Dallas Stars head coach Lindy Ruff joined elite company when he stepped behind the bench Thursday night.
Taking in his 1,401 game as a coach, he passed former Toronto Maple Leafs and Vancouver Canucks great Patt Quinn, and tied Ron Wilson for fifth-most games coached in NHL history.
During his 18-year career, Ruff has amassed a record of 693-515-192. His 693 wins also put him fifth all-time.
This year he has coached his Stars to a Western Conference-best 91 points.
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A change of scenery is all Devante Smith-Pelly needed.
The newest member of the New Jersey Devils has been scoring at an unbelievable pace since joining the team ahead of the trade deadline, and added another two goals and an assist Thursday against the Minnesota Wild.
Smith-Pelly with a pair, now looking for the hat trick... #MINvsNJDhttps://t.co/vjJkhCd8gO
— NHL (@NHL) March 18, 2016
With a couple more tallies, Smith-Pelly now has six goals and nine points in seven games since being dealt to the Devils from the Montreal Canadiens.
Devante Smith-Pelly: 6 goals in 46 games with MTL this season, now has 6 in 7 w/#Devils (double what Stefan Matteau had in 46 GP as a Devil)
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) March 18, 2016
The 23-year-old appears to have rekindled the offensive side of his game. As a member of the Canadiens this season, he managed just six goals and 12 points in 46 games.
Things couldn't be going any better for Smith-Pelley, and while he did shed tears after learning about his trade to the Devils, chances are he is relishing the opportunity he's been given.
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Crosby point streak: 10 games
— NHL (@NHL) March 17, 2016
Crosby goal total: 30https://t.co/k6jtWpGp1f
Sidney Crosby needed no help pushing his point streak to 10 games Thursday.
The Pittsburgh Penguins danced through the Carolina Hurricanes defense before pushing a backhand past goaltender Eddie Lack to cut the Hurricanes lead to 2-1.
The goal extends his point streak, which currently sits as the longest in the league.
Sidney Crosby: 7th career 30 G season- failed to just twice when playing at least half a season: 2007-08 (24 in 53 GP), '14-15 (28 in 77 GP)
— StatsCentre (@StatsCentre) March 17, 2016
The 28-year-old now has 15 points over his past 10 games, and 71 points overall.
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Generations will collide when the Florida Panthers take the ice against the Toronto Maple Leafs Thursday.
The game will mark the first time Maple Leafs rookie William Nylander will share the ice with Jaromir Jagr, or at least the first time in many years. Ahead of Thursday's contest, Nylander recalled the time he strapped on the goalie pads and took shots from the ageless wonder.
"I think I was goalie one time and he came out on the ice and was shooting on me when I was like 10 (year-old) or something," Nylander told reporters. "I think he scored, he wasn't going too hard on me, but he was able to score on me."
Nylander added that following the shootout, Jagr -who had been playing on a line with his father Michael Nylander and Martin Straka - had a nice chat with him and his younger brother Alex.
"It will be pretty amazing playing against a guy that's going to be in the Hall of Fame, a big legend," said Nylander. "He played with my father too in New York. It's going to be fun playing against him."
Things won't be easy for Nylander and the Maple Leafs, as Jagr has six points in his past five games. But at least Nylander won't be charged with stopping shots this time around.
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Vancouver Canucks winger Jannik Hansen will be out through the weekend - and miss at least two more games - after suffering a setback in his recovery from a rib injury, the team announced Thursday.
He's been out since the beginning of March.
With the benefit of spending a large portion of the season on a line with the Sedin twins, Hansen achieved the team's highest 5-on-5 scoring rate at 2.24 points per 60 minutes.
He's already established a career high with 19 goals and with 32 points, and was well on his way to passing the 40-point threshold for the first time in his career.
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Dallas Stars winger Patrick Sharp will be inserted back in the lineup versus the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday after missing six games with a lower-body injury.
He's expected to start on the fourth unit, flanking Vernon Fiddler and Colton Sceviour.
Sharp hasn't had a spectacular debut season with Dallas, but exceeded his point total last year with the Chicago Blackhawks before he went down to injury, contributing 17 goals and 47 points in 65 games.
Meanwhile, John Klingberg will miss his sixth straight game with a lower-body injury.
