Scott Laughton, one of three players with a hat trick Thursday, became the first Flyers skater to net four goals in a game in more than two decades.

* The Lightning and Penguins were two of three road teams to score seven or more goals. The only day in NHL history to feature more teams doing so was March 18, 1989 (4).

* Nikita Kucherov recorded six points in a game for the second time in his career and passed a former teammate to move up the franchise’s all-time assist list.

* Drake Batherson and the Senators (13-13-2, 28 points) clash with Seth Jarvis and the Hurricanes (18-9-1, 37 points) during Friday’s lone contest on NHL Network.

LAUGHTON LIGHTS THE LAMP FOUR TIMES, MATCHES FLYERS RECORD

Scott Laughton (4-0—4) scored at even strength, on the penalty kill and twice into an empty net to lift the Flyers (14-12-4, 32 points) to victory and become the NHL’s first player to put up a four-goal performance this season. Laughton scored one of three hat tricks Thursday night (also Bryan Rust & Jake Guentzel) to bump up AstraZeneca’s donation to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation by $9,000.

* Laughton matched the franchise record for goals in a game and became the first Flyers player to record a four-goal performance since John LeClair (4-0—4 on Oct. 15, 2002).

* Laughton notched his second career hat trick (also 3-0—3 on Feb. 7, 2021) and became the fifth active player with multiple for Philadelphia. The others: James van Riemsdyk (3), Sean Couturier (2), Travis Konecny (2) and Brayden Schenn (2).

TWO HIGHEST-SCORING TEAMS FROM THURSDAY? LIGHTNING AND PENGUINS

The Lightning and Penguins scored eight and nine goals, respectively, to mark the two highest-scoring teams of Thursday night.

* Nikita Kucherov (1-5—6) registered his second career six-point performance, Jake Guentzel scored his sixth career hat trick and Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded his 306th victory in his 500th game – already the most wins among all goaltenders through as many contests – as Tampa Bay posted its League-leading fourth eight-goal outing of the season. Guentzel, who is set to skate for the United States for the first time in February at the 4 Nations Face-Off, trails only Auston Matthews (13), Patrick Kane (9), Max Pacioretty (7) and Cam Atkinson (7) for the most hat tricks among active American players.

* Kucherov matched the franchise record for the most points and assists in a game while also becoming the only player in Lightning history with multiple six-point contests. Kucherov recorded his 583rd career assist and surpassed Steven Stamkos for the third most in franchise history.

* Bryan Rust (3-1—4) scored his sixth career hat trick – the most by a Penguins player since his debut in 2014-15 – and Sidney Crosby (0-3—3) climbed three all-time lists as Pittsburgh became the first team this season to pot nine goals in a game. The Penguins scored six goals in the third period for the sixth time in franchise history (also 7 on Nov. 22, 1972, 6 on Nov. 27, 2019, Dec. 26, 1991, Jan. 28, 1989 & April 5, 1978) and also became the first team to do so this season.

* Crosby recorded his 1,024th, 1,025th and 1,026th career assists and moved past Gordie Howe (1,023) for sole possession of the fifth most with a single franchise in NHL history. Crosby also secured his 477th multi-point outing and tied Steve Yzerman for seventh on the all-time list.

CELEBRINI COLLECTS THREE POINTS IN 20TH CAREER GAME

Macklin Celebrini scored twice and collected an assist to boost his career totals to 10-9—19 (20 GP) and move into second place in the rookie goals and race as the Sharks (11-16-5, 27 points) defeated the Blues Thursday.

* Celebrini became the seventh 18-year-old in NHL history to record 10 goals through their first 20 career games, following Steve Yzerman (13 in 1983-84), Patrik Laine (12 in 2016-17), Dale Hawerchuk (12 in 1981-82), Ted Kennedy (11 from 1942-43 – 1943-44), Connor Bedard (10 in 2023-24) and Paul Gagne (10 in 1980-81). He also became the third-fastest player in Sharks history to score 10 NHL goals behind only Rob Gaudreau (10 GP) and Tomas Hertl (17 GP).

