Jason Robertson, Wyatt Johnston and Jamie Benn all produced monumental moments in the Stars’ eight-goal outburst at Rogers Place, with Robertson finding the back of the net for the seventh straight game and Benn doing so for the 400th time in his career.
* The League standings are front and center as the NHL features a 15-game Wednesday ahead of U.S. Thanksgiving: all 16 teams in the Eastern Conference either hold a playoff spot or sit within five points of the playoff line.
* The first meeting between the Wild and Blackhawks this season, broadcast nationally across the U.S. on ESPN+ and Hulu, kickstarts the Foligno Face-Off – an initiative to raise critical funds for breast cancer research in honor of Nick and Marcus’ late mother, Janis.
NHL ENTERS U.S. THANKSGIVING WITH NEW FACES, TIGHT RACES IN STANDINGS
Wednesday’s 15-game slate marks the final NHL contests before U.S. Thanksgiving (with 15 more games set for Friday after an off-day on Thursday) and includes intrigue in the standings: six teams are currently in a playoff position that did not qualify for the postseason last year (Anaheim, Seattle, Utah, Detroit, NY Islanders and Boston), as well as other close races in the standings across the board.
* All 16 teams in the Eastern Conference either hold a playoff spot or sit within five points of the playoff line, including five teams exactly one point back of a wild card position. Among the teams one-point out in the East are the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers. Four teams outside the playoff bracket in the Western Conference are within three points of the playoff line, including last year’s Presidents’ Trophy winner (Winnipeg) and Stanley Cup finalist (Edmonton).
* Since 2013-14, at least three teams sitting outside of the playoffs at U.S. Thanksgiving have gone on to qualify for the postseason in years using the Wild Card format, including as many as five in 2017-18 (ANA, BOS, COL, MIN, PHI) and 2018-19 (CAR, NYI, PIT, STL, VGK). The races for a postseason berth went right down to the wire last season, as the 2024-25 campaign became the first under the 16-team format (since 1979-80) to feature three teams clinch a playoff spot in their final game of the season (MIN, STL and MTL).
FOLIGNO FACE-OFF DROPS WEDNESDAY
The first meeting between the Wild and Blackhawks, which will be broadcast nationally across the U.S. on ESPN+ and Hulu, kickstarts the Foligno Face-Off. Despite Nick being out of Chicago’s lineup Wednesday, him and Marcus are joining forces off the ice with the NHL, NHLPA, the V Foundation for Cancer Research, the Wild and Blackhawks through Hockey Fights Cancer to raise critical funds for breast cancer research — in honor of their late mother, Janis. Click here for more details on the season-long initiative.
FIVE THINGS WE ARE THANKFUL FOR HEADING INTO U.S. THANKSGIVING
* The 2025-26 Art Ross Trophy race is off to a competitive start with six 30-point players already this season – a group that includes 19-year-old Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini (14-20—34 in 23 GP; 2nd) and 20-year-old Blackhawks forward Connor Bedard (13-18—31 in 22 GP; t-4th). There has only been one other season to feature two players age 20 or younger in the top five in scoring at this stage of a campaign or later (tied or outright; min. 360 GP): 1981-82 (Wayne Gretzky & Denis Savard).
* The Avalanche aren’t just leading the standings this season – Nathan MacKinnon (17-20—37 in 22 GP) is the frontrunner in League scoring and Cale Makar paces all defensemen in points (9-20—29 in 22 GP). Colorado is the first club to have a pair of teammates lead the League in scoring and points among defensemen (outright or tied), respectively, entering play on U.S. Thanksgiving since Washington in 2003-04 (Robert Lang w/ 29 & Sergei Gonchar w/ 21). Of note: Vancouver defenseman Quinn Hughes led both categories at this point in 2023.
* Morgan Geekie and MacKinnon (both w/ 17) lead a widespread Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard Trophy race this season that has already seen 14 different players share or outright hold the goal-scoring lead. There are also 15 other players who are within four goals of the top spot in 2025-26 – the 10th campaign in NHL history to feature at least 17 total players with 13-plus goals entering play on U.S. Thanksgiving and the most since 1993-94 (17).
* Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (13-10—23 in 21 GP) and Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (10-11—21 in 23 GP), skating in their 21st NHL season, remain at the top of their game. Crosby enters Wednesday tied for the seventh-most goals among all players this season while Ovechkin ranks fourth for goals in November (tied), with eight of his 10 coming since the start of the month. The 2025-26 season is the eighth in League history to feature multiple players age 38 or older with a double-digit goal total at this stage of a campaign (360 GP) and the first since 2003-04 (Brett Hull: 12, Mark Messier: 10 & Steve Yzerman: 10).
