Around the League notebook for Monday, Dec. 29

MONDAY’S RESULTS

Home Team in Caps

BOSTON 5, Detroit 2

NEW JERSEY 3, Pittsburgh 1

NY ISLANDERS 4, Washington 3 (OT)

Montreal 3, CAROLINA 1

OTTAWA 5, Buffalo 2

TAMPA BAY 3, Toronto 2

ST. LOUIS 3, Colorado 0

Minnesota 3, WINNIPEG 2

CHICAGO 5, Nashville 4 (SO)

DALLAS 3, NY Rangers 2

CALGARY 2, Los Angeles 1

ARIZONA 4, Philadelphia 2

CLOSE GAMES, RALLIES HIGHLIGHT MONDAY’S ACTION

Of the 12 games contested Monday:

* Eight were tied or within one goal to start the third period (DET-BOS, PIT-NJD, BUF-OTT, TOR-TBL, MIN-WPG, NSH-CHI, NYR-DAL, LAK-CGY).

* Six teams overcame a deficit of any kind to win, including three clubs that rallied from multi-goal deficits to earn victories (Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1 deficit; Minnesota Wild, 2-0 deficit; Chicago Blackhawks, 3-0 deficit). In addition, the Washington Capitals erased a 3-0 third-period deficit before losing in overtime.

* 10 were won by the home team, with the Montreal Canadiens (at the Carolina Hurricanes) and the Minnesota Wild (at the Winnipeg Jets) the only road teams to post victories.

DID YOU KNOW?

There have been 50 games this season in which the winning team has erased a multigoal deficit. Overall, there have been 230 comeback wins through 541 games this season (42.5 percent).

Bryan Bickell

Left Wing - CHI

GOALS: 5 | ASST: 8 | PTS: 13
SOG: 51 | +/-: -2

In their final game before facing the Capitals in the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, Bryan Bickell (1-1—2) forced overtime with his goal at 18:47 of the third period and Jonathan Toews scored the only goal of the shootout to help Chicago win their season series against the Nashville Predators (CHI: 3-1-0; NSH: 1-1-2).

* The Blackhawks (25-10-2, 52 points) improved to 13-2-1 in their past 16 games dating to Nov. 26 and increased their lead atop the Central Division to three points on the Predators (23-9-3, 49 points).

* The Blackhawks scored three goals in a span of 7:10 in the second period to erase a 3-0 deficit. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Blackhawks overcame a three-goal deficit to win was Oct. 12, 2009 against the Calgary Flames when the Blackhawks rallied from a five-goal hole to win 6-5, capped by Brent Seabrook's winner 26 seconds into overtime.

* Toews scored his 12th career game-deciding goal and improved to 36-for-74 (48.6 percent) in career shootout attempts; he's two behind Zach Parise and Mikko Koivu for the all-time lead shootout goals lead.

* Corey Crawford turned aside a season-high 36 shots to improve to 14-6-2 in 22 games; he ranks fourth among all goaltenders in goals-against average (2.08) and ninth in save percentage (.921).

. . . CAPITALS DO THE SAME, BUT FALL IN OVERTIME

Johnny Boychuk

Defense - NYI

GOALS: 3 | ASST: 12 | PTS: 15
SOG: 67 | +/-: 6

* With the win, the Islanders (24-11-1, 49 points) moved into a tie with the Penguins (22-9-5, 49 points) -- in terms of points -- for top spot in the Metropolitan Division. Pittsburgh, however, has 20 regulation/overtime wins, two more than New York.

* The Islanders have won 11 of their past 13 games at Nassau Coliseum; they are 14-4-0 on home ice this season, surpassing their total home wins mark from 2013-14. The Islanders have earned points in 13 of their past 15 games against the Capitals dating to March 1, 2011 (7-2-6).

* Boychuk netted his first career overtime goal. He ranks second among Islanders defensemen with 3-12—15 in 26 games this season.

* Calvin de Haan scored his first shorthanded goal and second career game-winning goal. The last Islanders defenseman to score a shorthanded goal was Milan Jurcina on Oct. 16, 2010 against the Colorado Avalanche.

