Author: sportsjerseyscanada

With the NHL All Star weekend over the league now enters the stretch run with most teams having a busy time of it until the end of the regular season. With each club having a Christmas break, a five-day bye and another break for the All-Star Game it’s no wonder the NHL campaign is a marathon affair. The playoff drive starts in earnest now with the majority of teams still having a chance at making the postseason. However, a few of the stragglers such as the Ottawa Senators, Buffalo Sabres and Arizona Coyotes will need a minor miracle to play more than 82 games this year.

The 31 teams all have between 31 and 35 games remaining in the 82-game schedule with 10 weeks to go before the postseason. Those who have playoff ambitions may attempt to fine-tune their rosters between now and trade deadline day which falls upon us on February 26^th. Just before things start to heat up later this week, we’ll take a look back at the All-Star weekend at the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, Florida and review the games and skills competitions in case you happened to miss them.

As for the games themselves, which continue to use the three-on-three format, the Pacific Division won the $1 million prize by downing the Atlantic Division 5-2. It was the second time the Pacific has won the All-Star event since the format was changed three years ago and the third time they’ve reached the final. Rickard Rakell of the Anaheim Ducks was the scoring hero in the final game with a pair of goals to his name, which were the first and last of the contest. Other Pacific goals came courtesy of Vancouver Canucks’ rookie right winger Brock Boeser, Calgary Flames winger Johnny Gaudreau and Los Angeles Kings blueliner Drew Doughty.

Boeser was named the Most Valuable Player of the event with a pair of goals and an assist in the Pacific’s two victories as he helped his team crush the Central Division 5-2 in their opener. The 20-year-old scored the game winner against the Central and then added a goal and assists in the final. Boeser was awarded a 2018 Honda Clarity Plug-In Hybrid for being named MVP. Mario Lemieux was the only other rookie to take home the MVP award in the game’s history as he achieved the feat back in the 1984/85 event. The Atlantic Division reached the final by downing the Metropolitan Division 7-4 in their first game. Tampa Bay winger Nikita Kucherov was the scoring hero of that outing with a hat trick under his belt.

The All-Star Game took place on Sunday afternoon, while the players put their skills to the test in a series of six competitions the night before. The fastest skater award went to Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers for the second year in a row with a time of 13.454 seconds for a lap around the rink. He was followed by Brayden Point of Tampa Bay at 13.579 seconds with Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres placing third out of the eight participants at 13.828 seconds. The passing challenge was won by

defenceman Alex Pietrangelo of the St. Louis Blues at 46.610 seconds. Eric Staal of the Minnesota Wild was second at 54.679 seconds and Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins was third at 1:00.015.

The save streak competition gave the goalies a chance to shine and Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights took first place with 14 straight saves. Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators had a streak of 13 straight stops to place second while Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers came third with a five-save streak. When it came to the puck control relay, Johnny Gaudreau of the Calgary Flames won it with a time of 24.650 seconds. John Tavares of the New York Islanders was second at 28.242 seconds with Connor McDavid coming in third at 29.220 seconds.

The hardest shot contest was won by Russian sniper and future Hall of Famer Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals at 101.3 miles-per-hour. He also had the second-hardest shot in the event at 98.8 mph while defenceman P.K. Subban of the Nashville Predators had the third-hardest shot at 98.7 mph. The accuracy shooting competition was topped by rookie Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks with a time of 11.136 seconds. Veteran forward Brian Boyle of the New Jersey Devils was second best at 11.626 seconds and he was followed by another veteran forward as James Neal of the Vegas Golden Knights posted a time of 14.262 seconds.

With a current 16-game point streak of 12-0-4 the Boston Bruins are suddenly a legitimate contender for the President’s Trophy, which will be handed out to the NHL’s top team at the end of the regular season. As of Jan. 22^nd the Bruins were sitting at 62 points with a record of 27-10-8. They were in second place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference, just three points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning with a game in hand. In fact, the Lightning and Vegas Golden Knights were the only two squads ahead of the Bruins in the 31-team league with Tampa being the only club to have a better goal difference than Boston’s plus 38.

The last time Boston tasted defeat in regulation time came back on December 14^thwhen they were edged 5-3 at home by the Washington Capitals. In the meantime, they’ve outscored their opponents to the tune of 64-19 during their 16-game streak. Team-wise, the Bruins have the eighth-best power play in the league (21.1%), the sixth-best penalty killing (83.5%), the fifth-most goals per game (3.27) and the second-ranked goals-against average at 2.44 goals-per-game. However, while it’s been a total team effort, there’s no denying the club has been led by the red-hot line of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand.

