* Connor McDavid (1-4—5) celebrated the new year by recording five points to hit and surpass the 900-point milestone and move into third in League scoring this season.
* Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby each scored and climbed all-time NHL lists in their 67th meeting – the first contest in over 16 years that featured two players with 1,500 career points go head-to-head.
* Wednesday is set to feature two games nationally broadcast across North America, starting with the Devils visiting the Capitals on an NHL on TNT telecast before the Ducks welcome the Maple Leafs on Sportsnet, with both available on TVA Sports.
McDAVID HITS AND SURPASSES 900-POINT MILESTONE WITH FIVE-POINT NIGHT
Connor McDavid (1-4—5) factored on all five Edmonton goals for his 10th five-point game to help him hit and surpass 900 points in the ninth year of his career (317-586—903) – he became the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to reach the milestone.
* McDavid hit the 900-point milestone with his second point of the night before adding three more to finish with five. He became the seventh player in NHL history to record at least five points in the same game as his 900th point and the first since Joe Sakic (5 on Nov. 13, 1998).
* McDavid (26 years, 354 days) is also one of only five players in NHL history to register 900 career points at age 26 or younger. The others are Wayne Gretzky (23 years, 47 days), Mario Lemieux (26 years, 28 days), Dale Hawerchuk (26 years, 302 days) and Steve Yzerman (26 years, 341 days).
* The Oilers captain boosted his 2023-24 totals to 14-39—53 through 33 contests – climbing to third in League scoring – and is currently on pace to finish the season with 128 points, which would see the five-time Art Ross Trophy winner conclude the campaign with 978 in his career. An uptick in offensive production the rest of the way would present McDavid with the opportunity to join Lemieux (1991-92) and Phil Esposito (1973-74) as just the third player in NHL history to reach the 900- and 1,000-point milestones in the same season.
OVECHKIN, CROSBY CLIMB ALL-TIME LISTS IN HEAD-TO-HEAD
Alex Ovechkin (1-0—1) and Sidney Crosby (1-1—2) each scored in their 67th head-to-head and climbed various all-time NHL lists in a game that featured Ovechkin’s Capitals take a 4-0 lead, before Crosby and the Penguins came within one of erasing a four-goal deficit. The contest was the first since Dec. 21, 2007 to feature two players with 1,500-plus NHL points face off, when Jaromir Jagr (NYR) and Joe Sakic (COL) clashed with 1,553 and 1,611 points respectively.
* Ovechkin (830-677—1,507 in 1,382 GP) scored his 56th game-winning goal on the road and recorded his 1,507th career point to surpass Ray Bourque for the seventh most with a single franchise in NHL history, behind Gordie Howe (1,809 w/ DET), Steve Yzerman (1,755 w/ DET), Mario Lemieux (1,723 w/ PIT), Wayne Gretzky (1,669 w/ EDM), Joe Sakic (1,641 w/ COL/QUE) and Crosby (1,540 w/ PIT).
* Crosby (571-969—1540 in 1226 GP) moved ahead of Joe Thornton (430-1,109—1,539 in 1,714 GP) for sole possession of 12th place on the NHL’s all-time points list. The Penguins captain started the 2023-24 campaign ranked 15th on the list and had already passed Hall of Famers Paul Coffey and Mark Recchi before overtaking Thornton on Tuesday.
TOP TEAMS IN THE WEST EARN WINS
The top three teams in the Western Conference – the Canucks (24-10-3, 51 points), Avalanche (24-11-3, 51 points) and Jets (23-9-4, 50 points) – all collected wins Tuesday.
* J.T. Miller tallied 1-1—2 through the first to help the Canucks score five goals in the opening period for the fourth time since the turn of the millennia. Miller improved his team-leading totals to 16-34—50 in 37 GP) and joined Pavel Bure (35 GP in 1992-93), Daniel Sedin (36 GP in 2009-10) and Alexander Mogilny (36 GP in 1995-96) as the fourth player in Canucks history to record 50 points in 37 games or fewer.
