* The Wild and Capitals both came out on top in their one-goal games and became the only teams with 10 wins in a month this season. Minnesota and Washington will conclude the weekend in second and third place in the NHL standings, respectively.
* Veteran defensemen displayed their prowess on the offensive side of the ice Saturday as Kris Letang, Roman Josi and Victor Hedman achieved notable feats with multi-point performances.
* The Bruins will celebrate 100 years in the NHL by hosting their Centennial Game against their Original Six rival the Canadiens in a matinee broadcast on Sportsnet and Sportsnet+.
WILD, CAPITALS REMAIN ATOP STANDINGS WITH 10TH WIN IN NOVEMBER
Two of the top three teams in the NHL’s overall standings each survived a tightly-contested affair during a 12-game Saturday as the Wild (16-4-4, 36 points) and Capitals (17-6-1, 35 points) extended their win streaks to three and four games, respectively, and became the only clubs with 10 wins this month (MIN: 10-3-2, 22 points; WSH: 10-4-1, 21 points).
* Minnesota sits tied with idle Winnipeg (18-6-0, 36 points) in terms of standings points atop the NHL standings, but the Jets occupy the No. 1 position due to the regulation wins tiebreaker (WPG: 15; MIN: 14). The 2024-25 campaign marks the latest into a season in which the Wild have held first place in the League (outright or tied) since Dec. 9, 2021. Overall, the latest into a season in which Minnesota has held the position was during the 2011-12 campaign (outright in 33 GP: 20-8-5, 45 points).
* Kirill Kaprizov (15-23—38 in 23 GP) reclaimed the scoring lead from Carolina’s Martin Necas (12-25—37 in 24 GP) after he netted a game-tying goal in the third period and collected a primary assist on Jared Spurgeon’s fifth career overtime tally. The Wild forward, already the only player in franchise history with a 100-point calendar year (55-62—117 in 2022), became the fourth player to hit the mark in 2024.
* The Devils overcame 2-1 and 4-2 deficits after the Capitals also erased a one-goal disadvantage in the first period, but Taylor Raddysh (1-1—2) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (1-1—2) scored within a 10-second span in the third period as Washington netted six or more goals in a contest for the seventh time in 2024-25 – one behind Winnipeg (8) for the most among all teams.
* Raddysh and Dubois were two of six unique goal scorers for the Capitals on Saturday, with the former netting his first tally since captain Alex Ovechkin has been absent from the lineup. Washington’s 14 different goal scorers since Nov. 21 are the most among all teams and one more than the next closest (CAR & SJS both w/ 13).
VETERAN DEFENSEMEN DISPLAY OFFENSIVE PROWESS SATURDAY
Kris Letang, Roman Josi and Victor Hedman, who all rank in the top five in points among active defensemen, produced notable performances for their respective clubs Saturday. While the Lightning captain joined the Predators captain as his franchise’s all-time assists leader, the longtime Penguins star is already his franchise’s all-time leader in the category among defensemen.
* Letang (1-2—3) factored on three of his team’s six goals to help lift the Penguins (10-12-4, 24 points) to victory against the Flames at PPG Paints Arena. It marked his 108th career multi-assist game and tied Josi for the third most among active defensemen, behind his teammate Erik Karlsson (132) and Hedman (109).
* Josi (0-2—2) played a part in helping the Predators leave Xcel Energy Center with one point after he registered his 108th career outing with two or more assists. He passed Sergei Gonchar (107) for the sixth-most career outings by a defenseman born outside of North America. The only others with more are Nicklas Lidstrom (176), Karlsson (132), Borje Salming (123), Sergei Zubov (118) and Hedman (109).
* Hedman, who nearly helped his club erase a four-goal, third-period deficit against the Maple Leafs, posted his 589th and 590th career assists and overtook Martin St. Louis (588) for the most in Lightning history. The first-year Tampa Bay captain, named to Sweden’s initial roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off, is one of just five Swedish players currently holding a franchise’s all-time assist record: also Henrik Sedin (830 w/ VAN), Nicklas Backstrom (762 w/ WSH), Daniel Alfredsson (682 w/ OTT) and Salming (620 w/ TOR). 
