Steven Stamkos recorded the NHL’s second four-goal outing of the season and matched the Predators record for goals in a game.
* Nikita Kucherov (0-4—4) and David Pastrnak (2-2—4) both put up big performances for the Lightning and Bruins, respectively, on the same night of the unveiling of their uniforms to be worn at the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series.
* Jacob Fowler, a Canadiens fan from the Sunshine State, became the first Florida-born goaltender in NHL history and the fourth Montreal netminder in the past 15 years to earn a win in his NHL debut.
* Thursday featured three overtime periods, boosting the total number in 2025-26 to the second highest at this stage of a season in NHL history.
* Seventeen Swedish-born players scored Thursday, marking the most in a single day in NHL history. Of those 17, three have been named to Sweden’s roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026: Gabriel Landeskog, Filip Forsberg and Rasmus Dahlin. Additionally, 18 goals were scored by Swedish-born players, the most-ever by a non-North American country on a single day.
* A two-game Friday will begin with the Blackhawks and Blues broadcast nationally across North America on ESPN+ and Hulu in the U.S. as well as on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.
STAMKOS SCORES FOUR, PROPELS PREDATORS TO VICTORY
Steven Stamkos (4-0—4) matched the franchise record for goals in a game when he recorded the League’s second four-goal performance of the season in Nashville’s 7-2 victory against its Central Division rival St. Louis. The Predators (12-14-4, 28 points) have now won six of their past eight contests and sit five points back of the playoff line.
* Stamkos netted his second hat trick with the Predators and the 15th of his career, moving him past Sidney Crosby (14) for the third most among active players behind Alex Ovechkin (33) and David Pastrnak (19).
* The Predators forward used two multi-goal periods to reach his four-goal output. He surpassed Crosby (36) and tied Auston Matthews (37) for the second-most multi-goal periods among active players, trailing only Ovechkin (84).
LIGHTNING, BRUINS WIN HIGH-SCORING GAMES AFTER STADIUM SERIES JERSEY UNVEIL
After the unveiling of their jerseys for the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series, the Lightning and Bruins both brought the offense in high-scoring games, led by Nikita Kucherov (0-4—4) and David Pastrnak (2-2—4), respectively.
* Kucherov assisted on half of Tampa Bay’s eight goals – its most in a game since March 27, 2025 (vs. UTA) – and recorded the club’s first four-assist outing since Brayden Point on Dec. 5, 2024. Thursday also marked Kucherov’s 34th career four-point game, moving him past Alex Ovechkin (33) for the third most among active players, behind Sidney Crosby (43) and Connor McDavid (43).-12010405.png)
* Pastrnak netted two of Boston’s six goals and helped his club extend their winning streak to four games – the League’s longest active run. His first of the night was his 62nd career game-tying goal, passing Rick Middleton (61) for the fifth most in franchise history, while his second capped his 17th four-point game, which surpassed Brad Marchand (16) for the ninth most in Bruins history.
THREE MORE OVERTIME GAMES TO CONTINUE LEAGUE TREND
The Hurricanes, Sharks and Golden Knights each earned wins in extra time to boost the NHL’s total of games requiring overtime to 132.
* After Alex Ovechkin became the 11th player in NHL history and second active to record 1,800 points in the regular season and playoffs combined, Brandon Bussi backstopped the Hurricanes to victory with a perfect shootout performance. Bussi (10-1-0) became the fastest goaltender in NHL history to record 10 career wins doing so in his 11th contest. He also required the fewest games in Hurricanes/Whalers history to reach a double-digit win total in a season, besting Frederik Andersen (12 GP in 2023-24 & 2021-22) and Pyotr Kochetkov (12 GP in 2024-25).
* The Sharks tied their game against the Maple Leafs with 1:25 remaining in regulation on a goal by former Toronto defenseman John Klingberg (14 GP w/ TOR in 2023-24) to set the stage for overtime, where Alexander Wennberg scored the winner. San Jose won a road game in which it scored a tying goal in the final 2:00 of regulation for the first time since Dec. 7, 2023 (6-5 OT W at DET) and have now won seven of the 10 games they have played this season that required extra time after going 6-12 in that scenario in 2024-25.