They’ve been getting good secondary-scoring support from Ryan Spooner, David Backes, David Krejci and Danton Heinen while Torey Krug and Charlie McAvoy have been providing offence from the blue line. Boston has quite a bit of depth and this enables head coach Bruce Cassidy to roll four solid and effective forward lines each and every game without worrying about matching lines against the opposition on a regular basis. The play of goaltenders Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin has been solid if not spectacular and 40-year-old veteran defenceman and team captain Zdeno Chara has been exceptional at killing penalties and is still playing well over 20 minutes a game.

But while the veterans are all contributing, this Bruins team still features up to half a dozen rookies in the lineup each night such as McAvoy, Heinen, Jake DeBrusk, Sean Kuraly and Matt Grzelcyk. Things are looking pretty good for Boston right now, but that could all change once the dog days of the schedule come around in March when the team has a busy 16 games on the schedule. It’ll be interesting to see how the youngsters handle the workload once the final playoff push arrives and to see if Pastrnak, Bergeron and Marchand can keep up their production.

The line’s 200-foot success may have taken some fans by surprise considering that Marchand was the only one of the trio to be sitting in the league’s top-25 scorers by Jan. 21^st. He had  48 points from 20 goals and 28 assists in 37 games which saw him ranked 17^th in the scoring race. But the driving force behind this team may very well be Bergeron with his timely goals and overall veteran leadership qualities. He’s been as reliable as ever in both ends of the rink and could very well become the first NHL player to win four Frank Selke Trophies as the league’s top defensive forward. He’s currently tied with former Montreal Canadiens great and Hall of Famer Bob Gainey at four apiece.

With an 18-point lead over the fourth-place team in their division, the current streak has basically wrapped up a playoff spot for the Bruins unless they totally collapse in their final 37 games. They might as well shoot for the moon now though as first place in the league is well withing their grasp.  

By signing a new $30 million contract over six years with the Las Vegas Golden Knights, forward Jonathan Marchessault has earned himself a 667 per cent raise. The 27-year-old from Quebec City will be cashing in $5 million worth of paycheques per year over the next half a dozen seasons after making just $750,000 a campaign on his current two-year deal, which is just $100,000 over the league minimum. The centre signed his present contract with the Florida Panthers and was taken by the Knights during the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft.

Marchessault made it to the NHL as an undrafted player by signing a three-year entry-level contract as a free agent with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2012/13. He played the first year of the deal in the AHL with the Springfield Falcons and led the club in scoring with 21 goals and 46 assists while making the league’s First All Star Team. Marchessault was sent to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the trade deadline in 2013/14 and racked up another 53 points in the AHL. He spent the 2014/15 campaign with the Syracuse Crunch with 67 points in 68 games and finally cracked the Lightning lineup as a regular the following season.

Marchessault contributed eight goals and 11 assists in  47 games for Tampa Bay and added an assist in five appearances in the 2015/16 playoffs. However, he left Tampa and signed a two-year deal with the Florida Panthers in the summer of 2016. Marchessault proved he belongs in the NHL as he broke out that season by leading the Panthers in scoring with 30 goals in 75 games and added 21 assists for 51 points. He was the first Florida player to reach the 30-goal plateau since David Booth achieved the feat with 31 goals back in 2008/09. 

For some strange reason the Panthers didn’t protect Marchessault in last year’s expansion draft and it was no surprise when Vegas snapped him up. The 5-foot-9-inch Marchessault has lived up to his billing with the Golden Knights and as of January 8^th was leading the team in scoring with 16 goals and 24 assists for 40 points in 38 games and was also a plus-17. Marchessault’s excellent play has helped Vegas become the surprise of the season so far in the NHL as the expansion franchise had a 29-10-2 record for 60 points to lead the Western Conference and sit second in the league’s overall standings.

The Chris Neil era has ended in Ottawa as the Senators’ forward officially announced he was hanging up his skates on December 15^thafter 15 years with the NHL team. The 38-year-old from Flesherton. Ontario was originally drafted by the club back in 1998 when the Senators chose him in the sixth round with the 161^st overall selection. The 6-foot-1-inch right winger was taken from the North Bay Centennials of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) after scoring 72 points in 66 games in his final junior season on 26 goals and 46 assists.

