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Home , 1979 NHL expansion, 1979 NHL Expansion Draft, 1991 Stanley Cup Finals, 1992 Stanley Cup Finals, Andrew Cogliano, Art Ross

NHL STATS & INFORMATION NOTES 2020 QUALIFIERS: WESTERN CONFERENCE ROUND ROBIN

ROUND ROBIN NOTES * The Stanley Cup Final has featured a team participating in the 2020 Western Conference round robin in each of the past two years: Vegas (2018) and St. Louis (2019).

* Since the divisions were realigned for the 2013-14 season, the Blues (2014-15 & 2019-20), Stars (2016- 17) and Avalanche (2013-14) have captured four of seven Central Division crowns. The Golden Knights (2017-18 & 2019-20) have finished atop the Pacific Division in two of their three seasons.

* At least one player from any of these round robin clubs has placed among the top 10 in NHL scoring in each of the last seven seasons, including 2014-15 when (DAL) won the Trophy to finish ahead of (7th, DAL) and (10th, STL). Nathan MacKinnon (COL) has been the only representative from any of the four clubs in each of the past three seasons (2017-18: 5th, 2018-19: 7th, 2019-20: 5th); Vegas has yet to have a player finish among the top 10.

* These teams have four Stanley Cup-winning who have combined for six titles overall and five in the past four seasons: Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury (2009 PIT, 2016 PIT & 2017 PIT), St. Louis teammates (2019 STL) and (2019 STL), and ’s Philipp Grubauer (2018 WSH). ’ Ben Bishop reached the Final with Tampa Bay in 2015, playing five games in a 4-2 defeat.

#NHLSTATS: ST. LOUIS BLUES * St. Louis, which capped an historic in-season turnaround with its first Stanley Cup in 2019, will look to defend its championship. Twenty of the 23 players who won the Cup with the Blues remain with the team; Joel Edmundson (CAR), (DET) and Pat Maroon (TBL) are the exceptions.

* St. Louis eyes consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in franchise history after previously doing so in each of its first three seasons from 1968 to 1970 (as part of the NHL’s all- expansion West Division).

* St. Louis became the first defending Stanley Cup champion to conclude the ensuing regular season atop its conference since New Jersey in 2000-01.

* The Blues have won six consecutive neutral-site games dating to Feb. 8, 1993 when they defeated the at Carver Arena in Peoria, Ill. Their last loss was versus the Islanders at in Dallas, Texas on Dec. 15, 1992, which later served as the Stars’ first home in Texas.

* Ryan O'Reilly capped his first season in St. Louis by winning the Trophy, pacing the Blues and sharing the NHL lead with 23 points during the (8-15—23 in 26 GP) and nine points in the Final (5-4—9 in 7 GP). Only four players in the last 40 years have collected more points in the Stanley Cup Final than O’Reilly.

* Vladimir Tarasenko has 33 career goals in the (33-16—49 in 70 GP), including the only - by a Blues player in the postseason. He needs three goals to pass (35-66—101 in 91 GP) for sole possession of second place on the franchise’s all-time list.

* led the Blues with 12 goals during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs (12-8—20 in 26 GP). He has 22-28—50 in 75 career playoff games to rank sixth in franchise history, just ahead of Tarasenko.

* Jordan Binnington went 16-10 through 26 appearances during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs (2.46 GAA, .914 SV%, 1 SO) and established an NHL record for most wins by a rookie in a single postseason. He needs two postseason wins to pass (17-17) and (17-20) for the most in franchise history.

* ranks among the top five in franchise playoff history for goals (t-4th; 7), assists (3rd; 38) and points (3rd; 45) by a defensemen. His 83 career postseason games are tied with for the third-most among current Blues, behind Troy Brouwer (102 GP) and Alexander Steen (87 GP).

* Perron appeared in both the 2018 (w/ VGK) and 2019 Stanley Cup Final. A third showing in 2020 would make him the third player since the mid-1980s to dress at least one Final game in three or more consecutive seasons; he would join Marian Hossa (2008–2010) and Marc-Andre Fleury (2016–2018).

#NHLSTATS: * Colorado will return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a third consecutive year, the longest streak for the franchise since making 11 straight berths from 1995 to 2006. The only other time the club reached the playoffs in three or more consecutive years was a seven-season run from 1981 to 1987 as the Nordiques.

* The franchise last won a neutral-site game on Feb. 20, 1993 at Halifax Metro in Halifax, N.S. – where Nathan MacKinnon played his junior hockey – when the franchise was known as the Nordiques. Colorado had 1-1—2 for Quebec that night.

