* Nathan MacKinnon factored on three of five Avalanche goals and became the first player with 50 points this season – the 10th straight campaign he’s hit the mark.
* Utah Hockey Club were one of several teams to extend their streaking ways Saturday as they set an NHL benchmark for longest road winning streak by a franchise in its inaugural season.
* Plenty of players set to represent their country at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February put up noteworthy performances, including Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes and Josh Morrissey.
* A doubleheader on Sportsnet and TVA Sports involving the Islanders, Blackhawks, Rangers and Blues highlights a five-game Sunday.
MacKINNON REACHES 50 POINTS, BLACKWOOD IMPRESSES IN TEAM DEBUT
Nathan MacKinnon (2-1—3) followed up a five-point performance from two games ago with another multi-point outing tonight and became the first player to reach the 50-point mark this season, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 37 saves in his team debut as Colorado (18-14-0, 36 points) moved past Vancouver (15-9-5, 35 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Only two other players in franchise history have been the NHL’s first to 50 in a campaign: Mikko Rantanen (2018-19) and Peter Forsberg (1997-98).
* MacKinnon’s 90th career three-point night helped him record his 10th consecutive 50-point season. The only players in franchise history with a run of that length are Joe Sakic (18), Peter Stastny (10) and Michel Goulet (10).
* Blackwood is no stranger to high save totals in his debut for a franchise – he set the NHL benchmark for saves in a team debut when he stopped 51 shots for the Sharks on Oct. 14, 2023 against his current team. With his 37-save performance Saturday, Blackwood became the fourth goaltender in Avalanche/Nordiques history to register as many in his debut with the club, joining Adam Werner (40 on Nov. 12, 2019), Craig Anderson (38 on Oct. 1, 2009) and Jeremy Smith (37 on Feb. 14, 2017).
UTAH HOCKEY CLUB, CAPITALS, OILERS EXTEND STREAKS SATURDAY
Utah Hockey Club (14-11-5, 33 points), the Capitals (21-6-2, 44 points) and Oilers (18-10-2, 38 points) each extended their respective streaks with wins during a plethora of games Saturday:
* Logan Cooley (0-2—2) and Dylan Guenther (1-0—1) both extended their road point streaks to eight games – the longest active runs in the NHL – and Clayton Keller (1-1—2) scored the League’s eighth go-ahead goal within the final minute of regulation this season as Utah defeated San Jose in a contest that featured a tying goal in every period. Utah became the first franchise in NHL history to post a six-game road win streak its inaugural season, breaking a tie with the North Stars (5 GP in 1967-68).
* Buffalo erased a 2-1 deficit, but Dylan Strome (1-0—1) broke a third-period tie and Jakob Chychrun (1-1—2) potted another for good measure as Washington extended its point streak to nine games (8-0-1) and overtook New Jersey for top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Chychrun leads the Capitals in points and assists in **Alex Ovechkin**’s absence, with 4-8—12 (11 GP).
* Leon Draisaitl (1-2—3) extended his multi-point streak to five games with his 97th career three-point outing and surpassed Nikita Kucherov (96 GP) for second most since the former’s debut in 2014-15, behind only Connor McDavid (128 GP). That Oilers duo both factored on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' game-opening tally – the 122nd goal they’ve both assisted on in their careers – and helped Edmonton extend the League’s longest active winning streak to five games, while snapping Vegas’ four-game run in the process.
PLAYERS POST A PREVIEW OF WHAT TO EXPECT AT 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF
Several players who are gearing up to represent their country in the 4 Nations Face-Off gave fans a preview of what to expect at the tournament following productive performances Saturday.
* Auston Matthews scored for the second time in three games and boosted his regular-season totals this calendar year to 50-33—83 (69 GP) – the third-most goals among all players through that span, behind Sam Reinhart (53 in 77 GP) and Kirill Kaprizov (53 in 70 GP). The Maple Leafs captain, one of nine players in NHL history with four or more consecutive calendar years with 50 or more regular-season goals, is the only player in franchise history to accomplish the feat multiple times.
* In a battle between two goaltenders who could go head-to-head in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, Jake Oettinger – set to represent the United States – and the Stars defeated Jordan Binnington – set to represent Canada – and the Blues with a victory in overtime. Oettinger earned his 49th win of the 2024 calendar year (including playoffs) and passed Ed Belfour (48 in 2000) for the most by a goaltender in Stars/North Stars history.