Neil was drafted due to his work ethic and toughness and spent his first two pro seasons with the Grand Rapids Griffins of the American Hockey League. He didn’t disappoint the team as he racked up more than 300 minutes in penalties in each of his two seasons there and chipped in with 24 goals and 31 assists for 55 points. Neil cracked the Ottawa lineup at the beginning of the next season and showed the club he wouldn’t back down from anyone while contributing 17 points and 231 minutes in penalties as a rookie.

Neil was seen by most fans as the Senators’ enforcer during his career and he led the club in penalty minutes most seasons. He did manage to score 10 or more goals on five occasions with his best showing being 16 goals and 17 assists in the 2005/06 campaign. Neil ended up playing 1,026 regular-season games with Ottawa which ranks the third-most all-time for the franchise. The only players to appear in more games with the club were Chris Phillips at 1,179 and Daniel Alfredsson at 1,178. He also managed to chip in with 112 goals along with 138 assists for 250 points.

Neil served 2,522 minutes in the penalty box for Ottawa, which ranks number one for the club and 20^th all-time in the NHL. He also appeared in 95 playoff games with nine goals and 10 assists to his name along with another 204 penalty minutes. Neil is just one of two players in NHL history to play in over 1,000 regular-season games and serve over 2,500 minutes in penalties while playing their whole career with just one club. The other player to achieve the feat was former New Jersey Devils blueliner
Ken Daneyko.

Along with serving the Senators for 15 seasons, Neil also contributed to the local community and he’ll be honoured for this on Jan 25^th in a pregame ceremony when the Boston Bruins visit the Senators. Pierre Dorion, the general manager of the Senators, told the media that Neil is one of the club’s all-time greatest players due to his leadership qualities, toughness and fearlessness and the fact he was always there to stand up for his teammates.

It was revealed that several other teams were interested in his services before the 2017/18 season began, but Neil didn’t think it would be right to leave Ottawa. One of the teams that was interested in him was the Montreal Canadiens and their head coach Claude Julien. However, the Habs were only willing to offer him a Professional Tryout Contract and Neil promptly turned the Senators’ rivals down. Neil then signed a one-year extension with Ottawa, but didn’t appear in a regular-season game this campaign.  

The Toronto Maple Leafs believed goaltender Frederik Andersen’s slow start to the 2016/17 NHL season was due to an injury suffered prior to training camp. However, they became concerned when he struggled out of the gate at the beginning of the 2017/18 campaign as well. It took the 28-year-old native of Denmark a while to get going last year as he adjusted to a new team and city after being acquired in a trade from the Anaheim Ducks. He finished the season well with a 33-16 record along with a 2.67 goals-against average, a 91.8 save percentage and  four shutouts. His play was one of the main reasons the Leafs returned to the playoffs for the first time since the shortened 2012/13 season.

Andersen’s regular-season stats were about the same in last year’s playoffs, but the Leafs fell in six games to the Washington Capitals, with five of the contests going into overtime. When the current season faced off, the Leafs’ organization and fans expected Andersen to get off to a quick start since he was healthy and didn’t miss any time in training camp like the year before. They were wrong though as he had trouble early on and his goals-against average rose while his save percentage plummeted. That all seems to be in the past now however as he’s in top form and appears to be leading the club to its second straight playoff appearance.

As of December 11^th, Andersen’s record was 17-8-1 with three shutouts in 26 outings and he was 5-1 in his past six starts. Ironically, he seems to thrive when he doesn’t get much help from the Leafs’ defence as he was 4-0-1 in games in which he faced 40 or more shots. In fact, he’s been the busiest goalie in the NHL so far this season by facing the most shots at 896 and making the most saves with 826 of them. He’s also played the most minutes of any goalie, ranks second in the league in wins with 17, is ranked ninth in save percentage at 92.2 and is tied for second in shutouts with three. Andersen’s goals-against average is 16th-best in the league at 2.67 and has been improving each week after it was above 3.00 earlier in the year.

Toronto has won five of their past six games and when Andersen does get a rare night off in back-to-back game situations, backup netminder Curtis McElhinney has been steady. McElhinney has played just five games, but has a goals-against average of 2.44 with a 92.5 save percentage, a shutout and a record of 3-2. With Andersen leading the way and getting a helping hand from McElhinney, the Leafs record as of Dec. 11 was 20-10-1 for 41 points, which was the fourth-most in the league. Consistency has been a huge factor in the team’s success so far this season as the longest they’ve gone without earning a point has been two games. And this has happened on just three occasions. If Andersen could eliminate his slow starts to the season, there’s no telling how good this Leafs team could be. 