* John Tavares (3-2—5) and Kyle Okposo (1-4—5) each had an assist to extend their point streaks to four games.

LIGHTNING, CANADIENS CONTINUE ATLANTIC DIVISION BATTLE

The Lightning (23-11-4, 50 points) and Canadiens (23-11-2, 48 points) both earned victories to continue their battle atop the Atlantic Division standings:

* Steven Stamkos and Ryan Callahan each had a goal and an assist to help the Lightning erase a two-goal first-period deficit for their third straight victory. Tampa Bay remains in top spot in the Atlantic Division and leapfrogged Pittsburgh (22-9-5, 49 points) into first place in the Eastern Conference.

* Tampa Bay also posted its fourth straight win at Amalie Arena; they lead the League with 15 home wins and 31 home points this season.

* Stamkos netted his 20th goal of the season, which ranks fourth in the NHL behind Tyler Seguin (25 goals), Rick Nash (23) and Vladimir Tarasenko (22). Stamkos has scored at least 20 goals in each of his first seven NHL seasons. Per Elias, Stamkos joins Vincent Lecavalier (12 from 1999 to 2011) and Martin St. Louis (nine from 2002 to 2011) as the only Lightning players to record seven straight 20-goal seasons.

* The Lightning improved to 15-0-0 in games when Callahan scores a goal since acquiring him from the Rangers at the 2014 NHL Trade Deadline.

* Carey Price made 28 saves, including 12 in the final 20 minutes, to backstop the Canadiens to their sixth win in their past seven games dating to Dec. 9 (6-1-0). Montreal remains the only team in the NHL without a loss of any kind when scoring first this season (13-0-0).

* Price improved to 12-5-2 with a 2.20 goals-against average, .931 save percentage and two shutouts in 19 career games against Carolina.

* Lars Eller scored his career-high fifth game-winning goal of the season to move into a share of the League-lead with Chicago's Patrick Kane and the Arizona Coyotes' Oliver Ekman-Larsson.

Martin Brodeur

Goalie - STL

RECORD: 3-2-0
GAA: 2.63 | SVP: .904

Both Martin Brodeur and Jaromir Jagr extended their all-time NHL records for shutouts and game-winning goals, respectively, while guiding their teams to victory:

* Brodeur turned aside all 16 shots he faced to record his 125th career shutout (first since Dec. 14, 2013) and help the Blues snap a four-game skid (0-3-1). Per Elias, Brodeur (42 years, 237 days) is the oldest goalie to record a shutout since March 30, 2008 when the Detroit Red Wings' Dominik Hasek (43 years, 61 days) stopped all 22 shots he faced against Nashville. Brodeur improved to 3-2-0 in six games this season; he is 18-8-6 with a 2.17 goals-against average, .911 save percentage and five shutouts in 33 career games against the Avalanche. Tarasenko scored his 22nd goal of the season, which ranks third in the NHL.

* With the victory, the third-place Blues (22-11-3, 47 points) kept pace with the Blackhawks (25-10-2, 52 points) and Predators (23-9-3, 49 points) in the Central Division.

* Jagr scored his NHL-record 126th career game-winning goal to lead the Devils to their fifth straight home win against the Penguins. New Jersey has won 14 of 17 games against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Prudential Center since 2008-09. Jagr snapped a nine-game scoring drought with his 711th career goal to move within six goals of tying Phil Esposito (717) for fifth on the NHL all-time list. Making his League-leading 34th start of the season, Cory Schneider made 27 saves to earn his first career victory against the Penguins (1-4-0).

COYOTES EARN THIRD STRAIGHT WIN

The Coyotes opened a 3-0 lead, highlighted by multipoint games by Antoine Vermette (2-1—3) and Mikkel Boedker (0-2—2), en route to their third consecutive victory. Vermette had his second three-point game of the season (1-2—3 Nov. 2 at the Washington Capitals); he leads the Coyotes with 10 goals and 25 points in 36 games.

* Oliver Ekman-Larsson scored the game-winning goal with the man-advantage early in the third period. He shares the League-lead with five game-winning goals (tied with Patrick Kane and Lars Eller) and leads all defensemen with six power-play goals.

