* Alex Ovechkin scored career goal No. 875 to move within 20 of completing The Gr8 Chase and breaking Wayne Gretzky’s all-time record as the League-leading Capitals extended their win streak to six and their point streak to 12.
* Frederik Andersen became the second-fastest goaltender in NHL history to 300 wins in a contest that featured the Hurricanes and Blue Jackets combine for a seven-goal second period.
* The Bruins jumped four spots and into third place in the Atlantic Division while the Rangers and Red Wings improved their positioning in an Eastern Conference Wild Card race that features seven clubs separated by just four points.
* A four-game Friday will include a national broadcast in both the U.S. and Canada as the Stars take on the Golden Knights on ESPN and Sportsnet 360.
OVECHKIN MOVES WITHIN 20 GOALS OF PASSING GRETZKY’S ALL-TIME RECORD
Alex Ovechkin capped a 3-0 Capitals win with career goal No. 875 to move within 20 goals of passing Wayne Gretzky (894) for the NHL’s all-time record. Ovechkin (22-12—34 in 32 GP) is scoring 0.69 goals per game this season, which puts him on pace to net No. 895 on April 10 versus Carolina.
* The League-leading Capitals (33-10-5, 71 points) extended their winning streak to six, their longest run since a seven-game stretch from March 7-19, 2021. Washington also extended the NHL’s longest point streak this season to 12 (9-0-3) – the club has posted only two longer runs in the past decade (14 GP in 2016-17 & 13 GP in 2019-20).
HURRICANES NET FIVE STRAIGHT GOALS EN ROUTE TO COMEBACK WIN
After the Blue Jackets jumped out to a 2-0 lead, the Hurricanes scored seven times – including five straight in the second period – to rally to victory with the help of Sebastian Aho (1-2—3), Seth Jarvis (2-2—4) and Frederik Andersen (18 saves), who earned his 300th career win. It marked Carolina’s sixth multi-goal comeback win of 2024-25, which is tied with Edmonton and Seattle for the most among all teams.
* The Hurricanes and Blue Jackets combined for seven goals in the second period, marking the sixth game this season to feature as many in a single frame. Five of the seven goals were scored by Carolina alone, marking the second time the club has netted as many in a period in 2024-25 (also 5 in P3 on Nov. 25) – tied with Washington for the second-most instances among all teams behind Tampa Bay (3x).
* Aho recorded the 47th three-point game of his career and surpassed Esa Tikkanen (46) for the sixth most by a Finnish player behind Jari Kurri (164), Teemu Selanne (126), Mikko Rantanen (68), Aleksander Barkov (55) and Saku Koivu (48). He and Jarvis (CAN) are two of three Hurricanes players set to the skate in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February (also Jaccob Slavin w/ USA).
RANGERS, BRUINS, RED WINGS EARN CRUCIAL WINS IN EAST WILD CARD RACE
The Bruins (24-20-6, 54 points), Rangers (24-20-4, 52 points) and Red Wings (22-21-5, 49 points) all earned pivotal wins as they continued their playoff push. The tight Eastern Conference Wild Card race features seven teams within four points of a playoff spot, including Boston which entered Thursday two spots outside the Wild Card seeds and jumped four clubs to end the night in third place in the Atlantic Division.
* David Pastrnak (1-1—2) factored on the opening goal and later scored an empty netter while Joonas Korpisalo stopped all 29 shots he faced against his former team to help Boston earn a key victory over Ottawa. Korpisalo (15 GS) required the fifth-fewest starts in Bruins history to record three shutouts with the club, behind Frank Brimsek (6 GS), Tiny Thompson (7 GS), Terry Sawchuk (9 GS) and Hal Winkler (10 GS).
* Adam Fox (1-1—2) and K'Andre Miller (1-1—2) were two of six Rangers defensemen who found the score sheet to help New York earn a point in its 10th straight contest – the NHL’s second-longest run this season behind Washington (12 GP). Fox, who is set to play for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off, tallied his sixth consecutive 40-point season and became the third Rangers blueliner to do so, joining James Patrick (7 from 1985-86 – 1991-92) and Brian Leetch (6 from 1993-94 – 1998-99).
* Dylan Larkin tallied 1-1—2 while skating in his 700th career game and Alex DeBrincat (1-0—1) hit the 20-goal mark to help the Red Wings earn a crucial win against the Canadiens and move four points back of the Blue Jackets for the second Wild Card spot. DeBrincat became the fourth U.S.-born player with an active run of at least five straight 20-goal seasons, joining Auston Matthews (9 from 2016-17 – 2024-25), Jake Guentzel (8 from 2017-18 – 2024-25) and Kyle Connor (8 from 2017-18 – 2024-25).
FORSBERG, DRAISAITL CONTINUE STREAKS
Filip Forsberg (2-0—2) and Leon Draisaitl (1-2—3) both extended streaks Thursday to help their clubs skate to victory:
* Forsberg extended his goal streak to seven games to match the franchise record he set last season and helped the Predators earn their 12th straight win against the Sharks. Forsberg became the third active player with multiple seven-game goal streaks, joining Auston Matthews (3x) and Nikita Kucherov (2x). The Predators forward, who will represent Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, also recorded his 46th career multi-goal game and surpassed Henrik Zetterberg (45) for the sixth most among Swedish players.
* Draisaitl scored his League-leading 35th goal of the season, extended his point streak to eight games and his home point streak to 17 contests – one of five players in Oilers history to achieve a run of that length. Draisaitl has found the score sheet in all but one game since Dec. 5 with his current eight-game point streak starting a contest after a 14-game run – his point total over that span (18-24—42 in 23 GP) is the highest among all players. The Oilers forward now holds a seven-goal edge over Sam Reinhart and William Nylander (both w/ 28) in the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy race and can become just the second player in Oilers history to win the award.
DOROFEYEV ADDS TO GOAL TOTAL IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Thursday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured Pavel Dorofeyev score his team-leading 21st tally to help the Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights (30-14-4, 64 points) extend their point streak against the Blues to eight contests and require the third-fewest games in franchise history to 30 wins in a season.
QUICK CLICKS
* Mexican-American coach Marco Treviño educating hockey prospects
* Unmasked: Goalies trying to cope with extended screen time
* 2025 NHL Draft Diary: Porter Martone
* Detroit Red Wings Quarter-Century Teams unveiled
STARS AND GOLDEN KNIGHTS TO MEET TWICE IN FIVE DAYS, STARTING TONIGHT ON ESPN
The Stars (29-17-1, 59 points) and Golden Knights (29-14-4, 62 points) highlight a four-game Friday as the two teams are set to go head-to-head for the second time this season, with this showdown slated for primetime on ESPN in the U.S. and Sportsnet 360 in Canada. Their lone contest at American Airlines Center is also their first of two meetings in five days, as they clash in their season-series finale Jan. 28 in Las Vegas.
* Friday’s contest between two of the top five teams in the Western Conference standings will serve as the latest installment of tightly contested games between the teams. Including their seven-game series in the First Round of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, each of the last eight contests between Dallas and Vegas have been decided by one goal or multiple tallies following an empty netter.
* Stars forward Wyatt Johnston (1-6—7 in 5 GP) enters Friday’s contest looking to extend his point streak to six games, which would tie his career high (6 GP in 2024-25; 2x). Golden Knights forward Victor Olofsson has a point in all 11 road games in which he has played this season, including an official road point streak of 10 games dating to Dec. 4 following his return from injury (7-7—14 in 10 GP) – the longest such run in franchise history and the fifth double-digit run of that nature in the NHL this season.