* A compelling Calder Trophy race has goaltender Jesper Wallstedt (6-0-2, .935 SV%, 1.94 GAA), defenseman Matthew Schaefer (7-8—15) as well as forwards Ivan Demidov (4-13—17) and Beckett Sennecke (7-9—16) all contributing to their team’s success in 2025-26. Wallstedt has yet to record a regulation loss this season and paces the League with three shutouts while the three aforementioned skaters all rank within the top five in scoring for their respective teams, with Schaefer also tied for the third-most goals among all defensemen. The No. 1 pick from 2025 NHL Draft can become the fourth blueliner in the League’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to finish a campaign as the rookie scoring leader, following Brian Leetch (71 in 1988-89), Quinn Hughes (53 in 2019-20) and last season’s Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson (66 in 2024-25).
-26125239.png)
TRIO OF STARS SHINE BRIGHT AS OFFENSIVE OUTBURST PROPELS STARS TO ROAD WIN
Jason Robertson (1-2—3) established the longest goal streak in team history, Jamie Benn (1-1—2) scored his 400th career goal and Wyatt Johnston (1-3—4) collected his 200th career point as the Stars (14-5-4, 32 points) scored eight times in a road game for the sixth time in the past 20 years.
* Robertson (14-17—31 in 23 GP), whose seven-game goal streak also coincides with an eight-game point streak (11-7—18 since Nov. 9), joined Jack Eichel (10-20—30 in 22 GP) as the second American player to reach the 30-point mark in 2025-26. Multiple American players reached the 30-point mark in a season in their 23rd game or fewer for the fourth straight campaign – tied for the longest stretch in NHL history alongside 1990-91 to 1993-94.
* Did you Know? NHL.com will also be a hub for content before, during and after the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 with a dedicated section of the site – including Mike Zeisberger’s recent feature highlighting Robertson, who hopes to join Team USA. His 14 goals are the most among American players this season, while his 1.35 points per game is the second-highest among Americans in 2025-26.
* Johnston (101-101—202 in 269 GP), who collected one of his four points on his captain’s milestone goal, became the first player in Stars team history with 200 career points at age 22 or younger. Among players to debut with the Stars, he also required the third-fewest games in team history to reach the mark behind Robertson (190 GP) and Roope Hintz (263 GP).
* Benn (5th Round in 2007), who joined Mike Modano (557) as the second player in franchise history to score 400 career goals, also became the 14th player, selected in the fifth round of the NHL Draft or later, to reach the milestone. Only three others have done so since the 1990 Draft: Joe Pavelski (476, 7th Round in 2003), Daniel Alfredsson (444, 6th Round in 1994) and Peter Bondra (503, 8th Round in 1990).
QUICK CLICKS
* Nov. 25 edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates
* Stars unveil new 1999-inspired alternate jerseys
* Sharks players enjoy ‘Monday Night Football’ action at Levi’s Stadium
* Devils spend day with young fan ahead of Hockey Fights Cancer Night
* Clean breakouts, defensive-zone exits often leads to success
11 WEEKS UNTIL NHL PLAYERS RETURN TO OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
NHL players will soon be heading to Italy to play for gold at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The men’s tournament begins in exactly 11 weeks (Wednesday, Feb. 11), when Team Finland faces Team Slovakia and Team Italy meets Team Sweden. Two players facing off tonight in Vegas will also be playing against each other Feb. 15, when Jack Eichel (Team USA) faces Tim Stützle (Team Germany).
Jack Eichel, F, Vegas Golden Knights / Team USA (1st Olympics)
* Eichel (0-4—4) played for Team USA in the 4 Nations Faceoff and was tied with Jake Guentzel (3-1—4) for the second-most points on the team behind Zach Werenski (0-6—6). Eichel, with 10-20—30 (22 GP) in 2025-26 and 249-389—638 (638 GP) during his NHL tenure, is one of five U.S.-born players in NHL history to average a point-per-game rate through his career (min. 400 GP) alongside Pat LaFontaine (1.17 P/GP), Auston Matthews (1.15 P/GP), Patrick Kane (1.03 P/GP) and Joe Mullen (1.00 P/GP).
Tim Stützle, F, Ottawa Senators / Team Germany (1st Olympics)
* Stützle was one of six players named to Team Germany and will be making his Olympics debut after representing his country four times previously (2022 & 2025 World Championships, 2020 & 2021 World Junior Championship). Stützle (126-221—347 in 389 GP), with 11-10—21 (22 GP) in 2025-26, sits three points shy of joining Leon Draisaitl (372 GP) as the second German player in NHL history to reach 350 career points in fewer than 400 games and in doing so, will pass Mike Fisher (348) for 10th place on Ottawa’s all-time points list.
You must be logged in to post a comment.