* MacKinnon, born in Halifax about two-and-a-half years after that Nordiques win, ranked fifth in the NHL with 93 points in 2019-20. He has 11-18—29 in 25 career postseason games, including 2-8—10 in seven contests as an 18-year-old in 2014. His 29 career playoff points are the ninth-most in franchise history by a player age 24 or younger.

* MacKinnon (1.16 P/GP) owns the highest points-per-game rate in the playoffs by an Avalanche player since the club relocated in 1995-96; (1.00 P/GP) ranks fifth on that list while (0.76 P/GP) sits just outside of the top 10.

* Rantanen led all players with 5-4—9 in five games during the 2019 First Round, helping Colorado upset top-seeded for its first series win since 2008. His 1.80 points per game was the highest by an Avalanche player in a Stanley Cup Playoffs series since the 1999 Conference Quarterfinals, when Sakic (3-9—12 in 6 GP; 2.00 P/GP) and Theo Fleury (3-8—11 in 6 GP; 1.83 P/GP) each achieved the feat.

* Cale Makar made his NHL debut in Game 3 of the 2019 First Round, scoring a goal at 16:02 of the first period. He then played his first regular-season games in 2019-20, establishing single-season franchise records for goals (12), assists (38) and points (50) by a rookie defenseman; he also topped all NHL rookies with 0.88 points-per-game.

* Colorado’s roster features three Stanley Cup winners, all of whom have won in the past three years: (2016 PIT & 2017 PIT), Andre Burakovsky (2018 WSH) and Philipp Grubauer (2018 WSH).

#NHLSTATS: * Vegas is the fourth team in NHL history to make the playoffs in each of its first three seasons, with each team doing so under different rules and circumstances. The Golden Knights and Oilers are the only teams to do so upon entering the NHL after the 1967-68 expansion.

* The Golden Knights have more series wins than two active franchises (3), posting each of their series- clinching victories on the road. They are one of six NHL franchises to earn each of its first three such wins as visitors, following Calgary/ (6), (4), NY Islanders (3), San Jose (3) and (3).

* Vegas has sat in a top three position in their division for 424 of 559 total days (76%) as an NHL franchise. Only one team to debut in the League’s expansion era (since 1967-68) holds a higher percentage of time in a top three position in their division through their first three NHL campaigns: Nashville (81%, 460 of 571).

* Thirteen Golden Knights players who helped the club reach the 2018 Final remain with the team: William Carrier, Derek Engelland, Marc-Andre Fleury, , , Brayden McNabb, Jon Merrill, Tomas Nosek, , Nate Schmidt, , Shea Theodore and Alex Tuch.

* Smith is the club’s leading scorer in the playoffs with 28 points in 27 games, one of nine skaters to appear in every Golden Knights postseason game.

* Fleury is the only goaltender to guard the Golden Knights’ net during the playoffs, playing the entirety of their 27 all-time postseason games. Fleury is expected to play in the playoffs for a 14th consecutive year, a feat achieved by only one goaltender in NHL history ().

* Fleury is one of two goaltenders in NHL history to start each of a franchise's first 27 playoff games - Clint Benedict started each of the first 29 playoff games for the original Senators from 1919 to 1924.

* Fleury is the League’s active leader in playoff victories (78) and need two victories to become the seventh goaltender in NHL history to record at least 80 postseason wins.

* and Max Pacioretty, two of three players to have four-plus points in a playoff game for the Golden Knights, are set to begin their second postseason stint with the Golden Knights after they collected 6-6—12 (7 GP) and 5-6—11 (7 GP) during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, respectively. Vegas is one of 21 current NHL franchises to have had at least one player record a five- game in the postseason.

#NHLSTATS: * Dallas will return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in as many seasons after falling to the Blues in double- of Game 7 in the 2019 Second Round. The club has secured consecutive playoff berths for the first time since a stretch of five straight appearances from 2003 to 2008.

* The Stars (1999 & 2000) are one of four teams to appear in the Stanley Cup Final in consecutive seasons over the past 30 years. The others: Penguins (1991 & 1992; 2008 & 2009; 2016 & 2017), Red Wings (1997 & 1998; 2008 & 2009) and Devils (2000 & 2001).

* Overall, the franchise has reached the Final on four occasions – twice as the (1981 & 1991) and twice since relocating to Dallas in 1993-94.

* Dallas has won each of its last two neutral site games, including the 2020 Bridgestone Winter Classic at Stadium on Jan. 1. The Stars rallied from an early 2-0 deficit with four consecutive goals – including three in the final frame – to win in their outdoor game debut.