It’s amazing how a five-game winning streak can turn around an NHL team’s season. Just ask the Montreal Canadiens. The Habs had been struggling since the campaign faced off with seven losses in their first eight game. They were well out of a playoff spot, couldn’t score and possessed a leaky defence. And to make matters worse, there were hundreds of fans dressed up as empty seats for just about every one of their home games in October and November. Their on-ice fortunes have suddenly turned around though with consecutive victories over Buffalo, Columbus, Ottawa and a pair over Detroit, including a 10-1 thumping in Montreal on December 2^nd.

After the destruction over the Red Wings, the Canadiens record stood at 13-12-3 with 78 goals scored and 86 against. They had 29 points, were in third place in the Atlantic Division and 10^th in the Eastern Conference, and were right in the thick of things as far as a postseason spot is concerned. The return of top goaltender Carey Price has surely been the main reason the Habs are now back on the right track. He struggled early in the season and then missed several games due to injury. Price returned to the lineup and shutout the Sabres 3-0 to snap a five-game losing skid and the team hasn’t lost since.

Their current streak obviously won’t last forever, but with Price back between the posts the chances of Montreal making the playoffs have greatly increased. The Habs haven’t won the Stanley Cup since the 1992/93 campaign and it looked like some fans had given up on them last month. The Canadiens started a sellout streak at home at the Bell Centre back on Jan. 8, 2004, but there were noticeably plenty of empty seats at several of their home games earlier this season. The seats may have been sold originally, but third-party ticket sellers such as StubHub were then stuck with them.

This led to the hundreds of empty seats as well as the sale of tickets well below face value, even as low as $30. In addition, the organization reduced the price of tickets for some games that had originally cost more as they were deemed optimum-priced contests. Since there were plenty of empty seats and hundreds available at ticket-reselling agencies the club reduced the price on a few optimum games and charged the “regular” price for the seats. But not only were many Habs’ fans staying away from the games, those who did show up often ended up booing their heroes earlier in the season for their inept play.

With the Canadiens getting it together on the ice recently, the supply and demand of seats for their home games is certainly to improve for the club as well as ticket re-sellers. In an ironic twist, when Montreal drilled Detroit 10-1 at home on December 2^nd it came exactly 22 years after the Red Wings beat them 11-1 in Montreal, to hand tie the club’s worst-ever defeat. What fans may remember about that beating the most though, was that it was Patrick Roy’s final game in a Habs’ uniform. He was yanked during the game by head coach Mario Tremblay and traded to Colorado shortly after. 

The NHL has basically just passed the quarter mark of the 2017/18 season and there are certainly a few surprises so far. Taking a look at the standings as of November 26^th, we find the Tampa Bay Lightning leading the Eastern Conference with 34 points. This is a bit of a shock to many considering the team failed to make the playoffs last year. However, they only missed out on the postseason by a point and sniper Steven Stamkos missed most of the campaign due to an injury. Stamkos is healthy again this year though and was leading all players in scoring with 36 points from 10 goals and 26 assists. What is surprising about Stamkos’ numbers is that he’s gone from a pure goalscorer to a playmaker so far this year.

Tampa has been so good this season because Stamkos has been getting help from Nikita Kucherov, who sits in second place in the scoring race with 34 points with 17 goals along with 17 assists. Vladislav Namestnikov and Brayden Point have also been chipping in with 22 and 21 points respectively in Tampa’s first 22 games. The Lightning has also been getting great goaltending from Andrei Vasilevskiy who was leading the league in wins with 15 to go along with a 2.30 goals-against average and 93.0 save percentage. So with a record of 16-5-2 and leading the league in power play percentage at 27.4 and goals-per-game at 3.77, the Lightning would have to collapse the rest of the way to miss the playoffs.

