Edmonton made a winner of goaltender Joaquin Gage for his first NHL victory in over four years with a 5-3 decision over the Wild in Minnesota Oct. 15. The last time Gage garnered an NHL victory was April 1, 1996, a 6-2 Edmonton victory in Vancouver, a four-year, 197-day absence from the win column. The drought was the longest since Allan Bester went five years, 297 days between NHL victories, from March 31, 1990 (Toronto 6, Blackhawks 4) to Jan. 22, 1996 (Dallas 6, Vancouver 4).
PASSING FANCY
Colorado Avalanche center Peter Forsberg (right) has developed a knack for orchestrating goals. Eight games into his seventh NHL season Forsberg finds himself among the games elite-ranked fourth all-time in assists per game with a .883 mark. In history, only Wayne Gretzky (1.320) and Mario Lemieux (1.183) have averaged better than an assist per game during their careers. Below are the all-time assists/game leaders.
Player Assists Games Assists Per Game
Wayne Gretzky 1,963 1,487 1.320
Mario Lemieux 881 745 1.183
Bobby Orr 645 657 .982
Peter Forsberg 354 401 .883
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FREE PASS
Both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild attempted penalty shots on the same night (Oct. 15) in the fifth game for both franchises. The New York Islanders tried a penalty shot in their second franchise game to establish the record for fastest franchise penalty shot attempted. At the other end of the spectrum, the New Jersey Devils’ first attempted penalty shot came in their 829th game.
SAME TIME NEXT YEAR
Los Angeles knocked off the Capitals in Washington 4-1 Oct. 6 to stretch the longest current season opener undefeated streak to seven games at 5-0-2. The longest such streak in NHL history belongs to the Montreal Canadiens at 17 games (13-0-4) between 1963 and 1979. The longest season opener unbeaten streaks in NHL history:
GAMES RECORD TEAM YEARS
17 13-0-4 Canadiens 1963-79
15 14-0-1 Red Wings 1940-54
12 9-0-3 Bruins 1987-98
9 9-0-0 Canadiens 1953-61
9 9-0-0 Blues 1978-86
9 8-0-1 Nordiques 1980-88
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SNAPSHOTS
– When Forsberg scores a goal Colorado is 46-5-11 (.831) since the 1997-98 season.
– Buffalo Sabres goaltender Dominik Hasek has led the NHL in save percentage the past seven seasons.
– The Minnesota Wild’s top line of Jim Dowd, Marian Gaborik and Scott Pellerin has 18 of the club’s 39 points (46 percent) during the first eight games in team history.
