Hockey Today - Nov. 5
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SCOREBOARD
Monday, Nov. 5
Pittsburgh at New Jersey (7 p.m. EST)
The Penguins have a power-play goal in all 13 games this season, one shy of the team mark set during the 1988-89 campaign.
STARS
Sunday
-Pascal Leclaire, Blue Jackets, stopped 21 shots for his NHL-best fifth shutout of the season and Columbus beat St. Louis 3-0.
-Antoine Vermette, Senators, scored a short-handed goal to tie the game in the third period and later scored in the shootout to help Ottawa edge Boston 2-1.
-Alexander Radulov and Jason Arnott, Predators, each had a goal and an assist in Nashville's 5-2 win over Chicago.
SHUTOUT CENTRAL
Pascal Leclaire and Columbus (8-3-2) shut down St. Louis 3-0 on Sunday and are off to the best start in franchise history. Leclaire posted his fifth shutout in nine starts this season after coming into the year with one shutout in 59 career games. The Blues have been shut out twice this year, both times by Leclaire.
FAST STARTERS
Martin Gerber made 21 saves and stopped both of Boston's shooters in the shootout to help Ottawa pick up its 12th win in its first 13 games, 2-1 over the Bruins. Ottawa's fast start is still far off its best opening deep into a season. The Senators began 2005-06 by winning 19 of their initial 22 games.
STREAKS
Sergei Fedorov extended his points streak to four games with an assist in Columbus' 3-0 victory over St. Louis on Sunday. ... Nashville beat Chicago 5-2 and have now won three straight games, all on the road, and five of six following a six-game losing streak.
SNAPPED
Chris Mason made 30 saves to end a seven-game personal losing streak in Nashville's 5-2 victory over Chicago on Sunday. ... Keith Tkachuck and Paul Kariya each had a four-game points streak end in St. Louis' 3-0 loss to Columbus.
SPEAKING
''I wouldn't say it was unorthodox, but to score a short-handed goal after having so many power play opportunities and not really either finishing or looking very good. To tie it short-handed, it's just a good 'find a way to win' game.'' - Ottawa coach John Paddock, after the Senators went 0-for-6 on the power play and scored a game-tying short-handed goal in the third period on Sunday. Ottawa went on to beat Boston 2-1 after winning a shootout.
Monday's key NHL matchup notes
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Pittsburgh Penguins at New Jersey Devils
The Devils (5-6-2) opened the season with a nine-game road trip before dropping their home opener to Ottawa on Oct. 27. But New Jersey capped that three-game homestand with wins over Tampa Bay and Toronto, limiting those teams to three goals.
New Jersey has killed off just 71.7 percent (15-for-53) of its penalties, including eight of 11 in its three home games.
Pittsburgh (6-6-1) was one team that exploited New Jersey's weak penalty killing, scoring three times in five opportunities before losing 5-4 to the Devils on Oct. 17. While the power-play unit has accounted for at least one goal in all 13 games for the Penguins, they are trying to salvage a split of their four-game road trip after consecutive defeats.
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Rangers
The New York Rangers look to end a six-game homestand with a fifth victory Monday night when they host the Philadelphia Flyers in the first season meeting between the Atlantic Division rivals.
The Rangers (6-6-1) went 6-2 against the Flyers (8-4-0) last season, but the teams split four meetings at Madison Square Garden.
New York is 4-1-0 on its current homestand following a lackluster 2-5-1 overall start. That included a four-game losing streak prior to their extended stretch at Madison Square Garden, with the lone loss in those five games a 4-1 defeat against Toronto on Oct. 27.
Washington Capitals at Carolina Hurricanes
The Carolina Hurricanes are the highest-scoring team in the NHL, but their prolific offense was absent in their last game against the Washington Capitals.
The Hurricanes will try to avenge an early season shutout loss on Monday when they host the Southeast Division rival Capitals.
Carolina (8-3-3) has averaged a league-high 3.79 goals to climb to the top of the division with one of the best records in the league. In their third game of the season Oct. 6, however, the Hurricanes lost 2-0 at Washington, their lone shutout loss and only shut out victory for the Capitals on the season.
Buffalo Sabres at Montreal Canadiens
Four goals against the Buffalo Sabres had been the Montreal Canadiens' highest total of the season. Since then, they've only gotten better at finding the back of the net.
The Canadiens look to continue their success on offense against the Sabres as the Northeast Division rivals continue their season series Monday night.
Montreal (7-3-3) went 2-2-2 to open the season, failing to score more than three goals in any of those contests. But a 4-2 victory over the Sabres on Oct. 20 triggered a 5-1-1 surge, and the Canadiens are tied with Carolina for the most goals in the NHL during that span with 29.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers
The Tampa Bay Lightning are winless on the road and just squandered a three-goal lead en route to their fifth consecutive defeat overall. Despite these struggles, coach John Tortorella is emphasizing the positive.
The Lightning again try to end their woes Monday when they open a home-and-home series with their Southeast Division rivals, the Florida Panthers.
Tampa Bay (5-7-1) is 0-6 on the road, getting outscored 28-10 and struggling on special teams. The Lightning have converted just 2-of-23 chances on the power play and allowed six man-advantage goals in 27 attempts.
Edmonton Oilers at Minnesota Wild
Goaltender Niklas Backstrom looked sharp in his first game since returning from a groin injury for the Minnesota Wild. That doesn't bode well for the struggling Edmonton Oilers, who enter Monday's game against their Northwest Division rivals having failed to score against him the last three times he's been in net.
Backstrom, who turned aside 23 shots in Saturday's 4-1 victory over Calgary, is 5-0-0 with a 0.40 goals-against average, three shutouts - all at home - and a .982 save percentage lifetime against the Oilers.
Calgary Flames at Colorado Avalanche
After losing at home for the first time this season, Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche look to rebound Monday night by continuing their dominance of the Northwest Division rival Calgary Flames.
The Avalanche (8-5-0) have won their last six meetings with the Flames (6-5-3), including four at the Pepsi Center. They have taken two matchups this season, including a 3-2 overtime victory on Oct. 26 when Ryan Smyth scored 23 seconds into the extra period.
Dallas Stars at Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks go for their third straight win while the Stars look to avoid their fourth consecutive loss when the teams meet at the Honda Center on Monday.
After finishing last season with the best record in franchise history en route to winning their first Stanley Cup, the Ducks (6-7-2) got off to a middling start in 2007-08. Since losing three straight games Oct. 20-25, however, they've shown signs of improvement.
Anaheim is 2-0-1 in its last three games, and a 5-2 victory over Phoenix on Saturday gave the Ducks their second pair of back-to-back wins this season. Corey Perry had two goals and an assist as the Ducks recorded their first road win.