A power-play goal against Nashville has pushed Corey Perry up the Anaheim Ducks' all-time scoring list.
Perry, who now sits behind Teemu Selanne (988) and Ryan Getzlaf (749), recorded his 670th point in his 812th game with the Ducks, while Kariya's 669 points came in only 606 appearances.
Kariya, in fact, leads all four players in points per game with the Ducks with 1.1, with Selanne, Getzlaf, and Perry falling in line behind him.
Still, Perry has no doubt set himself apart as one of the great all-time Ducks, with plenty of hockey ahead.
Powered by teenage captain Connor McDavid and backstopped by goaltender Cam Talbot, the Edmonton Oilers have the look of a team capable of making serious noise in the Western Conference, or at least challenging for their first playoff spot in a decade.
This new reality was on full display Wednesday, as the Oilers took it to the reigning Presidents' Trophy winners on home ice, beating the Washington Capitals by a score of 4-1.
McDavid's magic
McDavid did not score and recorded a single shot on goal, but his fingerprints were all over this one.
In almost 21 minutes of ice time, he recorded two assists, anchored a line with Milan Lucic and Jordan Eberle that dominated the possession game, and even saw time on the penalty kill.
In short, without McDavid, there's no way the Oilers out-attempt a team like the Capitals.
The pair of assists give McDavid 11 points in seven games, propelling him atop the NHL's scoring leader board, a position he's not likely to relinquish anytime soon.
Talbot in control
After mixed results in his first season with the club, Talbot has shone in net for the Oilers so far this season, with 34 saves in the win over Washington just the latest example.
Over his last four starts, Talbot has allowed only three goals, stopping 130 of 133 shots for a save percentage of .977.
While he will most likely be unable maintain that level of success, his .924 career mark would put him among the NHL's top 10 at his position, providing the kind of goaltending needed to complement what should be an explosive offense as well as cover for what remains an incomplete blue line.
Success within small sample size
Yes, it's still early. Very early. But the win over the Capitals legitimizes what was already an impressive start.
Heading into Wednesday's action, Edmonton had posted a record of 5-1-0 - its best start in 31 years - albeit at the expense of a bevy of subpar teams. Case in point, the Oilers earned wins over Calgary, Carolina, Winnipeg and, most impressively, St. Louis to go along with a loss to Buffalo.
Not since the glory days have the Oilers started a season with such success.
And with McDavid leading the charge and Talbot staying back to clean up any messes, another round of glory days could very well be ahead.
The Montreal Canadiens have yet to lose in regulation this season, and a second consecutive strong start to the regular season has put them in good company.
With a win over the New York Islanders on Wednesday, the Canadiens became only the fifth team in NHL history to start consecutive seasons with at least a point in each of their first seven games.
The other four are listed below.
The Canadiens' 2015-16 fell apart after a disastrous injury to Carey Price, but the team is rebounding quite nicely from an eventual 22nd-place finish.
Rick Nash, Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey also scored for New York, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots. The Rangers won their third straight game, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to improve to 5-2-0.
Down 2-0 after the first, the Rangers scored three times in the final 10:44 of the second.
Nash began the comeback with a power-play goal at 9:16. He curled to the net before corralling a rebound of Derek Stepan's point shot and flipping it over goalie Zane McIntyre for his third of the season.
Hayes tied it with 3:25 left in the second, banking a shot from behind the net off of McIntyre's pants.
Pirri's power-play goal with 36 seconds left made it 3-2. The free-agent signee ripped a shot from the right circle that was in the net before McIntrye could get his glove up. New York finished the game 2 for 6 on the man advantage, while the Bruins were 0 for 1.
It was not all positive for the Rangers in the second, with Dan Girardi missing two shifts following a hit from Pastrnak, who was assessed a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head. Girardi leaped in the air to play a loose puck in the neutral zone and, as he came down, Pastrnak drove his shoulder into the upper body of the New York defenseman.
Pirri made it 4-2 2:23 into the third with his fourth of the season. Vesey scored on a tap-in 43 seconds late.
