HORNTON PASSES OATES FOR SEVENTH-MOST ASSISTS IN LEAGUE HISTORY
Sharks forward Joe Thornton provided the primary helper on the overtime winner by Brent Burns (1-1—2) to collect his 1,080th career regular-season assist and pass Adam Oates (1,079) for sole possession of seventh place on the NHL’s all-time list.



* Thornton has registered 179 of his career regular-season assists on game-winning goals, the fourth-highest such total in League annals behind Wayne Gretzky (239), Ron Francis (196) and Jaromir Jagr (180).

* Thornton, Sharks forward Patrick Marleau (0-1—1) and Bruins captain Zdeno Chara – the only active NHL players to contest a game in the 1990s – each suited up Thursday. They became the 12th, 13th and 14th players in League history to play at least one contest in four or more different decades.

* The 40-year-old wasn’t the only Sharks player to ascend an all-time NHL list Thursday, with Burns scoring his 39th career game-winning goal in the regular season to pass Brian Leetch (38) and tie Scott Niedermayer for the eighth-most in League history among players listed as defensemen. Burns recorded his 15th career regular-season overtime goal to move two ahead of Niedermayer (13) for the most-ever by an NHL blueliner.

EICHEL SCORES PENALTY-SHOT GOAL IN OVERTIME
Buffalo erased a 2-0 deficit and Jack Eichel scored a penalty-shot goal at 1:09 of overtime as the Sabres rallied past the Oilers to snap a four-game slide (0-4-0). Eichel became the first player in franchise history to score a penalty-shot goal in overtime.

* Eichel (26-28—54 in 41 GP) is on pace to score 51 goals this season, which would be 23 more than his 2018-19 total (28-54—82 in 77 GP). Only six different players in franchise history have concluded a regular season with a +15 improvement in goals immediately following a campaign where they scored 20 or more.

PASTRNAK OPENS SCORING WITH NHL-LEADING 30TH GOAL OF 2019-20
Bruins forward David Pastrnak opened the scoring with his League-leading 30th goal of the season (30-30—60 in 42 GP) before Columbus defeated Boston in overtime to extend its point streak to 12 games (8-0-4). Pastrnak became the first Bruins player to reach the 30-goal mark in 42 games or fewer since Cam Neely in 1993-94 (30-10—40 in 27 GP) and the second player in franchise history achieve the feat at age 23 or younger, joining Dit Clapper in 1929-30 (31-13—44 in 34 GP).

* Pastrnak, who extended his point streak to nine games (4-10—14), has opened the scoring in an NHL-best 11 contests this season. That’s already tied for the franchise’s third-highest such total in an entire regular season, trailing only Phil Esposito in 1973-74 (15 in 78 GP) and Neely in 1989-90 (12 in 76 GP).

* Pastrnak reached 60 points on the season, becoming the first Bruins skater to hit the mark in 42 games or fewer since 1993-94 when Neely (44-17—61 in 40 GP) and Adam Oates (17-44—61 in 41 GP) combined for the feat.

* Tuukka Rask (31 saves) fell to 10-0-6 in 16 games at TD Garden this season (2.20 GAA, .926 SV%, 2 SO). Rask moved within one appearance of matching the franchise record for longest season-opening home point streak by a Bruins goaltender, a mark set by Gilles Gilbert in 1973-74 (16-0-1).

* Rask became the sixth different goaltender in franchise history to record at least one point in 16 or more consecutive home appearances at any point within a regular season – a feat last accomplished by Pete Peeters in 1982-83.

OTHER SURGING PLAYERS, TEAMS CONTINUE TO ROLL

* William Nylander (2-1—3) extended his career-high goal streak to five games (6-5—11) to help the Maple Leafs improve to 8-0-1 in their last nine contests – scoring at least four times in each outing. Toronto, the NHL’s highest-scoring team since Dec. 1, 2019 (59 GF), recorded at least four goals in nine or more consecutive games for the third time in franchise history following Oct. 12 – Nov. 1, 1980 (10 GP) and Feb. 11-27, 1993 (9 GP).

* J.T. Miller (1-3—4) matched a season high with four points (also Oct. 9, 2019: 1-3—4 vs. LAK) to help the Canucks defeat the Blackhawks and improve to 6-0-0 in their last six games, the longest active win streak in the NHL and their longest since Dec. 28, 2016 – Jan. 6, 2017 (6-0-0). Vancouver (22-15-4, 48 points) occupies third place in the Pacific Division standings.

* The Lightning defeated the Canadiens to extend their season-high win streak to five games, a run which includes two victories versus Montreal (also Dec. 28, 2019: 5-4 W). Tampa Bay (22-13-4, 48 points) occupies third place in the Atlantic Division standings, three points back of Toronto (23-14-5, 51 points) for second.

* Cale Makar collected 1-1—2 to eclipse 30 career regular-season points (9-22—31 in 33 GP) and help the Avalanche defeat the defending Stanley Cup champions. Makar became the eighth defenseman in NHL history to record his first 30 career regular-season points in 33 games or fewer – and second to do so with a Colorado-based team.

DID YOU KNOW?
All 12 Coyotes forwards in the lineup Thursday collected at least one point in their win over the Ducks. Arizona matched its single-game franchise record for most forwards with at least one point, a mark set as the Winnipeg Jets on March 25, 1987 (10-1 W vs. CGY).

QUICK CLICKS

* Jonathan Huberdeau, Tristan Jarry and Artemi Panarin named “Three Stars” for December
* Victor Olofsson named “Rookie of the Month” for December
* Sharks can recover to get back into contention like Blues did last season
* Michael Frolik, Marco Scandella, Mike Reilly in separate trades
* WJC Roundup: Alexis Lafreniere return helps Canada reach semifinals

PREVIEW OF TODAY’S ACTION