* Connor Hellebuyck established a franchise record for longest shutout sequence as the Jets became the first team in NHL history with 14 wins through 15 games in a season.
* Alex Ovechkin scored his 10th goal of 2024-25, reaching double digits at this stage of a season for the ninth time in his career – in each of those campaigns he went on to score at least 42 goals, the total he would need to surpass Wayne Gretzky for the most in NHL history.
* Kirill Kaprizov will look to extend his road multi-point streak to nine games when the Wild visit the Blackhawks at 7 p.m. ET on Sportsnet 360 and TVA Sports.
HELLEBUYCK, LEAGUE-LEADING JETS STYMIE STARS TO ACHIEVE NHL FIRST
Connor Hellebuyck (32 saves) nearly secured a third straight shutout while Alex Iafallo (1-1—2) and Nikolaj Ehlers had power-play goals as the League-leading Jets (14-1-0, 28 points) extended their winning streak to six games and became the first team in NHL history with 14 victories through 15 contests.
* Hellebuyck went 191:47 without allowing a goal dating to the third period on Nov. 3, while Winnipeg scored 11 consecutive times before the streak was halted by Roope Hintz.Hellebuyck established a franchise record for longest shutout sequence, eclipsing the previous mark set by Ondrej Pavelec (187:05 from April 4-9, 2015).
OVECHKIN HITS DOUBLE DIGITS AS CAPITALS ERUPT FOR EIGHT
Alex Ovechkin accounted for two of the Capitals’ eight goals Saturday to reach double digits on the season and help Washington improve to 10-4-0 (20 points), which maintained its positioning for third in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals scored five goals in the third period for the third time in the past 25 years (also 5 on Jan. 18, 2020 & 5 on Nov. 7, 2009).
* Ovechkin scored his 10th goal of the season, marking the ninth time in his career that he reached double digits within his first 14 games. In each of those campaigns, he finished with at least 42 goals – the number he needs to surpass Wayne Gretzky on the all-time goals list – and scored 50 five times (2005-06, 2009-10, 2013-14, 2018-19 & 2021-22). His pace to start 2024-25 is over three times faster than last season when it took him 45 contests to hit double digits, reaching the mark on Feb. 6.
* Logan Thompson improved to 7-0-0 since joining the Capitals and passed Tomas Vokoun (6-0-0 in 2011-12) for the longest winning streak by a goaltender from the start of their tenure with the franchise.
MacKINNON, HUGHES HELP AVALANCHE, DEVILS EARN MULTI-GOAL COMEBACK WINS
Both the Avalanche (7-8-0, 14 points) and Devils (10-5-2, 22 points) rallied to multi-goal comeback wins Saturday as Nathan MacKinnon (1-3—4) factored on three of five second-period goals to help Colorado snap Carolina’s eight-game winning streak, while Jack Hughes (2-1—3) had a hand in both the game-tying tally and overtime winner for New Jersey.
* MacKinnon (7-22—29 in 15 GP) recorded his 26th career four-point game to pass Peter Forsberg and Michel Goulet for sole possession of third most in Avalanche/Nordiques history while also leapfrogging Kirill Kaprizov (9-18—27 in 14 GP) for the NHL scoring lead.
* MacKinnon’s 29 points mark the highest total through the first 15 games of a season by an Avalanche skater, while only three Nordiques players have equaled that amount: Peter Stastny (15-18—33 in 1987-88), Michel Goulet (12-20—32 in 1987-88) and Joe Sakic (14-15—29 in 1992-93).
* Hughes notched the primary assist on Stefan Noesen’s game-tying goal with 50 seconds remaining in regulation before scoring the overtime winner to help the Devils claim their first multi-goal, third-period comeback win since Nov. 28, 2023 – coincidentally also against the Islanders.
* Hughes’ 29th career three-point game tied Aaron Broten for fifth place in franchise history, while his seventh career overtime goal matched Zach Parise for third most.
AROUND THE RINKS ON A 12-GAME SATURDAY
More #NHLStats from Saturday can be found in #NHLStats: Live Updates, with highlights that include:
* Evan Rodrigues collected two assists and scored the shootout-deciding goal to help the Panthers (11-3-1, 23 points) earn their seventh straight win – the longest active run in the NHL. It marked the second straight season that the reigning Stanley Cup champions had a streak of that length (also 7-0-0 for VGK in 2023-24) and the fifth time in the past decade – the others were the Blackhawks in 2015-16 (12-0-0), Blues in 2019-20 (2x; 8-0-0) and Kings in 2014-15 (8-0-0).
* Tage Thompson (1-0—1) and Rasmus Dahlin (0-1—1) helped Buffalo build a two-goal lead through 20 minutes before Calgary rallied to force overtime, but JJ Peterka scored the only marker in the shootout to lift the Sabres (7-7-1, 15 points) to their third straight win. Dahlin (68-235—303 in 451 GP) collected his 235th career assist and passed Alexei Zhitnik (234 in 712 GP) for the third most by a defenseman in franchise history.
* Connor McDavid (1-2—3) recorded his 465th road point and surpassed Jari Kurri (464) for the third most in franchise history behind Wayne Gretzky (767) and Mark Messier (474) while Leon Draisaitl (1-1—2) climbed a list among active players with his 244th career multi-point outing. The Oilers captain increased his career totals to 339-656—995 (657 GP) and is on pace to become the fourth-fastest player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-point milestone.
* Artemi Panarin (10-11—21 in 13 GP) became the fastest Rangers player to reach the 10-goal mark in a season since Rick Nash (12 GP in 2014-15) and Chris Kreider scored his 47th career game winner as New York blanked Detroit. Kreider surpassed Jean Ratelle (46) for the second-most game-winning goals in franchise history, while Panarin picked up his eighth and ninth point against the Red Wings this season – the most by a Rangers player in 44 years (Anders Hedberg: 10 in 1980-81).
* Morgan Rielly joined Borje Salming and Tomas Kaberle as the third defenseman in Maple Leafs history to record 400 assists with the franchise as Toronto skated to its ninth straight regular-season home win versus Montreal dating to April 7, 2021. The Maple Leafs matched the longest home win streak between the two clubs during their 107-year rivalry (also TOR w/ 9-0-0 from Nov. 1, 1950 to Nov. 24, 1951).
* Brady Tkachuk (1-1—2) helped lift the Senators to a win with his eighth career overtime goalin Linus Ullmark’s return to TD Garden, an event that saw the goaltender reunite with former teammate and good friend Jeremy Swayman – the two shared a special moment during warmups before Ullmark was met with cheers during Boston’s tribute to him. Tkachuk set a new franchise record for overtime goals, as he surpassed Mike Fisher (7).
QUICK CLICKS
* Jeremy Roenick creates ‘special day’ for loyal fan during Hall of Fame weekend
* Hockey Hall of Fame Q&A session huge hit with honored members, fans
* CHL notebook: Kings prospect Liam Greentree among top scorers
*Tage Thompson gifts puck to young fan with same name
* Jordan Binnington makes diving stick save on Taylor Raddysh at Enterprise Center
KAPRIZOV EYES ELITE COMPANY ON THREE-GAME SUNDAY
Kirill Kaprizov (9-18—27 in 14 GP) and the Wild (10-2-2, 22 points) are one of six teams in action Sunday and will go head-to-head with Connor Bedard (3-10—13 in 15 GP) and the Blackhawks (5-9-1, 11 points) on Sportsnet 360 and TVA Sports. Kaprizov (6-14—20 in 8 GP) can join Wayne Gretzky (4x; most: 12 GP in 1986-87) as the second player in NHL history to register multiple points in nine or more consecutive road games.
