NHL Morning Skate for Oct. 21

* Juraj Slafkovsky tallied for the first time in his NHL career, while fellow No. 1 pick Rasmus Dahlin achieved a first-of-its-kind goal streak in the Sabres' victory at Scotiabank Saddledome.

* Slafkovsky and Dahlin weren't the only No. 1 picks to shine Thursday, with Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins combining for eight points as Edmonton handed Carolina its first loss of the season.
* New Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde can achieve a franchise-first when the Red Wings and Blackhawks square off in their 750th all-time head-to-head game, while the Lightning and Panthers are set to open their four-game season series after the clubs met in the
2022 Second Round
.

SLAFKOVSKY SCORES FIRST NHL GOAL AS YOUTH SHINE IN CANADIENS WIN

The Canadiens youth were on full display Thursday, with No. 1 pick in the 2022 NHL Draft Juraj Slafkovsky scoring his first career goal, Cole Caufield tallying for the 26th time
since Feb. 10
(when Martin St. Louis served his first game as head coach) and Nick Suzuki netting his
second penalty-shot marker with Montreal
to match a franchise record.
* Slafkovsky (18 years, 204 days) became the fourth-youngest player in franchise history at the time of his first career NHL goal, behind Mario Tremblay (18 years, 75 days on
Nov. 16, 1974
), Jesperi Kotkaniemi (18 years, 118 days on
Nov. 1, 2018
) and Claude Lemieux (18 years, 141 days on
Dec. 4, 1983
). Slafkovsky also became the youngest Slovak-born player in NHL history to score his first career goal, eclipsing the previous mark by Marian Gaborik (18 years, 235 days on
Oct. 6, 2000
).

DEFENSEMAN DAHLIN, NEW YORK NATIVE TUCH MAKE NHL, FRANCHISE HISTORY

Rasmus Dahlin (4-2-6 in 4 GP) scored to become the first defenseman in League history with a four-game season-opening goal streak and Alex Tuch (Syracuse, N.Y.) became the first New York-born player in franchise history to record a hat trick with the Sabres as Buffalo swept its Alberta road trip (also
4-2 W at EDM on Oct. 18
). Eric Comrie (40 saves) registered his second straight 40-save performance after stopping 46 shots in Edmonton on Tuesday.
* Of note, Baldy Northcott (6-0-6 in 4 GP) scored at least one goal in each of the Montreal Maroons' first four games from the start of the 1932-33 season. Despite being listed as a defenseman, Northcott played games as a forward in 1932-33 and was included as a left wing on the
postseason All-Star Team that year
.

DID YOU KNOW?

No. 1 picks in the NHL Draft combined for seven goals and 20 points Thursday, led by Oilers teammates Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins who each had 1-3-4 as Edmonton snapped
Carolina's season-opening winning streak
. In addition to McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, Rasmus Dahlin (1-1-2) and Juraj Slafkovsky (1-0-1), the others who found the score sheet were Devils captain Nico Hischier (1-2-3), Sabres defenseman Owen Power (0-2-2), Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (0-1-1), Bruins forward Taylor Hall (1-0-1), Devils forward Jack Hughes (1-0-1) and Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (0-1-1).

ROBERTSON'S OVERTIME WINNER VERSUS BROTHER JASON FEATURED IN LIVE UPDATES

Thursday's edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates
featured several more notes from the 12-game slate, including the Penguins scoring six goals for the third time in as many home games this season and Maple Leafs forward Nick Robertson (2-0-2)
recording the overtime winner
in his second head-to-head NHL game with his brother, Jason (also
March 15
).

QUICK CLICKS

\
Alex Goligoski's kids surprise him with donuts, homemade sign for 1,000th game
\
David Poile relied on loyalty, love of family to reach 3,000 games as NHL GM
\
David Krejci grateful for season in Czech Republic before returning to Bruins
\
Dan Vladar signs two-year, $4.4 million contract with Flames
*
NHL Reverse Retro jerseys for all 32 teams unveiled by adidas

DETROIT, LALONDE CAN EXTEND SEASON-OPENING POINT STREAK FRIDAY

The Red Wings (2-0-1, 5 points) can extend their
season-opening point streak to four contests
when they visit the Blackhawks (1-2-0, 2 points) during a three-game Friday. Derek Lalonde can become the first head coach in franchise history to record at least one point in each of his first four contests with Detroit, eclipsing three-game runs by Jeff Blashill (3-0-0 in 2015-16), Mike Babcock (3-0-0 in 2005-06), Jimmy Skinner (3-0-0 in 1954-55) and Tommy Ivan (2-0-1 in 1947-48).
* ICYMI: Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin helped keep the point streak alive Monday when he made a game-saving poke check on Kings forward Viktor Arvidsson less than a minute before Oskar Sundqvist's
tying goal with 40.9 seconds remaining in regulation
.
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.