WINTER CLASSIC QUICK HITS
* Thirty-eight NHLers (35 skaters, 3 goaltenders) have played for both the Capitals and Blackhawks.

* Of those 38, only one has skated in at least 200 games for both clubs – current Capitals forward Troy Brouwer (CHI: 238, WSH: 247). Brouwer played for the Blackhawks in the 2009 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic against the Red Wings at Wrigley Field.

* Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik (2008 WC, 2011 WC, 2014 SS), Blackhawks forward Daniel Carcillo (2012 WC, 2014 SS – x2) and Blackhawks forward Brad Richards (2012 WC, 2014 SS, 2014 SS) all have played in three regular-season outdoor games, tied for the most in NHL history.

* Capitals forward Eric Fehr scored twice, including the game-winning marker, to lead the club to a 3-1 victory over the Penguins in the 2011 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh.

* Blackhawks forward Brad Richards tallied the game-winning goal for the Rangers in their 3-2 win at Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia in the 2012 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.

* Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville and Capitals head coach Barry Trotz have combined to coach 2,562 regular-season NHL games. Quenneville (1,330 GC; 731 W) and Trotz (1,232 GC; 600 W) rank first and fourth, respectively, among active NHL bench bosses in games coached and wins.

* Quenneville will become the first head coach to direct his club in three NHL regular-season outdoor games. Trotz will be making his outdoor game debut.

* The referees for today’s game are Francois St. Laurent (#38) and Kelly Sutherland (#11). The linesmen are Scott Cherrey (#50) and Tim Nowak (#77). Nowak worked the 2008 Winter Classic at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y.; the rest of the crew will be making their NHL outdoor game debut.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
* The NHL’s 13 regular-season outdoor games have drawn total attendance of 740,251 – an average of 56,942 per game.

* Road teams are 10-2-1 in outdoor games, including a 5-1-0 mark during the 2013-14 season. The Blackhawks secured the lone victory by a home team in 2013-14 with a 5-1 win over the Penguins in the 2014 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series at Soldier Field.

* Capitals forward Jay Beagle and Blackhawks goaltender Antti Raanta posted new blogs in advance of the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.

* The NHL issued reminders for fans attending today’s game.

* Check out the complete time-lapse video of the rink build for Nationals Park.

* Both the Capitals and Blackhawks took to the ice at Nationals Park for practices on Wednesday.

WINTER CLASSIC BY THE NUMBERS
* Of the six most-watched NHL regular-season games in the U.S. since 1975, five are Winter Classics.

* Seventeen NHL corporate and broadcast partners are activating at Spectator Plaza presented by GEICO, a free fan festival with hockey-themed attractions, music and fun for all ages at the Fairgrounds outside the Center Field Gate of Nationals Park from 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

* The 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic will bring $20 million in direct sales to Washington, D.C., according to Destination DC.

* The field and rink at Nationals Park sits 24 feet below street level.

* There will be more than 150 members of all five branches of the U.S. Armed Forces attending the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic as honored guests of the NHL.

* More than 160 countries and territories will carry the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic game broadcast.

* An estimated 3,757 jobs in Washington, D.C., will be supported directly by the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, according to Destination DC.

* Click here for more Winter Classic numbers.

WEDNESDAY’S RESULTS
Home Team in Caps
NY Islanders 5, WINNIPEG 2
Tampa Bay 5, BUFFALO 1
NY Rangers 5, FLORIDA 2
Toronto 4, BOSTON 3 (SO)
PITTSBURGH 2, Carolina 1
COLUMBUS 3, Minnesota 1
DETROIT 3, New Jersey 1
SAN JOSE 3, Anaheim 0
DALLAS 6, Arizona 0
COLORADO 4, Philadelphia 3 (OT)
CALGARY 4, Edmonton 3 (OT)

YOUNG GUNS LIFT LIGHTNING INTO FIRST PLACE . . .
The line of Ondrej Palat (1-3—4, +4), Nikita Kucherov (2-1—3, +4) and Tyler Johnson (0-3—3, +4) combined for 3-7—10 and a +12 rating to spark the Lightning to their fourth consecutive victory.

* With the win, the Lightning (24-11-4, 52 points) leapfrogged the idle Canadiens (24-11-2, 50 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.

* Palat established a career high with four points and matched a career high with three assists, first accomplished last Tuesday vs. PIT (0-3—3). He has 1-7—8 in his past four outings and 9-18—27 in 35 games this season.

* Kucherov registered his fourth three-point performance of the season and has 8-6—14 in his last 10 appearances. Johnson also posted his fourth three-point game of the season; he paces the team and shares seventh in the NHL with 13-27—40 in 38 starts.

* Per Elias, only five other players have recorded at least four three-point games this season: Sidney Crosby (6), Patrick Kane (5), Tyler Seguin (5), Steven Stamkos (5) and Phil Kessel (4).

