* Adam Fantilli netted his first career hat trick with his parents in the crowd to help the Blue Jackets move into the first Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference. 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.
* After the Kings and NHL announced that they will host “Skate for LA Strong,” a charity game to raise funds for the LA Fire Relief Fund, Adrian Kempe scored the winner to lift Los Angeles to victory against Florida.
* Thursday’s slate features 22 teams in action, including the Utah Hockey Club and Wild who are set to face off on ESPN+ and Hulu.
FANTILLI SCORES FIRST NHL HAT TRICK AGAINST HOMETOWN MAPLE LEAFS
Adam Fantilli (3-0—3), who was born in Nobleton, Ont., just under an hour outside of Toronto, scored his first career hat trick against his hometown team with his parents and 80-plus friends and family members in attendance. The Blue Jackets (23-18-7, 53 points) improved to 7-2-1 since the calendar flipped to 2025 and passed three teams to reclaim the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
* Fantilli (20 years, 102 days) became the first Blue Jackets skater to score a hat trick since Alexander Nylander on March 4, 2024 as well as the fourth-youngest player in franchise history to net a three-goal game, following Nikita Filatov (18 years, 230 days on Jan. 10, 2009), Cole Sillinger (18 years, 301 days on March 13, 2022) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (19 years, 278 days on March 29, 2018).
KEMPE LIFTS KINGS TO ANOTHER VICTORY ON HOME ICE
Adrian Kempe (1-0—1) scored the go-ahead goal with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation to lift Los Angeles to victory and help the Kings (26-14-5, 57 points) move within four points of the idle Oilers (29-15-3, 61 points) for second place in the Pacific Division. The Kings improved to 10-1-0 in their past 11 games at Crypto.com Arena and 15-3-1 overall on home ice this season to establish their fastest pace to 15 home wins in a campaign (previous: 20 GP in 2012-13).
* The Kings and NHL announced Wednesday that they will host “Skate for LA Strong,” a celebrity and NHL All Star Alumni charity game on Sunday, Feb. 23 at Crypto.com Arena, in order to raise funds for the LA Fire Relief Fund and help those within the Los Angeles community that have been affected by the wildfires. All tickets available for the event will be distributed to local firefighters, first responders and those displaced by the devastating wildfires. For more information, click here.
MATTHEWS, VILARDI HIT 20-GOAL MARK IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured several noteworthy performances from across Wednesday’s four-game slate, including Winnipeg’s Gabriel Vilardi and Toronto’s Auston Matthews reaching the 20-goal mark.
* Vilardi scored his 20th goal of the season and Neal Pionk netted the winner 17 seconds into the extra frame – tied for the second-fastest goal to start overtime in franchise history – to lift the Jets to victory. Vilardi became the third Winnipeg player to reach the 20-goal mark in 2024-25, which is tied with Toronto for the second most among all teams behind Tampa Bay (4).
* Matthews, set to represent the United States at 4 Nations Face-Off in February,hit the 20-goal mark for the ninth time in nine seasons and tied Darryl Sittler (9) for the fourth most 20-goal campaigns in Maple Leafs history behind only Mats Sundin (13), Dave Keon (11) and Ron Ellis (11).
QUICK CLICKS
* Dean Evason’s team-first mentality has Blue Jackets in thick of playoff race
* NHL EDGE stats: Jakub Dobes providing Canadiens with latest spark
* Jeremy Swayman embraces ‘challenge’ of contract with Bruins, playing time at 4 Nations Face-Off
* Jacques Lemaire honored by Devils, inducted to Ring of Honor
* New Jersey Devils Quarter-Century Teams unveiled
STREAKS ON THE LINE DURING 11-GAME THURSDAY
Thursday night’s schedule includes 22 teams in action and will see a number of streaks put to the test. It will also include Utah Hockey Club visiting the Wild on ESPN+ and Hulu – Utah has earned a point in each of its past two games against Minnesota (UTA: 1-0-1, MIN: 1-1-0), while Clayton Keller enters the contest with points in his past four games and six points over his past two outings.
* The Gr8 Chase will continue at Climate Pledge Arena as Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals hope to extend the League’s longest active winning streak when they face the Kraken. Washington (32-10-5, 69 points), which can win six straight contests for the first time since 2020-21 (7 GP), aims to become the first team this season with 70 standings points. The franchise has reached the mark in fewer than 50 games only three other times: 2015-16 (45 GP), 2016-17 (47 GP) and 2019-20 (49 GP).
* The Rangers (23-20-6, 50 points) put their nine-game point streak on the line when they host the Flyers (22-20-6, 50 points) as both teams look to climb the standings and gain ground in the Eastern Conference Wild Card race. New York can become the second club to post a 10-game point streak this season after Washington, which is currently riding an 11-game run.
* Filip Forsberg will have the opportunity to extend the NHL’s longest active goal streak to seven games when the Predators (17-22-7, 41 points) play their second half of a home-and-home against the Sharks (14-30-6, 34 points). Forsberg can tie the franchise record for longest goal streak – a run he established nearly a year ago (7 GP from March 13-28, 2024) – while the Predators can earn their fifth straight victory, which would be their longest stretch since an eight-game run from Feb. 17 to March 2, 2024.
* Lane Hutson (3-36—39 in 47 GP) can reach the 40-point mark and establish the longest assist streak in NHL history by a rookie defenseman should he collect a helper tonight – he is currently tied with Shayne Gostisbehere (9 GP in 2015-16).
BLUE JACKETS, RED WINGS TAKE TO THE ICE AS STADIUM SERIES APPROACHES
The Blue Jackets (23-18-7, 53 points) and Red Wings (21-21-5, 47 points) are two of a handful of teams in the mix for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and are closing in on their meeting at Ohio Stadium for the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on March 1 (6 p.m. ET on ESPN, SN360, TVAS2).
* Zach Werenski (15-37—52 in 48 GP), who will suit up for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off before he makes an NHL outdoor debut at Stadium Series, is one of three defensemen with 50 points in 2024-25. His success this season has boosted his career totals to 105-249—354 and now sits within one assist of joining franchise icon Rick Nash (258) as the second player in Blue Jackets history to record at least 250 career helpers.
* Lucas Raymond (19-32—51 in 47 GP) leads the Red Wings in scoring this season and will also compete at the 4 Nations Face-Off before taking to the ice at Ohio Stadium. The Swedish forward sits one tally shy of joining Steve Yzerman (4x) and Marcel Dionne (3x) as the third player in Red Wings history with at least three career 20-goal seasons at age 22 or younger.