* Nathan MacKinnon (1-2—3) and Cale Makar (0-3—3) each tallied three points to rally the Avalanche to their fourth multi-goal comeback win of the season (second in the NHL behind the Stars with 6), helping the club maintain first place in the Central Division. MacKinnon became the fifth different player in NHL history – and first since Wayne Gretzky 35 years ago – to record a home point streak of 20 or more games from the start of a season. His home point streak – next on the line Saturday when the Avalanche host the Panthers (4 p.m. ET on Sportsnet) – stands as a new career high (previously 19 GP in 2022-23) and the second longest in franchise history behind Joe Sakic (23 GP in 2000-01).
* For the 26th straight game, the Jets yielded three goals or fewer – despite a 1-1—2 effort by NHL scoring leader Nikita Kucherov – en route to matching a franchise record for longest point streak (7-0-2). Connor Hellebuyck made 32 saves in the contest to extend his personal point streak to 10 games dating to Dec. 2 (8-0-2), matching the Jets/Thrashers benchmark for a goaltender.
THREE OF THE TOP FOUR TEAMS IN EASTERN CONFERENCE PICK UP WINS
The Eastern Conference playoff race continued to heat up Tuesday, with three of the top four teams securing wins on the road:
* James van Riemsdyk (1-2—3) recorded his first three-point outing in a Boston uniform to help the Bruins (23-7-6, 52 points) overtake the Rangers (25-10-1, 51 points) for top spot in the NHL standings. Van Riemsdyk (7-18—25 in 34 GP) also became the fastest player to record their first 25 points with the Bruins since Marc Savard in 2006-07 (19 GP).
* Aleksander Barkov (0-1—1) factored on the game-winning goal and collected his 416th career assist, establishing a Panthers record as Florida (23-12-2, 48 points) maintained its position in the Atlantic Division standings. Barkov (254-416—670 in 698 GP) became just the second active player to lead his franchise in goals, assists, points and games played (tied or outright), joining Vegas’ Jonathan Marchessault.
* Andrei Svechnikov scored two of his team’s six goals to extend his multi-point streak to five games – the longest such run by a Carolina player since his own stretch of five contests in 2021-22 – as the Hurricanes (21-13-4, 46 points) defeated the Rangers to inch closer to the club in the Metropolitan Division standings. Svechnikov became the fourth player in franchise history to record multiple five-game multi-point streaks, joining Kevin Dineen (6 GP in 1988-89 & 5 GP in 1984-85), Ron Francis (5 GP in 1987-88 & 5 GP in 1986-87) and Mike Rogers (6 GP in 1979-80 & 5 GP in 1980-81).
NYLANDER HITS 50 POINTS ON #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Over 80 notes across 13 games in Tuesday’s #NHLStats: Live Updates included William Nylander, who is on pace for 117 points, become the first Maple Leafs player this season to reach the 50-point mark.
QUICK CLICKS
* Nathan MacKinnon, Auston Matthews, Connor Hellebuyck are NHL ‘Three Stars’ for December
* Blackhawks’ Connor Bedard named NHL ‘Rookie of the Month’ for December
* Wild’s Ryan Hartman fined for high-sticking
* Patrice Bergeron welcomes Hilary Knight as inaugural team captain for PWHL Boston
* NHL Now: Ella Shelton interview
* Women in Hockey: Annelle Carson
WEDNESDAY FEATURES NATIONAL TELECASTS ON TNT, SPORTSNET AND TVA SPORTS
Key points in the Eastern Conference playoff race will be at stake during an NHL on TNT telecast from Washington, followed by the first meeting of the season between the Maple Leafs and Ducks on Sportsnet – both part of a TVA Sports doubleheader.
* The Devils-Capitals game involves one club that played in the last NHL Stadium Series game (WSH: 4-1 L at CAR), and one that will participate in the next such event. This is one of four more divisional games New Jersey will play before facing the Metropolitan Division rival Flyers outdoors at MetLife Stadium on Saturday, Feb. 17 – a contest that will be preceded by a **Jonas Brothers** concert and opens a back-to-back set for the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series (also NYR vs. NYI on Feb. 18).
