Jaromir Jagr emerged from the tunnel for pregame warmups for the first time as a member of the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night, before their game against the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.
The 45-year-old legend, who officially joined the club last week, needed to get some practices in before making his debut, but his return to the NHL is clearly a welcome sight for all.
It was Yakupov's third goal in four games this season, and his third in two regular-season contests against the Bruins so far this fall. He potted a pair in a 4-0 victory over Boston on Monday.
Yakupov scored only three goals in 40 games with the St. Louis Blues in 2016-17.
He kept his resurgence going later in the second period Wednesday, notching an assist on the Matt Duchene marker that gave the Avalanche a 4-1 lead.
WASHINGTON (AP) Patric Hornqvist scored a power-play goal and assisted on another in his season debut to help the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Wednesday night in their first meeting since the playoffs.
Hornqvist assisted on a goal by Kris Letang, the defenseman's first since Feb. 4 after missing the end of last season and playoffs because of neck surgery. Hornqvist, who scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal last spring despite a broken finger on his right hand, was playing for the first time since offseason surgery to repair it.
Conor Sheary scored the Penguins' third goal as they went 3 for 6 on the power play. The Capitals' six minor penalties were a season high and contributed to their first regulation loss.
Alex Ovechkin scored his NHL-leading eighth goal of the season in the Capitals' fourth game. Christian Djoos assisted on Ovechkin's goal and scored in his NHL debut to become the third defenseman in franchise history to score in his debut after Steve Poapst and Hall of Famer Scott Stevens.
Matt Murray stopped 20 of the 22 shots he faced to pick up the victory. Braden Holtby made 33 saves for Washington.
Although Ovechkin's goal made things interesting at 3-2 with 7:09 left in the third period, Hornqvist staked the Penguins to a lead and paid immediate dividends in his return. Coach Mike Sullivan expected Hornqvist to be ''a momentum guy,'' which the 30-year-old Swede was on the power play.
Hornqvist was on the ice and around the net for all three Penguins goals. He also scored in their Game 7 victory in Washington in the second round of the playoffs last year, the last time these teams faced each other.
NOTES: Pittsburgh scratched Scott Wilson to make room for Hornqvist. ... Washington scratched Taylor Chorney for Djoos and Aussie Nathan Walker for Tyler Graovac.
UP NEXT
Penguins: Visit Steven Stamkos and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.
Capitals: Get Tom Wilson back from a four-game suspension when they travel to play the New Jersey Devils on Friday night.
---
Follow Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno
---
For more AP NHL coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/NHLhockey
Having a two-man advantage greatly increases the chance of scoring a goal, but it doesn't usually come from the shorthanded team.
That's what happened Wednesday night, however, when New Jersey Devils winger Brian Gibbons put home a rebound for a marker that would eventually hold up as the game-winner against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Just how rare was it?
Per #NHL website, #NJDevils had not scored a reg ssn 3-on-5 (or 3-on-6) goal since at least 1987-88 (first year stat is kept in database
The biggest question facing the Montreal Canadiens ahead of the season was whether they can score. So far, the answer has been no. The Habs have scraped together a measly four goals in four games.
However, despite the ice-cold start for a team that usually comes out of the gate firing on all cylinders, the Canadiens aren't on a downward spiral, they've just been extremely unlucky.
Shot quantity
The Canadiens have attempted 206 shots at five-on-five this season. The next most? Edmonton, with 175. It's not a matter of games played, either, as there are four other teams that have played at least four games. Of those 206 shot attempts, they've put 112 on net, which is also the most in the league at five-on-five, according to Corsica.
On a per-60 minutes basis, only the Panthers and Oilers have taken more shots on goal at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.
Shot quality
Though how many shots a team takes is important, it certainly doesn't tell the whole story. The Los Angeles Kings had the best Corsi For percentage (Corsi = shot attempt) in the NHL last season, but their inability to get shots from in tight made them one of the league's worst offenses.
Unlike the Kings, the Canadiens have been getting many shots right around the net, as seen below:
The Habs also rank in the top 10 in both Scoring Chances For per 60 minutes and High-Danger Scoring Chances For per 60 minutes, per Natural Stat Trick.
Snakebitten snipers
Montreal's offensive woes aren't helped by the fact that some of its best offensive players have been snakebitten:
Player
G
S
S%
Jonathan Drouin
0
17
0.0
Max Pacioretty
1
16
6.3
Shea Weber
0
12
0.0
Alex Galchenyuk
0
8
0.0
Though many attribute the team's offensive struggles to a dearth of puck-movers on the back end, it has yet to be a factor in their ability to generate scoring chances. It simply comes down to the fact that their players - most notably the ones relied upon to score - haven't capitalized.