Over in the Western Conference, the St. Louis Blues have been slightly better than Tampa as they were leading the league with 35 points from a record of 17-6-1. They finished last season tied for fifth in the West with 99 points. They’ve also benefited from a couple of hot scorers as Jaden Schwartz and Brayden Schenn sat at four and six on the top-10 list with 32 and 30 points respectively after 23 games. Teammate Vladimir Tarasenko wasn’t far behind them at eight with 12 goals and 16 assists for 28 points. The Blues have cooled off a little lately though as four of their six losses on the season have come in their last 11 games.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all though when it comes to the standings is the fact that expansion franchise the Las Vegas Golden Knights were leading the Pacific Division with a record of 15-6-1 for 31 points and also had the second-most goals in the Western Conference at 81. They’ve been doing it without any star players as the team’s top scorer William Karlsson was ranked 43^rd in league scoring with 22 points from 22 games. There are numerous teams which have performed much better than expected so far this season however, such as the Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

But with so many teams moving up the standings compared to their finishes last season, it means some teams have had to slide down them. This is certainly true as several teams are struggling. The Montreal Canadiens won the Atlantic Division with 103 points last year, but were sitting in 14^thplace in the East with just 21 points from their 9-12-3 record. They also had the third-worst goal difference record in the league at -23. The Edmonton Oilers were even worse with 18 points and were in second-last place in the West. The Chicago Blackhawks were sitting in fourth place in the Central Division with 25 points with a mediocre mark of 11-8-3.

There’s still a long way to go in the season though and anything is liable to happen. Chicago is likely to climb the standings and make the playoffs while the Canadiens will challenge for the postseason now that all-star goalie Carey Price is back in the lineup after recovering from injury. The playoff race will likely go down to the last weekend of the season as it usually does and it appears the league’s scoring race will do the same. The fans are the winners here with the league having so much parity as every point gained or lost had such a huge affect on the standings. 

Last year’s race for the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie was pretty close as the finalists were forwards Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets along with defenceman Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets. Matthews ended up capturing the award with Laine coming in second in the voting followed by Werenski. This year’s race should be another tight one as there are several rookies off to a great start in their NHL careers and all have a legitimate shot at the Calder.

As of November 19^th, speedy center Clayton Keller of the Arizona Coyotes appeared to be the slight favourite as he was leading the way in goals with 11 and was second in points with 18 after 22 games Keller was drafted seventh overall in 2016 and got his feet wet last season by appearing in three NHL games and looked good by registering a pair of assists. The 19-year-old then played in the World Championships and stood out for America with five goals and two assists in seven contests, which ranked fourth on scoring on the team. Keller started well in his first month of NHL duty, but has slowed down a little over the past week or two. He ranks second in ice time for rookies and 14 of his 18 points have been five-on-five.

Defenceman Charlie McAvoy of the Boston Bruins leads the way in ice time for all rookies as the 19-year-old is paired on the blue line with 40-year-old veteran Zdeno Chara. In fact, Chara is the only player on the team who plays more then the teenager’s 23 minutes per game. McAvoy, who was drafted 14^th overall in 2016, joined Boston for the playoffs last season when his college career ended. He had two goals and eight assists in his first 19 outing this season, which ranked 14^th in rookie scoring and third for defencemen.

The Colorado Avalanche have improved quite a bit this season and one of the reasons has been the play of first-year center Alexander Kerfoot. His 15 points from seven goals and eight assists in 18 games see him ranked fourth in rookie scoring and he’s also a plus-5. He’s also proven to be pretty useful on the power play with two goals and three assists while playing with the man advantage. However, he is a bit older as the 23-year-old was drafted  15oth overall by New Jersey in 2012. Kerfoot should also see more ice time now since Matt Duchene was traded to Ottawa.

Swedish left-winger Adrian Kempe of the Los Angeles Kings has impressed with his play in both ends of the rink. He’s 11^th in rookie scoring with seven goals and five assists, but is number one when it comes to plus-minus and plus 12. The 21-year-old was drafted 29^thoverall by the Kings in 2014 and is helping the team rebound after missing the playoffs last year. His time in the minors has seen Kempe become an effective 200-foot player and he played 25 games with LA last year, scoring two goals and four assists.

Defenceman Will Butcher of the New Jersey Devils is tied for first in rookie scoring for assists with 14 and his 15 points overall in 19 games rank first for blueliners. He’s also tied for fourth in overall rookie scoring. Butcher was sought after by numerous teams when he left college and the Devils hit the jackpot when they signed the 22-year-old American. He was originally drafted 123^rd overall by Colorado in 2013, but didn’t ink a contract with the club as he went to college. He had three assists in his first NHL game, is a plus-6 and has eight points quarterbacking the power play.

Another fine rookie in New Jersey is last year’s first overall pick Nico Hischier of Switzerland. The 18-year-old got off to a bit of a slow start, but is now tied for fourth in rookie scoring with three goals and 15 points. He’s a good playmaker and has racked up four points on the power play as well. His 12 assists rank third for first-year players.

