* Kirill Kaprizov notched his League-leading (tied) seventh three-point outing of the season to climb atop the NHL’s scoring leaderboard and help the Wild post their first five-game win streak in nearly two years.
* The Capitals and Devils strengthened their positions as the top two teams in the Eastern Conference while the Rangers moved into the first Wild Card spot with a victory.
* An action-packed Saturday features 11 games beginning with a matinee matchup between the Flyers and Bruins (SN, NHLN) and ending with Leon Draisaitl looking to clinch his ninth consecutive 20-goal season when the Oilers host the Blues (SN).
KAPRIZOV CLIMBS ATOP LEAGUE LEADERBOARD AS WILD WIN FIFTH STRAIGHT
Kirill Kaprizov (17-25—42 in 25 GP) notched a goal and two assists to leapfrog Martin Necas (14-27—41 in 26 GP) for the League lead in points and establish a franchise mark for fewest games to 40 points in a season, eclipsing the previous best he set in 2022-23 (31 GP). The NHL-leading Wild (18-4-4, 40 points) extended their winning streak to five games – the club’s longest run in nearly two years (6 GP from Dec. 10-21, 2022) – and set a franchise mark for fewest contests to 40 points in a campaign (previous: 29 GP in 2021-22 & 2011-12).
* Kaprizov notched his seventh three-point game of 2024-25 and tied Jack Hughes for the most among all skaters. Kaprizov himself is the only player to post more three-point games in a season for Minnesota (11 in 2023-24 & 20 in 2021-22).
* The Wild improved to 11-1-3 (25 points) as visitors in 2024-25 – only three teams in NHL history have posted more points through their first 15 road games in a season: the 2023-24 Kings (13-1-1, 27 points), 2012-13 Blackhawks (12-1-2, 26 points) and 2006-07 Ducks (12-1-2, 26 points). Minnesota also extended its road point streak to nine games (7-0-2) and matched the fourth-longest run in franchise history.
METROPOLITAN DIVISION CLUBS SKATE TO VICTORY FRIDAY
The Capitals (18-6-2, 38 points) and Devils (18-9-2, 38 points), who hold the top two spots in the Eastern Conference standings, picked up wins Friday while the division-rival Rangers (14-10-1, 29 points) climbed into the first Wild Card spot with their victory.
* Nic Dowd (1-1—2)factored on two goals and Connor McMichael scored the winner as the Capitals defeated the Maple Leafs and extended their road winning streak to eight games – tied with the Canucks (8 GP; Oct. 17–Nov. 26) for the longest by a team this season. Washington improved to 10-2-0 as visitors in 2024-25 – tied for the fewest games in franchise history to 10 road wins (also 12 GP in 2019-20).
* Jack Hughes (0-2—2) and Jesper Bratt (1-1—2), who skated in his 500th career game, posted multi-point efforts as the Devils bested the Kraken. Hughes, who is slated to skate for the United States during the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, recorded his 47th career multi-assist game and surpassed John MacLean for the eighth most in franchise history. It also marked his fourth straight multi-point performance, the longest active streak in the League.
* Artemi Panarin (2-1—3) and Vincent Trocheck (1-2—3) each registered three-point performances to help propel the Rangers to victory against the Penguins. Panarin recorded his 142nd multi-point game with New York and tied Ron Greschner for ninth place on the franchise’s all-time list. He also posted his 67th multi-point period with the club and surpassed Vic Hadfield for the eighth most in Rangers history.
NHL PODCASTS WEEKLY ROUNDUP
* NHL @TheRink (Dec. 5): Fitzgerald joins; 4 Nations Rosters, Rangers Struggle, Sharks Success
* NHL Unscripted with Virk and Demers (Dec. 5): The Kid Mero joins; Quarter-point surprises
* NHL Fantasy on Ice (Dec. 5): Week 9 mailbag; Laine’s debut in Montreal, Tim Kalinowski joins
* La Tasse de Café LNH (Dec. 5): Les formations de la Confrontation des 4 nations dévoilées
* NHL Draft Class (Dec. 3): CHL USA Top Prospects Challenge: Porter Martone & Michael Misa
* NHL Fantasy on Ice (Dec. 2): Week 9 pickups; trades: Wedgewood to Avalanche, Jiricek to Wild
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates – Dec. 6, 2024
* Jacob Trouba traded to Ducks by Rangers for Urho Vaakanainen
*Anders Sorensen seeks to get Connor Bedard, Blackhawks on track as new coach
* USA Hockey can prove it’s closed gap on Canada at 4 Nations
* Top 10 NHL EDGE stats for 4 Nations Face-Off
FOUR MORE HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA GAMES ON TAP FOR SATURDAY
Saturday means another round of Hockey Night in Canada contests on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+. This week features the Capitals visiting the Canadiens, the Senators hosting the Predators, the Penguins welcoming the Maple Leafs and the Blues facing the Oilers, with players from each of those matchups looking to extend streaks and reach scoring plateaus.
* Patrik Laine (2-0—2 in 2 GP)has helped Montreal go 2-0-0 since making his season debut Dec. 3 and can guide the Canadiens to a third straight win for the first time this season. Laine can become the seventh player in Canadiens history to score in his first three games with the franchise, following Joe Malone (14 GP), Newsy Lalonde (8 GP), Yanic Perreault (3 GP), Pierre Turgeon (3 GP), Brian Bellows (3 GP) and Leo Gravelle (3 GP).
* Mitch Marner (9-27—36 in 26 GP) has collected multiple helpers in three of his past four games and now finds himself on the cusp of 30 assists ahead of tonight’s contest. Marner, who currently ranks tied for third in assists this season, can become the second Maple Leafs player to reach the 30-assist mark in 30 or fewer games multiple times (also 26 GP in 2018-19) – he would join Doug Gilmour (3x).
* Drake Batherson, who has points in eight straight contests, holds the League’s longest active assist streak (6 GP) and can push it to seven straight games for the first time in his career. He would become the third Senators player in the past 10 years with a run of at least that length, following Mark Stone (10 GP in 2017-18) and Mike Hoffman (7 GP in 2017-18).
* Leon Draisaitl potted a pair of goals his last time out to bring his 2024-25 totals to 19-15—34. His next tally will give him his ninth straight 20-goal season, which would tie Wayne Gretzky for the third-longest stretch in Oilers history behind Jari Kurri and Mark Messier (both w/ 10). In fact, only seven other active players have reached the mark in at least nine consecutive campaigns.
MATINEE MATCHUP FEATURING MICHKOV TO INITIATE 11-PLUS HOURS OF HOCKEY
Saturday’s 11-game slate will feature nearly 12 hours of hockey beginning with a matinee matchup pitting NHL rookie-scoring leader Matvei Michkov and the Flyers against the Bruins on Sportsnet and NHL Network at 1 p.m. ET.
* Michkov is coming off back-to-back multi-point games, including his first career three-point performance Thursday (0-3—3). The first-year Flyers forward can become the seventh rookie in NHL history to post consecutive three-assist outings – he would join Dan Daoust (3 GP in 1982-83), Nicklas Backstrom (2 GP in 2007-08), Neal Broten (2 GP in 1981-82), Anton Stastny (2 GP in 1980-81), Peter Stastny (2 GP in 1980-81) and Doug Gibson (2 GP in 1975-76).
