* The Hockey Fights Cancer fund grew again as Nathan MacKinnon posted his first four-goal game to reach and surpass 300 career tallies. AstraZeneca’s cumulative contribution so far in 2023-24 is now $205,000. Click here for more information.
* After surrendering nine goals in their last game, the Sabres bounced back with a nine-goal night of their own in a win against the Maple Leafs.
* Coming off a six-goal victory Thursday, Connor McDavid and the Oilers are back in action on ESPN+ and Hulu when they take on the Rangers at 7:30 p.m. ET. The contest will also be broadcast on Sportsnet in Canada.
MacKINNON HITS MILESTONE, NETS FOUR GOALS IN FIVE-POINT GAME
Nathan MacKinnon put up a big performance Thursday, posting four goals – including the 300th of his career – and five points while also extending his season-opening home point streak to 17 games as the Avalanche (20-11-2, 42 points) staged a comeback win against the Senators to overtake second place in the Central Division standings.
* MacKinnon, who posted his fifth career hat trick, became the sixth player in franchise history to record a four-goal game and the first to do so with the club since it relocated to Denver in 1995-96.
* MacKinnon registered his sixth career five-point contest and became just the fifth player to record that many with the franchise, joining Peter Stastny (12 GP), Joe Sakic (10 GP), Peter Forsberg (9 GP) and Anton Stastny (6 GP).
SABRES BOUNCE BACK FROM NINE-GOAL LOSS WITH NINE-GOAL WIN
After falling 9-4 to the Blue Jackets last game, the Sabres bounced back against the Maple Leafs with a nine-goal performance of their own that featured seven different goal scorers, including Jeff Skinner (2-1—3), Kye Okposo (2-0—2) and Rasmus Dahlin (1-0—1). It marked Buffalo’s highest-scoring game since Dec. 7, 2022 (9-4 W at CBJ).
* Dahlin’s goal marked the 55th of his career, moving him past Doug Bodger (54) and into a tie with Alexei Zhitnik for fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list among defensemen.
* Zach Benson (0-2—2) recorded his fourth multi-point game of the season in the Sabres’ win – the second most by a teenager in 2023-24, behind Connor Bedard (5). In the process, he also became just the third 18-year-old in franchise history with four-plus multi-point outings prior to his 25th career contest, alongside Pierre Turgeon (8 in 1987-88) and Phil Housley (4 in 1982-83).
McDAVID KICKSTARTS A FAST THREE-GOAL BURST TO HELP POWER OILERS TO VICTORY
After having his 12-game point streak snapped Tuesday, Connor McDavid (1-1—2) returned to the score sheet as the Oilers netted six goals against the Devils, which included McDavid scoring the first of three Edmonton tallies in a span of 69 seconds during the final frame to help his club earn its third third-period comeback win of the season.
* After McDavid scored 1:40 into the third period, Leon Draisaitl (2:22) and Adam Erne (2:49) followed suit to match the sixth-fastest three-goal span in Oilers history. The last time the club tallied three in quicker succession was nearly 40 years ago.
* Along with McDavid and Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (1-1—2) also found the back of the net which marked the 30th time all three forwards scored in the same game, improving Edmonton’s record in those contests to 27-3-0.
* Thursday was also the sixth time brothers Ryan (1-1—2) and Michael McLeod (0-2—2) have played against one another in the NHL and the first where both players found the score sheet in the same game. They became the fifth pair of brothers in the past 25 years to each record multiple points against one another in the same contest, following Jack and Quinn Hughes (Dec. 5), Mark and Michael Stone (Nov. 28, 2015), Jordan and Eric Staal (Nov. 12, 2011) as well as Mikko and Saku Koivu (Dec. 29, 2009).
LIGHTNING TRIO PROPEL CLUB PAST GOLDEN KNIGHTS IN BACK-AND-FORTH AFFAIR
Nikita Kucherov (1-2—3) factored on three of four Lightning goals in the second period to help his team erase an early 2-0 first-period deficit, then Brayden Point (2-1—3) and Victor Hedman (0-3—3) collected their third points of the evening on Nicholas Paul’s go-ahead goal with 1:13 remaining in regulation after the Golden Knights took their turn overcoming a multi-goal deficit.
* The Lightning have scored eight go-ahead goals within the final two minutes of regulation in the past five years (since 2019-20) – the second most among all teams behind just the Blue Jackets (10).
* Kucherov (23-34—57 in 33 GP), with multiple points in each of his past four games (4-6—10 in 4 GP), boosted his NHL-leading point total with his 19th career three-point period. He is one of six active players with as many such performances following Sidney Crosby (24), Connor McDavid (24), Alex Ovechkin (22), Patrick Kane (21) and Evgeni Malkin (19).