* Four Lightning players occupy the top five overall spots in plus/minus this season: Johnson (+27), Kucherov (+25), Palat (+22) and Anton Stralman (+19).

* The Lightning extended their point streak against the Sabres to four games (3-0-1) and have won five of their last seven meetings dating to Oct. 8, 2013.

. . . RED WINGS, MAPLE LEAFS STAY CLOSE IN ATLANTIC
Both the Red Wings and Maple Leafs also earned victories on Wednesday to keep pace in the crowded Atlantic Division:

* Down 1-0 late in the second period, the Red Wings scored three unanswered goals – including Henrik Zetterberg’s tiebreaking marker with 5:01 remaining in regulation – to pick up their third win in their past four starts. Darren Helm (2-0—2) added his sixth career multi-goal game and second of the season (also Dec. 4 vs. DAL: 2-0—2). The Red Wings improved to 11-2-1 in their last 14 games against the Devils dating to Jan. 29, 2004, including four consecutive victories.

* The Maple Leafs surrendered a multi-goal load for the third straight contest, but Nazem Kadri scored in the fifth round of the shootout to lift the club to a 2-3-0 mark on its current seven-game road trip. Facing the team that selected him fifth overall in the 2006 NHL Draft, Phil Kessel posted 1-1—2 to reach 500 career points. The Maple Leafs earned their fourth win in their past five meetings with the Bruins, including their second straight victory at TD Garden.

STROME PROPELS ISLANDERS PAST JETS . . .
Ryan Strome recorded 1-3—4, establishing career highs for assists and points in one game, to lead the Islanders to their second consecutive victory and sixth win in their last eight outings (6-1-1).

* At 25-11-1 (51 points), the Islanders tied the Blackhawks (25-10-2, 52 points) for the most wins in the NHL. Their 25 victories before Jan. 1 also are the most since 1983-84, when they posted a franchise record with 26 wins prior to New Year’s Day.

* Strome recorded his second consecutive multi-point performance, following 0-2—2 on Monday vs. WSH. He shares third on the club with 7-20—27 in 37 games this season.

* Frans Nielsen collected 2-1—3, including the game-winning goal, for his second three-point game of the season (also Oct. 25 vs. DAL: 3-0—3).

* Together with Anders Lee (1-1—2), the line of Strome, Nielsen and Lee combined for 4-5—9 and a +8 rating.

* Jaroslav Halak made 21 saves to improve to 17-2-0 in his past 19 starts, including six straight victories. He and Frederik Andersen are the only goaltenders in the NHL to post two winning streaks of at least six games this season.

* The Islanders improved to 7-2-1 in their last nine meetings with the Jets dating to Dec. 20, 2011, including a 6-0-1 mark in Winnipeg.

. . . SUTTER, PENGUINS KEEP PACE IN METROPOLITAN
Knotted at 1-1, Brandon Sutter scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:42 remaining in regulation to help the Penguins snap a four-game skid (0-3-1).

* At 23-9-5 (51 points), the Penguins maintained the Metropolitan Division lead over the Islanders. Though the clubs are tied in points, the Penguins own the ROW tiebreaker (PIT: 21, NYI: 19).

* Sutter, who was selected by the Hurricanes 11th overall in the 2007 NHL Draft, recorded his first goal against his former team (1-2—3 in 10 GP).

* Playing his first game since Nov. 24, Beau Bennett collected 0-2—2; the Penguins are 19-2-1 when he registers at least one point in his career. Chris Kunitz (1-1—2) added his fifth multi-point performance of the season.

* Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves to pick up his 20th victory of the season, moving into a tie for second in the NHL.

* The Penguins improved to 10-3-0 in their last 13 meetings with the Hurricanes dating Dec. 3, 2011. They also have won seven of the last nine matchups between the clubs in Pittsburgh dating to Nov. 19, 2010.

STEPAN (AGAIN) POWERS RANGERS WITH THREE POINTS
Derek Stepan collected three assists to power the Rangers to their ninth victory in their last 10 outings.

* At 20-11-4 (44 points), the Rangers leapfrogged the idle Capitals (18-11-7, 43 points) for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

* Stepan matched his career high for assists in one game, accomplished four other times (also Nov. 28 at PHI). He also registered his second three-point performance in the club’s past three outings, following his third career hat trick on Saturday vs. NJD.

* Chris Kreider (1-1—2), Ryan McDonagh (1-1—2) and Martin St. Louis (1-1—2) also posted multi-point games.

* Henrik Lundqvist made 18 saves to improve to 8-1-0 with a 1.76 goals-against average, .930 save percentage and one shutout in his last nine appearances.

* The Rangers picked up their eighth victory in their past 10 meetings with the Panthers dating to Dec. 11, 2011.

