Jaromir Jagr Third Player to Score 750, Las Vegas NHL to Have Name Nov 22 and Ovi Hosts Special Hockey

Florida Panthers forward, Jaromir Jagr, reached another milestone in his illustrious career on Thursday night, as he became just the third player in the National Hockey League to score 750 goals. 

The 44-year-old veteran picked up number 750, just over 14 minutes into the middle frame of the Cats game against one of his former teams, the Washington Capitals at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida. 

The goal may not have been enough to give the Panthers the victory, but it did move Jagr into third place in the NHL’s All-Time goal scorers, trailing only “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky (894) and “Mr. Hockey,” Gordie Howe (801). 

In talking about the accomplishment, Jagr said, “That is nice, but I would rather win. So, it is kind of tough.”

 

In 1,633 NHL games, over 23 seasons, with the Panthers, Capitals, New Jersey Devils, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins, has scored 750 goals and 1,120 assists for 1,870 points. He needs 17 points to tie Mark Messier (1887) for second place. Gretzky is the All-Time Points Leader with 2,857. 

Jagr is in sixth place in assists, 15 behind Paul Coffey. 

Jagr added, “It is always good to get the first one. A good play, a good pass, I was wide open in the slot. I had a lot of chances in the game before, but I could not put the puck in. I am glad I did it tonight.”

 

Per Elias Sports Bureau, Gretzky recorded his 750^th goal, in 1,001 games at the age of 31, Howe did it in his 1,598^th game at 41 years of age and Jagr picked up his 750^th in his 1,633^rd game at the age of 44. 

In Other NHL News:

The Las Vegas NHL Team announced they will unveil their nickname and logo on November 22, at Toshiba Plaza, just outside the T-Mobile Arena. 

General Manager, George McPhee will be joined by NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, on Tuesday night, November 22 as they reveal the nickname, team colors and logo for the organization. The franchise will begin play in the 2107-2018 NHL season. 

The franchise expected to have Knights in their nickname, will also have merchandise from hats to T-shirts available for sale at the unveiling ceremony, but jerseys will not be made available until the expansion draft in June. 

The fans of the first major league sports franchise in “Sin City,” will finally find out the name of their new team, just in time for the holiday season. 

Capitals captain, Alex Ovechkin and the Caps hosted their third annual skating event with the American Special Hockey Association at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex on Friday. 

Ann Schaab, 12, who plays for the Washington Ice Dogs, was among one of the 60 players that participated in the event. 

Schaab, who has Down Syndrome, went on a special sushi date with Ovi back in 2014, following a preseason game. Since then the two have created a friendship. 

At Friday’s event, Schaab said, “Me and Ovi are special friends. He helps me a lot. He helps my team and he helps my friends play hockey.”

 

Ovechkin seems to enjoy the event as well. While helping them with their drills, he offers the athletes encouragements and fist bumps. 

He said, “It is fun. I can see they are smiling. They ask me questions. It is always fun. It is nice to see them smile.”

Founded in 2005 for players with developmental disabilities, the ASHS has developed into a nationwide program with more than 2,000 players in 60 programs across 54 cities. At Friday’s event, the Ice Dogs, Baltimore Saints, Montgomery Cheetahs and the Nova Cool Cats were represented. 

ASHA president, Mike Hickey said, “The big thing with our players is we are therapeutic-based, not competitive. We are trying to instill confidence in them and teach them responsibility and socialization, and this is a real shot in the arm as far as confidence. They go to school tomorrow and tell all their friends that they skated with Alex Ovechkin. So, it is kind of a big deal.”

 

He added that Ovechkin’s event helps to give exposure to the ASHA, helping to create an invaluable experience for the organization and its players. 

As part of his contributions to the ASHA, which includes the car he won during the 2015 NHL All-Star Game in Columbus, Ohio, Hickey presented Ovechkin with the 2016 ASHA Inspiration Award at Friday’s event. Former NHL defenseman, Matt Carkner, who played for the New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators and San Jose Sharks, received the award in 2015. 

Hickey added, “For these NHL players, a lot of this is obligations, For Ovi, this is not an obligation. He loves doing it the last three years. He has a smile on his face, he loves the kids, and they love him.”

Ovechkin felt that it was “special” to be able to receive the award. He said, “I got lucky. I am a professional hockey player. I just try to help the kids, and the organization does a great job to help me and help everybody around.”

The Inspiration Award, was not the only thing that Ovi took home with from the event. Before heading out to the ice, Schaab gave him a gift in the Capitals locker room. 

Schaab was sitting in Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom’s locker, trying on his helmet when her buddy came out to greet her. She wears the number 19, because of Backstrom, despite her friendship with Ovechkin.

He gave her a hug, as she showed him a children’s book, entitled “Drop the Puck, Let’s Play Hockey” by Jayne J. Jones-Beehler. After reading about the friendship between the two players, and meeting Schaab at an Ice Dogs fund raiser, Jones-Beehler chose to incorporate the two into the third installment of the series. 

The premise of the story entails one of its characters, Blaine, who has Down Syndrome and is the manager of the Minnesota Bears youth hockey team, joining an ASHA team. As Blaine has trouble learning how to skate, a new character named Ann lends a helping hand. 

Schaab opened the book to the page where her character helped Blaine, and signed the page for Ovechkin. He promised her that he would put the book with all his trophies and awards. 

Proceeds from the sales of the book, through November 7, will benefit the ASHA. As Ovechkin, has talked about starting a family with his wife, Nastya, liked that he would one day be able to read the book to his children as they learn about his special friendship with Schaab. 

