forwards Patrice Bergeron and Chris Kelly each played in their 700th NHL game . . . Sabres forward Philip Varone had his first career multigoal game . . . Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen has earned points in each of his last six appearances (4-0-2) . . . Wild forward Justin Fontaine played in his 100th NHL game . . . Coyotes forward Antoine Vermette had 0-2—2 to take the team scoring lead with 10-17—27 in 40 games . . . Jets forward Andrew Ladd stretched his point streak to four games (3-3—6).

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