Hockey News

Looking at the wild stats behind Ovechkin’s torrid start

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In case you haven't heard, Alex Ovechkin has set fire to the NHL to begin his 2017-18 campaign, potting seven goals in two games.

Ovi started with a natural hat-trick Wednesday, then followed up with a four goal performance Saturday night, marking a historic start for one of the most prolific goal scorers in NHL history.

Here's a look at some of the best stats and facts from Ovechkin's blistering start:

Rarefied air

He's slowly but surely moving up the all-time ranks, too, with a huge name up next:

Efficiency

More tidbits

  • Ovechkin's fired 14 shots on goal so far, earning him a 50 percent success rate through two games.
  • After a career-low 16 even strength goals in 2016-17, six of Ovechkin's goals this season have come at five-on-five.
  • As of now, Ovechkin is on pace for 287 goals this season. That would indeed be a new league record.
  • Linemate Evgeny Kuznetsov has assisted on all seven goals, six of which being primary helpers.

So, what's behind it all?

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Hockey News

Maple Leafs edge Rangers in wild 13-goal affair

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TORONTO (AP) Tyler Bozak, Leo Komarov and Nazem Kadri scored third-period goals and the Toronto Maple Leafs held off the New York Rangers 8-5 on Saturday night in their wild home opener.

It was an adventure in defending for both teams at times, with Toronto pulling ahead 5-1 in the first period and chasing Henrik Lundqvist before the Rangers scored four straight to quieten the Air Canada Centre crowd.

Bozak ended the Maple Leafs' slide to make it 6-5 at 7:17 of third, redirecting a pass from the corner from Jake Gardiner over Ondrej Pavelec's glove. The Rangers lost a challenge that the play was offside, earning a minor penalty in the process.

Kevin Hayes took a slashing penalty for New York, and Komarov made it 7-5 at 9:52, tapping in the rebound after William Nylander roofed a backhand off the crossbar.

The Rangers pulled their goalie with some 3 minutes remaining only to see Ryan McDonagh take a hooking penalty. Kadri took advantage with a low shot with 1:30 to go.

Zach Hyman scored twice, and Dominic Moore, Jake Gardiner and Nikita Zaitsev added goals for Toronto.

J.T. Miller, Kevin Shattenkirk, Mika Zibanejad, Marc Staal and Mats Zuccarello scored for the Rangers. Zuccarello also had three assists.

Toronto won its opener 7-2 on Wednesday night in Winnipeg, and ran circles around the Rangers in the early going.

NOTES: The Rangers were coming off an opening 4-2 home loss to Colorado on Thursday night. ... Moore, who played parts of five seasons with the Rangers, replaced Eric Fehr while defenseman Calle Rosen came in for Andreas Borgman.

UP NEXT

Rangers: Host Montreal on Sunday night.

Maple Leafs: Host Chicago on Monday night.

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Hockey News

Murray shuts out Preds for 3rd straight time in Cup Final rematch

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PITTSBURGH (AP) Evgeni Malkin scored, Matt Murray stopped 26 shots and the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Nashville Predators 4-0 on Saturday night in a Stanley Cup Final rematch.

Olli Maatta, Ryan Reaves and Jake Guentzel also scored in Pittsburgh's first win in its third game of the season. The two-time defending champion Penguins were coming off an ugly 10-1 loss at Chicago at Thursday night.

Reaves, acquired in a June trade with St. Louis, also fought Austin Watson and Cody McLeod, finishing with 24 penalty minutes. He skated on a line with Sidney Crosby when the game turned chippy in the third period.

Murray, who allowed 11 goals on 65 shots in his first two games, posted his sixth career shutout. He also shut out Nashville in the final two games of the Stanley Cup Final in June.

The Predators went with Juuse Saros instead of Pekka Rinne, the franchise's winningest goaltender. Saros, who earned his first NHL win last October against Pittsburgh, stopped 30 shots. Rinne was 0-3 on the road during the Stanley Cup and is 0-6-0 with an .822 save percentage lifetime in Pittsburgh.

Nashville forward Nick Bonino faced his former team for the first time since signing a four-year, $16.4 million contract with the Predators in July. Bonino, who received his Stanley Cup ring from Pittsburgh on Saturday, scored in the first two games of the Final before a broken tibia in his left leg sidelined him for the rest of the playoffs.

Malkin put the Penguins in front 66 seconds into the game with a slap shot from the high slot that beat Saros to the blocker side. He has points in all three of Pittsburgh's games this season.

Murray denied Pontus Aberg on a breakaway later in the period. It was significant because Guentzel made it a 2-0 game less than a minute later, crashing the net and converting a rebound from the slot.

Nashville carried the play early in the second period with six of the first seven shots, but Pittsburgh scored the next goal. Reaves scored his first for Pittsburgh when he tipped a Maatta point shot between Saros' pads.

