* The Kraken will streak their way into the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic on New Year’s Day (3 p.m. ET on TNT, MAX, SN, TVAS & truTV) following a come-from-behind win on home ice in their final contest before their first-ever outdoor game.
* A total of 14 tying goals were scored across the nine-game slate Friday, including 11 in high-scoring, back-and-forth contests won by the home side. Plus, the Hughes brothers combined for six points to lift the Devils back into a playoff spot for the first time in seven weeks.
* A hat trick by Stars forward Roope Hintz secured another $5,000 donation from AstraZeneca for the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation.
* Connor McDavid is set to play in his 600th NHL game tonight when the Oilers close out a three-game Hockey Night in Canada schedule.
KRAKEN STREAK INTO WINTER CLASSIC AFTER RALLYING FOR HOME WIN
The Kraken will head into the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic riding their longest winning streak of the season (4-0-0) along with a franchise record-tying eight-game point streak (6-0-2) thanks to a comeback win on home ice Friday. Defensemen Vince Dunn and Justin Schultz provided the goals, while Joey Daccord stopped 27 shots in the victory, the sixth straight Seattle game decided by a one-goal margin.
* Seattle’s eight-game point streak equals the longest run they have had since joining the League in 2021-22, matching runs achieved last season when they went 7-0-1 from Nov. 13-Dec. 1, 2022, and then started the new year with an 8-0-0 stretch that spanned from New Year’s Day to Jan. 14, 2023.
* The Kraken’s current run is part of a turnaround that has them one point back of a playoff spot – after sitting five points out following an eight-game winless stretch that spanned from Nov. 24 to Dec. 10 (0-6-2). They became the sixth team in NHL history to follow a winless streak of at least eight games with a point streak of eight or more contests.
* Oliver Bjorkstrand assisted on both Kraken goals while skating in his 500th NHL game. He became the sixth Danish-born player in League history to reach the milestone. Daccord, meanwhile, matched the club record for longest point streak by a goaltender.
* The next time the Kraken put their point streak on the line will be in front of a sold-out crowd at the home of the MLB’s Seattle Mariners, T-Mobile Park. The first outdoor game in club history will bring an estimated economic impact of at least $30M to the Emerald City, according to Visit Seattle.
* The Kraken (6-0-2) will become the second team to enter an outdoor game with an active point streak longer than six games, following last year’s Winter Classic hosts (BOS: 7-0-3 entering 2023 WC). The Flyers will have a chance to put themselves in that same position in a few weeks’ time when they face the Devils in the opener of the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Feb. 17 (tickets).
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BARKOV TIES ANOTHER FRANCHISE RECORD, PANTHERS INCH CLOSER TO FIRST PLACE
Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov tied Jonathan Huberdeau as the franchise’s all-time assists leader by posting his second straight three-assist game and third consecutive with multiple helpers. Barkov’s latest record came two days after he set a new club benchmark for multi-assist performances and two months after he became the Panthers’ leader in games played. Barkov also has the most goals and points in Florida’s 30-season history. Barkov (15) needs eight more three-assist showings to tie Huberdeau (23) for the franchise record in that category.
HOME CLUBS LEAVE VICTORIOUS AFTER BACK-AND-FORTH GAMES
Four home clubs skated away with victories in back-and-forth games that featured a total of 11 tying goals and four lead changes.
* The Rangers rallied multiple times – from two-goal and one-goal deficits – to draw even before falling to the Panthers by a single tally after Carter Verhaeghe scored the game winner with 6:23 remaining in regulation. The contest saw Mika Zibanejad extend his career-high (tied) point streak to nine games, Artemi Panarin reach the 20-goal mark for the eighth time in nine NHL seasons and Sam Reinhart notch his sixth multi-goal game of the season – only Auston Matthews (10) and Nikita Kucherov (8) have more.
* Following a thrilling contest earlier this month between the two clubs that saw Toronto erase a 5-0 deficit, the Maple Leafs held 1-0, 4-2 and 5-4 leads but Adam Fantilli (1-0—1) netted Columbus’ third tying goal of the game with his 10th goal of the season to set the stage for Johnny Gaudreau (1-2—3) in overtime. Fantilli (10-12—22 in 37 GP), the third rookie to reach a double-digit goal total in 2023-24, required the fourth-fewest games by a Blue Jackets rookie to reach 10 career goals.
* Roope Hintz (3-0—3) played a pivotal role in helping the Stars erase an early 2-0 deficit before the Blackhawks staged a multi-goal rally of their own in the third period to send the game to extend the contest. Hintz then helped Dallas keep pace with Colorado, which also captured two points Friday, by becoming the fifth player in franchise history to complete a regular-season hat trick with an overtime goal – doing so with eight seconds remaining in the extra frame.
* Nashville tied the game three times – with Filip Forsberg and former Red Wings forward Gustav Nyquist each contributing 2-1—3 – but a career-high three-point performance by Jake Walman (2-1—3) helped lift Detroit to victory. Walman has 8-8—16 this season (33 GP), one goal and two points shy of matching career highs set across 63 games last season (9-9—18). He is part of a Red Wings defense core that ranks fourth in the League with 94 points this season, behind the Avalanche (103), Canucks (102) and Hurricanes (95).
