Pucks On The 'Net

Some interesting facts and stats:

• New York Rangers' rookie Derek Stepan made quite the NHL debut on Saturday night. Stepan scored a hat trick in the Rangers 6-3 victory over Buffalo. Only three other players in NHL history scored three goals in their first NHL game - Alex Smart of Montreal (1943), Real Cloutier of Quebec (1979) and Fabian Brunnstrom of Dallas in 2008. 
• With 2 goals in Saturday night's game, Alexander Ovechkin finally solved all time wins and shutout leader, Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils. In the previous 13 career games against Brodeur, Ovechkin has scored only 3 times, including only once in the previous 10.
• Steven Stamkos sure likes playing against Atlanta. Including last night's 2 goals, 3 points effort, Stamkos now has 9 goals and 16 points in his last 10 games against the Thrashers.
• Chris Osgood likes playing against the Blackhawks. He is 12-3-2 in his last 18 games against the Hawks. He's held the Hawks to 3 or fewer goals in all 18 of those games.
• Brett Hull says he is honoured to have a statue of himself outside the arena in St. Louis.
• The great Montreal Gazette writer Red Fisher shares this great story: ". . . the time I joined a group of Boston Bruins to visit Phil Esposito in the hospital. Espo was unhappy. He complained about being  onfined to his hospital bed, whereupon one of the Bruins suggested we do something about it.
  
  Minutes later, the group wheeled him out of the hospital for a few minutes -with the bed-ridden Esposito leading the non-stop laughter."