* Ben Bishop has five in 49 career playoff games. He has four series-clinching shutouts, tied with round-robin counterpart Marc-Andre Fleury for the second-most in NHL history behind (5) and Clint Benedict (5). Of note: Benedict had six shutouts in games in which his team could advance, with four coming in total-goals series including one instance of a tie when his team lost the series.

* Jamie Benn has had at least 10 points in each of his last two playoff appearances (5-10—15 in 2016 and 2-8—10 in 2019) and has collected 11-19—30 in 32 career playoff games. He ranks fifth in franchise history with 0.94 points-per-game during the playoffs (min. 30 GP).

* had 2-7—9 in 13 games during the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with both goals standing as game-winners – the first of which was a series-clinching goal in overtime. He and (2) are the only defensemen in franchise history with multiple career game-winning goals during the playoffs. Only two active defensemen have multiple career overtime goals in the postseason.

* (48-52—100 in 134 career playoff games) completed his first regular season with the Stars after making 12 trips to the playoffs with the Sharks. Pavelski ranks fifth in NHL history for career playoff goals among U.S.-born players, behind (60), (58), (53) and (50).

* A seventh-round pick by San Jose in 2003 (No. 205), Pavelski is one of only four players drafted in the seventh round or later to collect at least 100 playoff points.

* Pavelski (1,030 GP) and teammate (1,012 GP) are two of 12 active NHL players with 1,000 or more career regular-season games in search of his first Stanley Cup. The others: Patrick Marleau (1,723 GP), (1,636 GP), (1,148 GP), (1,142), (1,123 GP), (1,113 GP), Marc-Edouard Vlasic (1,035 GP), Mikko Koivu (1,028 GP), (1,015 GP) and (1,001 GP).

* (2007 w/ ANA) and Tyler Seguin (2011 w/ BOS) are the only Stanley Cup winners on Dallas’ roster.

NEUTRAL-SITE GAMES Neutral-site games by the Blues, Avalanche, Golden Knights and Stars (all regular season; none of these teams have contested a neutral-site game in the playoffs). A neutral-site game is categorized as one played in an arena that does not normally serve as either club's home ice.

St. Louis Blues DATE VENUE LOCATION OPPONENT RESULT Jan. 2, 2017 Busch Stadium St. Louis, Mo. Blackhawks 4-1 W Oct. 3, 2009 Globe Arena Stockholm, Sweden Red Wings 5-3 W Oct. 2, 2009 Globe Arena Stockholm, Sweden 4-3 W Jan. 6, 1994 Richfield, Ohio Hartford Whalers 2-1 W Oct. 21, 1993 ARCO Arena Sacramento, Calif. 5-2 W Feb. 8, 1993 Carver Arena Peoria, Ill. Hartford Whalers 3-1 W Dec. 15, 1992 Reunion Arena Dallas, Texas Islanders 4-3 OT L Feb. 21, 1969 Daly City, Calif. Oakland Seals 3-2 L March 28, 1968 Le Colisée , Que Flyers 2-0 L

Colorado Avalanche (since 1995-96)/ (1979-80-1994-95) DATE VENUE LOCATION OPPONENT RESULT Feb. 15, 2020 Colorado Springs, Colo. Kings 3-1 L Nov. 11, 2017 Ericsson Globe Stockholm, Sweden 4-3 L Nov. 10, 2017 Ericsson Globe Stockholm, Sweden Ottawa Senators 4-3 OT L Feb. 27, 2016 Coors Field , Colo. Detroit Red Wings 5-3 L March 27, 1994 Minneapolis, Minn. 5-2 L Jan. 5, 1994 America West Arena Phoenix, Ariz. Canadiens 4-0 L Feb. 20, 1993 Halifax Metro Centre Halifax, N.S. 5-2 W Nov. 17, 1992 Copps Coliseum Hamilton, Ont. Maple Leafs 3-1 W

Vegas Golden Knights * The Golden Knights have yet to contest a neutral-site game.

Dallas Stars (since 1993-94)/Minnesota North Stars (1967-68—1992-93) DATE VENUE LOCATION OPPONENT RESULT Jan. 1, 2020 Cotton Bowl Stadium Dallas, Texas 4-2 W Dec. 9, 1993 Target Center Minneapolis, Minn. Ottawa Senators 6-1 W Nov. 9, 1993 America West Arena Phoenix, Ariz. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 4-2 L March 11, 1993 SaskPlace , Sask. Canucks 4-3 W Oct. 13, 1992 SaskPlace Saskatoon, Sask. 4-3 L Feb. 26, 1969 Cow Palace Daly City, Calif. Oakland Seals 6-5 L Dec. 8, 1968 Cow Palace Daly City, Calif. Oakland Seals 4-1 W March 10, 1968 Le Colisée Quebec City, Que. 2-0 L