Twenty-seven-year-old Justin Brazeau recorded his first NHL hat trick while Sidney Crosby tied Gordie Howe on an all-time list as the Penguins scored a season-high seven goals in Chicago.
* Simon Edvinsson netted the overtime winner to help the Red Wings maintain top spot in the Atlantic Division nearing the midway point of the season.
* Connor McDavid and the Oilers visit Kyle Connor and the Jets on Prime Monday Night Hockey during an action-packed 11-game slate.
BRAZEAU NETS FIRST CAREER HAT TRICK IN SEVEN-GOAL SURGE
The Penguins scored four goals in a first period on the road for the third time in the past 20 years before Justin Brazeau (3-0—3) capped off his first career hat trick with a pair of tallies in the second frame. Pittsburgh scored a season-high seven goals, marking the second time the club recorded as many tallies as the visitor in the past two years (also 9 on Dec. 12, 2024 at MTL).
* Brazeau became the fourth undrafted player to score a hat trick for the Penguins in the past three decades. The others: Evan Rodrigues (Jan. 2, 2022), Chris Kunitz (March 10, 2013, Feb. 2, 2013 & Jan. 5, 2011) and Pascal Dupuis (Dec. 11, 2008).
* Sidney Crosby (0-1—1) recorded his 778th career road point and tied Gordie Howe for ninth place on the NHL’s all-time list. The Penguins captain also notched his 665th primary helper and passed Adam Oates (664) for the seventh most in League history – just five days after passing Oates on the all-time assists list.
RED WINGS WIN ORIGINAL SIX SHOWDOWN IN OVERTIME TO STAY ATOP ATLANTIC
With the Maple Leafs leading 2-1, Mason Appleton scored with just over five minutes remaining in regulation to pull the Red Wings even and set the stage for Simon Edvinsson’s overtime winner to help Detroit (23-14-3, 49 points) maintain first place in the Atlantic Division standings.
* Edvinsson recorded his second career overtime winner (also Nov. 13, 2024) and became the seventh defenseman in franchise history with multiple overtime goals – a list topped by Nicklas Lidstrom and Niklas Kronwall (both w/ 4).
* The Red Wings, who are searching for their first postseason berth in a decade, have 49 wins since Todd McLellan was named head coach just over a year ago (Dec. 26, 2024), tied with the Hurricanes for the fourth most among all teams over that span behind only the Avalanche (56), Stars (55) and Lightning (50). Detroit will look to win its division after failing to make the playoffs in the previous campaign for the second time in franchise history following 1935-36, when it ranked first in the American Division.
KUCHEROV KEEPS COLLECTING POINTS AS LIGHTNING EARN WIN
After Nikita Kucherov (2-0—2) scored twice to help the Lightning build a 4-1 lead, the Canadiens battled back to pull even in the final four seconds of regulation, but Tampa Bay (22-13-3, 47 points) tallied twice in the shootout to secure the win.
* Kucherov boosted his totals in 2025 to 37-83—120 (85 GP), which trails only Connor McDavid (42-105—147 in 94 GP), Leon Draisaitl (56-83—139 in 95 GP) and Nathan MacKinnon (56-74—130 in 85 GP) for the most points among all players this calendar year (regular season & playoffs combined). For more on the players that have led the way since Jan. 1, check out the 2025 Year in Review by #NHLStats.
QUICK CLICKS
* #NHLStats: Live Updates from Sunday
* Matthew Tkachuk practices with Panthers, still no timeline for return
* Evan Rodrigues looking forward to ‘fun experience’ as Winter Classic comes to Florida
* NHL Status Report: Linus Ullmark taking leave of absence from Senators
* Zayne Parekh of Flames heating up for Canada at World Junior Championship
OILERS AND JETS READY FOR MEETING ON MONDAY NIGHT HOCKEY
An #NHLStats primer before tonight’s Oilers–Jets game on Prime Monday Night Hockey:
* Connor McDavid has collected 42-105—147 this calendar year in the regular season and playoffs combined. The Oilers captain, whose nine outings with three or more points are tied for the most among all players this season, needs three points to reach 150 in a calendar year for the fourth time. Wayne Gretzky (11x) and Mario Lemieux (5x) are the only players in NHL history to hit the mark in four or more calendar years (regular season & playoffs combined).
* Kyle Connor has scored a team-best 42 goals this calendar year in the regular season and playoffs combined (42-66—108 in 92 GP). He needs three goals in Winnipeg’s next two games to reach 45 in a single calendar year for the third time, following 2021 (47) and 2022 (45), which would tie Ilya Kovalchuk (55 in 2007, 54 in 2009 & 49 in 2006) for the most in franchise history.
* Entering Sunday, Jets forwards Mark Scheifele and Connor have factored on the same goal 29 times, the second most among all NHL duos this season behind McDavid and Leon Draisaitl (32). Did you Know? Connor is also a shots-by-location standout:
WINTER CLASSIC HIGHLIGHTS THIS WEEK’S NATIONAL SLATE
Five #NHLStats and storylines you need to know about other national broadcasts this week, with a focus on the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic, Jan 2. on TNT, HBO MAX, truTV, Sportsnet West/Ontario/East and TVA Sports (8 p.m. ET):
1. Jets at Red Wings on Sportsnet (Wednesday): Winnipeg visits Detroit for a New Year’s Eve clash at Little Ceasars Arena; the Red Wings own an all-time record of 39-25-10 on games played Dec. 31, while the Jets/Thrashers franchise is 7-8-1. Lucas Raymond has found the score sheet on New Year’s Eve each of the past three seasons and can become the first Red Wings skater to extend his streak to four since Gerard Gallant (4 GP from 1986-89).
2. Miami ready for Winter Classic (Friday): The Panthers will host the first NHL outdoor game in the state of Florida and the southernmost regular-season game in NHL history (indoors or outdoors). loanDepot park in Miami sits at latitude 25.77 degrees north, narrowly eclipsing Miami Arena (+25.78) – the home rink of the Panthers from 1993-98.
3. Marchand, Panarin aim to add to outdoor totals (Friday): Forwards Brad Marchand and Artemi Panarin are the leading scorers this season for the Panthers and Rangers, respectively, and pace their club in career outdoor points (both w/ 1-3—4 in 3 GP). Marchand has the most outdoor games among all Panthers and takes a perfect 3-0-0 record into Miami. Panarin set the record for fastest goal from the start of any period in an outdoor game with his winner in the 2024 Stadium Series (0:10 into OT) that boosted New York’s all-time outdoor record to 5-0-0.
4. Rangers make outdoor return (Friday): The Rangers will become the fifth team to play in at least three Winter Classics, following Chicago (0-5-0), Boston (3-1-0), Pittsburgh (1-2-0) and St. Louis (3-0-0). Florida, meanwhile, will become the 17th franchise to play in a Winter Classic and the 12th to serve as the home team.
5. Hockey Night in Canada, ABC Hockey Saturday make 2026 debuts (Saturday): The 2025-26 regular season will reach the halfway mark on the final game of the day – the Hockey Night in Canada closer between the Bruins and Canucks. Another Stanley Cup Final rematch will start the day as the Penguins visit the Red Wings for the first ABC Hockey Saturday telecast of the season. When Pittsburgh defeated Detroit in their second straight Stanley Cup Final matchup in 2009, Sidney Crosby sat 1,326 points behind Mario Lemieux for the Penguins’ franchise scoring record – a title he now holds after surpassing Lemieux at home Dec. 21.
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