* Hedman (5-27—32 in 32 GP) registered a three-assist game for the 26th time en route to becoming the fifth defenseman to reach the 30-point mark in 2023-24. He reached the benchmark in 32 or fewer games for the third time in his career following 2021-22 (29 GP) and 2020-21 (30 GP). Only four other active defensemen have achieved the feat three times: Cale Makar, Erik Karlsson and John Carlson (all w/ 3).
KAPRIZOV, DUCHENE END OVERTIME WITH LATE WINNERS
Kirill Kaprizov and Matt Duchene scored overtime goals with five and 10 seconds remaining in extra time, respectively, to help their clubs skate to victory Thursday. The Wild (14-13-4, 32 points) kept pace in the Western Conference Wild Card race, while the Stars (19-8-4, 42 points) climbed into the Central Division lead.
* Marco Rossi and Kirill Kaprizov each potted 1-2—3, with the rookie reaching the 20-point mark in 2023-24 and the 2020-21 Calder Memorial Trophy winner netting an overtime goal for the second time in as many games for the Wild. Kaprizov, who joined Brent Burns (March 11-13, 2007) as the second player in franchise history to score the overtime winner in consecutive games, netted the tally with five seconds remaining in the extra frame. It tied the fourth-latest overtime goal in franchise history (also Marian Gaborik, 4:55 on Feb. 17, 2008) behind Matt Dumba (4:59 on Feb. 27, 2021), Dmitry Kulikov (4:58 on April 24, 2022) and Matt Boldy (4:58 on March 21, 2023).
* Duchene improved his totals to 5-4—9 over the past five games – including three game-winning goals over that span – to help Dallas extend its point streak to five contests (4-0-1). Duchene’s 29 points through 30 games this season (11-18—29) is his highest total through that game count since his career-best season in 2021-22 (43-43—86 in 78 GP) and now leads all players skating on a new team this season.
EICHEL CONTINUES POINT-PRODUCING WAYS AHEAD OF WINTER CLASSIC
Jack Eichel (0-2—2) extended the League’s second-longest active point streak to 12 games – a stretch that includes 12 assists, the most by a Golden Knights player in a streak of any length. The Golden Knights have three games remaining before taking on the Kraken at the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic and should Eichel’s streak continue, it would be the longest by a player entering an outdoor game ahead of Pavel Datsyuk (8 GP in 2008-09 w/ DET).
* The NHL unveiled a rendering for T-Mobile Park, home of the MLB’s Seattle Mariners, ahead of the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Kraken and Golden Knights on New Year’s Day (Jan. 1 at 3 p.m. ET on TNT, B/R Sports on Max, SN, TVAS). A limited number of tickets are available for purchase.
MORE MILESTONES AND ACHIEVEMENTS FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition #NHLStats: Live Updates featured a number of players who achieved noteworthy performances and milestones Thursday, including Nashville’s Juuse Saros and Washington’s Alex Ovechkin.
* Saros stopped 29 of 31 shots to lead the Predators (19-14-0, 38 points) to victory and earn his 162nd career win to move past Tomas Vokoun for sole possession of second most in franchise history behind only his former teammate Pekka Rinne (369).
* Ovechkin snapped his 14-game scoreless drought with the overtime winner as the Capitals captain became the second player in NHL history to reach 900 NHL goals (regular season & playoffs combined), joining Wayne Gretzky (1, 016).
QUICK CLICKS
* 14-year-old Nikhil Bagga embracing challenge of performing national anthem at 2024 Winter Classic
* 'Chosen One: Alexandre Daigle' to launch Jan. 26 on Prime Video
* Seattle buzzing ahead of Winter Classic between Kraken, Golden Knights
* 2024 NHL Draft Diary: Macklin Celebrini
* Connor Bedard, Blackhawks get visit from top NBA draft pick Victor Wembanyama
OILERS, RANGERS SET FOR SHOWDOWN ON ESPN+, HULU, SPORTSNET
Connor McDavid and the Oilers will face off against Artemi Panarin and the Rangers on a game nationally broadcast across North America on ESPN+, Hulu and Sportsnet. McDavid (6-19—25; 2.08 P/GP) is averaging more than two points per game through a dozen head-to-head showdowns against Panarin (2-8—10) with the Oilers holding a 9-2-1 record in those contests (Panarin’s teams: 3-8-1). Meanwhile, Panarin will enter Friday with an active 13-game home point streak, which is the longest by a Rangers player (at any point) since Mark Messier in 1996-97 (14 GP).