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It appears as though the prospective expansion team, or teams, for the 2017-18 season won't be able to pluck too many premier skaters from the other 30 outfits.
A working framework of the expansion process was presented to NHL GMs at their annual meetings in Boca Raton, Fla., this week, and they were told to expect protection for between eight-to-10 skaters, based on composition.
The most interesting dynamic, though, surrounds the goaltenders. As of now, teams, unlike last time, will only be able to protect one, meaning an array of quality backups, veterans, and prospects into their third seasons could be exposed.
Here are five goaltenders that could anchor the NHL's next expansion team:
Ben Bishop/Andrei Vasilevskiy
Unflinching and now with understanding, there's little doubt Tampa Bay Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman will decide between his massive, ultra-talented netminders before exposing one to the expansion process in a little more than a year's time.
But if by the odd chance Bishop and Vasilevskiy are on the same roster, or are sharing a crease with another talent elsewhere, either goalie would be a massive coup for a startup.
Bishop, currently having a campaign worthy of end-of-season hardware, has been one of the NHL's best and most durable goaltenders since becoming a starter. His 106 wins over the last three seasons are tied with Braden Holtby for the most, and in the same amount of starts.
That said, Vasilevskiy, who like Bishop will need a new contract at the end of next season, has long been considered the future of the position. And his performance through his first 36 appearances has exceeded the first minutes of Bishop's career.
Michal Neuvirth
The Philadelphia Flyers signed the very best deals this summer in brokering a modest two-year agreement with a goaltender that had bounced around the league in the years leading up to this past summer.
With 17 wins and a .925 save percentage (that slots him ahead of Petr Mrazek, Cory Schneider, Holtby, Henrik Lundqvist) in 28 starts, Neuvirth has provided greatly effective bench minutes, and with Steve Mason, helped the Flyers establish one of the very best tandems in the NHL.
Though his deal, too, will expire next summer, Neuvirth could be of titanic value to an incoming general manager whether it's in a backup role or as a low-risk potential starter to pair with a capable veteran.
James Reimer
It would be a roll of the dice for Las Vegas (or Quebec, we suppose), to take on the talented, but still, and even after six seasons, unproven San Jose Sharks backup.
The oft-injured Reimer has a chance to stop pucks at a career-best rate (he's currently ranked fourth in 5-on-5 save percentage) while establishing a personal best for appearances. And yet, and partly because everything he's accomplished, even this season, has been at a reduced sample, his value on the open market leading up to the trade deadline was a mere fourth-round pick.
He's still No. 2 on his depth chart, but Reimer has an opportunity over the final few weeks - and this summer when he actualizes free agency - to audition for an opportunity he hasn't shied away from speaking out about previously.
Jimmy Howard
Howard hasn't looked the part of a capable starter for the last 14 months, since suffering a groin injury, failing to return to form, and losing his job to Mrazek in a season in which he was named an All-Star. He has 16 wins in 46 appearances since, and a most-recent stretch that includes 11 consecutive spots to which the Detroit Red Wings have failed to grab two points.
His departure would be as much a benefit to the Red Wings as it would a potential expansion club, as Howard's $5 million-plus cap hit is scheduled to be on the books through 2019. But for an expansion club who can house that contract and who will have to choose a veteran, there likely won't be another with a better pedigree.
Howard is expected to see time in an historical stretch run for the Red Wings, whose 24-season postseason streak is at serious risk. Let's see how he does in his audition.
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Brenden Morrow retired Thursday as a member of the Dallas Stars, signing a one-day contract with the organization to signify the final chapter of his 15-year career.
Morrow joined the Stars following their championship season in 1999 after being selected in the first round, 25th overall, in 1997. He spent 12-plus seasons in Dallas, climbing the franchise record lists with 243 goals, 528 points, and 1203 penalty minutes in 835 games.
The 37-year-old, who wanted to play this season, dressed for the Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, and reached the Stanley Cup Final last season with the Tampa Bay Lightning, spending his final years chasing what proved to be an elusive championship.
He won an Olympic gold medal with Canada in 2010, and also won World Championship and World Junior Championship gold.
Captains. #ThankYouBrenden pic.twitter.com/GJdvWqtyep
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) March 17, 2016
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