World Cup rosters announced; Ducks win ninth straight

TEAMS ANNOUNCE INITIAL ROSTERS FOR WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY 2016
All eight teams announced their initial rosters of at least 16 players for the World Cup of Hockey 2016, the best-on-best international hockey championship that will be held Sept. 17 - Oct. 1 at Air Canada Centre in Toronto.
Each of the eight teams -- Team Canada, Team Czech Republic, Team Europe, Team Finland, Team North America, Team Russia, Team Sweden and Team USA -- named 16 players for a total of 128 selections.

WEDNESDAY RESULTSHome Team in Caps
WASHINGTON 3, Toronto 2
Chicago 5, DETROIT 2
ANAHEIM 3, Montreal 2 (SO)
DUCKS EARN NINTH CONSECUTIVE WIN
John Gibson (25 saves) denied all three shooters in the shootout and Jakob Silfverberg scored the decisive goal to power the Anaheim Ducks to a 3-2 shootout win against the Montreal Canadiens, their ninth consecutive win and a 16-1-1 record in their past 18 games. Anaheim's nine-game winning streak is one shy of the franchise record from Dec. 6-28, 2013 (10-0-0).
* At 35-19-8 (78 points), the Ducks tied the idle Los Angeles Kings (37-21-4, 78 points) in terms of points atop the Pacific Division standings. Los Angeles, however, owns the ROW tiebreaker (LAK: 35, ANA: 32).
* Gibson picked up his fourth straight win and improved to 16-8-2 overall (2.09 goals-against average, .918 save percentage, four shutouts).
* Silfverberg improved to 18-for-29 in career shootout attempts. His 62.1 percent success rate is tops all-time (min. 20 shots).
* Corey Perry (1-0-1) has scored four times in his past two games (4-1-5) and leads the Ducks with 27 goals this season.

* Perry's goal was his team-leading 10th power-play goal of the season and he has scored 10 or more power-play goals in five of his 11 NHL seasons (all w/ ANA). Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Perry is one of three players in franchise history to score 10 or more power-play goals in at least five seasons:
Most Seasons with 10+ Power-Play Goals, Ducks History
9 - Teemu Selanne
7 - Paul Kariya
5 - Corey Perry
* Jamie McGinn scored in his first game since being acquired by the Ducks on Feb. 29.
NISKANEN LIFTS CAPITALS OVER MAPLE LEAFS
After seeing a two-goal lead erased, Matt Niskanen scored the go-ahead goal on a power-play at 9:31 of the third period to lead the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs, giving them a 20-2-1 record in their past 23 games at Verizon Center.
* At 47-12-4 (98 points), the League-leading Capitals equaled the most wins through a team's first 63 games of a season in NHL history (also 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings). Their 47 victories are two more than their 82-game total from 2014-15 (45-26-11, 101 points).
* The Capitals improved to 26-5-2 in 33 games at Verizon Center this season. They lead the NHL in home wins (26) and home points (54).

* Alex Ovechkin (1-0-1) has scored 12 times in his past 13 games (12-4-16) and leads the NHL with 41 goals this season, four more than the next-closest player (Patrick Kane: 37). Ovechkin has 32-25-57 in 39 games vs. TOR.
* T.J. Oshie (0-3-3) had assists on all three of the Capitals goals to pick up his third three-point game of the season (also Dec. 14 at PIT: 2-1-3 and Dec. 18 vs. TBL: 2-2-4).
PANARIN, BLACKHAWKS INCREASE LEAD ATOP CENTRAL STANDINGS
Artemi Panarin (2-0-2) scored twice and Patrick Kane (1-2-3) and Brent Seabrook (1-2-3) each had three points as the Chicago Blackhawks won 5-2 against the Red Wings and earned their fifth win in their past six road games (5-1-0).
* At 40-20-5 (85 points), the Blackhawks increased their lead to two points over the idle Dallas Stars (38-20-7, 83 points) and St. Louis Blues (37-20-9, 83 points) for first place in the Central Division.
* Panarin had his fifth multigoal game of the season and has scored six times in his past six games (6-1-7). He continues to lead all rookies in goals (24) and points (59) this season.
* Kane recorded his ninth three-point game of the season and has at least one point in seven of his past eight games (5-7-12). Kane continues to pace the NHL with 37-51-88 this season (65 GP) and equaled his career high of 88 points from 2009-10 (30-58-88 in 82 GP).

* Kane's goal was also his seventh game-winning goal of the season, eclipsing his career high of six from 2013-14 (69 GP) and 2009-10 (82 GP).
* Seabrook had his third three-point game of 2015-16 (also Oct. 22 vs. FLA: 1-2-3 and Nov. 27 at ANA: 0-3-3) and leads Blackhawks defensemen in goals (13) and points (41).
* Corey Crawford (31 saves) improved to 34-16-3 this season (2.25 GAA, .928 save percentage, seven shutouts) and eclipsed his career high of 33 wins from 2010-11 (33-18-6). His 34 victories rank second in the NHL, behind only Braden Holtby (40). Crawford also has a career record of 13-3-4 in 20 regular-season games vs. DET (1.95 GAA, .938 save percentage).
* Andrew Ladd scored his first goal since being re-acquired by the Blackhawks (2 GP). Ladd had 37-62-99 in 184 regular-season games w/ CHI from 2008 to 2010.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Capitals coach Barry Trotz registered his 649th career win and passed Ron Wilson (648) for sole possession of ninth on the NHL's all-time wins list among coaches.
* Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg (900) and Capitals forward Marcus Johansson (400) each skated in milestone games.
* Maple Leafs forward Nikita Soshnikov, who signed with the team as an undrafted free agent in March 2015, scored the first goal of his NHL career (2 GP).
LOOSE PUCKS
Capitals defenseman Taylor Chorney scored the second goal of his NHL career. Other: Feb. 15, 2011 vs. DAL (w/ EDM). … Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov (0-1-1) has at least one point in nine of his past 10 games (5-7-12) and ranks fifth in the NHL with 20-46-66 this season. … Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer (27 saves) improved to 7-5-1 this season (2.10 GAA, .926 save percentage). … The Capitals have won six consecutive home games vs. TOR dating to April 16, 2013 (TOR: 0-5-1). … The Blackhawks improved to 10-1-2 in their past 13 regular-season road games vs. DET dating to Dec. 23, 2009 (DET: 3-6-4). … The Ducks improved to 8-1-2 in their past 11 games vs. MTL dating to Dec. 10, 2005 (MTL: 3-6-2), including three straight wins. … Canadiens forward Alex Galchenyuk (2-0-2) had his fourth multigoal game of the season and has scored five times in his past four games (5-0-5). … Organizers of the World Cup of Hockey 2016 announced the tournament will take place in 2020. … The Ottawa Senators signed center Scott Gomez to a prorated $575,000 contract for the remainder of the 2015-16 regular season. … The Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League will host the 2017 CHL/NHL Top Prospects Game at Centre Videotron on Jan. 26, 2017. … Defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, who played for four teams in 14 NHL seasons, announced his retirement from professional hockey.