The University of Minnesota football team wasn't alone in making Gophers news late Tuesday: The school's men's hockey program has a new top scorer in the NHL as Phil Kessel passed Neal Broten.
Gophers men's hockey has new top dog in NHL scoring
Or Coyote, after Phil Kessel's four assists on Tuesday.
Kessel totaled four assists Tuesday in Phoenix's 8-7 loss to San Jose, giving him 925 points. That's more than Broten, the previous Gophers record holder with 923 points.
Other noteworthy distinctions Kessel holds among Gophers playing in the NHL: games played (1,152) and goals (396) plus the only two-time Stanley Cup winner as a player, according to the university. And speaking of Kessel's assists, he ranks second among Gophers in the NHL with 529.
It wasn't the only Minnesota tie to the game: Former Wild defenseman Brent Burns played in his 1,200th NHL game to become the fourth active defenseman to play that much.
Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves and Paul Cotter had an empty-netter and assist in their debuts with New Jersey as the Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 on Friday in the NHL regular-season opener that was played in the Czech Republic capital.