AMERICAN PLAYERS FIND THE SCORE SHEET THURSDAY

Several American players found the back of the net Thursday, including Max Pacioretty, Jack Hughes and Zach Werenski – the latter two will represent their country in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February:

* Pacioretty (2-1—3) recorded his 61st career multi-goal game in the Maple Leafs’ (18-9-2, 38 points) victory over the Ducks and surpassed Patrick Kane for the 10th most in NHL history among U.S.-born players – he also moved within three of Bill Guerin (64 GP) for ninth. Pat LaFontaine tops the list with 96.

* Hughes (1-2—3) had a hand in all three of New Jersey’s goals to help the Devils (19-10-3, 41 points) snap the Kings’ winning streak. Hughes had his 34th career three-point game and passed LaFontaine (33) for the fourth most in NHL history among American players age 23 or younger, trailing Jeremy Roenick (49), Jimmy Carson (43) and Mike Modano (41).

* Werenski scored his 10th goal of the season – the most among all blueliners – and the 100th of his career to become the first defenseman and eighth skater to reach the milestone with the Blue Jackets. In doing so, Werenski (29 GP) set a new benchmark for fastest Blue Jackets blueliner to 30 points in a season, a distinction he already held (40 GP in 2023-24).

AROUND THE RINKS FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured a number of noteworthy performances from around the rinks during Thursday’s 14-game slate:

* Aliaksei Protas scored both the tying goal and overtime winner to help Washington (20-6-2, 42 points) earn its 20th win of the season, matching its fewest games in franchise history to reach the mark (also 28 GP in 2015-16 & 1991-92). The Capitals extended their road winning streak to 10 games, tied for the seventh longest in NHL history behind the 2005-06 Red Wings (12 GP), 2014-15 Wild (12 GP), 2022-23 Devils (11 GP), 2022-23 Avalanche (11 GP), 2023-24 Kings (11 GP) and 2023-24 Panthers (11 GP).

* Victor Olofsson scored to tie the game at 2-2 with 1:49 remaining and Ivan Barbashev scored in the extra frame to help the Golden Knights (19-7-3, 41 points) boost their lead for top spot in the Pacific Division. Vegas earned its 49th overtime win since joining the League in 2017-18, which passed Tampa Bay and Columbus for the fourth most among all teams over that span. The only teams with more are Boston (53), Pittsburgh (51) and St. Louis (50).

* Connor Bedard (1-2—3) tallied his third three-point game of the season and the seventh of his career – only five active players recorded more as a teenager: Sidney Crosby (26), Connor McDavid (10), Patrick Kane (10), Patrik Laine (9) and Jeff Skinner (8).

* Leon Draisaitl (1-3—4) factored on four of the Oilers’ season-high (tied) seven goals to record his 27th career four-point game and tie Mark Messier for fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list. Draisaitl and Connor McDavid both factored on the same goal for the 458th time, passing Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle (457x) for the seventh-highest total by a pair of teammates in NHL history.

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* NHL in ASL returns for season two and begins with the Discover NHL Winter Classic

* Lightning reunite with young fan battling brain cancer in Calgary

* Trevor Zegras out 6 weeks for Ducks after knee surgery

* Unsuspecting mom of Canucks forward wins massive 50/50 prize

* NHL Cultural Celebrations/Community Theme Nights blog

SENATORS AND HURRICANES TAKE OVER FRIDAY SPOTLIGHT

All eyes will be on an NHL Network broadcast featuring Drake Batherson and the Senators (13-13-2, 28 points) facing off against Seth Jarvis and the Hurricanes (18-9-1, 37 points). Batherson, who recorded a hat trick in his last contest Wednesday, can become the third Senators player in five seasons to post back-to-back multi-goal games (Brady Tkachuk in 2023-24 & Anthony Duclair in 2019-20) – no Ottawa skater has ever scored hat tricks in consecutive contests. Jarvis, meanwhile, was the youngest player named to Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster and will be representing his country in a major international tournament for the first time – he has not played at the Under-18 World Championship, World Junior Championship, World Championship or Olympics.

Mikko Rantanen scored a hat trick and Nathan MacKinnon reached the 600-assist milestone as the pair potted five points apiece in an Avalanche victory.

* Leon Draisaitl became the first 20-goal scorer this season, joined three other Oilers players with nine consecutive 20-goal campaigns and did so with his NHL-leading sixth game-winning tally of 2024-25.