Center Mathew Barzal of the New York Islanders was leading the rookies in assists with 15 and points with 19 after 20 games. He’s come on strong after going pointless in his first five outings and dazzled fans with a five-assist game earlier this year. Barzal’s also a plus-4 and has racked up half a dozen points on the power play. The 20-year-old was drafted 16^thoverall back in 2015.

Tampa Bay Lightning defenceman Mikahil Sergachev of Russia stands second in scoring for rookie blueliners and eight in overall scoring with five goals and nine assists after 20 games. His plus-8 rating was good enough for fourth on the list. The 19-year-old was drafted ninth overall by Montreal in 2016 and was acquired in the trade that saw Jonathan Drouin go to the Habs. Sergachev has five power play points and is a lot better offensively than anyone imagined.

We’ll add Tampa forward Yanni Gourde to this list as well since he’s tied with Sergachev at 14 points with six goals and eight assists and is second best in rookie plus-minus at plus 11. The 25-year old Canadian earned a roster spot after playing in the ECHL and AHL and has been a pleasant surprise. He’s played 20 games so far this season and scored six goals and three assists in 22 previous NHL encounters. Not bad for a player who was never drafted into the NHL.

We should also mention forward Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks as he was third in rookie scoring with 17 points in 17 games with seven goals and 10 assists. Boeser has been a huge surprise on the power play with seven points and the 20-year-old was the only rookie to be averaging a point-per-game as of November 19^th. He was originally drafted 23^rdoverall in 2015.

Veteran goaltenders Roberto Luongo of the Florida Panthers and Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals each climbed the NHL career milestone ladder with their performances last week along with forward Patrick Marleau of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The 38-year-old Luongo made 24 saves in his team’s 4-1 road victory over the Buffalo Sabres on November 10^th to earn the 455^th win of his career. Luongo now sits fourth on the all-time list for goaltender wins as he passed Curtis Joseph with the victory.

The only goalies in NHL history to win more games have been Martin Brodeur with 691, Patrick Roy at 551 and Ed Belfour with 484. And while we’re on the topic of goaltender wins, we should also mention that 28-year-old Holtby of the Washington Capitals recorded the 200^th of his career the same night with a 4-1 triumph over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Holtby has a career record of 200-76-31 and now becomes the second-fastest netminder in league history to win 200 games. He achieved the feat in his 319^thregular-season game while Ken Dryden pulled if off in his 309^thouting back in November of 1977.

Luongo, who was drafted fourth overall by the New York Islanders in 1997, has a career record of 455-368-118 with a goals-against average of 2.50 and a 91.9 save percentage with 73 shutouts in 973 outings. His playoff record stands at 34-35 with a 2.49 GAA, 91.8 save percentage and five shutouts in 70 games. Luongo would likely have moved passed Joseph on the all-time list earlier this season if it hadn’t been for injuries as his milestone win was just his seventh game of 2017/18. Now that he’s back in the net there’s a good chance he’ll appear in another 27 contests this season and also reach the 1,000-games played milestone.

Another 38-year-old to climb the NHL record ladder was Marleau, who’s playing his first season in Toronto after spending the first 19 campaigns of his career with the San Jose Sharks. The former second-overall draft pick of 1997 scored the 101^st game-winning goal of his career on November 11^th when he banged in the overtime winner at home in a 3-2 victory over the Boston Bruins. He’s now tied with Jarome Iginla for seventh place on the all-time list for game winners. Jaromir Jagr of the Calgary Flames leads the way with 135 game winners followed by Gordie Howe (121), Phil Esposito (118), Teemu Selanne and Brett Hull (110) and Brendan Shanahan (109). 

There’s an excellent chance Marleau will continue to climb the list as he signed a three-year deal with the Leafs as a free agent this summer. Of course, the 45-year-old Jagr is also still playing and will have the chance at solidifying is top spot on the list. Marleau has remained productive in his 20^th NHL season as he had eight goals and five assists for 13 points in his first 19 outings with the Leafs. His game winner against the Bruins was the 516^th goal of his career, which moves him into 38^thplace on the league’s all-time list.

The goal saw him move past Gilbert Perreault (512), Jeremy Roenick (513) and Pierre Turgeon (515) since the season started. Marleau now has 1,095 career points in 1,512 regular-season games on his 516 goals and 579 assists. He’s also chipped in with 68 goals and 52 assists for 120 points in 177 playoff contests. Each goal, assist, point and game winner will see him climb the league record lists and help solidify Marleau’s chances of becoming a Hall of Famer once he decides to hang up his skates.