Get your game notes: Bolts at Sabres

By Mike HalfordDec 2, 2014, 12:11 PM EST

Tonight on NBCSN, it’s the Buffalo Sabres hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Following are some game notes, as compiled by the NHL on NBC research team:

• With 36 points, TB is tied with MTL for the most points in the NHL and is off to its best start in franchise history through the first 25 games of a season.

• TB enters tonight having won four straight games, including a 6-3 win at NYR on Monday night. The Lightning have outscored opponents 16-8 during the win streak. Earlier this season, TB had a 6-game winning streak from Oct. 28-Nov. 9.

• TB is averaging an NHL-best 3.60 goals/game and is the only team to have scored 7 goals in a game three different times this season.

• C Steven Stamkos ranks third in the NHL with 15 goals and is tied for fourth with 29 points. He is on a 5-game point streak (3 goals, 4 assists) and has points in 11 of his last 12 games.

• Since the beginning of the 2009-10 season, no player in the NHL has scored more goals than Stamkos’ 225. Alex Ovechkin is the next closest player with 214.

• TB is 14-0-0 when RW Ryan Callahan scores a goal, dating back to last season when the club acquired him from NYR. Callahan is second on TB in goals (11) and tied for third in points (21).

• Callahan, a Rochester, N.Y., native, grew up rooting for the Sabres and played for the Buffalo Lightning of the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OPJHL) from 2001-02.

• After starting the season 3-13-2, BUF has gone 5-1-0 in its last six games to pick up over half (10) of its total points (18) during that stretch. BUF is coming off back-to-back wins against MTL.

• G Jhonas Enroth has started five of the Sabres’ last six games – three of them coming in a four-night span – due to G Michal Neuvirth being out with a lower-body injury that he suffered on Nov. 18 against SJ. During those five starts, Enroth has gone 4-1-0, allowing 8 total goals.

• BUF has gained at least a point in each of its last six divisional matchups (4-0-2) for the first time since it had points in six straight games from Feb. 26-March 23, 2013, when it went 5-0-1

• BUF is averaging an NHL-worst 1.67 goals/game.

• The Tyler Ennis / Zemgus Girgensons / Matt Moulson line has combined to score 18 of the Sabres’ 40 goals this season.

• 82nd regular-season meeting between BUF and TB, and first of five meetings this season.

• Tonight is the first game in a back-to-back, home-and-home series. The teams will play again on Thursday at TB. They will also play this season on Dec. 31, Jan. 9 and March 3.

• TB has won 3 of its last 4 meetings against BUF.

• In their last meeting, TB won 4-3 (OT) at BUF on March 29 last season.

• BUF leads all-time series 50-24-5-2 (W-L-T-OL).

HEAD-TO-HEAD

• TB: C Steven Stamkos has 10G-12A in 23 career games played vs. BUF, and has 3 game-winning goals.

• TB: G Ben Bishop is 4-0-1 with a 2.31 GAA and .920 SV% in 5 career starts vs. BUF.

• BUF: RW Drew Stafford has 9G-10A in 25 career games played vs. TB, including 3 power-play goals.

• BUF: G Jhonas Enroth is 3-0-1 with a 1.74 GAA and .949 SV% in 4 career starts vs. TB.

TAMPA BAY TEAM/PLAYER NOTES

• C Steven Stamkos, who missed 45 games last season after breaking his leg, told the Tampa Bay Times in November that his right leg may never feel the same. Yet he has managed to play in all 25 of TB’s games this season. He leads the team in goals (15) and points (29), and power-play goals (6).

• RW Ryan Callahan, who signed a 6-year/$34.8 million contract extension with TB in June through 2019-20, has 6 points in his last 4 games.

• D Victor Hedman returned to the ice on Saturday against Ottawa after missing 18 games due to a finger fracture he suffered in the fifth game of the season. Hedman has 10 points in 7 games this season, including 3 assists in the Lightning’s 6-3 win over the Rangers on Monday night – his first points since the injury.

• TB acquired a third-round draft pick in 2015 from ANA on Nov. 28 in exchange for D Eric Brewer. The trade created a roster spot the Lightning needed with Hedman returning from injury. In 17 games for the Lightning this season, Brewer had 4 assists and a +5 rating.