* A two-game Wednesday will feature the Rangers visiting the Sabres on TNT and Max, as well as the Senators hosting the Ducks on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.

MacKINNON, RANTANEN POT FIVE POINTS APIECE IN MILESTONE NIGHTS
In a contest that began with Mikko Rantanen (3-2—5) celebrating his 600th career game and ended with Nathan MacKinnon (1-4—5) reaching the 600-assist milestone, the Avalanche duo recorded five points in the same game for the second time (also Jan. 24, 2024) and became the third set of teammates to do so multiple times with the franchise, following Peter Stastny and Marian Stastny (3x) as well as Anton Stastny and Peter Stastny (2x).

* Rantanen became the fourth Avalanche/Nordiques player with 10 career hat tricks and the fourth Finnish-born player in NHL history to reach a double-digit total following Jari Kurri (23), Teemu Selanne (22) and Patrik Laine (10). With every hat trick this season, AstraZeneca will donate $3,000 to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation up to $300,000.

* MacKinnon became the third player in franchise history to reach 600 career assists, following Joe Sakic (1,016) and Peter Stastny (668), and moved back into top spot of the League’s scoring race after he boosted his totals to 10-36—46 (30 GP); only Peter Forsberg (39 in 1995-96), Rantanen (36 in 2018-19) and Nazem Kadri (35 in 2021-22) had as many assists through 30 contests of a campaign for the club.

DRAISAITL BECOMES NHL’S FIRST 20-GOAL SCORER THIS SEASON
Leon Draisaitl (1-1—2) factored on both Edmonton goals, which included a go-ahead marker in the second period, and became the first player to hit the 20-goal mark in 2024-25 – a distinction he also held in 2021-22. The Oilers forward became the fifth skater in the past 30 years to accomplish the feat multiple times and joined Jaromir Jagr (4x), Steven Stamkos (3x), Auston Matthews (2x) and Alex Ovechkin (2x).

* Draisaitl’s nine consecutive 20-goal seasons are tied with Wayne Gretzky for the third-longest stretch in franchise history. In fact, he is one of eight active players to reach the mark in nine or more consecutive campaigns – a list led by Ovechkin (19 from 2005-06 – 2023-24).

* His 20th tally also marked his NHL-leading sixth game-winning goal of 2024-25 and 10th in the regular season this calendar year. Draisaitl is one of nine players in NHL history to hit the plateau in three or more calendar years (14 in 2021 & 13 in 2022). The others: Ovechkin (5x), Mike Bossy (5x), Brett Hull (4x), Jeff Carter (3x), Bobby Hull (3x), Nathan MacKinnon (3x), Guy Lafleur (3x) and Phil Esposito (3x).

HIGH-FLYING JETS SCORE EIGHT GOALS FOR SECOND TIME THIS SEASON

Kyle Connor (1-2—3) and Mark Scheifele (2-1—3) each contributed three points apiece – with the former climbing into a tie for the fourth-most points in franchise history – as the Jets (21-9-0, 42 points) skated to an eight-goal outburst and matched the franchise mark for fewest games to hit 10 home wins in a season (also 13 GP in 2017-18 & 2022-23).

* Scheifele extended his franchise-record home point streak to 13 games and tied Ilya Kovalchuk (46) for the most multi-goal games in Jets/Thrashers history.

* The Jets scored at least six goals in a game for a League-leading ninth time this season, which already equaled their total through all 82 games in 2023-24. Their five tallies in the final frame were also one shy of the franchise record for goals in a period (6 in P1, Feb. 2, 2019).

ICYMI: Mason Appleton and Nikita Chibrikov scored 10 seconds apart and matched the second-fastest two goals in franchise history. The only faster goals came on Dec. 2, 2008 when Ron Hainsey and Chris Thorburn scored seven seconds apart.

MORE NOTES FROM AN 11-GAME TUESDAY IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

Nearly 100 #NHLStats are available in the Tuesday edition of Live Updates, with notable performances from Adrian Kempe, Matvei Michkov, Marco Rossi and Auston Matthews.

