NHL MORNING SKATE – JAN. 18, 2018

WILLIE O’REE HONORED AHEAD OF 60TH ANNIVERSARY OF HIS FIRST NHL GAME The NHL and Bruins honored hockey pioneer Willie O’Ree prior to Wednesday’s Boston- game to mark the 60th anniversary of his NHL debut. On Jan. 18, 1958, O’Ree skated for the Bruins at the Montreal Forum, becoming the first black player to compete in an NHL game – despite being legally blind in one eye. Click the first photo below to watch a special tribute video to O’Ree.

* O’Ree also faced Montreal the following night at before being sent to the minors; he returned to the Bruins lineup in 1960-61, collecting 4-14—18 in 43 games. O’Ree, who played professional hockey for 22 years, has served as the NHL’s Diversity Ambassador since 1998, focusing on the League’s Hockey Is For Everyone initiatives.

* To commemorate the 60th anniversary celebration, the NHL and Bruins are donating a refurbished street hockey rink that will be dedicated ‘Willie O’Ree Rink’ when it officially opens in Boston this summer.

* Click here for more about the special night in Boston.

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS Home Team in Caps BOSTON 4, Montreal 1 ANAHEIM 5, Pittsburgh 3

BRUINS WIN TO PUSH NHL-BEST POINT STREAK TO 14 GAMES Brad Marchand (1-1—2) and (0-2—2) each collected two points as the Bruins (25-10-8, 58 points) scored four unanswered goals to defeat the Canadiens (18-21-6, 42 points) for the second time this week and extend their point streak to 14 contests (10-0-4), the longest such run in the NHL this season. Prior to the streak, the Bruins ranked 20th in the League but have since leapfrogged 14 teams into sixth in the overall standings.

* The Bruins, who are on their best run since a 16-game point streak from Mar. 2-30, 2014 (15- 0-1), are responsible for two of six point streaks of 14+ games since the start of 2013-14. The others: Columbus (17-0-1), Anaheim (11-0-3), Washington (12-0-2) all in 2016-17; and Nashville (10-0-4) in 2015-16.

* In fact, this marks the 10th time in the 94-year history of the franchise that the Bruins have recorded a point streak of at least 14 games. Eight of those instances have occurred in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44):

* (21 saves) improved to 13-0-2 in his last 15 decisions dating to Nov. 29, besting Andrei Vasilevskiy (13-0-1 from Oct. 9 – Nov. 16) for the longest such run by a this season.

* Rask’s run is the 10th instance in Bruins history of a goaltender recording at least a point in 15+ consecutive decisions and the first since 1982-83 when went 26-0-5 across 31 decisions (32 GP). The only such run in NHL history longer than Peeters’ was also achieved by a Bruins goaltender – Gerry Cheevers went 24-0-8 in 32 consecutive decisions in 1971-72 (33 GP).

DUCKS SCORE FIVE, SNAP PENGUINS’ WIN STREAK. . . Ondrej Kase (1-1—2) was one of five Ducks to score as Anaheim won the opener of its five- game homestand and snapped Pittsburgh’s win streak at five games. The Ducks (21-16-9, 51 points) improved to 5-1-1 in their past seven contests at Honda Center dating to Dec. 6.

* Ducks Ryan Getzlaf registered one assist to become the first player in franchise history to record 600 career assists. He ranks second on the team with 4-22—26 this season, despite playing in only 22 games.

. . . MALKIN REACHES 20- MARK; KESSEL, CROSBY STAY HOT opened the scoring with his 20th goal of the season to become the fourth player in Penguins franchise history to record at least 10 seasons of 20+ goals.

* Phil Kessel (1-1—2) and (0-2—2) recorded multiple points for the fourth and fifth consecutive game, respectively. Overall, Kessel (4-6—10) and Crosby (3-10—13) each have five-game point streaks.

* Crosby (399-677—1,076), who has played each of his 829 regular-season games with the Penguins, moved within three points of tying Jaromir Jagr (439-640—1,079 in 806 GP) for second place on the franchise’s all-time points list. Mario Lemieux (690-1,033—1,723 in 915 GP) is the club’s all-time points leader.

CAPITALS UNVEIL STADIUM SERIES JERSEY The Capitals unveiled the jersey and pants they will wear in the 2018 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series, an outdoor contest against the Maple Leafs at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on March 3. Specifically designed for this game, the special edition uniform is a salute to the game’s locale – Annapolis, MD – and is the first navy-blue jersey in Capitals franchise history. Click the photo below for more information.

QUICK CLICKS

• Lightning, Golden Knights brace for battle of NHL's best • Eric Lindros to have No. 88 retired by Flyers before game vs. Maple Leafs • Georges Laraque inspired by Willie O'Ree's courage, grace (via Dave Stubbs) • O'Ree, NHL's first black player, more than pioneer to Subban

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION

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10-GAME SLATE FEATURES STREAKING AVS, BATTLE OF CONFERENCE LEADERS The streaking Avalanche and a matchup between the Conference-leading Lightning and Golden Knights take center stage on a 10-game slate:

* The Avalanche (24-16-3, 51 points) put their seven-game win streak on the line when they host the Sharks (24-13-6, 54 points). Colorado aims to match the club’s longest win streak in a dozen years and join Vegas (8-0-0) and Los Angeles (8-0-0) as the only teams to post eight consecutive victories in 2017-18. The Avalanche/Nordiques franchise has posted a win streak of 8+ games five times in their history (12-0-0 in 1998-99; 9-0-0 in 2000-01; 8-0-0 in 1995-96, 1999-00 and 2005-06).

* The League-leading Lightning (31-10-3, 65 points) return from their break to face the Western Conference-leading Golden Knights (29-11-3, 61 points) for their second and final meeting of the regular season. In their first head-to-head matchup, defenseman Shea Theodore collected 1-3—4, including the go-ahead goal with 2.3 seconds remaining in regulation, to power Vegas to a 4-3 victory and end Tampa Bay’s seven-game winning streak.