Facts and Figures: McDavid hits another milestone

Connor McDavid had three assists in the Edmonton Oilers'
6-3 loss
to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Rogers Place on Saturday to become the sixth player in NHL history to reach 200 career assists before his 22nd birthday.

At 21 years, 343 days, the Oilers center became the fifth-youngest player to do so. Wayne Gretzky (20 years, 265 days), Sidney Crosby (21 years, 72 days), Mario Lemieux (21 years, 177 days), and Dale Hawerchuk (21 years, 251 days) are ahead of McDavid, while Ron Francis (21 years, 346 days) is slightly behind.
It is the third milestone achieved by the Oilers captain this season. He scored his 100th goal Nov. 20 at the San Jose Sharks and scored his 300th point Dec. 13 at the Winnipeg Jets.
McDavid, who won the Art Ross Trophy as the League's leading scorer the past two seasons, is fourth in the NHL with 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists) in 35 games (Mikko Rantanen of the Colorado Avalanche is first with 59 points). McDavid has posted multiple points in 14 of his 35 games this season.

Kucherov records career-high five points in Lightning win

Nikita Kucherov had a career-high five points in Tampa Bay's win, the 12th time in history a Lightning player has registered at least five points in a single game.
The 25-year-old forward scored his 16th goal of the season at 13:00 of the second period to give the Lightning a 2-1 lead. He also had four assists, including two on goals by center Steven Stamkos, who reached the 20-goal mark for the tenth time in his NHL career.
Kucherov, who is second in the League with 57 points (16 goals, 41 assists), extended his point streak to eight games (four goals, 11 assists). He is the fourth Lightning player to register at least four points in a game this calendar year, joining teammates Alex Killorn (two goals, three assists on Feb. 1 at the Calgary Flames), Stamkos (two goals, three assists on March 3 against the Philadelphia Flyers) and Brayden Point (one goal, four assists on Oct. 30 against the New Jersey Devils).
The Lightning (28-7-2) are in first place in the NHL and are 10-0-1 in December. It is the second time in Lightning history, and second in as many seasons, they enter the Christmas break atop the NHL standings.

Bergeron back with a bang

Patrice Bergeron, who missed 16 games with a rib/collarbone injury, returned to the Boston Bruins lineup and had four points (two goals, two assists), including his 300th NHL goal, in
a 5-2 win
against the Nashville Predators at TD Garden.
The 33-year-old forward scored the game's first goal at 15:10 of the first period and then gave Boston a 2-1 lead with his milestone goal at 1:44 of the third period. He assisted on Brad Marchand's power-play goal at 11:23 of the third which gave the Bruins a 3-2 lead and on David Pastrnak's 23rd goal at 14:09 of the third period which gave Boston a 4-2 lead.
Bergeron, who has 30 points (11 goals, 19 assists) in 20 games, became the sixth player in Bruins history to score 300 goals, joining Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459), Rick Middleton (402), Ray Bourque (395) and Cam Neely (344).

Copley records first NHL shutout

Pheonix Copley made 35 saves in the Washington Capitals'
4-0 win
against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre for the first NHL shutout.
The 26-year-old rookie goalie was born in North Pole, Alaska, a town that celebrates Christmas year-round and has street names such as Santa Claus Lane and Saint Nicholas Drive.
Copley is 8-2-1 with a 2.67 goals-against average, .912 save percentage and one shutout in 12 games this season. He has won his last five decisions.
The Capitals (22-10-3) are in first place in the Metropolitan Division and have won seven of their last eight games.