NHL MORNING SKATE – FEB. 10, 2021

THREE HARD LAPS

* The Golden Knights withstood a three-, third-period rally to repel the Ducks, while Evander Kane scored another tying goal in the final minute of regulation for the Sharks.

* Defensemen accounted for all three goals as the Oilers won a game in which Connor McDavid and were both held off of the score sheet for the first time in over three years.

* Four Original Six clubs are in action Wednesday, with the Bruins and Rangers squaring off as divisional opponents for the first time since 1973-74 as well as the Maple Leafs and Canadiens clashing at Bell .

GOLDEN KNIGHTS, SHARKS TRIUMPH IN HONDA WEST DIVISION THRILLERS Vegas and San Jose edged Anaheim and Los Angeles, respectively, in a pair of back-and-forth Honda West Division contests:

* The Ducks scored three consecutive third-period tallies to erase a 4-1 deficit, but Zach Whitecloud netted the go-ahead goal with 3:56 remaining in regulation as the Golden Knights improved to 8-1-1 (17 points) on the including a 7-0-1 mark at T-Mobile Arena.

* Marc-Andre Fleury (19 saves) improved to 5-0-0 through five appearances this season with a 1.80 goals-against average, .920 save percentage and one shutout. Fleury also owns a 16-4-1 record in 23 career appearances in games where Ryan Miller has manned the opposing crease (Miller: 5-12-2).

* The Kings scored three consecutive goals to take a 3-2 lead, but Evander Kane tied the game at 19:15 of the third period and Logan Couture (1-1—2) netted the shootout winner as the Sharks won the first of two straight games against their intrastate rival.

* San Jose earned a win after scoring a tying goal in the final minute of regulation for the first time since Jan. 22, 2019, when Kane pulled the Sharks even at 19:59 of the third period in an eventual 7-6 win over the Capitals.

MARLEAU PASSES JAGR AS ROAD TO 1,768 GAMES CONTINUES Sharks forward Patrick Marleau (0-1—1) skated the 1,734th regular-season game of his NHL career and surpassed Jaromir Jagr (1,733 GP) for sole possession of third place on the League’s all-time list. Marleau now needs 23 to move ahead of (1,756 GP) for second and 34 to pass Gordie Howe (1,767 GP) for the most in NHL history.

DEFENSEMEN HELP OILERS IMPROVE TO 4-0-0 AGAINST SENATORS IN 2020-21 Defensemen Darnell Nurse, Evan Bouchard and Tyson Barrie accounted for all three of the Oilers’ goals as Edmonton improved to 4-0-0 against Ottawa this season. Oilers blueliners have combined for 11 tallies in 2020-21 (11-24—35 in 15 GP), tied with the Canadiens (11-21—32 in 12 GP) for the highest such total in the NHL.

* League scoring leaders Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl had their 10-game streaks come to an end. Tuesday marked the first time that Edmonton won a game in which they were both held off of the score sheet since Nov. 28, 2017.

* Barrie’s goal was the Oilers’ eighth game winner of the season and the first in which Draisaitl did not factor on. He ends his run as the third player in NHL history to factor on each of his team’s first seven game-winning goals in a season.

INTRASTATE RIVALS LIGHTNING, PANTHERS CONTINUE TO SHINE The Lightning and Panthers earned wins Tuesday and own the highest and second-highest points percentage, respectively, in the Discover Central Division standings. The Sunshine State rivals are set to square off in each of their next three games from Feb. 11-15.

* Mathieu Joseph tallied twice while celebrating his 24th birthday as Tampa Bay improved to 9- 1-1 (19 points) on the season, including six straight victories which marks the longest win streak by any team in 2020-21. (2-1—3) also scored two goals, while Brayden Point and Mikhail Sergachev each had three assists.

* Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves as the Panthers rebounded from a 4-1 loss to Detroit Sunday to improve to 7-1-2 (16 points) this season. Bobrovsky moved to 4-0-1 through five appearances in 2020-21 – John Vanbiesbrouck (6-0-3 through 9 GP in 1996-97) is the only Florida goaltender to record a longer season-opening point streak.

QUICK CLICKS

* Tuesday’s Flyers-Capitals game postponed; Coyotes-Blues game rescheduled for Feb. 12 * PointsBet and NHL announce multiyear sports betting partnership * Pius Suter scores overtime winner to record fifth goal of 2020-21 * Brian Burke named president, Ron Hextall general manager of Penguins * Mikko Koivu retires from NHL after 16 seasons with Blue Jackets, Wild

OLD-SCHOOL RIVALRIES GRAB NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT A pair of Original Six rivalries will be broadcast nationally Wednesday when the Rangers host the Bruins on NBCSN and the Canadiens welcome the Maple Leafs on Sportsnet.

* The Bruins and Rangers are playing in the same division for the 20th season in their storied histories, but Wednesday will mark their first head-to-head matchup as division rivals in nearly 50 years. The two clubs were in the American Division together for each of New York’s first 12 seasons (1926-27 to 1937-38) and in the original East Division for the first seven campaigns of the League’s expansion era (1967-68 to 1973-74).

* The Bruins are 4-0-0 in their last four games against the Rangers dating back to March 27, 2019 (NYR: 0-3-1), outscoring New York by a 19-10 margin over that span. Wednesday will mark the 700th meeting between the rivals (regular-season and combined), with Boston holding the edge both in the 652 all-time regular-season meetings 296-248-108 (NYR: 259-293- 100) and 47 postseason contests 26-19-2 (NYR: 19-26-2).

* The top two teams in the high-scoring Scotia North Division will face off for the first time since opening night – Morgan Rielly scored in overtime to give the Maple Leafs a 5-4 victory – when the Canadiens (8-2-2, 18 points) host the Maple Leafs (10-2-1, 21 points) at Bell Centre.

* The longtime rivals and NHL’s two remaining founding franchises are scheduled to face each other three times over the next 11 days (Feb. 10 in MTL, Feb. 13 in TOR and Feb. 20 in MTL), marking the 749th, 750th and 751st regular-season contests between the clubs which will pass Montreal-Boston (750 GP) for the most regular-season games between two franchises in NHL history.