Late game-tying goals were the trend Tuesday as four contests featured a club draw even within the final 15 seconds of regulation – a single-day first in NHL history. The most on a single gameday in League history was previously two (14x; last: March 18, 2023).
* Undrafted 27-year-old goaltender Brandon Bussi captured his seventh straight win with the Hurricanes and improved to 9-1-0 to start his NHL tenure – tied for the most victories through a goaltender’s first 10 career outings.
* Nathan MacKinnon became the NHL’s first player to reach the 50-point mark for the second time in as many seasons – a feat only three other skaters have accomplished in the past 30 years.
AN NHL FIRST HEADLINES 10-GAME TUESDAY WITH QUARTET OF LATE-TYING GOALS
The Ducks (19-10-1, 39 points), Islanders (17-11-3, 37 points), Sabres (12-14-4, 28 points) and Predators (11-14-4, 26 points) each outlasted their opponents in closely contested affairs en route to victories and did so after their games featured a tying goal within the final 15 seconds of regulation.
* Beckett Sennecke (1-1—2) factored on two game-tying goals for the Ducks, which also included scoring the tying tally in the final second of regulation while shorthanded, to spark Anaheim’s come-from-behind shootout victory. Sennecke (10-16—26 in 30 GP), who became the NHL’s first rookie to 10 goals and 25 points this season, became the seventh rookie to score a game-tying goal in the final second of regulation and the first to do so while shorthanded. The others: Freddy Meyer (March 8, 2006), Pat Falloon (Feb. 28, 1992), Steve Yzerman (Dec. 18, 1983), Steve Bozek (Feb. 13, 1982), Doug Robinson (Feb. 21, 1965) and Ron Ellis (Dec. 13, 1964).
* The Golden Knights opened up a 2-0 lead before the Islanders took 3-2 and 4-3 advantages of their own – and withstood a tying tally from Pavel Dorofeyev with 14 seconds remaining in regulation – en route to a shootout victory and their ninth comeback win of the season (t-3rd in 2025-26). Bo Horvat (19-12—31 in 31 GP) scored twice to move into a tie for the third-most goals among all players in 2025-26 and is on pace for 50 tallies this season – the most by an Islanders player since Pierre Turgeon (58 in 1992-93).
* Connor McDavid (2-0—2) scored two of three Oilers goals in the third period – including a tying tally with two seconds remaining – as Edmonton erased a 3-0 deficit in the final 20 minutes, but Alex Tuch found the back of the net 33 seconds into overtime with the help of Rasmus Dahlin (0-3—3) to lift the Sabres to victory. Dahlin collected his 14th career overtime point and tied Jason Pominville for the second most in Sabres history while also matching Doug Bodger (13 GP) for the second-most three-point games by a defenseman in franchise history in the process.
* After Brady Skjei gave the Predators a 3-2 lead in the third period, Cale Makar scored the tying tally with just eight seconds remaining in the contest, but Ryan O’Reilly (0-1—1) scored the lone shootout goal to help the Predators improve to 7-2-1 in their past 10 home games against the Avalanche. Overall, the NHL has featured 372 close games this season (one-goal margin or two-plus with an empty-net goal) – the most at this stage of a season in League history (475 GP) ahead of 2024-25 (356).
BUSSI JOINS RARE COMPANY IN NHL HISTORY IN 10TH CAREER GAME, HURRICANES WIN
Seth Jarvis scored one of four Hurricanes goals and undrafted 27-year-old Brandon Bussi made 23 saves as Carolina rallied past Columbus and ended its seven-game home stand with a win. Bussi, who has allowed one goal or fewer in three of his past four games, has won seven straight contests and nine of his first 10 appearances to begin his NHL career – tied for the most by a goaltender in NHL history.
RANTANEN CONTINUES STRONG START AS STARS PUSH POINT STREAK TO 11
Mikko Rantanen (0-3—3), skating in his 50th career game with the Stars, helped the club build a three-goal lead and then assisted on another tally to regain a two-goal advantage in the third period as Dallas withstood a Jets rally and extended their point streak to 11 games (9-0-2).
