Facts and Figures: Crosby's return fuels Penguins

Sidney Crosby's return after missing three games with an upper-body injury was just what the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins needed.

Crosby scored one goal and had two assists in Pittsburgh's 5-1 victory against the Dallas Stars at PPG Paints Arena, ending the Penguins' four-game losing streak (0-3-1).
It marked the 16th time in his NHL career that Crosby returned after missing at least one game. He has 20 points (eight goals 12 assists) in those games, with at least one point in 12 of the 16. Pittsburgh is 12-3-1 in his returns.

The Penguins are 13-0-2 in their past 15 games against Western Conference teams dating to Jan. 25, 2018, outscoring them 68-31 in that span. It matches the longest interconference point streak in Penguins history (10-0-5 from Feb. 10-Nov. 23, 2011), and it's the 17th time in NHL history that a team has earned at least one point in at least 15 consecutive games against an opponent from the other conference (spanning seasons or otherwise). The last such run ended in 2013-14 when the Blackhawks had their 19-game streak (16-0-3) against the Eastern Conference halted by the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Big night for home teams, scorers

Wednesday marked the second day in NHL history to feature 12 wins by the home team (12-1-1). The other was Oct. 15, 2016, when home teams went 12-1-0, with only the Columbus Blue Jackets losing at home (to the San Jose Sharks).
There were 99 goals scored in the 14 games on Wednesday, tied for the second-most on a single day in NHL history (including shootout-deciding goals, of which there were none). The other days with at least 99 combined goals: Oct. 25, 2008 (99 goals, including three shootout-deciding goals, in 15 games) and Jan. 23, 1993 (103 goals in 12 games).

Sabres, Rangers continue surges

One of those victorious home teams, the Buffalo Sabres, won its seventh straight game by defeating the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2. It was the seventh straight win for the Sabres, the longest streak in the NHL this season and the longest by Buffalo since winning 10 straight in 2006-07. Buffalo (14-6-2) moved within one point of the Tampa Bay Lightning (15-6-1) for first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.
Buffalo forward Jeff Skinner scored his 15th goal of the season, tying him with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for second in the NHL behind David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins (17). Goalie Carter Hutton made 23 saves and is 6-0-0 in his past six games; it's the longest winning streak by a Sabres goaltender since Ryan Miller went 8-0-0 from Oct. 8-30, 2009.

At the other end of New York state, 19-year-old forward Filip Chytil extended his goal streak to five games by scoring 29 seconds into a 5-0 win against the visiting New York Islanders. Chytil is the 20th different teenager in NHL history and the first in Rangers history to score a goal in at least five consecutive team games.
Another rookie, 22-year-old goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 28 saves to help the Rangers win their seventh consecutive game at Madison Square Garden, the longest home winning streak in the NHL this season. Georgiev is the 16th goalie in Rangers history to earn a shutout; he joined Doug Soetaert (Feb. 6, 1977) as the only ones to get their first shutout against the Islanders. The win also ended the Rangers' eight-game losing streak to the Islanders, who lost to a Metropolitan Division opponent for the first time in eight games (7-1-0).

Flames accomplish rare feat with fast start

The Calgary Flames became the fourth team in NHL history to score five goals in the first period of back-to-back games when they got five in the opening 20 minutes of a 6-3 win against the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Saddledome.
The Flames scored five goals in the first period of a 7-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday. Calgary is the first team with back-to-back five-goal first periods since the St. Louis Blues on Nov. 21-23, 1989.

The Flames have scored at least six goals in a home game an NHL-best four times this season, one shy of their total from 41 games at Scotiabank Saddledome last season.

Goal-getters make impact

Forward Kyle Palmieri opened the scoring for the New Jersey Devils in their 5-2 victory against the Montreal Canadiens at Prudential Center, giving him 12 goals in New Jersey's first 20 games. He's the eighth different player in Devils history to score 12 times in the team's first 20 games, and the first since Zach Parise had 13 goals in New Jersey's first 20 games in 2008-09 and 2009-10.
Center John Tavares of the Maple Leafs scored his 11th goal on the road in Toronto's 5-2 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes. He's the fifth player in Maple Leafs history but the first in the modern era (since 1943-44) to score at least 11 goals in Toronto's first 11 road games.
Forward Mike Hoffman scored with 3:35 remaining in regulation for the Florida Panthers in their 7-3 loss at the Lightning to extend his team-record point streak to 17 games. It's the fifth-longest such streak by a player in his first season with a team. Hoffman is the fifth player in the past nine seasons to have a point streak of at least 17 games, joining Taylor Hall of the Devils (19 games in 2017-18), Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks (26 games in 2015-16), Pascal Dupuis of the Penguins (17 games in 2011-12) and Crosby (25 games in 2010-11).
Mathew Dumba became the first defenseman in the NHL to reach double figures in goals this season when he scored twice in the Minnesota Wild's 6-4 win against the visiting Ottawa Senators. He has 10 goals and is the sixth NHL defenseman since 1989-90 to score at least 10 times in his team's first 22 games of a season, joining Shea Weber (2008-09 with the Nashville Predators), Al MacInnis (1997-98 with the St. Louis Blues), Ray Bourque (1995-96 with the Bruins), Gary Suter (1995-96 with the Blackhawks) and Jeff Brown (1992-93 with the Blues).