Two days after the blockbuster trade between the Wild and Canucks, Quinn Hughes and Zeev Buium both found the back of the net in their debut for their new team.
* The Mammoth became the second team in as many days to post a three-goal, third-period comeback win. Utah earned its first three-goal come-from-behind victory in franchise history.
* The Senators and Jets will make up the first all-Canadian Prime Monday Night Hockey matchup of the season in the midst of a five-game slate that also features the Battle of Florida.
KAPRIZOV, HUGHES BOTH SCORE IN LATTER’S MINNESOTA DEBUT…
Quinn Hughes made his much-anticipated Minnesota debut and gave his new fans plenty to cheer for by scoring in his first game in a Wild sweater. Hughes accounted for one of six Minnesota goals Sunday while his new teammate, Kirill Kaprizov, accounted for two other tallies and climbed multiple franchise lists in the process.
* Hughes, the first-ever Norris Trophy winner to skate for the Minnesota, became the sixth Wild defenseman to score in his team debut, joining Declan Chisholm (Feb. 17, 2024), Matt Bartkowski (Dec. 29, 2018), Cam Barker (Feb. 14, 2010), Marc-Andre Bergeron (Oct. 11, 2008) and Kurtis Foster (Nov. 19, 2005). Of note, Foster is the only one among that group to score twice in his debut.
* Kaprizov’s second goal of the night was the 205th of his career, which moved him into a tie with Mikko Koivu for second on the franchise’s all-time goals list – he now trails only Marian Gaborik (219). That goal also marked his sixth 20-goal season, passing Gaborik and Zach Parise (both w/ 5) for the most in Minnesota history.
…WHILE BUIUM MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT IN CANUCKS DEBUT
Two days after a blockbuster trade saw the Canucks acquire four first-round picks – three active players and one in the upcoming draft – in exchange for their captain and franchise scoring leader among defensemen, one of those players made an immediate impact as Zeev Buium tallied two points in the opening seven minutes of his Vancouver debut to help his new club secure a victory.
* Buium recorded a point 61 seconds into his team debut, marking the fastest a player has tallied his first Canucks point in nearly 28 years. Buium, who celebrated his 20th birthday last Sunday, also became the youngest defenseman to record a point in his Canucks debut since Quinn Hughes – the player who went the other way in Friday’s trade.
* Buium (1-1—2) became the first defenseman in franchise history with multiple points in the first period of his Canucks debut and just the third defenseman with multiple points at any point during his first game with the Canucks.
MAMMOTH MOUNT A THREE-GOAL, THIRD-PERIOD COMEBACK VICTORY
The Mammoth found themselves trailing 3-0 to begin the third period, but four goals in a span of 5:59 put them on top for the first time all day. After Pittsburgh tied the contest, Utah responded with the final goal of the game in the form of Dylan Guenther’s overtime winner to cap its largest comeback win in franchise history.
* Utah’s four-goal rally to take the lead featured a couple of fast franchise feats: it started with the fastest two goals in club history (0:15) and ended with the franchise’s fastest four goals (5:59). Guenther also netted the winner 42 seconds into the extra frame, marking the second-fastest overtime goal in Mammoth history, behind his own benchmark of 0:33 set on Oct. 21, 2025.
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates for Dec. 14
* Quinn Hughes gets eccentric welcome in Minnesota
* Blues content manager fills in as anthem singer, crushes performance
* Leon Draisaitl’s legend with Oilers, in Germany growing on cusp of 1,000 NHL points
* Stars celebrate Tyler Seguin’s 1,000th NHL game with special pregame ceremony Saturday
SENATORS VISIT JETS FOR PRIME’S FIRST ALL-CANADIAN MATCHUP OF SEASON
An #NHLStats primer before tonight’s Senators–Jets game on Prime Monday Night Hockey:
* Kyle Connor will enter the week with the League’s longest active point streak at eight games (4-8—12), with teammate Gabriel Vilardi (6 GP) right behind him. Connor needs one goal for 300 in his NHL career and is set to become the second-fastest active U.S.-born player to reach the milestone – behind Auston Matthews (482 GP) and ahead of Patrick Kane (775 GP). Keith Tkachuk, the father of Senators captain Brady Tkachuk and a former captain of the original Jets, is among the fastest U.S.-born players to the milestone.
* Four players across the two rosters will represent their country in Milan in less than two months: the Senators trio of Tkachuk (Team USA), Tim StĂĽtzle (Team Germany) and Lars Eller (Team Denmark), as well as Jets forward Nino Niederreiter (Team Switzerland) who on Saturday became the first Swiss in history to skate 1,000 NHL games.
* Connor and Mark Scheifele have factored on the same goal 259 times, including an NHL-best 26 instances this season, and share the team lead in points. Each forward is also a shots by location standout: entering Sunday, Scheifele has 10 mid-range goals (tied for second in the NHL), while Connor ranks among the forward leaders for shots on goal from both the mid-range (38; 97th percentile) and long-range zones (13; 96th percentile).