* Kempe (1-1—2) helped the Kings (17-8-3, 37 points) move within two points of top spot in the Pacific Division and extend the League’s longest active winning streak to six games. Kempe now has recorded 30 goals in a calendar year for the third straight time (39 in 2023 & 36 in 2022) and became the first Kings player to accomplish the feat since Luc Robitaille (7 from 1987-93).

* Michkov (0-2—2) pushed his point streak to five games with a pair of assists as the Flyers extended their road point streak to seven contests, the NHL’s second-longest active run behind the Capitals (9 GP). His ninth multi-point game of 2024-25 tied Noah Cates (9 in 2022-23) for the third most in a season by a Flyers rookie in the past 30 years, behind Simon Gagne (11 in 1999-00) and Matt Read (10 in 2011-12).

* Rossi (1-0—1) tied the game with 46 seconds remaining in the third period and Matt Boldy scored the only goal in the shootout as the NHL-leading Wild (19-5-4, 42 points) captured their sixth win in seventh contests. Minnesota, which also benefited a late tying goal from Rossi on Nov. 23, joined St. Louis (Oct. 10 & Nov. 30) as the second team to register multiple tying tallies within the final minute of regulation this season. Rossi became the second player in Wild history to accomplish the feat twice in a single campaign (also Joel Eriksson Ek: 2 in 2021-22) and now sits one shy of the most in a career by any player in franchise history (Mikko Koivu: 3x).

* Matthews (1-0—1) scored in overtime to help the Maple Leafs (17-9-2, 36 points) complete a third-period comeback and keep pace with the Panthers (18-9-2, 38 points), who sit atop the Atlantic Division and also earned a win Tuesday. Matthews moved within one overtime goal of tying Mats Sundin (14) for most in franchise history.

QUICK CLICKS

* Connor McDavid speeds past Lightning defense for 14th goal of the season
* NHL EDGE: A closer look at Mackenzie Blackwood after trade to Colorado
* Kevin Shattenkirk retires from NHL after 14 seasons
* Brandon Montour, Josh Mahura receive Stanley Cup rings before matchup with Panthers
* NHL salary cap projected to jump to at least $92.4 million next season, Gary Bettman says

TWO-GAME SLATE FEATURES A PAIR OF NATIONAL BROADCASTS
A two-game Wednesday features a pair of national broadcasts as NHL on TNT and Max host the Rangers (14-12-1, 29 points) and state-rival Sabres (11-13-4, 26 points) in the U.S., while the Senators (12-13-2, 26 points) welcome the Ducks (10-12-4, 24 points) on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.

* Zach Benson, with 1-4—5 in Buffalo’s past five homes games, has 15-24—39 in 93 career contests and can surpass Hannu Virta (12-24—36 in 72 GP) and Tyler Myers (7-24—31 in 53 GP) for the fifth-most assists by a teenager in franchise history. He can also become the fifth player to record 40 or more points with Buffalo before age 20 – he would join Phil Housley (46-86—132 in 141 GP), Pierre Turgeon (48-82—130 in 156 GP), Rasmus Dahlin (13-71—84 in 141 GP) and Jack Eichel (24-32—56 in 81 GP).

* Artemi Panarin (280-535—815 in 699 GP) is set to skate in his 700th NHL game. His 815 career points are already the sixth most through as many contests among undrafted players to debut since 1963-64. He trails only Wayne Gretzky (589-1,092—1,681), Peter Stastny (369-648—1,017), Phil Esposito (411-509—920), Bobby Orr (270-645—915) and Adam Oates (221-636—857).

* Tim Stützle has collected at least a point in all but two of Ottawa’s 15 home games this season (7-16—23), including multiple in each of his past two. His 23 home points are tied for the fourth most among all players in 2024-25 behind Mitch Marner (6-19—25 in 16 GP), Nathan MacKinnon (5-20—25 in 14 GP) and Martin Necas (8-17—25 in 14 GP).

Use CodePHN15 Never too late, even for the Winter Classic

* The Ducks enter Wednesday with points in each of their past six road games (4-0-2) – their longest such streak since they posted a run of equal length nearly five years ago (Feb. 1-16, 2020). Alex Killorn has posted at least a point in all six of those road contests (3-5—8) and will look to become the first Anaheim player to extend such a streak to seven games since Adam Henrique in 2022-23 (6-2—8 in 7 GP).