Sidney Crosby and other Canadian stars looking to join him on Team Canada’s roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 put up noteworthy performances Tuesday. Team Canada is set to unveil their full roster today.
* Matthew Schaefer became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to reach 25 career points and required the fourth-fewest games by an 18-year-old blueliner to reach that milestone.
* The final day of 2025 has 20 teams in action, including half on Sportsnet programming, and will feature several stars looking to cap an impressive calendar year.
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CANADIAN STARS SHINE AHEAD OF TEAM CANADA’S FULL OLYMPIC ROSTER UNVEILING
With Hockey Canada and the Canadian Olympic Committee set to unveil the full roster for Canada’s men’s hockey team for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 today, several Canadian players including one named to the roster as well as hopefuls, who attended Team Canada’s orientation camp this summer and are looking to hear their name called, put up noteworthy performances during Tuesday’s action.
* Sidney Crosby, who has already been named to Team Canada’s roster for the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games, opened the scoring before Justin Brazeau netted a highlight-reel goal in Pittsburgh’s 5-1 win. Crosby scored his 232nd career go-ahead goal and tied Teemu Selanne for the fourth most in NHL history, trailing only Alex Ovechkin (295), Brett Hull (264) and Jaromir Jagr (262).
* Nick Suzuki, hoping to make his first Olympic roster Wednesday, tied the game with 1:22 remaining in regulation and scored the overtime winner to help the Canadiens overcome a multi-goal deficit within the final five minutes of regulation to win for the first time in over a decade (last instance: March 15, 2014). Suzuki recorded his 19th career overtime point, which surpassed Howie Morenz for the most in franchise history.
* Travis Sanheim (0-1—1) moved into a tie with Tom Bladon (230) for the fourth-most points by a defenseman in Flyers history as Philadelphia (20-11-7, 47 points) recorded its 20th win of the season in its 38th contest and built a two-point lead over idle Washington (20-14-15, 45 points) for third in the Metropolitan Division. The last time the Flyers reached the 20-win mark in fewer games was 2019-20 (36 GP).
* Brad Marchand, who was honored for his 1,000th NHL point with a pre-game ceremony, is hoping to don a Team Canada jersey in February. Marchand extended his goal streak Tuesday and will carry a three-game run into the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic (Jan. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on TNT, HBO Max, SN, TVAS). Marchand has skated in three outdoor games – the most among all Panthers – and owns a perfect 3-0-0 record (2019 WC, 2021 LT-SUN & 2023 WC). He can move into a tie for the second-most NHL outdoor wins among skaters. Click here for the full #NHLStats Pack: 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic to get set for the event.
WINTER CLASSIC QUICK CLICKS
* Winter Classic to be ‘unique visual experience’ in Miami
* Winter Classic in Miami will be ‘really special,’ Carter Verhaeghe says
* Winter Classic Information Guide
SCHAEFER BECOMES YOUNGEST DEFENSEMAN TO 25 NHL POINTS
Matthew Schaefer collected an assist during New York’s win and became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to reach 25 career points. The Islanders (22-14-4, 48 points) gained ground on the Hurricanes (24-12-3, 51 points) for first in the Metropolitan Division and own their highest point total through 40 games of a season since 2020-21 (26-10-4, 56 points) when the team made it to the penultimate round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
* Schaefer (9-16—25 in 40 GP) required the fourth-fewest games by an 18-year-old defenseman to record 25 career points, behind Phil Housley (30 GP), Ray Bourque (33 GP) and Bobby Orr (38 GP). He also matched the sixth-most points through 40 NHL games among teenage defensemen.
HUTSON CONCLUDES NOTABLE 2025 IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Lane Hutson’s final game of 2025 was captured in the most-recent #NHLStats: Live Updates as he boosted his regular-season totals this calendar year to 9-69—78 after a multi-assist outing Tuesday. Hutson concluded 2025 with the second-most regular-season points in a calendar year by a defenseman in franchise history behind Guy Lapointe (79 in 1976).
QUICK CLICKS
* Brad Marchand in unfamiliar spot on Olympic bubble
* Jon Cooper set to coach 1,000th NHL game with Lightning
* Sweden goalie decision, Connor Bedard status among questions ahead of Olympic roster reveals
* Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane ready for ‘strange moment’ as opponents
* World Junior Championship roundup: Latvia tops Denmark, clinches berth in quarterfinals
2025 CALENDAR YEAR CLOSES WITH 10-GAME SLATE
The lead-in to New Year’s Eve festivities and the turning of the calendar at midnight includes a full day of hockey spanning 12 hours of continuous NHL action with half of those contests available on Sportsnet programming in Canada.
Many of the most productive players of the calendar year 2025 will be in action on Wednesday:
* Nathan MacKinnon ranks first in regular-season goals (50; tied) and points (121) in 2025. MacKinnon can become the fifth player in NHL history to lead the League in regular-season points in three straight calendar years. The others: Wayne Gretzky (8 from 1980-1987), Phil Esposito (6 from 1969-1974), Guy Lafleur (4 from 1975-1978) and Gordie Howe (4 from 1950-1953).
* Bruins forward Morgan Geekie also has 50 regular-season goals in the calendar year, with Stars forward Jason Robertson (49) just one back entering play on Wednesday. Prior to 2025, the most goals Geekie had ever scored in a calendar year was 19 (2024). Should Robertson reach the 50-goal mark in a calendar year for the second time (56 in 2022), he would become the second player in Stars/North Stars history to do so multiple times joining Dino Ciccarelli (63 in 1986 & 51 in 1982).
* Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (37-79—116 in 80 GP) and Oilers forward Connor McDavid (35-80—115 in 73 GP), who have a combined eight Art Ross Trophies between them, rank second and third, respectively, in points in 2025 behind MacKinnon. This marks the seventh time McDavid has recorded 115-plus points in a calendar year – only Wayne Gretzky (13x) and Mario Lemieux (8x) have done so more. Kucherov has recorded 115-plus points in a calendar year for the fourth time, tied with Leon Draisaitl for the second most among active players behind McDavid.
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