NATIONAL GAMES ON THE RADAR THIS WEEK
Five #NHLStats and storylines you need to know about other national broadcasts this week:
1. NHL on TNT Doubleheader, Part 1 (Tuesday): Less than two months away from joining forces with Team Canada once again after claiming a championship together at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, the high-scoring trio of Connor McDavid (championship-clinching OT goal), Sidney Crosby (captain) and Nathan MacKinnon (tournament MVP) will take the national spotlight in the U.S. – where they won their first championship as teammates last winter. All three rank among the top six in scoring since 2015-16 when McDavid entered the League. McDavid (9-21—30) has three times as many points as Crosby (4-6—10) in their 15 meetings to date, with Edmonton also holding the edge in those contests (EDM: 8-4-3; PIT: 7-7-1). The Penguins and Oilers will clash five days after swapping goaltenders Tristan Jarry (to EDM) and Stuart Skinner (to PIT) – there are no instances on record of goaltenders going head-to-head as starters within a week of being traded for one another.
2. NHL on TNT Doubleheader, Part 2 (Wednesday): The highest-scoring active U.S.-born player is nine points from removing the “active” designation from that moniker as Patrick Kane is set to claim the title held by Mike Modano for the past 18-plus years. Three of the four clubs on the telecast are led in scoring by a U.S.-born player: Alex DeBrincat for the Red Wings, Nick Schmaltz for the Mammoth and Jack Eichel for the Golden Knights (Swedish forward Jesper Bratt paces the Devils). Kane and DeBrincat have teamed up on the same goal 197 times; Kane and Schmaltz played 161 regular-season games together with Chicago (factoring on the same goal 41 times) and Eichel started his NHL career in Kane’s hometown of Buffalo.
3. Jets at Blues on Sportsnet (Wednesday): The international ties run deep this week, as Sportsnet’s Wednesday Night Hockey could feature the first regular-season head-to-head showdown between Jordan Binnington (STL) and Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) since the 4 Nations Face-Off final – they also met in the 2025 First Round. While Binnington helped Canada claim the championship against Hellebuyck and USA, the League’s reigning MVP and three-time Vezina Trophy winner has the upper hand across 11 head-to-head battles in the regular season (Hellebuyck: 8-1-2, .918 SV%, 2.43 GAA; Binnington: 3-7-1, .903 SV%, 3.09 GAA). Both are vying for another international roster spot after attending Olympic orientation camps in August.
4. Flyers at Sabres on ESPN+ and Hulu (Thursday): Two players traded during the offseason will clash, now on pace for career years: Trevor Zegras (PHI) has already passed his 57-game goal total from last season while Josh Doan (BUF) needs two goals to equal the number he had through his first 62 NHL games.
5. Hockey Night in Canada on Sportsnet (Saturday): The focus of the four-game slate will be in Montreal, where Sidney Crosby could become the Penguins’ all-time leader in points – he enters the week only three points from overtaking Montreal native Mario Lemieux for that distinction (as well as for eighth place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list). Crosby grew up as a Canadiens fan – a natural connection as his father, Troy, was selected by Montreal in the 1984 NHL Draft – and has had many memorable moments in La Belle Province and against his childhood team. Among the highlights: a goal and shootout winner in his first game against Montreal, one of three times Crosby and Lemieux scored a goal in the same game (Nov. 10, 2005); two goals in his first visit to the Bell Centre (Jan. 3, 2006); a hat trick in his first game against Montreal as a Stanley Cup champion (Oct. 28, 2009); his 700th NHL assist and a highlight-reel juggling act against Carey Price (March 21, 2018); and tying former teammate/Canadiens forward Mark Recchi for 13th place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list (Dec. 13, 2023). Last February, Crosby and Lemieux were part of a pre-game ceremony to open the 4 Nations Face-Off in Montreal.
BATTLE OF FLORIDA, KREIDER’S RETURN TO NEW YORK ALSO ON MONDAY’S SLATE
Elsewhere on Monday, Chris Kreider will return to Madison Square Garden for the first time since being traded to the Ducks and the Battle of Florida will reignite for the first of two meetings over the next 12 days between the Panthers and Lightning (also Dec. 27 when there will be a total of 11 divisional matchups, including five intrastate/province rivalries when the NHL returns from its Holiday Break).
* ICYMI: This winter’s celebration of hockey in the State of Florida officially will begin when the NHL STREET Championships presented by GEICO attempts to make history and break the GUINNESS WORLD RECORDS title for the largest one-day street hockey championship on Sunday, Dec. 21. The event will be hosted by NHL Unites as a precursor to the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic (hosted by the Panthers) and 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series (hosted by the Lightning). Click here for details and here for an #NHLStats Pack that explores the impact the recent success by the Panthers and Lightning has had on the growth of hockey in Florida.-14111535.png)
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