* Rantanen, whose sixth three-point outing of the season trails only Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini (both w/ 7) for the most among all players, boosted his career totals with the Stars to 18-42—60 (50 GP). He leapfrogged Neal Broten (24-35—59) and Mike Gartner (29-29—58) for the most by a skater through their first 50 games with the franchise.
* Jason Robertson (1-0—1) scored the winning goal and tied Bill Goldsworthy (34) for ninth place on the franchise’s all-time list. It also marked Robertson’s 45th goal of 2025, the second time he has reached the mark in a calendar year following his 56-goal output in 2022. Robertson became the second player in franchise history with 45-plus tallies in multiple calendar years, alongside Dino Ciccarelli (4x; most: 63 in 1986).
KUCHEROV, MacKINNON ADD TO THEIR 2025 TOTALS
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates highlighted the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner in Nikita Kucherov (1-1—2) and the 2025-26 scoring leader in Nathan MacKinnon (0-2—2) as both added to their 2025 totals. MacKinnon (42-64—106 in 71 GP) and Kucherov (33-70—103 in 73 GP) rank first and second, respectively, in points this calendar year.
* Kucherov (982 GP) notched his 1,200th career point in the regular season and playoffs combined and became the fourth fastest-player born outside of North America to reach the milestone. He trails Jari Kurri (854 GP), Peter Stastny (882 GP) and Jaromir Jagr (925 GP).
* MacKinnon became the NHL’s first 50-point scorer for the second time in as many seasons (24-27—51 in 30 GP). He also became the fifth different player in Avalanche/Nordiques history to reach the mark in 30 or fewer games, joining Peter Stastny (2x; fewest: 27 GP in 1987-88), Marian Stastny (27 GP in 1982-83), Peter Forsberg (29 GP in 1995-96) and Michel Goulet (30 GP in 1982-83).
QUICK CLICKS
* Jake Oettinger thriving with Stars, eyes No. 1 goalie job for U.S. at Olympics
* Bobby McMann suspended one game for actions in Maple Leafs game
* Thatcher Demko to return for Canucks against Sabres on Thursday
* World Cup of Hockey host cities narrowed down to 16
* ‘Road To The NHL Winter Classic‘ to debut Dec. 10
NHL ON TNT DOUBLEHEADER HEADLINES HALF OF WEDNESDAY’S SLATE
An NHL on TNT doubleheader headlines action on Wednesday, beginning with an Original Six matchup between the Rangers (15-12-4, 34 points) and Blackhawks (12-11-6, 30 points), followed by a Pacific Division clash featuring the Kings (14-8-7, 35 points) and Kraken (11-10-6, 28 points).
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* The Rangers and Blackhawks are currently led by Calder Trophy winners Artemi Panarin (2016) and Connor Bedard (2024), who both won the award with Chicago. After playing his first two NHL campaigns with the Blackhawks, Panarin (10-22—32 in 31 GP) is now in his seventh season with another Original Six franchise and needs one point to pass Chris Kreider (582) for 10th on New York’s all-time scoring list. Meanwhile, Bedard (18-22—40 in 29 GP) needs two goals to become the seventh-youngest player in NHL history to have at least 20 goals through the 30-game mark of a season. He would be the second Blackhawks player in the past 30 years to achieve the feat, following Tony Amonte (21 in 1998-99 & 20 in 1996-97).
* The Kings and Kraken will face off for the first time in 2025-26 when Los Angeles brings its 10-2-4 record as visitors this season into Seattle – tied for the second-most road wins. Captain Anze Kopitar already ranks first on multiple franchise lists and can use tonight to move closer to the top of another: he needs five road points to pass Marcel Dionne (607) for the most in Kings history. At the other end, Seattle’s Vince Dunn (47-151—198 in 302 GP), who has posted both his multi-point games this season at Climate Pledge Arena, can become the second player in franchise history to record 200 career points.
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