• C Alex Killorn’s career-best seven-game point streak ended last night. He has scored the game-winning goal in two of TB’s last four games and has contributed to “all those little plays that kind of go unnoticed,” according to teammate Tyler Johnson.

• G Ben Bishop has allowed 2 or fewer goals against in six of his past nine games. He has started 20 games this season, posting a 15-3-2 record with a 2.30 GAA and .917 SV%. He has yet to record a shutout this season.

BUFFALO TEAM/PLAYER NOTES

• C Tyler Ennis leads BUF with 16 points and his 7th and most recent goal of the season is still being shared widely on social media. In a 2-1 win vs. MTL last Friday, Ennis squeaked past two Canadiens before scoring from behind his back while falling onto the ice.

• Entering the week, 20-year-old C Zemgus Girgensons was leading all players in the 2015 NHL All-Star Fan Vote. The highest-drafted Latvian player in NHL history (picked 14th overall by the Sabres in the 2012 draft) is tied with Ennis for the team lead with 7 goals. According to the Buffalo News, he’s received many of his votes from overseas in Latvia. In Latvian, “Zemgus” means “one who eats lions.”

• D Josh Gorges, who was the NHL’s leader in blocked shots when he hurt his knee on Nov. 11 vs. STL, is expected to return to the lineup tonight after missing the last seven games, said head coach Ted Nolan.

• RW Drew Stafford, the longest-tenured Sabre, is third on the team with 12 points (4G-8A) but has not recorded a point in his last four games. He missed BUF’s game at MTL on Saturday (lower-body) but is expected to be back in the lineup tonight.

• When Stafford was 21 and starting his career, BUF was a Presidents’ Trophy team (2006-07). Now, at 29, he’s in the final year of his contract with a team that finished with its worst record in 42 years last season.

• RW Brian Gionta has just 2 goals through 24 games in his first season with the Sabres – both of which came in BUF’s 4-1 win over SJ on Nov. 18. Gionta scored 20+ goals seven times in his 12 seasons with MTL/NJ.

• RW Chris Stewart has 2 goals in his last 3 games after scoring just 1 goal in his first 21 games this season. Ever since being traded from STL to BUF at last season’s trade deadline, Stewart has been a popular name in the trade rumor mill, and he is now drawing interest from WPG and CHI.

Malkin’s late goal lifts Penguins past Ovechkin, Caps 4-3

Associated PressMar 26, 2023, 1:56 AM EDT

Charles LeClaire/USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH — Evgeni Malkin remains a live wire. Even now, 17 seasons into a career that is likely destined for the Hall of Fame, there’s an unpredictability the Pittsburgh Penguins star plays with that can be both endearing and exasperating to teammates and coaches alike.

The latest proof came against Washington on Saturday.

An untimely roughing penalty in the third period helped spark a Capitals’ rally from a three-goal deficit. Malkin made up for it by burying a breakaway with 1:20 left in regulation that lifted the Penguins to a 4-3 victory.

“His care factor and his compete level for me is off the charts and that’s what I love about him and usually when the stakes are high that’s when he’s at his best,” Pittsburgh coach Mike Sullivan said. “He gets a huge goal for us tonight at a key time.”

Malkin’s 25th goal of the season – a low wrist shot to the far post – helped the Penguins avoid a potentially messy collapse. Pittsburgh appeared to be ready to cruise to victory after Jake Guentzel‘s power-play goal 27 seconds into the third period made it 3-0.

Washington instead stormed back, with Alex Ovechkin right in the middle of it. Ovechkin scored his 42nd goal of the season and 822nd of his career from his favorite spot in the left circle with 6:42 to go in regulation. Washington drew even when Dylan Strome flipped the puck into an open net with 2:44 to go in regulation.

Yet instead of sagging, the Penguins surged. Malkin stripped Washington’s Anthony Mantha near center ice and broke in alone on Kuemper. Seconds later, the puck was in the net and Malkin was on one knee celebrating while pumping his fists, the kind of display of raw emotion that’s become one of his trademarks.

