Facts and Figures: Ovechkin, Fleury, Thornton make history

Alex Ovechkin, Marc-Andre Fleury and Joe Thornton each climbed on all-time NHL lists Saturday.

Ovechkin scored his 256th regular-season power-play goal, passing Teemu Selanne for
third on the all-time list
, in the Washington Capitals' 6-4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. He trails only Dave Andreychuk, the all-time leader with 274, and runner-up Brett Hull (265). Ovechkin's power-play goals-per-game average (0.228) is the fourth-highest in NHL history among players who've played at least 100 games.

The goal was Ovechkin's 682nd, moving him within two of tying Selanne (684) for
11th place in NHL history
.
Fleury tied Curtis Joseph for sixth place on the all-time wins list (https://records.nhl.com/records/goaltender-records/wins/most-wins-career) by making 27 saves in the Golden Knights' 4-1 win against the Arizona Coyotes at T-Mobile Arena for his 454th NHL victory. Fleury and Joseph faced each other once, on Oct. 18, 2008, when the former played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and the latter was in his second stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Fleury made 26 saves
in a 4-1 win
.

Thornton had his 1,079th NHL assist, tying Adam Oates for seventh all-time (https://records.nhl.com/records/skater-records/assists/most-assists-career), in the San Jose Sharks' 6-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers at SAP Center. The 40-year-old is seven points away from becoming the 14th player in NHL history to have 1,500 points.

Panarin, Carlson join 50-point club

New York Rangers forward Artemi Panarin and Capitals defenseman John Carlson became the seventh and eighth players to reach the 50-point mark this season.
Panarin (51 points; 21 goals, 30 assists in 38 games), who was signed by New York on July 1, had three assists in the Rangers' 5-4 overtime win against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena. He's the fifth player in Rangers history to reach 50 regular-season points in his first 38 games or fewer with New York (NHL debut or otherwise), and the first since Marian Gaborik had 51 in 38 games in 2009-10.

Carlson (50 points; 13 goals, 37 assists in 40 games) set a Capitals record for fewest games to 50 points by a defenseman, eclipsing the previous mark of 43 set by Mike Green in 2008-09 (22 goals, 28 assists). Carlson is the first NHL defenseman to reach the 50-point mark in 40 games or fewer since Paul Coffey of the Detroit Red Wings did it in 1994-95 (50 points; 13 goals, 37 assists in 40 games).

Predators come up short in final game before Winter Classic

The Nashville Predators rallied from three goals down in the third period against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, but Bryan Rust had a goal and assist in the final 1:03 to give Pittsburgh a 6-4 win in Nashville's final game before facing the Dallas Stars in the 2020 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Cotton Bowl Stadium on Jan. 1.
Predators captain Roman Josi had three assists and will enter the 29th outdoor game in League history with an NHL career-high seven-game point streak (13 points; seven goals, six assists) -- the longest active run in the NHL. The only defensemen in Predators history with a point streak longer than seven games are Shea Weber from Dec. 31, 2010-Jan. 16, 2011 (nine games) and Ryan Suter from March 3-18, 2009 (eight games).
Josi leads the Predators with 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) and is second among NHL defenseman in scoring behind Carlson.