* Brandon Saad tallied three consecutive times to record the NHL’s 12th natural hat trick this season, while Nick Foligno also had a multi-goal game as Chicago clipped Montreal.
* Colton Dach made his League debut against his older brother and Ozzy Wiesblatt, who is fluent in American Sign Language, also skated in his first NHL game.
* Today’s 12-game slate is highlighted by the return of ABC Hockey Saturday followed by five Hockey Night in Canada contests.
BLUES, BLACKHAWKS BEST OPPONENTS IN FIRST GAMES AFTER WINTER CLASSIC
The Blues and Blackhawks beat visiting teams during their first games since squaring off in the Discover NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Eve:
* Brandon Saad scored the final three tallies for his second career natural hat trick (also April 2, 2016) and his first three-goal game with St. Louis as the Blues blanked the Senators. Saad became the fourth St. Louis skater with a natural hat trick in the past 25 years, following Pavel Buchnevich (Feb. 22, 2024), David Backes (Jan. 6, 2015) and Jori Lehtera (Nov. 11, 2014). 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.
* Nick Foligno found the back of the net twice and Connor Bedard (0-1—1) climbed a franchise list as the Blackhawks snapped a five-game slide. Foligno became the sixth player in franchise history with a multi-goal game at age 37 or older, following Stan Mikita (5x; last: March 8, 1979), Marian Hossa (2x; last: Dec. 6, 2016), Robert Lang (2x; last: Dec. 26, 2007), Steve Thomas (2x; last: Nov. 1, 2001) and Phil Housley (Oct. 4, 2001).
LEAGUE DEBUTS BY DACH, WIESBLATT FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Friday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the five-game slate, including Colton Dach and Ozzy Wiesblatt making their League debut in victories with the Blackhawks and Predators, respectively, as well as Sam Reinhart recording the shootout winner for the Panthers and Leon Draisaitl extending his lengthy scoring streak with the Oilers.
* Reinhart (0-1—1), Matthew Tkachuk (1-0—1), Gustav Forsling (1-0—1) and Aleksander Barkov (0-1—1) helped the Panthers prevail against Sidney Crosby (1-0—1) and the Penguins as the five players headed to the *4 Nations Face-Off* all found the score sheet. Reinhart, Crosby and Canada face Forsling and Sweden on Feb. 12, Tkachuk and the United States on Feb. 15 as well as Barkov and Finland on Feb. 17.
* Draisaitl (11-14—25 in 13 GP) scored the go-ahead goal with 1:35 remaining in regulation to extend his point streak to 13 games and help the Oilers quell the Ducks’ comeback attempt. Draisaitl (28-29— 57 in 38 GP) paces the League with 28 tallies this season and opened a five-goal lead atop the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race.
* Wiesblatt introduced himself to fans before the game using American Sign Language, which he learned in order to communicate with his mother, Kimberly, who was in attendance at Rogers Arena. Wiesblatt was chosen by San Jose with the No. 31 pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and the Sharks’ director of scouting Doug Wilson Jr. signed O-Z-Z-Y to make the selection.
NHL PODCASTS WEEKLY ROUNDUP
- 100% Hockey with Millard & Shannon (Jan. 3): Debut Episode - Canada Falls to Czechia and Ovechkin's Record Chase
* NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers (Jan. 2): Best of 2024: Winter Classic wrap-up, a new coach in Hockeytown
* NHL Fantasy on Ice (Jan. 2): Week 13 mailbag; betting angles for 2025; Shesterkin injury
* NHL @TheRink (Jan. 2): Winter Classic Recap, Avs Ink Blackwood, Auston Matthews
* NHL Fantasy on Ice (Dec. 30): Week 13 pickups; Detroit coaching change
* NHL Schlagschuss (Dec. 23): Aebischer: Die Schweiz hat die Torhüter-Entwicklung verschlafen
QUICK CLICKS
* Capitals have retooled roster on fly while Alex Ovechkin closes in on Wayne Gretzky
* NHL EDGE stats: Darcy Kuemper, stout defense give Kings futures appeal
* Henrik Lundqvist, Zdeno Chara headline IIHF Hall of Fame Class of 2025
* Devils’ Dougie Hamilton fined for embellishment
* Florida Panthers Quarter-Century Team unveiled
‘THE GR8 CHASE’ HEADLINES FIRST ABC BROADCAST OF 2025
ABC Hockey Saturday returns this week with ‘The Gr8 Chase’ as Alex Ovechkin (871) continues his trek toward Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record (894) when his Eastern Conference-leading Capitals (25-10-3, 53 points) host the Rangers (17-19-1, 35 points) in a Metropolitan Division clash.
* Ovechkin (18-10—28 in 22 GP), 24 goals away from surpassing The Great One, has found the back of the net three times in four games since returning to the lineup and now sits within striking distance of a 20-goal season for the 20th time in his career.
FIVE GAMES HIGHLIGHT FIRST HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA OF THE NEW YEAR
A 12-game Saturday also includes five Hockey Night in Canada contests:
* Longtime friends David Pastrnak and William Nylander 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.
* Leon Draisaitl (5-18—23 in 10 GP) and Connor McDavid (7-11—18 in 11 GP) take to Hockey Night in Canada with the most and second-most career points against the Kraken among all players, respectively. The Oilers captain, however, has played in all 11 all-time meetings between Edmonton and Seattle, with the former holding a 9-2-0 advantage in those contests. Edmonton can join Vegas (11-2-1) as the second team with 10 or more wins against the franchise.
* Connor Hellebuyck can take another crack at becoming the fastest U.S.-born goaltender in NHL history to reach the 300-win milestone should he get the nod when the League-leading Jets (27-11-2, 56 points) host Alex DeBrincat and the Red Wings (16-18-4, 36 points), who own a three-game winning streak and sit four points out of a playoff spot. Hellebuyck (536 GP entering Saturday) can best the current mark set by Ryan Miller (566 GP on Oct. 28, 2014) and become the League’s third-fastest netminder overall behind Andrei Vasilevskiy (490 GP on Nov. 14, 2024) and Jacques Plante (521 GP on Dec. 25, 1962).
* The Avalanche (24-15-0, 48 points) put the NHL’s longest active win streak on the line (6-0-0 since Dec. 19, 2024) when the club hosts the Canadiens (17-18-3, 37 points) – a team that finds itself within three points of a Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference. Colorado’s string of success has benefited from at least five goals in each of its past four home games and they can extend the streak to five for the fifth time in franchise history (6 GP in 2021-22, 1985-86, 1983-84 & 5 GP in 1981-82).
* Dustin Wolf (12-5-2, .914 SV%, 2.61 GAA, 2 SO) has been a key piece in Calgary’s chase of a playoff position and has posted a 4-0-1 mark in his past five appearances. A seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft (No. 214), Wolf can become the first rookie goaltender in Flames franchise history to register 13 wins through his first 20 games of a season.