“It’s a huge goal for me, and two points for the team,” Malkin said.

Pittsburgh moved three points clear of Florida after the Panthers lost to the earlier Saturday. Both teams have nine regular-season games left.

Ryan Poehling and Chad Ruhwedel scored a little over two minutes apart in the second period for Pittsburgh. Jake Guentzel added his team-high 32nd goal early in the third before Washington scrambled back. Casey DeSmith played spectacularly at times while finishing with 31 saves.

Tom Wilson started the Capitals’ comeback with his ninth goal of the season 5:19 into the third. Kuemper stopped 36 shots, but was outplayed by DeSmith as Washington’s hopes of making a late push for a playoff berth took a serious hit. The Capitals are six points behind Pittsburgh with only eight games remaining.

“It’s a tough one,” Washington center T.J. Oshie said. “I don’t think that last play was the only thing that lost the game for us. I know that (Mantha) feels terrible about it, but we trust him with the puck. It just wasn’t a good enough 60 minutes against a good hockey team over there.”

It felt like old times for much of the night for teams that usually enter late March battling for a spot near the top of the Metropolitan Division.

Not this season.

While the 35-year-old Crosby is averaging over a point a game as usual and the 37-year-old Ovechkin is steadily making inroads on Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal record, their teams have spent most of the year skating in place.

Pittsburgh has been wildly uneven thanks in part to goaltending that has fluctuated between solid and shaky, the main reason a 17th straight playoff appearance is hardly assured. Washington, meanwhile, appears to be pointing toward the future after injuries and a small sell-off at the trade deadline.

Pittsburgh put itself on slightly firmer footing with DeSmith making a compelling case that he should supplant Tristan Jarry as Pittsburgh’s top goaltender down the stretch.

DeSmith was spectacular at times, including stoning Ovechkin on a breakaway near the end of the second period in which Ovechkin deked DeSmith to his knees, only to see DeSmith extend his left leg just enough to knock the puck out of harm’s way.

“I’m not very tall,” the 6-foot DeSmith said. “But I had that one inch that I needed.”

UP NEXT

Capitals: Host the New York Islanders on Wednesday.

Penguins: Visit Detroit on Tuesday.

Devils defeat Senators 5-3, clinch playoff berth

Associated PressMar 26, 2023, 12:09 AM EDT

Sarah Stier/Getty Images

NEWARK, N.J. — Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist, Mackenzie Blackwood had 25 saves and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-3 and clinched a playoff berth on Saturday night.

“It means everything to the group. I went into the dressing room after the game and just said that I was proud of the work that was put in, proud of where we got to clinch tonight to be one of three teams that have an X next to their name,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “All the work that’s been put in, the adversity they face during the year. The adversity they face right at the start of the season to where we’ve got to now.”

New Jersey could have clinched its first postseason berth since 2018 with a win, but it happened before their first intermission when the Florida Panthers lost to the New York Rangers in regulation.

“I had a lesser role then,” said Jesper Bratt, who was a rookie for the Devils in 2017-18. “I would say at a younger age, it’s kind of like you think that just because it happened your first year that it might happen every year. And then it goes pretty fast with reality that was not the case and you got to work extremely hard for it.

“It’s a really tough league. So this feels really good. It’s been a lot of years with struggle, not winning, and it’s just awesome coming out now playing these kinds of games and getting that.”

Bratt, Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton scored for the Devils and Tomas Tatar scored an empty netter with 42.3 seconds left to put things away.

Brady Tkachuk, Thomas Chabot and Mark Kastelic scored for the Senators and Dylan Ferguson had 30 saves.

Tkachuk scored his 33rd goal of the season to give the Senators the 1-0 lead 3:14 into the first period. The Devils responded midway through the first period with Hughes’ 40th goal of the season on a breakaway, going five-hole to tie it.

Nick Holden gave the puck away and Bratt scored his 31st goal of the season on the breakaway 2:24 into the second period to give New Jersey the 2-1 lead. Mercer’s 23rd of the season came just over a minute later.

