* The roller-coaster ride that was the 2024 Stanley Cup Final continued during the rematch as Carter Verhaeghe, Sam Reinhart and the Panthers prevailed in the 13th contest to feature four game-tying goals this season.
* Kiefer Sherwood became the third skater to score three consecutive goals within the last six days (also John Tavares on Dec. 15 & Drake Batherson on Dec. 11) as players continued to notch natural hat tricks at a historic pace. With every hat trick this season, AstraZeneca will donate $3,000 to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation up to $300,000.
* The ice truck arrived at Wrigley Field ahead of the Discover NHL Winter Classic, while Connor Bedard surprised 100 girls and boys at a local Boys & Girls Club by helping them open and test their brand-new ball hockey rink as a Legacy to the event.
* Martin Necas and the Hurricanes host Anders Lee and the Islanders on ESPN+ tonight, with the 10-game slate also set to feature Oliver Wahlstrom making his Bruins debut after being claimed by Boston on Dec. 14. Wahlstrom, who was born in New England and skated with the Portland Jr. Pirates minor hockey program, went viral for his series of lacrosse-style goals during a Mini 1-on-1 competition at TD Garden in 2009.
Panthers, Oilers pick up where they left off in Stanley Cup Final rematch
Carter Verhaeghe (1-1—2) vaulted the visitors to victory by scoring the game’s 11th and final goal as Florida foiled Edmonton in a back-and-forth Stanley Cup Final rematch featuring five go-ahead markers, four tying tallies and just 8:31 of playing time where a team held a multi-goal lead.
* Sam Reinhart (20-21—41 in 32 GP), who recorded the Cup clincher in Game 7 of the Final after Verhaeghe opened the scoring, reached 20 goals on the season via one of the go-ahead markers Monday. The Panthers (19-11-2, 40 points) snapped the Oilers’ five-game winning streak and tied the idle Maple Leafs (19-10-2, 40 points) for the most points in the Atlantic Division.
* Connor McDavid (0-3—3), Zach Hyman (2-0—2), Leon Draisaitl (1-1—2) and Connor Brown (1-0—1) – who had key roles in Edmonton erasing a 3-0 series deficit against Florida during the championship series – spearheaded the Oilers’ comeback attempt once again. McDavid mustered his 50th career three-assist game, which included his 200th helper on a goal scored by Draisaitl.
BICHSEL BOLSTERS DALLAS AS STARS SNAP CAPITALS’ ROAD WINNING STREAK
More highlights from Monday’s three-game slate:
* Lian Bichsel’s second career tally stood as the winner and Roope Hintz potted a pair of goals as Dallas (19-11-0, 38 points) defeated an opponent with a 10-game road winning streak for the first time in franchise history. The longest run halted by the Stars/North Stars entering Monday was an eight-game stretch by the 2018-19 Blues.
* Bichsel became the second defenseman in franchise history to score two goals within his first three NHL games, joining Minnesota North Stars blueliner Derian Hatcher (2 in 1991-92). Bichsel (20 years, 212 days) also became the club’s second-youngest defenseman with a game-winning goal, behind only Miro Heiskanen (4; youngest: 19 years, 99 days on Oct. 25, 2018).
* Kiefer Sherwood scored each of the game’s first three goals to record his first career hat trick and vault Vancouver (16-9-5, 37 points) past Colorado (18-15-0, 36 points) for the Western Conference’s first Wild Card spot. Sherwood notched the NHL’s ninth natural hat trick this season – the only other campaigns in League history to feature as many at this stage (through 495 GP) were 1991-92 (11), 1986-87 (10) and 1985-86 (10).
* Monday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates had more notes from the slate, which featured 23 total goals including one scored off a tipped shot by Capitals’ leading scorer Dylan Strome (11-27—38 in 30 GP) on Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger. That came just a few days after Oettinger was featured in the newest spot released by the League, which has the logline “Tipping is out of control these days. Especially for goalies in the NHL.”
Ice truck arrives at Wrigley FIELD; Blackhawks help open ball hockey rink
The NHL mobile refrigeration truck arrived at Wrigley Field on Monday in preparation for the Discover NHL Winter Classic, while the League and Blackhawks joined a local Boys & Girls Club and Spry Community School to open a brand-new ball hockey rink at a completely renovated outdoor courtyard as a Legacy to the event. Chicago clashes with St. Louis on New Year’s Eve (5 p.m. ET on TNT, Max, truTV, SN, TVAS).
QUICK CLICKS
* American Sign Language broadcasters talk Winter Classic in Q&A with NHL.com
* Leon Draisaitl, Nathan MacKinnon, Linus Ullmark named “Three Stars” for week ending Dec. 15
* Paul Coffey discusses his excitement for *4 Nations Face-Off* with Adnan Virk
* Mathieu and Pierre-Olivier Joseph participate in 'awkward family photoshoot' trend
* Nominations for NHL *Stick Tap for Service* program are live
TWENTY TEAMS IN ACTION TUESDAY INCLUDING HURRICANES, ISLANDERS ON ESPN+
A 10-game Tuesday features a showdown between the Hurricanes (19-10-1, 39 points) and Islanders (12-13-7, 31 points) on ESPN+ and Hulu as well as a doubleheader on Sportsnet programming that features two members of Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster in action as Sidney Crosby and the Penguins (13-14-5, 31 points) clash with the Kings (18-9-3, 39 points) before Brad Marchand and the Bruins (16-13-3, 35 points) battle the Flames (15-11-5, 35 points).
* Rod Brind’Amour and the Hurricanes will look to earn their 20th win of the season when they host the Islanders Tuesday and can reach the mark in 31 or fewer games for the fourth time in franchise history (also 27 GP in 2020-21, 28 GP in 2021-22 & 31 GP in 2005-06). Brind’Amour owns a 23-9-2 record (regular season & playoffs) against the Islanders since making his coaching debut in 2018-19 – his most wins against a single franchise.
* Crosby needs one multi-point game to surpass Steve Yzerman (477 GP) for the seventh most in League history and can also climb the League’s all-time home points list with such a performance. The Penguins captain has 7-15—22 in 22 career games against the Kings, including at least a point in each of his past five home contests versus the club (2-4—6).
* Marchand enters Tuesday with a point in each of his past six road games (7-1—8) and can record the longest run by a Bruins player since David Pastrnak (10 GP in 2022-23). The Bruins captain, who has scored in each of his past two contests, needs one game-winning goal to surpass Patrice Bergeron (81) for sole possession of second place on the franchise’s all-time list.
