* Wyatt Johnston followed Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka as the third player to score a hat trick during Tuesday’s slate and became the youngest in franchise history to do so in natural fashion. 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.
* Frederik Andersen blanked the Rangers and became the fourth Hurricanes goaltender with a shutout this season – the first team to achieve that feat in over two decades.
* A five-game Wednesday features Sidney Crosby looking to climb another NHL all-time list when the Penguins clash with Logan Cooley and the Utah Hockey Club to close out an NHL on TNT doubleheader.
STARS, SABRES SKATE TO VICTORY WITH THE HELP OF HAT TRICKS
Tuesday’s slate featured a hat trick of hat tricks, with the night concluding the same way it started as Dallas’ Wyatt Johnston joined Buffalo’s Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka as the third player with a three-goal game.
* The Stars found themselves facing a 3-1 deficit, but Johnston responded with three straight goals, the first being scored shorthanded and the last being the overtime winner, to help Dallas (32-17-1, 65 points) prevail at T-Mobile Arena. Johnston (21 years, 259 days) posted his second career three-goal game and became the youngest player in franchise history to score a natural hat trick, besting Tyler Seguin (21 years, 310 days on Dec. 7, 2013).
* Thompson (3-1—4) and Peterka (3-1—4) both tallied hat tricks Tuesday while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who will represent Finland at 4 Nations Face-Off in two weeks, made 25 saves to help the Sabres secure a victory against the Bruins and his soon-to-be 4 Nations Face-Off foe Jeremy Swayman (USA). Thompson and Peterka became the first Sabres duo to score a hat trick in the same game since Derek Roy and Drew Stafford on Jan. 18, 2008. Thompson now has seven career hat tricks, which are the seventh most in franchise history.
HELLEBUYCK JOINS ELITE LIST AHEAD OF 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF
With only two weeks to go before the opening game of the 4 Nations Face-Off, Winnipeg and Montreal clashed in one of three games that featured head-to-head matchups between goaltenders headed to the best-on-best international event from Feb. 12-20 (also VGK vs. DAL & BUF vs. BOS).
* Connor Hellebuyck (USA) and Sam Montembeault (Canada) faced off at Bell Centre in Montreal – the location of the first four games of the 4 Nations Face-Off (Feb. 12-15) – where the NHL wins leader emerged with his 31st victory of the season and tied a short list of goaltenders in NHL history to reach the mark through 40 games in a campaign.
* Kyle Connor (2-0—2), who will represent the United States alongside Hellebuyck, and Mark Scheifele (1-0—1) also played a role in helping Winnipeg to victory, each scoring their 29th goal of 2024-25. Connor needs one goal to match the franchise record for most career 30-goal seasons, while Scheifele needs two tallies to match the Jets/Thrashers record for career goals. Winnipeg's next stop is Thursday in Boston, the host city for the final three games of the 4 Nations Face-Off, followed by a Hockey Night in Canada visit to Washington where they will try to slow down The Gr8 Chase.
HURRICANES ACHIEVE RARE NHL FEAT WITH ANDERSEN’S SHUTOUT VS. RANGERS
Frederik Andersen turned aside all 22 shots he faced, Andrei Svechnikov tallied 2-1—3, and Taylor Hall and Mikko Rantanen both registered their first point with the Hurricanes as Carolina (31-16-4, 66 points) kept pace with Metropolitan Division-rival Washington (34-11-5, 73 points) in the battle for first place in the Eastern Conference.
* Andersen became the fourth goaltender with a shutout for Carolina this season (also Pyotr Kochetkov, Spencer Martin & Dustin Tokarski) – the first team to achieve that feat in more than two decades. Andersen extended his win streak to six games and tied Capitals netminder Logan Thompson, who also won Tuesday, for the longest active run in the NHL.