As the saying goes, the 2017-18 Habs have been all Swedish and no finish through the season's first four games.
The Mark Streit era seems to be nearing its end in Montreal once again, as the Canadiens are trying to trade the veteran rearguard, Sportsnet's Eric Engels reports.
Streit was added to Montreal's roster during the offseason in an attempt to offset the offensive production lost with Andrei Markov's move to the KHL.
The 39-year-old rearguard is in his second tour of duty with the Canadiens. Across two games this season, Streit has zero points and three shots on goal.
The two rivals, linked since sharing the same rookie campaign in 2005-06, will face off for the first time this season Wednesday at Washington's newly renamed Capital One Arena.
Each superstar has taken home a mantle full of personal accolades. What really separates them is team accomplishments; there, the Pittsburgh Penguins captain has steadily outpaced Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
Here's where the matchup stands heading into Wednesday's contest, their 42nd encounter during the regular season.
Goals
It's no surprise that Ovechkin, one of the best pure shooters in decades, leads Crosby here. His 565 career goals are 182 more than Crosby's netted, and put him just outside the top 20 in NHL all-time scoring.
Even when compared on a per-game basis - Ovechkin has played 139 more games than Crosby - the Capitals captain still comes out ahead, besting Crosby 0.61 to 0.49 goals per game.
Head to head, Ovechkin again takes top honors. In their 41 regular-season meetings, Ovechkin has heavily outscored Crosby, coming up with 29 tallies to Crosby's 20.
Assists
Much as Ovechkin is the goal-scorer, Crosby is the setup man. He's managed 649 career helpers, nearly 200 ahead of Ovechkin. Crosby's assist total ranks 63rd all time, and he could climb inside the top 50 with a strong 2017-18 season.
On a per-game basis, Crosby is well in front of Ovechkin in this department at 0.83 assists, compared to his fellow superstar's 0.52.
The regular-season matchup isn't remotely close: Crosby has tallied 40 assists, more than double Ovechkin's 18.
Points
Their current head-to-head tally in points is 60 to 57, with the Penguins captain getting the nod. The two players have been nearly evenly matched when facing each other during the regular season, with both producing well above a point per game, but in the end, the slim margin of victory goes to Crosby.
The career numbers are tight as well, with Ovechkin just 10 total points ahead of Crosby. The comparison becomes much more wide-open when reviewing points per game, however - Crosby mightily outpaces Ovechkin, 1.31 to 1.13.
Awards
Ovechkin takes the lead in personal accolades. He's got six goal-scoring titles, an Art Ross Trophy as the league's top point producer, three Hart Trophies as the NHL MVP, and even a Calder Trophy from the season he topped Crosby as the league's most outstanding rookie.
But Crosby's collected some hardware of his own. The Penguins center is a two-time Art Ross winner and has two Hart Trophies, plus some other major plaudits - including the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP, an award Crosby's won in each of the past two postseasons.
Playoffs
Where it matters most, Crosby has prevailed: The Penguins have erased the Capitals three times in the postseason during the Crosby and Ovechkin era.
That count includes last spring, when the defending Stanley Cup champions eliminated the reigning Presidents' Trophy winners in their second straight playoff meetup. Both years ended with Crosby hoisting the Stanley Cup - his second and third titles after winning his first NHL championship in 2009.
The longtime Kings announcer, who retired at the end of last season following 44 years in the broadcast booth, will be recognized by the team with a statue in his honor.
The statue, to be unveiled Jan. 13 prior to a contest vs. the rival Anaheim Ducks, will be located outside of the Staples Center. Miller's will be the third statue revealed by the Kings, following Wayne Gretzky and Luc Robitaille.
Miller, 78, called 3,353 games as the team's broadcaster and witnessed Stanley Cup championships in 2012 and 2014.
Sonny Milano has won over one of the NHL's most stubborn head coaches.
The Columbus Blue Jackets rookie scored his fourth goal of the young campaign on Tuesday - an overtime winner against the Carolina Hurricanes - and while his offense has been the talk of the town, head coach John Tortorella has marveled at his play on the other side of the puck.
"Forget about offense, because we know that's going to be there," Tortorella said, according to NHL.com's Kurt Dusterberg. "I think he's been really consistent away from the puck too. He gets the puck out, and that's the most important part for this coach."
With goals in each of the Blue Jackets' first three games, Milano has matched a franchise record set by Kristian Huselius in 2010-2011. He also paces all rookies in goals and ranks second in points, but for now he can be content knowing Tortorella applauds his back-checking.