* Devan Dubnyk (30 saves) improved to 7-1-1 when facing at least 30 shots this season. He has won three straight games and is 9-3-2 this season; his .925 save percentage ranks eighth in the NHL.

RYAN'S HAT TRICK POWERS SENATORS

Bobby Ryan had his fourth career hat trick, including the tying and winning goals, as the Senators overcame a 2-1 deficit with four unanswered goals to register their first win since Dec. 19 (snapping an 0-2-1 skid).

* Ryan had his first hat trick since Jan. 12, 2011 (against the St. Louis Blues while with the Anaheim Ducks) and his first multigoal game since Nov. 27, 2013, when he scored two goals at Washington. He is 10-15—25 in 33 games and shares the Senators scoring lead with Erik Karlsson (7-18—25 in 36 games), who contributed two assists.

* Ryan is the first Senator to net a hat trick since Oct. 15, 2013 when Jason Spezza scored three goals in Arizona.

* Craig Anderson (19 saves) improved to 11-3-1 with a 2.26 goals-against average and .931 save percentage in 16 career games against the Buffalo Sabres.

MONDAY NIGHT HIGHLIGHTS

Other key moments from a 12-game night:

Kari Lehtonen

Goalie - DAL

RECORD: 15-8-5
GAA: 2.96 | SVP: .905

* Darcy Kuemper stopped 28 shots, including 21 over the final two periods, and the Wild climbed from a 2-0 hole with three unanswered goals to split a home-and-home set with the Winnipeg Jets. Marco Scandella scored his fourth game-winning goal of the season; he also scored the winning goal Oct. 28 at the Boston Bruins; Nov. 16 against Winnipeg; and Nov. 28 at Dallas. Prior to this season he had two game-winning goals in 165 career games. Scandella now is 3-2—5 on his four-game point streak.

* Curtis Glencross and Markus Granlund scored 62 seconds apart in the opening period and Jonas Hiller stopped 26 shots to guide the Calgary Flames to their third consecutive victory (3-0-1 in last four games). The Flames earned their first regulation home win against the Los Angeles Kings since Oct. 10, 2010. Hiller has won each of his past three games, posting a 1.64 goals-against average and .943 save percentage in that span. Jiri Hudler (0-6—6) had two assists and Johnny Gaudreau (6-1—7) had an assist to stretch their point streaks to four games.

* Carl Soderberg (1-2—3), Chris Kelly (1-1—2) and Loui Eriksson (0-2—2) each had multipoint games to power the Bruins to their third straight win at TD Garden. Boston improved to 6-1-0 in their past seven games with Detroit, including the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Soderberg ranks second on the Bruins with 7-19—26 in 37 games this season. Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots to win his third straight decision.

Chris Stewart

Right Wing - BUF

GOALS: 5 | ASST: 5 | PTS: 10
SOG: 71 | +/-: -14

Sabres forward Chris Stewart stretched his point streak to five games (2-3—5). … Hurricanes forward Eric Staal played in his 800th NHL game while his brother, Jordan, made his season debut; the duo connected for the Hurricanes' only goal. … The Oilers acquired forward Derek Roy from the Predators in exchange for Mark Arcobello. They also claimed forward Matt Fraser on waivers from the Bruins. … Wild forward Tyler Graovac and Coyotes forward Tyler Gaudet each made their NHL debuts. … Playing in his 700th NHL game, Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp recorded his 500th career point (239-261—500). … Kings defenseman Jeff Schultz skated in his 400th NHL game. … ICYMI: The NHL Ice Crew tested the ice and played a game of catch on the rink at Nationals Park. … Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau, Predators forward Colin Wilson and Coyotes forward Sam Gagner were named the NHL "Three Stars" for the week ending Dec. 28. … Predators forward Colin Wilson had two assists to stretch his point streak to four games (4-3—7). … Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm played in his 100th NHL game. … Capitals forward Nicklas Backstrom (1-1—2) had his 393rd career assist to surpass Mike Gartner for third place on the Capitals' all-time assists list. … Flyers forward Sean Couturier had two assists to eclipse 100 NHL points. … The Devils honored Scott Gomez after the forward played in his 1,000th NHL game on Saturday.