* The Penguins tied the game twice before Senators captain Brady Tkachuk extended his franchise record with a ninth career overtime goal and helped Ottawa (15-13-2, 32 points) climb into a playoff position for the first time since Nov. 13. Ullmark (25 saves), whose country will go head-to-head with his captain’s on Feb. 17 when Sweden and the United States meet at TD Garden, improved to 6-0-1 in his past seven games and joined Martin Gerber (10-0-2 in 2006-07) as the second goaltender to post a streak of at least that length within his first season with the franchise.
* Matt Boldy (1-0—1) scored the game-winning goal to record his 200th NHL point and Marc-Andre Fleury made a highlight-reel save to help the Wild (20-6-4, 44 points) match their franchise mark for fewest games to 20 wins in a campaign (also 30 GP in 2011-12). Boldy became the fifth-fastest active American player to reach the milestone (233 GP) behind Jason Robertson (190 GP), Matthews (204 GP), Patrick Kane (215 GP) and Jack Eichel (230 GP). He also required the second-fewest games in Wild history to reach the mark behind Kaprizov (169 GP).
* Jack Hughes (1-0—1) scored the decisive tally during a four-goal third period to help the Devils (20-10-3, 43 points) earn their 11th comeback win of the season, tied with the Jets for the second most among all teams and trailing the Capitals (13). Hughes’ tally marked the 20th game-winning goal of his career and tied Zach Parise for the most in franchise history before age 24.
* Josh Morrissey (0-2—2) factored on two of four Jets goals, including the game winner, and boosted his 2024 calendar year totals to 7-62—69 as he surpassed his own benchmark for most points in a calendar year by a Jets/Thrashers defenseman. Morrissey also climbed a couple of franchise lists: now in fifth for multi-assist games and tied for sixth on for all-time assists.
* Brayden Point (1-1—2) became the third player to score 20 goals this season – after Kaprizov also hit the mark earlier Saturday – and did so in 24 games, the second fastest in Lightning history behind Steven Stamkos (21 GP in 2010-11). His teammate, but opponent at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Jake Guentzel (1-1—2) also found the back of the net and extended his goal streak to a career-high six games and became the fourth active player with a run of that length in his first season with a franchise, joining Alex Ovechkin (7 GP & 6 GP in 2005-06 w/ WSH), Evgeni Malkin (6 GP in 2006-07 w/ PIT) and Matthew Tkachuk (6 GP in 2022-23 w/ FLA).
#NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES FROM A 15-GAME SATURDAY
Notes and storylines were aplenty from a 15-game Saturday, including a four-point performance from Bruins veteran David Pastrnak (1-3—4) and 32-save shutout from Flames rookie Dustin Wolf.
* Pastrnak played a part in four of five Bruins goals and factored on a game winner for the 141st time (62-79—141), which passed David Krejci (43-97—140) for the sixth most in franchise history. His effort also boosted his career totals to 359-400—759 (706 GP) as he required the second-fewest games by a Czechia-born player in NHL history to reach 400 career assists, behind Jaromir Jagr (546 GP).
* Nazem Kadri’s highlight-reel goal stood as the game winner while Wolf (32 saves) registered his second career shutout (29 saves on Nov. 15) and became the fifth goaltender in franchise history to record multiple shutouts before age 24. In fact, only four rookie netminders have recorded more saves in a shutout for the Flames.
QUICK CLICKS
* Flames forward Ryan Lomberg gets Stanley Cup ring from Panthers
* Devils welcome Sirens to home arena with jerseys
* Auston Matthews gets a little help from Jake McCabe, Maple Leafs bench after losing skate blade
* Zeev Buium looking to help U.S. to 1st repeat World Junior Championship gold
* NHL Announces Plans to Select, Celebrate Quarter-Century Teams
DOUBLEHEADER ON SPORTSNET, TVA SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS FIVE-GAME SUNDAY
The second 15-game Saturday of the season is followed up by a five-game slate with the Islanders (12-12-7, 31 points), Blackhawks (9-19-2, 20 points), Rangers (15-13-1, 31 points) and Blues (14-14-3, 31 points) all back in action during a doubleheader on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.