The Bruins opened the scoring Pastrnak's fifth of the season 10 seconds into the game. The lead grew to 2-0 14:34 later when Czarnik scored his first goal in the NHL. Czarnik fired a shot from inside the blue line that New York defenseman Brady Skjei blocked, but Henrik Lundqvist appeared to lose track of the puck and it bounced across the goal line.
Lundqvist had 27 saves.
NOTES: Prior to the game, the Bruins announced Czarnik had been called up from Providence of the AHL. Czarnik had a goal and two assists in two games with Providence this season. Czarnik, 23, did play in two NHL games earlier this season with the Bruins. ... Boston also announced RW David Backes had his olecranon bursa removed from his elbow on Monday. The Bruins also scratched D Joe Morrow and C Danton Heinen. ... New York LW Chris Kreider missed his second straight game with neck spasms. ... The Rangers scratched D Adam Clendening and D Dylan McIlrath. ... New York lost fourth-line RW Josh Jooris for the game with what the team called an ''upper-body injury.''
For his preferred style and capabilities, Weber will continue to represent the divide between many progressive thinkers and old-school hockey minds, but there's really no denying just how incredible his first seven games have been with the Habs.
First and foremost, Montreal has six regulation wins in seven outings with Weber logging 26 minutes a night. And in their only defeat, the Canadiens picked up a point in the shootout.
Montreal is outscoring the opponent 26-12 overall, and 18-7 at even strength, to average two goals more than the opposition each night. And with Weber on the ice, having a direct impact, Montreal has 15 goals to three against in all situations and conceded one at even strength.
Beyond that seal-tight defense is what's come largely unexpected - a prolific scoring pace.
He has three goals (two of which count as game winners) and six assists in seven games. His nine points are two more than Erik Karlsson (who does have a game in hand) and one behind Auston Matthews for the league lead.
Many predicted it would be P.K. Subban carrying the chip on his shoulder, and to his credit, he's producing at a very strong clip with five points in his first five games while having the time of his life with the Nashville Predators.
Maybe it's just their personalities (or so they've said), but Weber certainly has the look of the one out for revenge.
The Montreal Canadiens defenseman fired an absolute cannon past New York Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss with under three minutes left in regulation to give his new club a 3-2 victory on Wednesday.
The goal was his third of the season and - with an assist on Phillip Danault's third-period goal - gives him nine points on the season, just one shy of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews for the league lead.
David Pastrnak saw a chance to level Dan Girardi, and he took full advantage.
The question is whether the Boston Bruins forward will land in hot water due to catching the New York Rangers defenseman with the hit to the head. Pastrnak was immediately penalized for two minutes and may receive a call from the NHL's Department of Player Safety.
Girardi left the game for observation at the time of the incident but was able to return.
The Boston Bruins are starting a fourth different goaltender in succession Wednesday versus the New York Rangers, therefore writing another chapter in dubious NHL history.
Dwayne Roloson, Rick DiPietro, Nathan Lawson, and Kevin Poulin combined for three victories over the span, with Lawson being the lone netminder to suffer a defeat.
Khudobin and Subban both lost following Rask's victory over the New Jersey Devils last week.
The NHL's now into its third week of the season, and the Anaheim Ducks and ace defenseman Hampus Lindholm are apparently clashing over an inappreciable portion of the team's salary cap.
On Wednesday afternoon, Darren Dreger mentioned on TSN 1050 that he believes there's a mere $250,000 discrepancy between Lindholm's ask and what Anaheim's willing to pay the defender annually on a long-term contract extension.
With a seemingly trivial portion of the payroll at stake, Dreger's colleague, Bob McKenzie, reported on NBCSN that to this point, the Ducks are no closer to reaching an agreement with Lindholm.
Answering four consecutive losses to begin their season with five points in their last three games, the Ducks are certainly in striking distance and have perhaps bought some time. But it remains absolutely imperative to boost their defensive corps with the 22-year-old workhorse puck-mover sooner than later.
Dreger also mentioned he doesn't believe the Ducks are willing to trade Lindholm.
It's been previously reported that Ducks general manager Bob Murray is committed to signing Lindholm to a contract cheaper than the six-year, $32.4-million deal that Rasmus Ristolainen signed with the Buffalo Sabres prior to the season.