HUGHES BROTHERS COMBINE FOR SIX POINTS IN DEVILS WIN
Jack Hughes (1-2—3) and Luke Hughes (1-2—3) had identical stat lines and Jesper Bratt (1-3—4) reached the 200-assist milestone as the Devils earned a victory to move into the second Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference. They sit in a playoff position for the first time since Nov. 10.
* Jack (38-63—101 in 71 GP) became the first player in Devils/Rockies/Scouts history to record 100+ regular-season points in a calendar year, while Luke became the fourth rookie defenseman in franchise history to record three or more points in a road game and first since Craig Wolanin on Dec. 9, 1985.
WOMEN IN HOCKEY: SHERI HUDSPETH
As the countdown to the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic continues, we celebrate women in hockey with a feature on Sheri Hudspeth, the Golden Knights’ director of youth hockey programs and fan development. Hudspeth has been a part of growing the game of hockey in Las Vegas both at a grassroots and viewership level. She will be in attendance at the Winter Classic on Jan. 1 with the 10-U Jr. Kraken girls’ team (12 p.m. PT / 3 p.m. ET on TNT, Max, SN, TVAS).
QUICK CLICKS
* Fantasy spin: NHL EDGE stats this week
* Winter Classic blog: Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn
* Original ‘Misfits’ in Winter Classic spotlight for Golden Knights
* Connor Ingram leads Coyotes to franchise record-tying fourth shutout of the month
* Jonathan Quick’s unbelievable pair of saves, Juuse Saros’ sprawling glove stop
HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA HIGHLIGHTS FINAL SATURDAY OF 2023
As we close in on the end of the calendar year, the final weekend of 2023 opens with a nine-game Saturday that features a trio of games on Hockey Night in Canada including Auston Matthews shooting for 30 goals when the Maple Leafs host Sebastian Aho and the Hurricanes, Cole Caufield and the Canadiens traveling to Amerant Bank Arena to face Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers, as well as the Oilers looking for their fourth straight win in Connor McDavid’s 600th regular-season game when Edmonton faces Los Angeles for the first time since eliminating the Kings in the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs (EDM: 4-2).
* Ahohas recorded four points in each of his last two contests and can become the first player in Hurricanes/Whalers history to post three consecutive four-point outings and the first player on any team to do so since Steve Yzerman in 1992-93 (2-10—12 in 3 GP). Matthews (29-15—44 in 32 GP) enters the contest with 15 goals in the month of December and can become the first player since Jaromir Jagr (30 GP in 1996-97 w/ PIT) to reach the 30-goal mark within his first 33 games of a season.
* The Canadiens will contest their fifth of seven consecutive road games (2-1-1 since Dec. 18) when they visit the Panthers. Mike Matheson enters on a six-game road point streak (1-7—8 in 6 GP), the longest by a Montreal defenseman since Andrei Markov’s 11-game road point streak in 2009-10 (3-12—15 in 11 GP). Matheson, who was selected 23rd overall by the Panthers in the 2012 NHL Draft and played the first 299 contests of his career with Florida, is expected to skate in his 500th NHL game.
* The Oilers and Kings have met in the First Round of each of the last two postseasons, but will meet in the regular season for the first time in 2023-24. The Oilers, who are looking to win four straight road games for the first time this season, will be looking for a victory while McDavid contests his 600th career game. The Dec. 30 edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates has more notes ahead of McDavid’s milestone contest.
NHL EDGE: “MAX SPEED” LEADER CHANGED THREE TIMES IN FOUR GAME DAYS
The NHL EDGE leaderboard for max speed has seen plenty of movement this week, with the top speed on record in 2023-24 changing three times from Dec. 21 to Dec. 28.
* For more than two months, Winnipeg’s Rasmus Kupari led all skaters in 2023-24 with a 23.95 mph max speed recorded during the second period on Oct. 17 (vs. LAK), but Colorado’s Valeri Nichushkin pulled ahead of him with a 23.96 mph clocking in the first period on Dec. 21 (vs. OTT) – narrowly edging both Kupari and teammate Miles Wood who topped out at 23.86 mph during the third period of the same contest last week.
* Not to be outdone, fellow Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon logged a 24.05 mph rush during the first period on Dec. 23 (vs. ARI) which held as the max speed for a grand total of zero more game days. In the third period of Tampa Bay’s game on Dec. 27 (vs. FLA), Brayden Point reached a max speed of 24.15 mph when he carried the puck from end-to-end during a Lightning power play. Entering play Dec. 29, MacKinnon (304) and Point (222) were the only players with at least 200 bursts of 20+ mph on record this season.
A FULL DAY OF NHL ACTION MAKES UP PENULTIMATE DAY OF 2023
Another Canadian club will help start the day as the Jets (20-9-4, 44 points) look to keep pace in the Central Division standings – where three points separate the top three clubs – when they host the Wild (16-13-4, 36 points), who have their sights set on jumping back into the playoff bracket. Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck owns an eight-game point streak (6-0-2), the longest active run in the NHL and the fifth time he has posted a stretch of at least that length.