* The Flyers battled back from multiple one-goal deficits to pull even, but Mark Stone (2-0—2) scored the winner in overtime to lift the Golden Knights (15-6-9, 39 points) to victory and help them move into first place in the Pacific Division. Stone became the sixth player in the past 20 years to record a point in each of his first 14 games. The others: Dany Heatley (22 GP in 2005-06), William Nylander (17 GP in 2023-24), Connor McDavid (17 GP in 2021-22), Henrik Zetterberg (17 GP in 2007-08) and Artemi Panarin (15 GP in 2023-24).
FLORIDA-BORN FOWLER WINS NHL DEBUT IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
A busy #NHLStats: Live Updates featured over 90 notes:
* Nathan MacKinnon (1-1—2) scored his 392nd career goal and surpassed Joe Sakic (391) for the most in Avalanche team history to help Colorado skate to victory. MacKinnon’s goal was his League-leading 25th of the season, moving him into a tie with Peter Stastny (31 GP in 1987-88 & 1982-83) and Marian Stastny (31 GP in 1982-83) for the second-fewest games in franchise history to reach the mark behind Michel Goulet (28 GP in 1985-86).
* Zach Hyman scored his sixth career hat trick – tied with Joe Pavelski for the second most by a player drafted in the fifth round or later over the past 25 years behind Jamie Benn and Cam Atkinson (both w/ 7) – and Connor McDavid collected four assists as the Oilers extended their home point streak against the Red Wings to six games. McDavid tied Gilbert Perreault and Nicklas Backstrom (both w/ 12) for the eighth-most four-assist games in NHL history.
* Anders Lee (2-2—4) factored on four of his club’s five goals for his third career four-point game. His tallies allowed him to climb multiple Islanders’ all-time lists – his 296th and 297th NHL goals surpassed Brock Nelson (295) for sole possession of fifth in franchise history. Lee also scored twice on the man advantage to tie Derek King for seventh-most power-play goals in Islanders history.
* Jacob Fowler (Melbourne, Fla.) became the first Florida-born goaltender in NHL history when he suited up for Montreal and the youngest Canadiens netminder to earn a win in their debut (21 years, 17 days) since Carey Price on Oct. 10, 2007 (20 years, 55 days). Fowler was born five months after his now head coach, Martin St. Louis, helped the Lightning win a Stanley Cup when hockey was starting to grow in Florida. Despite being from the Sunshine State, Fowler grew up a Montreal fan and has many childhood photos with Canadiens memorabilia, following suit of his dad and his extended family who are from Quebec.
QUICK CLICKS
* 2026 NHL Draft Diary: Tynan Lawrence
* Gavin McKenna determined to elevate play with Canada at World Junior Championship
* Blackhawks show off hockey-inspired renovation at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
* NHL to host outdoor fan festival in Miami as prelude to Winter Classic
* NHL, NHLPA, Panthers, Lightning to celebrate hockey in Florida ahead of outdoor games
BEDARD EYES THIRD STRAIGHT 20-GOAL SEASON ON ESPN+
Connor Bedard (19-23—42 in 30 GP) can become the fifth player in franchise history to open his career with three consecutive 20-goal seasons when the Blackhawks (13-11-6, 32 points) visit the Blues (11-14-7, 29 points), with just three points between them in the Central Division standings. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and Hulu in the U.S. as well as on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.
* Bedard would join Patrick Kane (13 seasons), Jonathan Toews (12 seasons), Denis Savard (10 seasons) and Darcy Rota (4 seasons) on the short list of Blackhawks skaters with three or more consecutive 20-goal campaigns from the start of their NHL career.
* Bedard is on pace to record his first career 100-point season and ranks fourth in the League’s scoring race. The last Chicago skater to win the Art Ross Trophy was Kane – Bedard’s 1.40 point-per-game rate this season is currently outpacing Kane’s rate the year he won the scoring race (1.29 P/GP in 2015-16). 
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