NHL Daily Power Play Recap 12/30/15: Kings, Ducks pick up wins

In the latest edition of The DSH's Daily Power Play Recap, the Ducks and Kings both earned wins on Tuesday to snap the home winning streaks of the Flames (11) and Oilers (7), respectively:

QUICK LEADS KINGS TO WIN OVER EDMONTON, 5-2

Jonathan Quick made 42 saves to lead the Kings to an 11-3-2 record in their last 16 outings and snap the Oilers’ home winning streak at seven games, one shy of tying the franchise record. Los Angeles has earned at least one point in 29 of its last 31 meetings with Edmonton dating to Nov. 26, 2008 (22-2-7), including a 13-1-3 clip at Rexall Place.

Quick improved to 17-1-5 in 23 career appearances vs. EDM (1.66 GAA, .937 SV%, 1 SO), including a 10-0-3 record at Rexall Place.

Kings forward Michael Mersch, a fourth-round selection (110th overall) in the 2011 NHL Draft, scored his first career goal (9 GP).

GIBSON, DUCKS POST SHUTOUT OF CALGARY, 1-0

John Gibson stopped all 14 shots he faced and Shawn Horcoff supplied the lone goal to propel the Ducks to their second straight victory and halt the Flames’ home winning streak at a franchise-record 11 games, the longest such run by any team since 2013-14 (PIT: 13-0-0 at CONSOL Energy Center).

Gibson posted his fifth career shutout (third this season), while Horcoff notched his 16th career goal vs. CGY, tied for his highest total against any opponent (w/ COL).

Ducks defenseman Shea Theodore, the 26th overall selection in the 2013 NHL Draft, and Coyotes forward Laurent Dauphin, a second-round pick (39th overall) that year, both made their League debuts.

EPISODE THREE OF ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC

The third episode of Road to the NHL Winter Classic, a four-part series chronicling the Bruins and Canadiens as they prepare for the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, debuts tonight in both the United States and Canada.

Viewers in the United States can watch the episode at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT and 9:00 p.m. CT via EPIX, EPIX.com, NHL.com and BostonBruins.com.

Viewers in Canada can catch the episode following the conclusion of Sportsnet’s Maple Leafs-Penguins broadcast (7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT). It also will air on RDS tomorrow – Thursday, Dec. 31 – at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.

HAYES POWERS BRUINS IN FINAL GAME BEFORE WINTER CLASSIC

Three players registered multi-goal performances – led by Jimmy Hayes’ first career hat trick – to help the Bruins snap a three-game skid, earn a split of their home-and-home series with the Senators and win their final game before the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.

Hayes (Boston, Mass.), who scored his third goal with 0.2 seconds remaining in regulation, became the second Massachusetts-born player to record a hat trick for the Bruins this season; Frank Vatrano (East Longmeadow, Mass.) achieved that feat 11 days prior, on Dec. 18 at PIT.

“It’s a dream come true and a pretty cool feeling,” said Hayes. “It’s always fun to score a hat trick in any league and to do in the NHL for your hometown team is great.”

Per Elias, this marks the second time – in the franchise’s 91-year history – that two or more Massachusetts-born players have posted hat tricks for the Bruins in the same season. The other such campaign: 1989-90, when Andy Brickley (Melrose, Mass.), Bob Carpenter (Beverly, Mass.) and Bob Sweeney (Concord, Mass.) all did so.

Matt Beleskey and Patrice Bergeron also scored twice. Elias notes that the last time three Bruins players registered multiple goals in the same game was on Dec. 28, 2001 at FLA, when Bill Guerin, Mike Knuble and Glen Murray had two apiece.

The Bruins (4-for-7) recorded four power-play goals in one game for the first time since Oct. 3, 2009 vs. CAR (4-for-8). They lead the NHL in power-play goals (30) and efficiency (29.4%) this season.

PANTHERS KNOCK OFF CANADIENS, MATCH FRANCHISE RECORDS

Aleksander Barkov collected 2-1—3 to lead the Panthers past the Canadiens and to their seventh consecutive victory, equaling a franchise record last achieved March 2-16, 2008.

The Panthers (21-12-4, 46 points), who also matched a club mark with their fifth straight home win (last achieved March 4-17, 2012), leapfrogged the Canadiens (21-15-3, 45 points) to move back into first place in the Atlantic Division.

The Panthers, who went 11-3-0 (22 points) in December, also established franchise records for wins and points in one calendar month.

Barkov posted his second consecutive multi-goal game, following 2-0—2 on Sunday vs. CBJ. He has 5-5—10 during the team’s seven-game winning streak, including a pair of three-point performances (also Dec. 15 at NYI: 1-2—3); Barkov had two such efforts in his first 145 career games prior to this run.

LIGHTNING FACE RANGERS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT RIVALRY

The Lightning (18-15-4, 40 points) and Rangers (20-13-4, 44 points), opponents in the 2015 Eastern Conference Final, meet for the second time this season when they face off at Amalie Arena on NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry.

Tampa Bay, who eliminated New York in seven games to reach the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, has won five consecutive regular-season contests against the Rangers dating to Jan. 14, 2014 (NYR: 0-5-0). That includes a 2-1 victory on Nov. 19 that snapped New York’s nine-game winning streak and 13-game point streak (11-0-2).

Ben Bishop, who made 20 saves in the teams’ first matchup of the season, owns a 9-0-0 record in nine career regular-season appearances vs. NYR (1.43 GAA, .947 SV%, 2 SO), including a 6-0-0 clip since joining the Lightning in 2012-13. These clubs will not meet again until the final week of the season, on April 5 at Madison Square Garden.

TUESDAY’S RESULTS (Home Team in Caps)

BOSTON 7, Ottawa 3
NY Islanders 6, TORONTO 3
NEW JERSEY 3, Carolina 2
COLUMBUS 6, Dallas 3
FLORIDA 3, Montreal 1
ST. LOUIS 4, Nashville 3 (OT)
WINNIPEG 4, Detroit 1
Anaheim 1, CALGARY 0
Los Angeles 5, EDMONTON 2
Chicago 7, ARIZONA 5

WEDNESDAY’S ACTION (All Times Eastern)

Toronto @ Pittsburgh, 7:00 p.m., SN, ROOT
Buffalo @ Washington, 7:00 p.m., MSG-B, BELL TV, CSN-DC
New Jersey @ Ottawa, 7:30 p.m., TVAS, MSG+, TSN5
NY Rangers @ Tampa Bay, 8:00 p.m., NBCSN
Philadelphia @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., NBCSN, CSN-PH

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services