Playing for the Rockford IceHogs, the AHL affiliate of the Chicago Blackhawks, the shutout was Leighton's fifth of the season. He had five last season, as well.
Leighton went into Saturday's game with a .918 save percentage in 42 games. And that number's going up.
Johnny Bower owned a piece of the #AHL career shutouts record for nearly 59 years, after passing Nick Damore on Mar. 10, 1957 #Leighton
In 101 career NHL games (93 starts), Leighton, 34, has a .901 save percentage. He had a memorable run with the Philadelphia Flyers in 2009, starting 13 games in the playoffs, recording a .916 save percentage and three shutouts. Oddly enough, the Flyers fell to the Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Final.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - Goaltender Michael Leighton has put his name in the American Hockey League record books, and knocked off a Hockey Hall of Famer to do so.
Leighton set the AHL record with his 46th career regular-season shutout on Saturday...
The good news: Mike Hoffman had arguably the best seat in the house. The bad news: he was benched.
The Ottawa Senators forward played a season low 10:45 in Toronto against the Maple Leafs, watching the third period from the bench. He had only 15 shifts.
After the game, head coach Dave Cameron brought the heat.
"Ice time is distributed with what I think gives us the best chance to win," Cameron said, according to TSN's Ian Mendes.
Hoffman leads the Senators in goals with 25 and is fourth on the team in points, with 46. The new year has brought struggles, though, as Hoffman has only seven goals and five assists in 28 games in 2016.
Earning $2 million, Hoffman's set for restricted free agency this summer.
ROCHESTER, N.Y. - William Carrier scored twice — including the eventual winner — as the Rochester Americans topped the Toronto Marlies 4-2 on Saturday in American Hockey League play.
Cole Schneider and Jerry D'Amigo added goals for the Americ...
PETERBOROUGH, Ont. - Hunter Garlent scored a hat trick in the third period, including two goals on the power play, as the Peterborough Petes rallied past the Mississauga Steelheads 5-4 on Saturday night in Ontario Hockey League action.
Jonath...
SYDNEY, N.S. - Maxim Lazarev had two goals and two assists to lead the Cape Breton Screaming Eagles past the Halifax Mooseheads 7-2 on Saturday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League action.
Evgeny Svechnikov added a goal and three assists for ...
The former Toronto captain made his first visit to the Air Canada Centre since a February blockbuster trade to the Ottawa Senators, and he did what he didn't do often enough while in the blue and white: win.
The Senators took a 3-2 decision, keeping their slim playoff hopes alive, and Phaneuf was celebrated with a video tribute by the Maple Leafs and a standing ovation from the crowd that left him - it appeared - fighting back tears.
"It's a night I'll remember forever and a for me it's a pretty good way to go out," Phaneuf said, according to TSN's Jonas Seigel. "I just want to thank the fans for what they did. It meant a lot to me and that was some good closure. Real classy by them."
After emotional tribute, rough start, Phaneuf said "I kind of dialed in and I said 'I've got to be better than I was for this team'."
Phaneuf captained the Maple Leafs for 397 games, leading the club to the playoffs once - a memorable (for all the wrong reasons, if you're a Toronto supporter) seven-game defeat to the Boston Bruins.
The Washington Capitals are the first team to hit the 100-point mark this season, thanks to a 2-1 overtime win in Boston on Saturday.
The two points were earned one night after Washington lost on home ice to the New York Rangers, continuing a trend of great resilience shown by Barry Trotz's squad this season.
.@washcaps moved to 12-0-1 in games after reg. loss this season. They also became 1st team to hit century mark in 2015-16 (48-13-4, 100 PTS)
The Capitals now sit 15 points clear of idle Chicago and Dallas atop the NHL standings, and are all but sure to win the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top regular-season club.
Since the award was instituted prior to the 1985-86 season, only eight winners have gone on to hoist the Stanley Cup.
Washington's ability to shake off losses, then, bodes well for that long-awaited run deep into the playoffs.
BOSTON - Matt Niskanen scored in overtime and backup Philipp Grubauer stopped 33 shots to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
Niskanen's goal on a slapper from the blue line beat Tuukka Rask...