McDAVID HAS FOUR POINTS IN OILERS’ SEVEN-GOAL OUTBURST

Connor McDavid (1-3—4) factored on four of seven goals to lead the Oilers to victory against the Metropolitan Division-leading Blue Jackets. Edmonton scored at least seven goals in a game for the third time this season, tied with Winnipeg for the most such outings in 2017-18.

* McDavid recorded his second career game with at least four points (2-3—5 on Feb. 11, 2016 vs. TOR) to move into third place in the NHL with 12-27—39 this season (31 GP).

* Elias notes that McDavid – who captured the Art Ross Trophy with 30-70—100 last season (82 GP) – leads all players with 40 multi-point games since the beginning of 2016-17, three more than the next-closest player in that span (Nikita Kucherov: 37).

LIGHTNING BLANK BLUES FOR FIFTH STRAIGHT WIN

Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside all 32 shots he faced to backstop the League-leading Lightning (22-6-2, 46 points) past the Western Conference-leading Blues (21-9-2, 44 points) and to their fifth straight victory, the longest active win streak in the NHL.

* Vasilevskiy recorded his third shutout of the season and improved to 20-4-1 in 25 appearances (2.15 GAA, .933 SV%, 3 SO), becoming the first goaltender to reach the 20-win mark in 2017-18. Elias notes that Vasilevskiy became the sixth goaltender in NHL history to reach the 20-win mark within his first 25 appearances of a season.

* Vasilevskiy leads the League with 32 wins since taking over as Tampa Bay’s starter on Feb. 27 – four more than the next-closest netminders in that span (Jake Allen and Braden Holtby: 28 apiece).

* Nikita Kucherov (21-21—42 in 30 GP) scored to move into a tie for the most goals (w/ Alex Ovechkin) and points (w/ Steven Stamkos) in the NHL this season. Brayden Point (1-1—2) scored for the fourth consecutive contest (4-2—6), including his second straight game-winning goal.

FLYERS EXTEND WIN STREAK TO FOUR GAMES

The Flyers tied the game in third period and Sean Couturier (1-1—2) scored the go-ahead goal with 2:55 remaining in regulation to lift Philadelphia to its fourth consecutive win on the heels of a 10-game skid (0-5-5).

* Elias notes that the Flyers became the 12th team in NHL history – and fifth in the past 20 years – to post four or more consecutive wins immediately following a winless stretch of at least 10 games. The other teams over the last 20 years: the 1998-99 Canadiens, 2002-03 Penguins, 2005-06 Sharks and 2009-10 Bruins.

WARD REACHES 300-WIN MILESTONE

Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward made 22 saves through 65 minutes and denied four shootout attempts to become the 32nd goaltender in NHL history (fifth active) to reach the 300-win milestone.

MARLEAU REACHES 1,100-POINT MILESTONE, CLIMBS GAMES PLAYED LIST

Maple Leafs forward Patrick Marleau scored to become the fourth active player to reach the 1,100-point milestone. The goal was the 519th of Marleau’s career, moving him ahead of Dale Hawerchuk (518) into sole possession of 37th place on the NHL’s all-time list. Marleau also skated in his 1,525th career game to surpass Brendan Shanahan (1,524) for sole possession of 16th place in NHL history.

QUICK CLICKS

· Nia Holloway, star of "The Lion King," performs national anthem in Buffalo

· Karlsson eager for 2017 Scotiabank NHL100 Classic (via Mike Zeisberger)

· Despite major snowfall, rink build on schedule for NHL100 Classic

· All-Star Fan Vote Continues

· Vote Now: Greatest NHL Uniforms

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION

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“ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC” RETURNS

The critically-acclaimed Road To The NHL Winter Classic presented by Honda returns this week to take viewers inside the dressing rooms and homes of the Sabres and Rangers as they prepare to meet outdoors in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1 at Citi Field in New York. The four-week, 30-minute limited series will premiere tonight in the U.S. on NBCSN at 11:30 p.m. ET immediately following the Bruins-Red Wings game, and Thursday at 7 p.m. ET in Canada on Sportsnet.

Click here for more information, including the full broadcast schedule.

above information was supplied by the NHL PR department