* Thirty-six-year-old Alex Ovechkin scored a goal to pull even with reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Connor McDavid atop the NHL scoring race.* Nashville and Pittsburgh each notched another victory, while St. Louis goaltender Charlie Lindgren achieved a franchise-first Friday.
* The 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic will feature eight pond hockey rinks in the outfield – the most ever at an NHL outdoor game – with more than 100 players, ages 5- to 50-years old, from diverse hockey backgrounds set to take the ice as part of the festivities surrounding the Wild–Blues game on New Year’s Day.
* The NHL further delayed the Flames’ return to play and shut down the Avalanche and Panthers through the holiday break. The Bruins-Canadiens game scheduled for Saturday was also postponed.
2022 DISCOVER NHL WINTER CLASSIC ON HORIZON IN MINNESOTA
On-site preparations for the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic are officially underway after the ice plant arrived at Target Field in Minneapolis on Friday. Wild captain Jared Spurgeon and forward Nick Bjugstad joined Mike Craig, NHL Senior Manager of Facilities Operations & Hockey Operations, at the baseball field to mark the arrival of the world’s largest mobile refrigeration unit.
* The League also released a rendering of Target Field for the New Year’s Day event, with a “Lake Winter Classic” theme inspired by Minnesota’s lakes, forests and longstanding history of hockey outdoors. The sold-out matchup, which will take place in primetime on TNT in two weeks, will also feature the unveiling of the final 2022 U.S. Olympic Women’s Ice Hockey Team.
* The NHL Stats & Information team marked the occasion by releasing the latest #NHLStats Pack, which includes outdoor game notes and a look at what makes Minnesota “The State of Hockey.”
OVECHKIN TIES NHL LEAD IN POINTS, CAPITALS OVERTAKE FIRST PLACE
Alex Ovechkin scored one of Washington’s five goals to extend his point streak to seven games (3-7—10) and record his 47th point on the season overall (22-25—47 in 30 GP), tying Edmonton captain Connor McDavid (16-31—47 in 28 GP) for the most in the League. Only one player in franchise history recorded more points than Ovechkin through their first 30 games in a season: Denis Maruk in 1981-82 (25-23—48 in 30 GP).
* The Capitals (18-5-7, 43 points), who fended off a Jets comeback attempt Friday, overtook first place in the NHL standings. Washington has a one-point edge on Tampa Bay (19-6-4, 42 points), Toronto (20-8-2, 42 points) and NY Rangers (19-7-4, 42 points).
PREDATORS, PENGUINS AND LINDGREN EXTEND WINNING STREAKS
* Thomas Novak scored on Blackhawks goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury to record the first goal of his NHL career and Tanner Jeannot tallied the overtime winner as the Predators improved to 7-0-0 in their last seven games dating to Dec. 4. The last player to score his first NHL goal on a goaltender with 500 or more career wins was Jean-Gabriel Pageau, who beat Martin Brodeur on April 12, 2013.
* Kris Letang (0-2—2) assisted on the overtime winner by Jeff Carter as the Penguins extended their winning streak of six games. Carter scored the 15th overtime goal of his NHL career, while Letang recorded his 21st career assist in extra time – the only defensemen in League history with more are Duncan Keith and Nicklas Lidstrom (both w/ 22).
* Blues goaltender Charlie Lindgren (26 saves) improved to 5-0-0 in five appearances since making his team debut Dec. 7 (1.22 GAA, .958 SV%). Lindgren became the first goaltender with wins in each of his first five appearances from the start of his tenure with St. Louis and third with victories in his first five decisions, following Reinhard Divis (5-0-0 from Oct. 15, 2002–Jan. 15, 2004) and Curtis Sanford (5-0-0 from Oct. 19, 2002–March 6, 2003).
NHL PODCAST WEEKLY ROUNDUP
* Fantasy on Ice (12/13): Nick Alberga & James Harding talk fantasy waiver wire pickups
* NHL @TheRink (12/15): Dan and Shawn are joined by Colton Parayko ahead of the Winter Classic
* Soul on Ice (12/15): JD Ross of HockeyShot talks benefits of synthetic ice; Kwame calls top goal
* Fantasy on Ice (12/16): Pete welcomes Nick Alberga of Sportsnet as new co-host of Fantasy on Ice
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates – Friday, Dec. 17, 2021
* 2022 NHL All-Star Game fan vote now open online
* Jason Spezza suspension reduced to four games by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
* Tickets to 2022 Truly Hard Seltzer NHL Fan Fair in Las Vegas now on sale
* Trevor Zegras arrives at Ducks’ Star Wars Night accompanied by The Mandalorian character Grogu
MAPLE LEAFS, CANUCKS SET TO CLASH ON HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs (20-8-2, 42 points) travel to Rogers Arena to take on J.T. Miller and the streaking Canucks (14-15-2, 30 points), winners of their last six games dating to Dec. 6.
* Matthews, fresh off recording his sixth consecutive 20-goal season to start his career, enters Saturday with the NHL’s longest active point streak (10 GP since Nov. 24) and an NHL-best 61 goals since Jan. 1. Only four players in the past 25 years have concluded a calendar year with more than the Maple Leafs forward’s current total: Alex Ovechkin (62 in 2013 w/ WSH), Jaromir Jagr (62 in 1999 w/ PIT & 62 in 1996 w/ PIT), Teemu Selanne (62 in 19997 w/ ANA) and Mario Lemieux (62 in 1996 w/ PIT).
* While Bruce Boudreau looks to become the third head coach in NHL history to win each of his first seven games with a new team, Miller has produced a team-leading 2-7—9 (5 GP) since Boudreau’s arrival on Dec. 6. Only two players have recorded more points than the Canucks forward over that span: Colorado’s Mikko Rantanen (4-7—11 in 6 GP) and Ottawa’s Drake Batherson (2-8—10 in 5 GP).
