NHL Morning Skate for January 15

* The League's newest franchise achieved an NHL-first by sweeping their seven-game road trip.
* Alex Ovechkin isn't done making NHL history - he scored Saturday to move into a tie with a longtime Capitals forward atop the League's all-time list for most 30-goal seasons.
* Patrik Laine accounted for three of his team's four goals and joined a rare list of NHL players with a double-digit hat trick total before age 25.

BUOY OH BUOY, WHAT A ROAD TRIP FOR THE KRAKEN!

The Kraken converted on six of their first seven shots in the opening 13:11 of the game en route to an 8-5 win against the Blackhawks, with the victory making Seattle the first team in NHL history to sweep a road trip of at least seven contests.
* The Kraken, who scored eight goals in a game for a League-leading fourth time this season and extended their overall winning streak to a franchise-record eight contests, outscored opponents by a combined 37-15 margin since their road trip began on Jan. 3. Seattle's +22 goal differential marked the highest by a team during a road trip of seven or more contests in NHL history, eclipsing the previous mark of +21 by Chicago during an eight-game journey (37 GF & 16 GA from Jan. 29-Feb. 13, 1995).
* Jared McCann (6-1-7 in 7 GP) scored the first hat trick of his NHL career to conclude the road trip with six goals, tied with Matty Beniers (6-5-11 in 7 GP) for the team lead. Beniers had 1-1-2 on Saturday, while Vince Dunn (0-1-1) and Adam Larsson (0-1-1) each were +6 in the first period.

FLAMES, AVALANCHE ALSO SECURE HIGH-SCORING VICTORIES

Seattle wasn't the only team to score several goals in a win Saturday:
* Chris Tanev (1-1-2) gave the Flames a five-goal lead with 2:03 remaining in the second period before Calgary withstood a comeback attempt by Dallas to hang on for a 6-5 victory at American Airlines Center. The Stars nearly became the 11th team in NHL history to win a regular-season game after rallying from a five-goal deficit and first since the Blackhawks did so against the Flames over 13 years ago (6-5 OT W on Oct. 12, 2009).
* Mikko Rantanen recorded his League-leading 23rd and 24th even-strength goals of the season as the Avalanche skated to a 7-0 victory versus the Senators. It marked the fourth instance of the franchise earning a shutout win by a margin of seven or more goals, following 8-0 victories on Jan. 15, 2021 and March 13, 1985 as well as a 7-0 triumph on Dec. 13, 1986.

OVI TIES NHL RECORD FOR MOST 30-GOAL SEASONS; LAINE SCORES 10TH HAT TRICK

* Alex Ovechkin (30-19-49 in 45 GP) tied longtime Capitals forward Mike Gartner for the most 30-goal seasons in NHL history and became the fifth player in League history to score 400 home goals, with that list also featuring Gartner. Ovechkin was one of two players to reach the 30-goal mark Saturday (also Bo Horvat).
* Patrik Laine scored three goals in the opening 21:32 to record the 10th hat trick of his NHL career and second with Columbus (also Feb. 17, 2022). Laine became the 17th player in League history with a double-digit hat trick total before age 25 - Ovechkin had nine before his 25th birthday on Sept. 17, 2010.

DAHLIN CONTINUES TO PRODUCE IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

Rasmus Dahlin (13-35-48 in 40 GP) collected an assist and matched John Van Boxmeer in 1981-82 (7-41-48 in 40 GP) for the most points by a Sabres defenseman through his first 40 games of a season. This note and more can be found in Saturday's busy edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates.

QUICK CLICKS

*

\
Trophy Tracker: Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Jason Robertson leaders for Hart as MVP
\
Josiane Bossy creates artwork of her dad for Islanders fans
\
CHL notebook: Olen Zellweger, Shane Wright produce following World Juniors success
\
Pavel Zacha signs 4-year, $19 million contract with Bruins

TRIO OF GAMES INCLUDES COYOTES-JETS ON NHL NETWORK

Sunday's three-game slate will open with an Original Six matchup between the Canadiens (17-23-3, 37 points) and Rangers (24-12-7, 55 points) as well as the Hurricanes (27-9-7, 61 points) hosting the Canucks (17-22-3, 37 points). The day will conclude with the Coyotes (13-24-5, 31 points) visiting the Jets (28-14-1, 57 points) on NHL Network - Winnipeg is 6-1-0 in its last seven home games, including four straight wins at Canada Life Centre.
Download the PDF
.