* Nico Hischier celebrated his birthday with a goal for the second time in his career as the Devils continued their success as the visitors in 2022-23 and improved to 14-2-1 on the road.
* Rookie defenseman Calen Addison accomplished a franchise-first as his Wild captured their 10th consecutive home victory against the Lightning.
* Alex Ovechkin eyes his 30th goal and a rare feat in NHL history when he leads his Capitals into Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on ESPN.
HISCHIER CELEBRATES BIRTHDAY WITH GAME-WINNING GOAL
Birthday boy Nico Hischier (1-1—2) was one of five different goal scorers as well as one of five Devils players to record multiple points as New Jersey (24-11-3, 51 points) improved to 14-2-1 on the road this season – the second-most wins among all teams behind only Vegas (15-3-2).
* They have benefited as the visitor in 2022-23 in comparison to their 10-9-2 record at Prudential Center, which also features the club producing at a rate of 3.88 goals per game on the road versus a 3.00 mark at home. In fact, each of the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division have more victories away from their home rink (also CAR: 13 on road, 12 at home & NYR: 12 on road, 9 at home).
* Hischier, who also scored on his birthday in 2019, became the fourth player in Devils history to achieve the feat multiple times following Adam Henrique (1-0—1 on Feb. 6, 2017 & Feb. 6, 2016), Pavel Zacha (1-1—2 on April 6, 2021 & April 6, 2019) and Patrik Elias (1-0—1 on April 13, 2012 & April 13, 2008).
* Vitek Vanecek stopped 32 of 33 shots to improve to 14-5-2 through his first 25 appearances with New Jersey. Only two goaltenders in franchise history have recorded as many wins through their first 25 games with the club: Sean Burke (15-6-2) and Martin Brodeur (14-6-3).
ROOKIE ADDISON LIFTS WILD TO 10TH STRAIGHT HOME WIN VS. LIGHTNING
While Kirill Kaprizov (2-0—2) matched the longest home point streak in franchise history (10-15—25 in 14 GP since Nov. 13, 2022), rookie defenseman Calen Addison (1-2—3) factored on three of five Wild goals to propel Minnesota (22-13-2, 46 points) to their 10th consecutive win against the Lightning at Xcel Energy Center.
* Addison (2-16—18 in 36 GP), who ranks second in assists by rookies in 2022-23, potted his second career three-point game (also 0-3—3 on Oct. 17, 2022) and became the first rookie defenseman in Wild history with multiple such performances.
* Minnesota became the sixth team with an active home win streak of 10-plus regular-season games against a single opponent. The others: Philadelphia (17 GP vs. CHI), Pittsburgh (12 GP vs. CBJ & 10 GP vs. OTT), Washington (10 GP vs. WPG), Dallas (10 GP vs. DET) and NY Islanders (10 GP vs. BUF).
McTAVISH CLIMBS ROOKIE SCORING RACE IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Mason McTavish (1-1—2) factored on both Ducks goals to climb the NHL’s rookie scoring race and earn a spotlight in the latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates. McTavish upped his season totals to 7-15—22 (39 GP), matching Arizona’s Matias Maccelli (3-19—22 in 30 GP) for the second-most points among all rookies behind only Seattle’s Matty Beniers (12-25—27 in 36 GP).
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*Cam Talbot reveals new Deadpool goalie mask, Ryan Reynolds responds
* 2023 Winter Classic most-watched regular-season game of all-time on cable
OVECHKIN AND CO. TAKE TO ESPN WITH ANOTHER NHL-FIRST IN HIS SIGHTS
Alex Ovechkin (28-19—47 in 40 GP) has multiple goals in each of his past two games and guides the Capitals (21-13-6, 48 points) into Columbus to take on Johnny Gaudreau (10-27—37 in 36 GP) and the Blue Jackets (11-23-2, 24 points). Another two goals Thursday would make Ovechkin the first player in NHL history with three consecutive multi-goal games at age 37 or older.
* Ovechkin, who currently sits tied for third in the 2022-23 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race, is two shy of reaching No. 30 this season. While his streak of consecutive 30-goal campaigns came to an end in 2019-20, reaching the mark this year would move the Capitals captain into a tie with Mike Gartner (17x) for the most 30-goal seasons by any player in their career.
McDAVID, MARNER TAKE ANOTHER SHOT AT MILESTONE MOMENTS
Despite each finding the score sheet in their previous outing, Connor McDavid (272-498—770 in 526 GP) and Mitchell Marner (152-346—498 in 465 GP) look to reach the 500-assist milestone and 500-point milestone, respectively, when the Oilers and Maple Leafs take to the ice.
* McDavid (25 years, 356 days) can join elite company should he have a milestone night at Rogers Place. While only a select few have reached the mark in fewer than 600 career games, only three have done so at 25 or younger: Wayne Gretzky (22 years, 325 days w/ EDM), Mario Lemieux (25 years, 129 days w/ PIT) and Bobby Orr (25 years, 345 days w/ BOS)
* Marner can become the second Maple Leafs skater in as many games to reach the 500-point milestone after teammate Auston Matthews (278-223—501 in 445 GP) did so against the Blues on Jan. 3. The pair would become just second set of active teammates to each attain the mark prior to their 475th career outing; Sidney Crosby (369 GP) and Evgeni Malkin (413 GP) are the only duo to do so to date.
HURRINCANES LOOK TO CONTINUE HOME SUCCESS, BRIND’AMOUR EYES 200TH WIN
After having their franchise-record 17-game point and 11-game win streaks snapped Tuesday, the Hurricanes (25-7-6, 56 points) will put their eight-game home winning streak on the line when they welcome the Predators (16-14-6, 38 points) to PNC Arena.
* Head coach Rod Brind’Amour, who enters Thursday one win shy of 200 in his career, is no stranger to lengthy home streaks with the Hurricanes after skating for the club during their nine-game home win streak in 2005-06 (5-5—10 in 9 GP) and 12-game run in 2008-09 (5-6—11 in 12 GP). He can become the sixth individual in NHL history to participate in a nine-plus game home winning streak as a player and head coach with the same franchise. The others: Cooney Weiland (w/ BOS), Rick Dudley (w/ BUF), Keith Magnuson (w/ CHI), Toe Blake (w/ MTL) and Gerry Cheevers (w/ BOS).
