Hype for December 27, 2009

After more than 1,000 games with the Phoenix Coyotes franchise, captain Shane Doan and his teammates are enjoying a new confident feeling.

"We feel that if we play the way we're capable of playing we can beat anybody and that's a great feeling to have," said Doan, whose Coyotes beat the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 on Saturday night for their franchise record-tying ninth straight home win.

"We feel that it doesn't matter what building we go in to, where we're playing or who we're playing. If we play our best game we can win."

Patrick Marleau got a milestone out of the way early - and the San Jose Sharks made quick work of the Anaheim Ducks, too.

Marleau scored his 300th and 301st career goals in the first 15:19 and the Sharks beat Anaheim 5-2 on Saturday night. "Paddy was in the right spot at the right time," Joe Thornton said. "He's playing great. Three hundred goals is quite an accomplishment."

Team Canada picked up from where it left off last year, defeating Latvia 16-0 on Saturday in their first game of the 2010 IIHF World Junior Championship.

The reigning world champions, outshot their opponents 66-10 at the Credit Union Centre in Saskatoon.

The Washington Capitals left no doubt that they can play with the New Jersey Devils.

Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and two assists to help Washington beat New Jersey 4-1 on Saturday night, giving the Capitals a one-point lead in the overall NHL standings.

Neither weather nor the absence of two of their top offensive players could stop the Ottawa Senators.

Alex Kovalev and Mike Fisher scored in the shootout and the Senators beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Saturday night after being stuck in Ottawa the entire morning.

The Senators, who didn't land in Buffalo until around noon ET after their flight was delayed because of freezing rain, rebounded from an 8-2 loss Wednesday night at Pittsburgh.

Ryan Kesler took a big hit and then scored a big goal for the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday.

Kesler shook off a first-period leg injury to score the game-winner for Vancouver as the Canucks beat the Oilers 4-1 to extend Edmonton's losing streak to six games.

"It was a tweaked leg," said Kesler, declining to disclose more details, after he took a hard check in the first the Oilers' Ryan Stone that had him hopping to the Vancouver bench.

Jaroslav Halak continues to save the day for the Montreal Canadiens.

The hottest goaltender in the NHL not only notched his fourth victory in a row, but he had to make 40 or more saves for the fourth consecutive game to keep his streak alive.

This time around, Halak made a career-tying 47 saves to earn a 3-2 overtime victory against the rival Toronto Maple Leafs before 19,250 fans at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday.