* Alex Ovechkin scored his 870th career goal to bring The Gr8 Chase 25 goals away from completion.
* Fellow veterans Sidney Crosby and Patrick Kane reached milestones Sunday when the former passed Mario Lemieux for the most assists in Penguins history and the latter recorded his 1,300th career point.
* The Blackhawks and Blues both contested their final game before the Discover NHL Winter Classic, which takes place on New Year’s Eve, and will now get set to take to the ice for the first time Monday for their respective outdoor practices at Wrigley Field.
THE GR8 CHASE CONTINUES WITH OVECHKIN 25 GOALS BACK OF GRETZKY’S RECORD
Twenty-five goals – that’s how many remain until Alex Ovechkin completes The Gr8 Chase and breaks Wayne Gretzky’s longstanding NHL goal record after the Capitals captain netted the 870th of his career against Detroit at Little Caesar’s Arena on Sunday.
* Ovechkin has shown no sign of slowing down in his pursuit of the record – his goal on Sunday marked his 17th of the season, tied for his second most through 20 games in a campaign (also 2013-14). His only higher total through that many contests came in 2009-10 (18).
* Ovechkin has found the back of the net in each of his past four games (7-0—7) – all of which have been on the road – including two straight contests since returning from injury Saturday. He now has 11 goals through 10 road games in 2024-25. The only season he had more through that many road contests was 2019-20 (12).
* For more notes on Ovechkin’s pursuit, click here to read the #NHLStats Pack: The Gr8 Chase. For a timeline of every NHL goal leader as well as the Capitals captain’s highlight-reel and milestone goals, click here or peruse the League’s The Gr8 Chase playlist on YouTube.
CROSBY, KANE RECORD MILESTONE NIGHTS OF THEIR OWN
On a day when Alex Ovechkin inched closer to an NHL record, his longtime rivals and fellow stars, Patrick Kane and Sidney Crosby, also found the scoresheet to continue to write their names in the League’s history books:
* Kane (1-1—2) factored on two of his team’s four goals to record his 1,300th career point as Detroit defeated Washington on Sunday. Kane (477-823—1,300) became the fourth active player and just the second U.S.-born player in NHL history to reach the milestone, following Mike Modano (561-813—1,374).
* Crosby (0-1—1) recorded his 1,034th career assist and passed Mario Lemieux (1,033) for the most in Penguins history – and fourth most in NHL history with a single franchise – before being immediately greeted with a standing ovation from the Pittsburgh faithful. Crosby’s point was the 900th at home in his career and the first against Marcus Hogberg, the 201st different goaltender he has found the score sheet against (regular season & playoffs), ranking him behind only Jaromir Jagr (232), Patrick Marleau (212), Joe Thornton (211), Mark Messier (208) and Ron Francis (204) for the most all-time.
BLACKHAWKS, BLUES CONTEST FINAL GAME BEFORE WINTER CLASSIC
The Blackhawks and Blues both contested their final game before the Discover NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve (5 p.m. ET on TNT, MAX, truTV, SN, TVAS). Both clubs will partake in their outdoor practice Monday at Wrigley Field, which will be live streamed on YouTube (Chicago's at 3:30 p.m. ET & St. Louis’ at 5:30 p.m. ET).
* Colton Parayko (0-2—2) collected two points for the Blues to improve his totals to 6-15—21 (38 GP) – the most by a St. Louis defenseman this season. Parayko is set to appear in his third outdoor game and is featured in the #NHLStats Pack: Discover NHL Winter Classic for his advanced stats tracked by NHL EDGE. Entering play Sunday, Parayko leads all defensemen in 20+ miles-per-hour bursts with 87.
* Connor Bedard scored the lone Blackhawks goal to boost his 2024 calendar year totals to 17-43—60 (69 GP) and joined Bobby Hull (19-42—61 in 1958) and Eddie Olczyk (24-36—60 in 1985) as the third Blackhawks teenager with 60 or more regular-season points in a calendar year. Should he find the back of the net again Tuesday, he would become the third teenager to score in an outdoor game; Auston Matthews (2-0—2 at 2017 Centennial Classic) and Mitch Marner (1-0—1 at 2017 Centennial Classic) are the only ones to do so to date.
PACIFIC DIVISION TEAMS PICK UP WINS IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The Sunday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured plenty of notes on a trio of Pacific Division teams as the Ducks, Golden Knights and Kings each skated to victory:
* Drew Helleson and Robby Fabbri both scored in the second period to draw the Ducks level before Ryan Strome netted the go-ahead goal with 2:36 remaining in the third frame to complete Anaheim’s third multi-goal comeback win this season – only the Kraken (5) and Golden Knights (4) have more.
