This edition of the NHL Stat Corner covers the weekend of a not-so-busy week and the beginning of this new week. We will see a couple of familiar faces that seem to always get their names in the stat categories, while others we see for the first time. All these milestones and more from other players and teams around the league this time.
Guentzel’s Road Dominance
Jake Guentzel is the first Pittsburgh Penguins player to score a hat trick in Vancouver since 1987, done by Mario Lemieux. It was the fourth career regular-season hat trick for Guentzel. Despite being without his linemate Sidney Crosby for a chunk of the season, Guetzel has started strong and continued that play, helping the Penguins stay afloat in a tough Metropolitan Division.
Guentzel has the longest active point streak in the NHL at 13 games (“Jake Guentzel keeps points coming as Penguins defeat Kraken”, National Post, 12/7/21). It is the third-longest point streak this season behind Connor McDavid (17 GP) and Troy Terry (15 GP). Guentzel also set the franchise record for longest season-opening road point streak (12 GP). He has 10 goals and seven assists in that span, and he passed Evgeni Malkin (11 GP). Guentzel’s season-opening road point streak also tied him for third-longest since 1986-87, behind only Wayne Gretzky (16) and Mats Sundin (14 GP). It is always tougher to win on the road, and the teams that find a way to do so usually end up more successful in the long run. With an away record of 7-3-3, Guentzel has been a huge impact on the team.
Jeff Carter is the second player to record a multi-point game against all 32 NHL teams, joining Derick Brassard. Though more players have recorded a multipoint game against the Seattle Kraken this season, they most likely have only played for the team they’re currently on. Crosby recorded his 100th point in Canada, his birthplace and the team he played for and scored the game-winning goal in the Gold medal game in the 2014 Olympics.
Ovechkin’s Goal-Scoring Continues to Amaze
Alex Ovechkin went from 700 to 750 career goals (79 GP) the fastest among the four players to reach 750 goals. Gordie Howe (108 GP), Wayne Gretzky (118 GP), and Jaromir Jagr (184 GP). Ovechkin is also the second-fastest player to reach 750 goals (1222 GP). Only Gretzky has reached that mark quicker (894 GP). He is already in the most elite company in goals, and he’s making even more of a mark with only scoring at a quicker pace as he ages.
Ovechkin has scored on 152 different goalies, tied for seventh all-time. Ovechkin is the second player in franchise history to record 40-plus points in 26 games or fewer, joining Dennis Murak (26 GP in 1981-82). Not only has Ovechkin been able to score goals, but he also is adding a ton of assists, not something he is known for in his career.
Tom Wilson scored his 100th career goal. His play has been underrated and overshadowed by what Ovechkin has been able to do this season, but Wilson’s name has been brought up in regards to Team Canada at the 2022 Olympics.
Stars Look Unstoppable Amidst Winning Streak
The Dallas Stars tied a franchise record with their seventh consecutive win. The franchise had previously won seven games in a row in four different seasons. One as Dallas in 2007-08, and three as the Minnesota North Stars in 1979-80, 1996-97, and 1997-98. This came at the same time as goaltender Jake Oettinger was recalled from the American Hockey League (AHL), but recently it’s been Braden Holtby’s crease. It has been a full team effort to get to where they are after a tough start to the season.
Loui Eriksson is the fourth Stars draft pick to play 1000 games. The others are Jarome Iginla (1554 GP), Jamie Langenbrunner (1109 GP), and Trevor Daley (1058 GP). Eriksson plays for the Arizona Coyotes now, but ask yourself how many of these Stars’ draft picks do you remember being drafted to Dallas.
Zegras Making Comeback Bid for Calder Trophy
Trevor Zegras became the third Anaheim Ducks rookie in franchise history to reach the 20-point mark in 24 games or fewer. Bobby Ryan (22 GP) and Paul Kariya (24 GP) are the other two players. Zegras is the fourth rookie in the past 25 years to record multiple assists in three consecutive games, also done by Mathew Barzal, Artemi Panarin, and Patrick Kane. Josh Manson recorded the third-fastest goal to begin a period in franchise history (0:09).
After a slow start, Zegras’ game has completely taken off, proving why he was the pre-season favourite to win the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. He has some competition, but as of late, he is above the rest of the class.
Avalanche Defence Dominating
The Avalanche have had a defenceman score in 12 consecutive games which is the third-longest in NHL history. The Capitals had 16 games in 1992-93 and the New York Rangers had 14 games in a row in 1981-82. Cale Makar is a big reason for that, as he was the sixth-fastest defenceman to score 10 goals in a season since 1967, doing so in 18 games. He now has 11 goals and Colorado has scored seven goals in a game four times while leading the league in goals.
Related: NHL Stat Corner: Oilers, Maple Leafs, Avalanche, Rangers, Panthers
Colorado Avalanche’s Justus Annunen won his first career start. He is the fourth-youngest goaltender (21y 270d) in franchise history to win his first career start. It was his second career game, but in his first appearance, he came into the game part-way through and lost in a shootout.
Canucks May See Light After Disaster Start to Season
The Vancouver Canucks have the worst penalty kill in NHL history through the first 25 games of the season (64.6%). They are also the first team to allow two power-play goals in 10 of their first 25 games since 2007-08 Atlanta Thrashers. This was definitely a large enough sample size for the Canucks organization in order to allow them to make an accurate decision to clean house. In the first game under new coach Bruce Boudreau, they won in dominating fashion, shutting out the Los Angeles Kings.
Player Stats & Milestones From Around the NHL
- Brent Burns of the San Jose Sharks played in his 622nd consecutive game, tied for 12th all-time with Karl Alzner.
- Steven Stamkos tied Martin St. Louis for the most overtime goals in Tampa Bay Lightning history (10).
- Winnipeg Jets’ Blake Wheeler played his 1000th career game.
- Auston Matthews has the third most five-game goal-scoring streaks (6) in Toronto Maple Leafs history. Babe Dye had eight and Rick Vaive recorded seven.
- Drew Doughty has the third-most three-point games by a defenceman in Kings history with 12. Only Steve Duchesne (19) and Rob Blake (17).
- Brady Tkachuk is the seventh player in Ottawa Senators history to score four overtime goals.
- Nashville Predators’ Luke Kunin recorded a Gordie Howe hat trick on his birthday.
- Marcus Foligno of the Minnesota Wild has recorded 10-plus goals in three consecutive seasons, the first time in his 11-year career.
- Taylor Raddysh scored his first career goal.
- Colton Sissons played his 400th career game.
Burns continues to be a staple of the Sharks defence every single game, while Stamkos and Doughty also climb their respective franchise leaderboards, solidifying their names as some of the greats in their organizations. At such a young age, Matthews and B. Tkachuk have taken their franchises by storm with their goal-scoring. Stay up to date with the latest player and team stats and milestones from around the NHL, brought to you every few days via the NHL Stat Corner.
Rob Couch is a THW freelance writer covering mainly the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers. He covers everything you need to know about fantasy hockey. He will also keep you up to date with the NHL Stat Corner and trade talks from around the NHL.
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