The Senators answered midway through the second period when Thomas Chabot scored his 11th goal of the year to cut the deficit to 3-2. They knotted things up 16:03 into the second when Kastelic scored his fifth of the season.

“We were confident going into the third period. We felt like the game was there for our taking,” Travis Hamonic said. “They score on their chance, and that’s game.”

Hamilton scored 3:34 into the third period to give the Devils the lead. His 19th goal breaks the franchise record for goals in a season by a defenseman, surpassing Scott Stevens – the Devils great whose number is hanging in the rafters – record of 18 in 1993-94.

NOTES: This was the first game for the Devils backup Blackwood since Feb. 19. … Nico Hischier has a six-game point streak after recording two assists.

UP NEXT

Senators: Host the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

Devils: Play at New York Islanders on Monday night. —

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Kings tie franchise mark with point in 11th straight game

Associated PressMar 25, 2023, 11:36 PM EDT

Gary A. Vasquez/USA TODAY Sports

LOS ANGELES — Viktor Arvidsson had two goals and the Los Angeles Kings matched their longest point streak in franchise history with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon.

Drew Doughty had a goal and an assist and Alex Iafallo netted a power-play goal for Los Angeles, which has earned points in 11 straight games for the fourth time. The last occurrence was 2013-14, when the Kings won their second Stanley Cup championship.

Joonas Korpisalo stopped 25 shots for Los Angeles.

Pierre-Luc Dubois scored for Winnipeg and Connor Hellebuyck made 25 saves.

Arvidsson – who has 22 goals on the season – has four in the last four games while Doughty has found the net four times in the last five games.

Arvidsson’s first goal came 82 seconds into the game. Trevor Moore won the faceoff in the offensive zone and made a backhand pass to Arvidsson, who snapped it into the net from the back of the left faceoff circle.

He also had an empty-net goal late in the third period.

The Kings extended their lead to 2-0 five minutes into the second period on the power play. Phillip Danault made a great pass between Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon and Hellebuyck as Iafallo buried it into the short side of the net.

Doughty extended the lead to 3-1 27 seconds into the third period with a wrist shot from outside the right faceoff circle near the boards after Anze Kopitar won the faceoff.

POWERING UP

Winnipeg got its first power-play goal in seven games with 1:23 remaining in the second period when Dubois took a cross-ice pass from Kyle Connor and scored from the left faceoff circle to get the Jets within 2-1.

The Jets got a five-minute power play after Los Angeles’ Blake Lizotte received a five-minute match penalty for a vicious cross-check to Josh Morrissey’s face. The goal came with 33 seconds left in the man advantage.

NOTES: Danault picked up his 300th career point and 200th assist. … Winnipeg’s Connor set a career high for most assists in a season when he got his 47th on Dubois’ goal.

UP NEXT

Jets: Travel to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday.

Kings: Host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday.

Coyotes minority owner suspended by NHL following arrest

Associated PressMar 25, 2023, 1:45 AM EDT

Donald Page/Getty Images

NEW YORK — Arizona Coyotes minority owner Andrew Barroway was suspended indefinitely by the NHL on Friday following his arrest for domestic violence in Colorado.

Online court records show Barroway was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of second-degree assault strangulation, a felony, and third-degree assault, a misdemeanor. He appeared in court Friday to be advised of the possible charges he is facing and is scheduled to back in court on April 3.

Barroway spent Thursday night in Pitkin County Jail after police arrested him at an Aspen hotel, according to a police report obtained by the Aspen Daily News.

“The National Hockey League is aware of the arrest of Arizona Coyotes’ minority owner Andrew Barroway,” the NHL said in a statement. “Pending further information, he has been suspended indefinitely.”

The 57-year-old Barroway was arrested after a verbal altercation with his wife turned physical, according to the police report. He is prohibited from having contact with his wife, except when it involves their children, and can’t consume alcohol under a court order.

A prominent hedge fund manager, Barroway owns 5% of the Coyotes.

“We are aware of the allegation regarding Mr. Barroway and we are working with the League to gather more information,” the Coyotes said in a statement. “When we have enough information, we will have an appropriate response. Until the investigation is complete, we will have no further comment.”