* The Golden Knights (25-8-3, 53 points) improved to 10-1-0 in December to lead all teams in wins and points this month as they overtook the idle Jets (26-10-1, 53 points) for first place in the League standings by virtue of fewer games played. Vegas plays one more game on Dec. 31 before the calendar turns to 2025 and can record 11 wins in a month for just the fifth time in franchise history, following March 2021 (12-5-0), March 2023 (11-3-1), April 2021 (11-3-1) and December 2017 (11-1-1).
* Los Angeles (21-10-5, 47 points) found itself trailing in the third period before Anze Kopitar scored the only two tallies in the final frame to propel the Kings past the Flyers for the third-period comeback victory. Kopitar recorded his 23rd career multi-goal period and passed Dave Taylor (22) for the fourth most in franchise history, behind Luc Robitaille (39), Marcel Dionne (30) and Bernie Nicholls (29).
QUICK CLICKS
* Blues treating Winter Classic as 'business trip'
* Winter Classic blog: Alex Vlasic
* Retired Joe Pavelski pays visit to former Stars teammates in Chicago
* Blackhawks ‘can’t wait’ for Winter Classic at Wrigley Field against Blues
* Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson out at least 1 week for Canucks
CENTRAL DIVISION CLASH SET FOR PRIME MONDAY NIGHT HOCKEY
The Jets (26-10-1, 53 points) welcome a Central Division rival to Canada Life Centre when the Predators (11-18-7, 29 points) come to town for the latest edition of Prime Monday Night Hockey. Winnipeg enters the contest having scored at least one power-play goal in each of its past six games and can extend the streak to seven contests for the fourth time in team history (11 GP in 2018-19, 7 GP in 2022-23 & 2016-17).
* Jonathan Marchessault (13-13—26 in 36 GP) has led the Predators offensively as of late and has scored in each of his past five games dating to Dec. 17 (6-2—8), which includes an overall eight-game point streak since Dec. 10. Marchessault can become the first player in franchise history to register a six-game goal streak during his first season with the Predators and the third with a nine-game point streak in that scenario (Sergei Kostitsyn: 11 GP in 2010-11; Gustav Nyquist: 10 GP & 9 GP in 2023-24).
DISCOVER WINTER CLASSIC HIGHLIGHTS REST OF THE WEEK AROUND THE NHL
More national telecasts headline the week to come around the NHL, including the first-ever Winter Classic rematch when the Blackhawks and Blues take to the ice at Wrigley Field.
Tuesday, Dec. 31 – Blackhawks and Blues ring in the New Year with Discover Winter Classic
* The Blackhawks and Blues, franchises separated by roughly 300 miles, have shared the same division for all but one season since 1970-71 and will go head-to-head at Wrigley Field for the NHL’s 42nd outdoor game. Fittingly, No. 42 was retired across the MLB in 1997 in honor of Jackie Robinson – the first number to be retired across the league. Read more about the League’s first-ever Winter Classic rematch in our #NHLStats Pack: Discover Winter Classic.
Thursday, Jan. 2 – Islanders put winning streak against Maple Leafs on the line on ESPN+
* The Islanders have won each of their past five head-to-head meetings against the Maple Leafs dating to March 21, 2023 and have been led in scoring by Noah Dobson (2-8—10 in 5 GP) through that span. New York can tie the franchise’s longest win streak against Toronto, after it previously won six straight games against the club from 1978-79 to 1979-80 and 1984-85 to 1986-87.
Saturday, Jan. 4 – ‘The Gr8 Chase’ continues when Ovechkin welcomes the Rangers to D.C.
* Alex Ovechkin has scored 44 goals in 74 contests against the Rangers (most: 55 in 73 GP vs. WPG/ATL). His goals totals against New York are the second most by any player against the franchise in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68), behind only Mario Lemieux (61 in 70 GP).
Saturday, Jan. 4 – Maple Leafs, Bruins continue rivalry on Hockey Night in Canada
Longtime friends William Nylander and David Pastrnak will meet for the third time in 2024-25 after their relationship was featured on “FACEOFF: Inside the NHL” earlier this season. Pastrnak has recorded 30-32—62 in 51 career games against the Maple Leafs (regular season & playoffs combined), which is his most goals and points against any franchise. Meanwhile, Nylander has 12-16—28 in 45 regular-season and playoff games against the Bruins, tied for his fourth-most goals and points against one franchise.