Maatta scored the Penguins' fourth goal 33 seconds into the third period.

NOTES: Penguins D Ian Cole took a one-time slap shot to the face from Predators D Roman Josi during a first-period power play. Cole, who did not return, quickly went down, but eventually got up on his own and immediately skated to the dressing room while crews cleaned blood from the ice. ... Predators C Calle Jarnkrok played in his 250th NHL game. ... Nashville F Kevin Fiala is day to day with an upper-body injury.

UP NEXT

Predators: Host Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Penguins: Visit Washington on Wednesday.

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Hockey News

Lightning on Brown’s protest: We respect our players’ individual choices

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Warning: Post contains coarse language

J.T. Brown's team says it doesn't have a problem with the silent protest he made during the national anthem.

"The Tampa Bay Lightning celebrate the moment before every game when we can unite as a community, paying homage to a flag that is representative of our nation and those who have sacrificed," the club said in a statement Saturday night, according to Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times.

"At the same time, we respect our players and individual choices they may make on social and political issues."

Brown raised his fist while standing with his teammates as "The Star-Spangled Banner" was performed Saturday night before the Lightning faced the Florida Panthers.

He became the first NHL player to protest police brutality and racial injustice during the anthem this season, joining countless NFL players and other athletes who've followed Colin Kaepernick's lead.

Several black NHLers, including P.K. Subban, Wayne Simmonds, Joel Ward, and Ryan Reaves, have weighed in on the protests as well as the Pittsburgh Penguins' decision to visit the White House and President Donald Trump, who referred to any player who protests during the anthem as a "son of a bitch."

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Hockey News

Watch: Hischier shows off unreal stickhandling in debut

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His name may not have shown up on the scoresheet, but best believe Nico Hischier had himself quite the debut Saturday.

The No. 1 pick in this year's draft put on a stickhandling clinic against the Colorado Avalanche, further reinforcing that the Devils made the right decision.

Hischier did manage six shots on net, and, if Saturday's display means anything, he's bound to score some pretty goals in the near future.

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Hockey News

Ovechkin notches 2nd hat trick in as many periods

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To declare Alexander Ovechkin scorching hot would be an understatement.

After netting a natural hat trick in the third period of his season debut versus the Ottawa Senators, the Washington Capitals captain scored three more in the first period Saturday with the Montreal Canadiens in town.

Remarkably, it's only taken Ovechkin 12:13 of ice-time to score all six goals.

Let's see what else he can do.

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Hockey News

Lightning’s Brown stands with raised fist during national anthem

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J.T. Brown is the first NHL player to make a statement during "The Star-Spangled Banner" this season.

The Tampa Bay Lightning forward raised his fist while standing for the U.S. national anthem Saturday night before playing the Florida Panthers.

Brown joins a growing list of athletes across several sports to protest police brutality and racial injustice, a movement initially led by quarterback Colin Kaepernick that drew incendiary comments from U.S. President Donald Trump.

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Hockey News

Watch: Ovi hammers home spin-around slapshot early vs. Canadiens

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Alex Ovechkin picked up where he left off on Thursday night.

After tallying a third-period hat trick against the Ottawa Senators, the Washington Capitals captain was back at it on Saturday, slamming a spin-around slapshot over the glove hand of Carey Price just 20 seconds into the game.

He wasn't done there.

After T.J. Oshie doubled the score, Ovechkin picked up his second of the game to give the Capitals a 3-0 lead over the Montreal Canadiens before the game was three minutes old.

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Hockey News

Report: Panthers lock up Matheson to 8-year, $39M extension

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The Florida Panthers have signed defenseman Michael Matheson to an eight-year contract extension worth $39 million, according to TSN's Bob McKenzie.

Matheson will play out the final season of his entry-level contract in 2017-18 before the extension kicks in.

The 23-year-old blue liner only has one full season under his belt, but it's quite clear the Panthers are willing to commit long-term to his upside. In 81 games last season, Matheson notched 17 points and ranked third on Florida's roster in ice time, averaging 21:03 per night.

With Matheson signed, the Panthers now have five players 25-years-old or younger under contract until 2022, per Cap Friendly.

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Hockey News

Watch: Bernier makes incredible diving save on Severson

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Jonathan Bernier couldn't lift his Colorado Avalanche to a victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday afternoon, but that doesn't mean his efforts weren't admirable.

The veteran goaltender made a spectacular stop on Devils defenseman Damon Severson early in the third period, recovering after being caught out of position and lunging across the crease to deny him with the trapper.

Here's another look at how much net Severson had to shoot at when he received the pass from Adam Henrique.

(Image courtesy: YouTube/Sportsnet/MSG+)

The play was briefly reviewed to determine if the puck crossed the line in Bernier's glove, but the save was ultimately upheld.

He made several more slick saves later in the period, finishing with 35 on 39 shots in the 4-1 defeat.

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