He added, “It is always nice when the kids love you and I love them. We have fun, we talked before the skate and it is great.”  

Auston Matthews Becomes First Player in Modern Era to Score Four in His NHL Debut

2016 First overall draft pick, Auston Matthews made his debut in the National Hockey League on Wednesday night as his Toronto Maple Leafs took on the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre. 

For Matthews, it was a night to remember. The 19-year-old, from Scottsdale, Arizona became the first player in the modern era of the NHL to put up four goals in his debut. 

Since the 1943-1944 season, there have been four other players that have scored three goals in their debuts. Alex Smart of the Montreal Canadiens did it in 1943, Real Cloutier for the Quebec Nordiques in 1979, Fabien Brunnstrom with the Dallas Stars in 2008 and Derek Stepan scored a hat trick in his debut with the New York Rangers in 2010. 

Matthews said, “I am just speechless. As the periods kept going by you are kind of thinking to yourself you can’t really believe this is going on, it is that surreal. There was some good and some bad and we learn from it and continue to move forward.”

 

Matthews scored his first of the night on his first shot, 8:21 into the opening period. After the Senators grabbed a 2-1 lead, Matthews was able to get by Erik Karlsson, 14:18 into the first, and tie the game on his second shot. 

Just about a minute and a half after the second period began, Matthews picked up the hat trick, on his third shot of the game giving the Leafs a 3-2 lead. The Senators battled back to tie the game, but with three second left in the middle frame, Matthews gave Toronto a 4-3 lead. 

Kyle Turris knotted the game at four 6:43 in the third period and then would pick up the winner for the Senators, just 37 seconds into overtime, putting a little damper on Matthews’ historic night. 

Matthews put most of the responsibility for the loss on himself, as Turris was able to get by him the overtime goal. 

He said, “More of an ideal start to your season individually, I guess, but that last play was 100 percent my fault. We came here to win and we did not get that done, so just a good learning point for myself and the team, and we will be ready Saturday.”

His four goals came on six shots, in 17:12 of ice time. 

Maple Leafs head coach, Mike Babcock said, “We are all part of history tonight because we are here. 

[Matthews], a special player, I thought just for me, from my perspective, since I have been Maple Leafs coach that is the best night I have had since I have been here by 10 miles, not even close because now we have an opportunity when you look at [Mitch] Marner.”

 

He added, “I know Matthews scored all of the goals. I thought Marner in the first half of the game may have been the best player. I thought [William] Nylander was great. I thought [Zach] Hyman was great. I thought [Connor] Brown was great. I thought [Connor] Carrick was great. I thought [Nikita] Zaitsev was great. It was a pretty good night for us. Did we want the other point? Absolutely. The way we controlled the puck and controlled the game, you have got to win. We did not.”

 

One of the things that help make his night even more special, was that his parents made it up to the Canadian capital. Matthews said, “It is something you can’t write up. I was pretty special having my parents here for them to share the moment with me.”

Former NHLer, Martin St. Louis said via text message and Twitter, “I know it is just one game but when he had the puck, I was waiting for something good to happen. And after he scored one early, I bought the NHL package so I could watch the game from Connecticut.” 

St. Louis did note that with only 23 active players to ever put up four or more in one game, it might be tough for him to match the accomplishment from his debut. Alexander Ovechkin has three four goal games, Marion Gaborik and David Backes have two. 

The ageless wonder, Jaromir Jagr, who ranks third on the NHL’s All-Time Goal Scoring list, only has one four goal game in his longtime career. Sidney Crosby has never put up four in one game, to this date.

While Matthews may be the first player in the modern era, to light the lamp four times in his debut, there were two other players in the last 100 years, Joe Malone and Harry Hyland in 1917, that did it five times.  

Buffalo Sabres Sign Rasmus Ristolainen as Florida Panthers Acquire Brody Sutter from Carolina Hurricanes

The Buffalo Sabres announced on Tuesday that they have reached an agreement with Rasmus Ristolainen on a six-year, 32.4 million-dollar contract. 

Ristolainen had been skating with the Sabres since he returned from the World Cup of Hockey this summer, while he was negotiating a new deal with the club. 

General manager, Tim Murray said, “Rasmus has already proven to be a pivotal player on our blue line, and we are eager to have him back with the team. This deal is a reflection of the hard work and improvement Rasmus has shown since being drafted., and we hope to see him continue on his trajectory moving forward.”   

Ristolainen, 22, dressed in all 82 games for the Sabres this past season, as he led the Buffalo defensemen with nine goals and 32 assists. He was also the leader in average ice time on the club, and 10^th amongst defensemen, in the National Hockey League, with 25:16. 

The first-round pick, eighth overall by the Sabres in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, has scored 19 goals and 46 assists in 194 games over three seasons. 

The Sabres will open their 2016-2017 NHL season as they host the Montreal Canadiens at the Key Bank Center in Buffalo, New York on Thursday October 13. 

In other News:

The Florida Panthers announced on Tuesday that they dealt Connor Brickley to the Carolina Hurricanes for Brody Sutter. 

Sutter, 25, played eight games for the Hurricanes during the 2015-2016 season, after having played in 70 games for their American Hockey League affiliate, the Charlotte Checkers. He put up 13 goals and 11 assists with the Checkers last season. 

The six foot five, 203-pound native of Viking, Alberta was drafted by the Hurricanes in the seventh round of the 2011 NHL Draft. 

The Panthers will open the 2016-2017 NHL season, as they host the New Jersey Devils at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida on Thursday, October 13.