MICHKOV LIFTS FLYERS TO VICTORY WITH ANOTHER WINNER IN OVERTIME
Nineteen-year-old rookie Matvei Michkov (1-1—2) factored on the game-opening goal to collect his 10th assist of the season and then rose to the occasion in overtime once again by scoring the winner after the Blues tied the contest with 20 seconds remaining in regulation. Michkov, who has scored each of his three game-winning goals in overtime this season, joined Danius Zubrus (5 in 1997-98), Sean Couturier (4 in 2011-12) and Mike Ricci (4 in 1990-91) as the fourth Flyers teenager to tally at least three winning goals in a single campaign.
FLORIDA, UTAH EARN HIGH-SCORING SHUTOUT WINS
Florida (15-9-1, 31 points) and Utah (10-10-4, 24 points) both skated to high-scoring shutout victories Saturday, with the latter holding an opponent scoreless for the first time since entering the League this season:
* The Panthers potted six goals against the Hurricanes with the help of captain Aleksander Barkov (1-1—2), who registered his 196th career multi-point game and passed Saku Koivu (195) for the third most by a Finnish player in NHL history. He has tallied 5-16—21 in November, tied for the second-most points this month.
*In addition to the first shutout in Utah Hockey Club history, Alex Kerfoot (1-1—2) helped his team achieve other firsts during its six-goal outburst against the Golden Knights by scoring the franchise’s first shorthanded goal and contributing to the club’s highest-scoring opening period to date (4 GF).
MORE NOTES FROM AROUND THE RINKS FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured all sorts of storylines from across the 12-game slate, including stars extending streaks and posting multi-point performances:
* Connor McDavid (0-1—1)factored on the tying goal in the first period to ignite an Edmonton comeback that ended with Stuart Skinner earning his 80th career win as the Oilers (13-9-2, 28 points) moved into a top-three position in the Pacific Division for the first time this season. McDavid has registered an assist streak of five or more games for the 23rd time and tied Evgeni Malkin for the second most among active players, behind only Sidney Crosby (28).
* Artemi Panarin (1-1—2) factored on half of his club’s goals and Kaapo Kakko scored the go-ahead tally with 24 seconds remaining to quell the Canadiens’ multi-goal, third-period comeback as the Rangers earned their fourth straight win against Montreal – tied for their second-longest run against an opponent. Kakko’s goal marked the latest go-ahead marker by a Rangers player since Mika Zibanejad on March 19, 2022 (59:44).
QUICK CLICKS
* Willie O’Ree, Jackson Dorrington take part in ‘Pass the Torch Jamboree’ in Boston
* On Hockey Fights Cancer Night, Devils give young fan game to remember
* Blues honor high school hockey player who was tragically killed in St. Louis
* Michigan-Ohio State provides perfect preview for Stadium Series
* Bruins set for Centennial celebration on 100-year anniversary of 1st game
BRUINS CELEBRATE CENTENNIAL GAME ON FIVE-GAME SUNDAY
It will be a historic day in Boston as the Bruins (11-11-3, 25 points) celebrate 100 years in the NHL with their Centennial Game when they face off against the Canadiens (8-12-3, 19 points) with a national broadcast matinee on Sportsnet – part of a five-game Sunday schedule. This will be the 940th all-time meeting between Boston and Montreal (regular season & playoffs), the most between two opponents in NHL history and nearly 100 more than the next closest (MTL vs. TOR: 848).
* The Boston Bruins organization started when Charles Adams travelled to Montreal in 1924 to watch the Stanley Cup Final between the Canadiens and Calgary Tigers of the WCHL, a series that inspired the New England entrepreneur to bring hockey to his home area. Adams’ ties to the franchise extend farther than just bringing the Bruins to Massachusetts – the club’s black and gold color scheme were the primary colors of Adams’ supermarket chain.
* The Bruins played their first NHL game against the Montreal Maroons at Boston Arena on Dec. 1, 1924 and won that contest 2-1. Smokey Harris and Carson Cooper scored Boston’s goals in what was the first NHL regular-season game played in the United States.