ISLANDERS PUSH WINNING STREAK TO FIVE, CONTINUE QUEST FOR WILD CARD SPOT
The Islanders entered the third period against the Avalanche tied at 1-1 before they went on to score four goals in the final frame, with Simon Holmstrom (2-1—3) factoring on three of them, to help New York extend its overall and home winning streak to five games. The Islanders (22-20-7, 51 points) are part of a nine-team group separated by five points in the Eastern Conference playoff race – and there are currently more teams between them and Wild Card 2 in the Eastern Conference (5 teams) than the point differential that stands in their way (four points back of the Lightning: 26-20-3, 55 points).
* The Islanders have been as much as eight points back of the lowest-ranked playoff team in the East during their five-game run – tied for their largest standings deficit of the season. Despite having the longest active winning streak in the NHL, the tightly-contested race has limited New York to only one step up the conference standings since its winning streak began Jan. 18 (from 15th to 14th).
* New York wasn't the only team to gain ground in its pursuit of a playoff spot Tuesday. After Seattle took a 3-2 lead in the first period, Mason McTavish (1-1—2) factored on two of his team’s next three goals to help Anaheim (21-23-6, 48 points) earn its third consecutive win and leapfrog the Pacific Division-rival Kraken (22-27-3, 47 points) to gain ground in the Western Conference Wild Card race. McTavish, who became the fourth Ducks skater to record three consecutive multi-point games at age 21 or younger, has six goals in his past four games – half of his 2024-25 total goal count on the season (12).
BEDARD SCORES HIGHLIGHT-REEL GOAL AND LANDS IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
A jam-packed #NHLStats: Live Updates saw Connor Bedard score to help the Blackhawks (16-29-5, 37 points) best the Lightning (26-20-3, 55 points). Bedard improved to 14-30—44 (50 GP), which surpassed his point total through 50 contests from his rookie campaign (17-26—43 in 2023-24). Only four teenagers in franchise history have tallied as many through that game count in a season.
QUICK CLICKS
* 4 Nations Face-Off could help Zach Werenski reach another level with Blue Jackets
* Matthew Tkachuk surprises young Panthers fan affected by Los Angeles fires
* Eagles rookie Cooper DeJean gets Zamboni ride at Flyers game
* Kirill Kaprizov to have surgery, out at least 4 weeks for Wild
* Tampa Bay Lightning Quarter-Century Teams unveiled
CROSBY LOOKS TO CLIMB ANOTHER ALL-TIME LIST AS PENGUINS CLOSE DOUBLEHEADER
Sidney Crosby and the Penguins (20-24-8, 48 points) travel to Delta Center to clash with Logan Cooley and Utah Hockey Club (21-21-7, 49 points) to close out an NHL on TNT doubleheader, which starts at Prudential Center as the Flyers (23-22-6, 52 points) and Devils (28-18-6, 62 points) wrap up a home-and-home set with their third meeting in 12 days. Crosby, bound for the 4 Nations Face-Off in 14 days, sits one game-winning goal shy of passing Guy Lafleur (94 w/ MTL) and Steve Yzerman (94 w/ DET) for sole possession of the fifth most with one franchise in NHL history.
* Cooley, who can become the first Utah player to post a five-game home goal streak, was born in Pittsburgh and is an alumnus of the Little Penguins Learn to Play Program, an initiative spearheaded by Crosby. The two players lined up for the opening faceoff in a full-circle moment last season in their first-ever meeting and tonight will clash for the fourth time (Cooley: 0-3—3, 2-1-0 record; Crosby: 2-1—3, 1-2-0 record).
* Auston Matthews (388-299—687 in 597 GP) and the Atlantic Division-leading Maple Leafs (30-18-2, 62 points) are also in action on a five-game Wednesday, when they host the Wild (29-17-4, 62 points) across various Sportsnet platforms and TVA Sports. Matthews, set to represent the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in the coming weeks, can become the fourth American player in NHL history to register 300 goals and 300 assists prior to his 600th career game. He would join Brett Hull (450-315—765 in 599 GP), Pat LaFontaine (343-346—689 in 599 GP) and Joe Mullen (315-356—671 in 599 GP).