* Alex Ovechkin resumed The Gr8 Chase by scoring a goal against Marc-Andre Fleury, but Fleury foiled his longtime foe and extended his NHL record for most shootout wins.
* Jonatan Berggren exited the penalty box and buried a late go-ahead goal on a breakaway as the Red Wings earned a thrilling win during their final road game against the Blue Jackets before the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series.
* Colton Dach is set to debut against his brother during Friday’s five-game slate, which features three contests carried by Sportsnet programming.
OVECHKIN SCORES GOAL No. 871 BEFORE FLEURY FOILS CAPITALS
Alex Ovechkin scored his 871st career goal to move within 24 of passing Wayne Gretzky (894) for first place on the NHL’s all-time list, but Marc-Andre Fleury had the upper hand in the 66th meeting between the two veterans (regular season & playoffs) as he stopped all three Washington shootout attempts – including one from the Capitals captain – to lead the Wild to victory.
* Ovechkin scored his 41st career goal against Fleury (regular season & playoffs) and passed Brett Hull (40 vs. Tim Cheveldae) for the most by a player versus one goaltender in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68). Ovechkin also became the fifth skater in NHL history to record 20 regular-season goals against 18 different franchises, following Gretzky (21), Marcel Dionne (19), Mike Gartner (18) and Luc Robitaille (18).
* For a timeline of every NHL goals leader as well as the Capitals captain’s highlight reel and milestone tallies, click here or peruse the League’s The Gr8 Chase playlist on YouTube.
MacKINNON SPARKS AVALANCHE LATE RALLY EN ROUTE TO OT VICTORY
After trailing 3-0 through 30 minutes, the Avalanche pulled within one in the third period only to find themselves down by two again, but Nathan MacKinnon factored on three straight goals including Jonathan Drouin’s tying tally in the final eight seconds – the latest by an Avalanche player since Jan. 17, 2015 – to set the stage for Devon Toews’ overtime winner.
* Colorado overcame a three-goal deficit to defeat the Sabres for the second time this season (also 5-4 W on Dec. 3). Colorado earned multiple three-goal comeback wins against the same opponent in a season for the third time in Avalanche/Nordiques history (also 2 vs. MTL in 1985-86 & vs. HFD in 1982-83). The only other teams in the last 30 years to do so were the Hurricanes (2 vs. FLA in 2006-07), Canadiens (2 vs. OTT in 2013-14) and Coyotes (2 vs. ANA in 2020-21).
* With his three assists, MacKinnon (39 GP) recorded his League-leading 50th assist of 2024-25 and became the first active player to reach the mark in fewer than 40 games, besting the previous mark of 43 games set by Nikita Kucherov in 2018-19.
Detroit defeats Blue Jackets in final visit to Columbus before Stadium Series
Jonatan Berggren buried the go-ahead goal with 35.7 seconds remaining in regulation as the Red Wings earned a win during their final road game against the Blue Jackets before the 2025 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Ohio Stadium on March 1.
* Berggren’s goal capped a contest which featured three-point efforts by Alex DeBrincat (2-1—3), James van Riemsdyk (2-1—3) and **Zach Werenski** (1-2—3) as Columbus rallied from deficits of 3-1 and 4-3 before the late winner. DeBrincat (Farmington Hills, Mich.) and Werenski (Grosse Pointe, Mich.) are two of several players with ties to Michigan set to play in the League’s 43rd outdoor game, which will breathe new life into the legendary Ohio State Buckeyes-Michigan Wolverines football rivalry.
WINS BY DUCKS, UTAH HOCKEY CLUB FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Thursday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates had more notes as 24 teams contested their first games of 2025. Some highlights include:
* After facing a two-goal deficit to start the game, Leo Carlsson scored his 20th NHL goal to put Anaheim on the board before Troy Terry (2-1—3) levelled the game at 2-2. Winnipeg would go on to take the lead again with less than three minutes to go in regulation but Terry factored on the tying tally 54 seconds later before he potted the overtime winner to give the Ducks their fourth multi-goal comeback win of the season, tied with the Golden Knights for the second most in the League behind the Kraken (5). Terry tied Scott Niedermayer (5) for the fifth-most overtime goals in franchise history and equaled Andy McDonald (15) for the seventh most three-point games for the club.
* Logan Cooley accounted for one of his team’s five goals to help Utah snap a five-game skid and extended his road point streak to 12 games, tying Pierre Turgeon (12 GP in 1989-90) and Geoff Sanderson (12 GP in 1992-93) for the fifth longest by a player age 20 or younger in NHL history. Cooley also tied Brian Bradley (12 GP w/ TBL in 1992-93) for the longest road point streak by a skater during a franchise’s first NHL season.
* Jason Zucker (3-1—4) scored his third career hat trick and first in nearly six years. With every hat trick this season, AstraZeneca will donate $3,000 to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation up to $300,000.
QUICK CLICKS
* Zachary L'Heureux of Predators suspended 3 games for slew-footing
* Juha Jaaska makes NHL debut during dad’s 1st trip to U.S.
* Blackhawks focus on turning things around from Winter Classic
* Columbus Blue Jackets Quarter-Century Team unveiled
Friday’s five-game slate features three contests on Sportsnet programming
Friday’s five-game schedule opens with Sidney Crosby and the Penguins (17-17-5, 39 points) pitted against Sam Reinhart and the Panthers (23-14-2, 48 points) on Sportsnet 360 and NHL Network. The other contests carried by Sportsnet programming feature Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and the Oilers (22-12-3, 47 points) hosting Leo Carlsson and the Ducks (16-17-4, 36 points) as well as Roman Josi and the Predators (11-20-7, 29 points) visiting Brock Boeser and the Canucks (18-11-8, 44 points).
* Crosby (602-1,035—1,637 in 1,311 GP) enters the New Year needing five points to pass Joe Sakic (1,641) for ninth place on the NHL’s all-time list and six assists to leapfrog Marcel Dionne (1,040) for the 11th most in League history. Crosby (10-31—41 in 39 GP) is already halfway to the 82-point mark, which would guarantee a 20th career point-per-game season and move him past Wayne Gretzky (19) for the NHL record.
* Draisaitl (10-14—24 in 12 GP) and McDavid (3-20—23 in 12 GP) can become the first set of Oilers teammates with simultaneous 13-game point streaks since runs by Gretzky and Mark Messier overlapped for 14 contests from Oct. 31 to Nov. 29, 1987. Draisaitl and McDavid would be the second group on any team to achieve the feat this season, following the Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar from Oct. 9 to Nov. 5, 2024.
* Jordan Kyrou and the Blues (18-17-4, 40 points) as well as Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks (12-24-2, 26 points) will contest their first games since the Discover NHL Winter Classic, with Colton Dach set to make his League debut against his older brother, **Kirby**.
