Sebastian Aho surpassed Ron Francis atop a franchise list, while several skaters that now-Kraken general manager Francis recently acquired helped Seattle secure a shutout victory versus Nashville.
* The NHL and Fanatics unveiled the Discover NHL Winter Classic uniforms to be worn by the Blackhawks and Blues at Wrigley Field on Dec. 31, while the first trailer for the critically-acclaimed series “Road to the Discover NHL Winter Classic presented by Enterprise” also dropped Wednesday. Click here to watch.
* NHL Coast to Coast on Prime Video Canada returns during a 10-game slate, highlighted by Kirill Kaprizov looking to extend his double-digit road point streak when the Wild visit Connor McDavid and the Oilers.
* The weekly whip-around studio show will see Andi Petrillo in her regular spot as host, alongside analysts Mike Rupp and Scott Hartnell as they follow the full night of NHL action. It will mark Hartnell’s first appearance on the show and one of his former teams, Columbus, will be in action.
Hurricanes, KRAKEN TALLY TRIUMPHS DURING NHL ON TNT TWO-PACK
Wednesday’s five-game slate was highlighted by an NHL on TNT doubleheader where Carolina and Seattle secured victories:
* Sebastian Aho (1-1—2) scored his 58th career game-winning goal to surpass Ron Francis (57) for the most in franchise history and help the Hurricanes (14-4-0, 28 points) move into first place in the Metropolitan Division. Jack Roslovic (10-1—11 in 18 GP) became the second player in team history (since 1997-98) to score his first 10 goals with Carolina in 18 games or fewer (also Erik Haula: 18 GP in 2019-20).
* Daniel Sprong opened the scoring while Brandon Montour (1-1—2) and Chandler Stephenson (0-3—3) had multiple points as the Kraken blanked the Predators. Sprong started his second stint with Seattle when he was traded to the Kraken on Nov. 8, while Montour and Stephenson were signed by the team after winning Stanley Cup championships within the last two seasons.
* The telecast also featured color commentator and 1,031-game veteran **Eddie Olczyk** reflecting on beating cancer as well as actor and devoted Blues fan Jon Hamm sporting St. Louis’ newly-unveiled Discover NHL Winter Classic sweater when he spoke to the NHL on TNT panel.
Nylander, Robertson, Dahlin featured in #NHLStats: Live Updates
The Wednesday edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured several more noteworthy performances, including Toronto’s William Nylander and Dallas’ Jason Robertson climbing franchise lists as well as Buffalo’s Rasmus Dahlin helping the Sabres claim the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference:
* Nylander factored on two of his team’s three goals while Joseph Woll turned aside all 31 shots he faced to help the Maple Leafs (12-6-2, 26 points) leapfrog the idle Panthers (12-6-1, 25 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division. Nylander, who notched his 230th career goal to tie Ted Kennedy for 11th place on the Maple Leafs’ all-time list, recorded his 141st career multi-point game to pass Kennedy (140) and tie Ron Ellis for the 10th most in club history.
* Dahlin (4-6—10 in 7 GP) assisted on the lone power-play goal to extend his point streak to seven games and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (23 saves) logged his first shutout of the season. Dahlin has factored on each of Buffalo’s last five power-play goals dating to Nov. 9, while Luukkonen improved to 4-0-0 in his last five appearances.
* Robertson and Matt Dumba connected on the 1-0 goal, with Robertson recording his 20th career game-opening tally to pass Brett Hull, J.P. Parise and Darryl Sydor (all w/ 19) on the franchise’s all-time list and Dumba registering his first point with Dallas. Robertson added two assists to post his 21st career three-point game.
KARL SUBBAN FEATURED IN THIS IS HOCKEY: JAMAICA EPISODE
This week, the NHL released ‘This Is Hockey,’ an original series highlighting the growth of hockey in seven unexpected places where it’s thriving including Jamaica. Despite being a small island, Jamaica has exported a vibrant culture and is home to legendary athletes in all sports around the world, including the first Jamaican-born NHL player Graeme Townshend as well as Karl Subban, father of P.K., Malcolm and Jordan, all drafted to the NHL. If a rink could be built on a beach, run by locals, the horizon for Jamaica’s youth would expand.
* Viewers can watch in Canada on Amazon Prime Video (English and French captions), in the U.S. on ESPN+ (English and Spanish) with all episodes also airing on ESPN Deportes in Spanish; and on YouTube.com/NHL for the rest of the world (English and Spanish, with “Brazil” episode also offered in Portuguese).
QUICK CLICKS
* Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau honored by U.S. House of Representatives
* Fraser Minten latest to contribute to win for short-handed Maple Leafs
* T.J. Oshie surprises 16-year-old fan as part of Make-A-Wish
* Hockey Fights Cancer Night to have personal meaning for Capitals announcer John Walton
* NHL, NHLPA announce plans to unveil full rosters for 4 Nations Face-Off
NHL Coast to Coast returns with Kaprizov PRIMED FOR FRANCHISE RECORD
NHL Coast to Coast, the live whip-around show available to viewers on Prime Video Canada starting at 7 p.m. ET, returns during a 10-game schedule highlighted by Kirill Kaprizov and the Wild visiting Connor McDavid and the Oilers at Rogers Place.
* Kaprizov carries a career-high 10-game road point streak into Thursday and can record the longest run in franchise history, eclipsing Joel Eriksson Ek (10 GP from Dec. 31, 2022 to Feb. 8, 2023) and Eric Staal (10 GP from Dec. 4, 2016 to Jan. 14, 2017). Kaprizov (13-20—33 in 18 GP) collected two goals during Minnesota’s victory versus St. Louis on Tuesday and sits one point back of Nathan MacKinnon (7-27—34 in 19 GP) for the League lead in scoring this season, while McDavid (9-15—24 in 17 GP) mustered his 126th career three-point game that night as No. 97 moved into a tie with Lanny McDonald for 97th place on the NHL’s all-time scoring list.
* More highlights include Connor Bedard and the Blackhawks battling the reigning Stanley Cup champions on ESPN+; MacKinnon looking to maintain his NHL-leading point total on Sportsnet programming; Joe Sacco serving his first game as Bruins’ head coach on TVA Sports; as well as Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks squaring off with the Blues in San Jose’s final game before retiring Joe Thornton’s No. 19. St. Louis and Chicago continue down the path to meeting at Wrigley Field in the Discover NHL Winter Classic on Dec. 31 (5 p.m. ET on TNT, truTV, MAX, SN, TVAS), with the NHL and Fanatics unveiling the Winter Classic jersey for both clubs Wednesday.