BOBROVSKY, BLUE JACKETS COMPLETE BANNER MONTH
Sergei Bobrovsky recorded 28 saves, including 12 in the final period, to help the Blue Jackets complete a 10-1-1 December.

* Via Elias, the Blue Jackets’ 10 December wins equal the franchise record for one calendar month, set in March 2013 (10-2-4) and matched in January 2014 (10-4-0).

* Bobrovsky went 9-1-1 during the month, compiling a 2.14 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and one shutout. His nine wins tied a personal record for victories in one calendar month, achieved in March 2013 (9-2-3) and April 2013 (9-3-0).

* Kevin Connauton, who was claimed on waivers in November, scored the tying goal late in the second period and earned the primary assist on David Savard’s winner early in the third. Connauton has 5-4—9 in 15 games since joining the Blue Jackets; he had 1-9—10 in 44 career outings prior to his arrival in Columbus.

* The Blue Jackets picked up their fourth consecutive victory over the Wild dating to April 13, 2013.

FLAMES, AVALANCHE CLOSE 2014 WITH OT VICTORIES . . .
Both the Flames and Avalanche closed the calendar year by rallying for overtime wins:

* Joe Colborne (2-0—2) scored the tying goal midway through the third period and Josh Jooris potted the decisive marker at 1:08 of overtime to lead the Flames to their fifth straight victory in the Battle of Alberta and fourth consecutive win overall. Colborne registered his second career multi-goal game (also March 7, 2014 vs. NYI: 2-0—2), while Jooris posted his first career overtime tally. The Flames, who also rallied from a 2-0 deficit, picked up their League-leading eighth victory this season when trailing after two periods (8-11-1).

* Jarome Iginla notched the tying goal with 7:12 remaining in regulation and Ryan O’Reilly scored with 19.9 seconds left in overtime to help the Avalanche snap a two-game skid. O’Reilly has collected five career overtime goals, which ranks fourth in franchise history behind Milan Hejduk (9), Joe Sakic (7) and David Jones (6). The Avalanche earned their seventh consecutive home victory against the Flyers dating to Dec. 27, 2003.

. . . SHARKS, STARS DO SO WITH SHUTOUT WINS
Both Sharks goaltender Antti Niemi and Stars goaltender Kari Lehtonen recorded their 30th career shutouts (and third this season) to backstop their clubs to victories:

* Niemi made 28 saves, including 15 in the third period, to help the Sharks snap a three-game skid (0-2-1) and improve to 3-0-1 this season against the Ducks. Joe Pavelski scored twice, including his League-leading 10th power-play goal; he also paced the NHL with 20 power-play goals and 44 overall scores in 2014 (the calendar year).

* Lehtonen stopped all 32 shots he faced, including 12 in the final frame, to lead the Stars to their third consecutive victory. Making his NHL debut, Brett Richie scored his first career goal (the GWG). Jamie Benn (1-1—2), Cody Eakin (1-1—2) and Alex Goligoski (0-2—2) added multi-point performances.

LOOSE PUCKS
Despite losing in a shootout, the Bruins have picked up points in 13 of their past 15 outings at TD Garden (10-2-3) . . . The Panthers suffered their first regulation loss at BB&T Center since Nov. 24, snapping their home point streak at eight contests (6-0-2) – tied for a franchise record . . . Flyers forward Jakub Voracek notched his 15th goal of the season to maintain a three-point lead in the NHL scoring race (15-32—47 in 37 GP) . . . Jets forward Andrew Ladd (2-0—2) recorded his second multi-goal game of the season, both against the Islanders (also Oct. 28: 2-0—2) . . . Maple Leafs forward Leo Komarov potted his career-high fifth goal of the season in his first game since Nov. 29 . . . Flames forward Jiri Hudler (0-7—7), Jets forward Bryan Little (2-4—6), Red Wings forward Pavel Datsyuk (1-4—5), Blue Jackets forward Ryan Johansen (1-4—5) and Sharks forward Joe Thornton (1-4—5) all extended their point streaks to five games . . . Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein recorded his 100th NHL point . . . Avalanche forward Borna Rendulic and Devils forward Joe Whitney scored their first NHL goals . . . Devils forward Dainius Zubrus became the 102nd player in NHL history to skate in 1,200 games . . . Bruins forward Loui Eriksson (600), Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno (500) and Sabres forward Cody McCormick (400) also played in milestone games . . . Brothers Jimmy (FLA) and Kevin Hayes (NYR) faced off for the first time in the NHL . . . The Panthers signed forward Nick Bjugstad to a six-year contract extension . . . The Blue Jackets signed forward Nick Foligno to a six-year contract extension . . . The Department of Player Safety fined Canucks forward Jannik Hansen $5,000 for an illegal check to the head of Sharks forward Tommy Wingels . . . The NHL’s Board of Governors approved the purchase of a majority stake in the Coyotes by Andrew Barroway.

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department