BRASSARD LIFTS RANGERS IN OVERTIME
Derick Brassard posted his third career overtime goal – and second against Detroit – to lead the Rangers to their fifth consecutive victory against the Red Wings dating to March 21, 2012.

* The last time the Rangers won five straight games against the Red Wings was Jan. 3, 1983 – Jan. 16, 1984.

* Brassard also scored the overtime winner for the Rangers Oct. 26, 2013 at DET. Since the NHL began using the five-minute overtime format in 1983-84, only two other players have recorded two regular-season overtime goals against the Red Wings: Wendel Clark (both in 1994) and Mats Sundin (2000 and 2002) (courtesy of the Elias Sports Bureau).

* Rick Nash added his 10th goal of the season to move within one of Corey Perry for the League lead. Nash scored his 10th goal in his 12th game of the season; in 2013-14, he didn’t reach 10 goals until his 29th outing (Jan. 10 vs. DAL).

* Nash now has 26 goals in 58 regular-season games against the Red Wings, his most goals and appearances versus any opponent.

* Henrik Lundqvist made 25 saves for the victory, but saw his shutout streak against the Red Wings end at 211:08 – his longest versus any opponent.

* Alain Vigneault coached his 900th regular-season game, becoming the 28th head coach in NHL history – and seventh active – to reach the milestone.

TAVARES POWERS ISLANDERS PAST DUCKS
John Tavares scored twice, including his fifth career overtime goal, to power the Islanders to their first victory in Anaheim since Oct. 11, 2006 (0-3-1).

* With his winner, Tavares became the first player in Islanders history to record five career overtime goals. Four others have four such goals: Mike Bossy, Pat LaFontaine, Kyle Okposo and Pierre Turgeon.

* Tavares’ other overtime goals: Oct. 18, 2010 at TOR; Dec. 22, 2010 vs. TBL; Jan. 8, 2011 at COL; and Jan. 21, 2012 vs. CAR.

* Okposo posted 1-1—2, including an assist on Tavares’ game-winner, for his fourth multi-point performance of the season. He leads the team with nine assists and also is tied for first (with Tavares) with 14 points.

* Jaroslav Halak made 32 saves, including 14 in the third period/overtime, to snap a personal four-game losing streak.

PARENTEAU HELPS CANADIENS EDGE SABRES
Pierre-Alexandre Parenteau netted the decisive marker in the third round of the shootout to help the Canadiens snap a three-game skid.

* Parenteau improved to 14-for-28 (50.0%), with seven game-deciding goals, in his shootout career. Among active players with a minimum of 25 attempts, Parenteau ranks third in efficiency behind T.J. Oshie (27-for-49, 55.1%) and Frans Nielsen (33-for-61, 54.1%).

* Parenteau now is 13-for-19 (68.4%), with six game-deciding goals, in road shootout attempts. He is just 1-for-9 (11.1%), with one game-deciding goal, at home.

* Parenteau also improved to 3-for-4 (75.0%), with three game-deciding goals, in shootouts this season.

* Dustin Tokarski made 31 saves – and denied two of three shootout attempts – to pick up his second win of the season and the fifth of his career (14 GP).

* Per Elias, the Canadiens’ six-game winning streak against the Sabres (dating to April 11, 2013) is the longest in franchise history.

BLACKHAWKS UNVEIL WINTER CLASSIC JERSEY
The Blackhawks unveiled their jersey for the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, which will be contested Thursday, Jan. 1, at Nationals Park (1:00 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVA).

Inspired by the 1957 uniform worn by the team, the white Winter Classic jersey features a lace-up collar and secondary logos on each sleeve; the secondary logos overlap the top two stripes on the sleeve rather than the traditional shoulder placement.

Click here for a video of the unveiling.

LOOSE PUCKS
The Red Wings scored their second game-tying goal in the final minute of regulation this season. Niklas Kronwall found the back of the net at 19:21 of the third period in an eventual 4-3 overtime victory Oct. 23 vs. PIT . . . Sabres goaltender Michal Neuvirth made 31 saves and now has a .969 save percentage in 10 career games against the Canadiens (5-3-1) . . . Ducks forward Matt Beleskey potted his sixth goal of the season (14 GP). He had nine goals in 55 outings in 2013-14 . . . Making his season debut, Red Wings forward Daniel Cleary scored his first goal since Jan. 11 at LAK . . . Former Canadiens Brian Gionta and Josh Gorges played 20:43 and 25:29, respectively, in their first game against their former club . . . Dan Girardi (30:51) logged 30-plus minutes of ice-time for the third consecutive game, becoming the first Rangers player to do so since Brian Leetch had an eight-game streak Dec. 9-27, 2000 . . . Sabres forward Tyler Ennis recorded his 100th NHL assist . . . Canadiens forward Lars Eller played in his 300th NHL game.

SNEAK PEEK AT THURSDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Edmonton @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., SN360, TVA2, NESN (#EDMvsBOS)
Florida @ Philadelphia, 7:00 p.m., FS-F, CSN-PH (#FLAvsPHI)
Minnesota @ Ottawa, 7:30 p.m., FS-N, FS-WI, TSN5, RDS (#MINvsOTT)
Calgary @ Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m., SNF, SUN (#CGYvsTBL)
New Jersey @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., NHLN-US, MSG, FS-MW (#NJDvsSTL)
Pittsburgh @ Winnipeg, 8:00 p.m., ROOT, TSN3 (#PITvsWPG)
Nashville @ Dallas, 8:30 p.m., FS-TN, FS-SW (#NSHvsDAL)
Toronto @ Colorado, 9:00 p.m., TSN4, ALT (#TORvsCOL)
NY Islanders @ Los Angeles, 10:30 p.m., MSG+, FS-W (#NYIvsLAK)
Vancouver @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., SN360, CSN-CA (#VANvsSJS)
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

HOT CLUBS FACE OFF IN WINNIPEG
Two of the hottest clubs in the NHL face off when the Penguins, winners of five straight, visit the Jets, winners of three in a row and five of their last six, at MTS Centre. Both teams have posted lengthy shutout streaks during their runs: Pittsburgh saw its 205:28 shutout streak end Tuesday in Minnesota (13:20 shy of the club record), while Winnipeg set a franchise mark with its 169:44 shutout streak that ended Tuesday against Nashville. This is the first of two meetings between these clubs in 2014-15; the Penguins have won four straight, seven of their last nine and 40 of their 53 all-time matchups.

CANUCKS, SHARKS ALSO TRY TO EXTEND RUNS
The Canucks and Sharks also will try to extend their respective hot streaks when they meet at SAP Center at San Jose. Vancouver has won five of its past six, including the first contest of its four-game road trip Tuesday in Colorado. San Jose, meanwhile, is coming off a 3-1 win Saturday against the NY Islanders and has points in four straight (3-0-1). This marks the first of five meetings between these Pacific Division rivals in 2014-15; the Sharks have won 10 of their last 11 matchups (regular season and playoffs) dating to Jan. 27, 2013, including a four-game sweep in the 2013 Western Conference Quarterfinals.

HOCKEY FIGHTS CANCER AWARENESS NIGHT
The Avalanche host their Hockey Fights Cancer Awareness Night Thursday. Click here for more details.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the above information.