SABRES, FLAMES, BLUE JACKETS EARN WINS AGAINST LEAGUE’S TOP CLUBS

The Sabres (10-10-2), Flames (9-10-3) and Blue Jackets (7-12-4) completed upsets to start the week as they bested the top three teams in the League standings:

* Alex Tuch (2-0—2) scored two goals including the game winner, Casey Mittelstadt (1-2—3) matched his single-game career high with three points and Ukko-Pekka Luukonen (25 saves) made a save of the year contender to help the Sabres hand the League-leading Rangers just their second loss at Madison Square Garden this season and first since Oct. 19. Tuch’s game winner was his 12th with Buffalo since joining the club in 2021-22, tied with Tage Thompson for most on the team over that span.

* MacKenzie Weegar (1-0—1) scored with just five seconds remaining in overtime to lift the Flames over the NHL’s third-seeded Golden Knights as Calgary earned its fourth third-period comeback win of the season, tied for second most in the NHL behind only Anaheim (6). Weegar became the fourth Flames defenseman to score in the final five seconds of an overtime period alongside TJ Brodie (4:58 on Feb. 16, 2015), Chris Butler (4:56 on Dec. 12, 2013) and Tommy Albelin (4:56 on Nov. 3, 1999).

* Young talent played an important role for the Blue Jackets in besting the Bruins, who sit No. 2 in the overall standings, with 23-year-old rookie Dmitri Voronkov (1-0—1), 19-year-old rookie David Jiricek (0-1—1) and 20-year-old Cole Sillinger (0-1—1) all finding the score sheet. Voronkov, who has the third-most points among rookies this month, required the third-fewest games among all rookies in Blue Jackets history to record 10 NHL points, behind Zach Werenski (9 GP in 2016-17) and Jakub Voracek (13 GP in 2008-09).

BOBROVSKY EARNS 40TH CAREER SHUTOUT, BARKOV CLIMBS FRANCHISE LIST

Sergei Bobrovsky made 20 saves in a perfect performance to move into a tie for fourth place on the Panthers’ all-time shutout list, while Aleksander Barkov collected three assists to climb atop another franchise list as Florida (13-7-1, 27 points) earned its ninth win of the month – tied with Colorado, which also earned a win Monday, for the most among all teams.

* Barkov improved his career totals to 249-402—651 (682 GP) and joined Jonathan Huberdeau (198-415—613 in 671 GP) as the second player in Panthers history to record 400 assists with the club. With all three of his assists Monday coming on the man advantage, Barkov (192) surpassed Huberdeau (190) for the most power-play points in franchise history.

PANARIN JOINS GRETZKY ON RANGERS LIST IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

2024 NHL ALL-STAR WEEKEND EXPANDED TO THREE-DAY EVENT

The 2024 NHL All-Star Weekend, hosted by the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena, will be expanded to a three-day event. In addition to the NHL All-Star Skills presented by DraftKings Sportsbook on Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 and the Rogers NHL All-Star Game on Saturday, Feb. 3, 2024, the All-Star Weekend celebration will feature “NHL All-Star Thursday” on Feb. 1, 2024.

* NHL All-Star Thursday will also take place at Scotiabank Arena, starting at 6 p.m. ET, and will include the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft, the NHL Alumni Man of the Year and the Canadian Tire PWHL 3-on-3 Showcase. NHL All-Star Thursday will be televised on Sportsnet in Canada while in the U.S., the Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft will be on ESPN and the rest of the event will be on ESPN+.

* The Tim Hortons NHL All-Star Player Draft represents the return of a concept that was an entertaining and engaging element of previous All-Star Weekends. The captains of the four All-Star teams, who will be paired with celebrity captains, will select their teams from the remaining pool of All-Star players, in a televised draft on NHL All-Star Thursday.

* Click here to read more.

QUICK CLICKS.

* Connor McDavid, Nikita Kucherov, Juuse Saros named NHL’s Three Stars for the Week
* Connor McDavid scoring surge has Oilers captain back in dominant form
* Ryan Hartman suspended 2 games for actions in Wild game
* Dean Evason fired as Wild coach, replaced by John Hynes

* NHL teams with Starter for limited-edition release of 'The Black Ice Collection'

METROPOLITAN DIVISION SHOWDOWN HIGHLIGHTS BROADCAST ON HULU, ESPN+

The Hurricanes (12-8-0, 24 points) and Flyers (11-9-1, 23 points) will face off in a contest broadcast nationally on Hulu and ESPN+ after skating to wins in their most recent outings. Carolina and Philadelphia have taken different paths to attain success approaching the quarter mark of 2023-24; the Hurricanes have rallied from a deficit in seven of their 12 wins thus far, which also includes three multi-goal comeback wins, while the Flyers enter Monday with 537:47 of time leading this season – the fifth most among all teams.

STARS EYE MORE STRINGS OF SUCCESS

Quinn Hughes (8-25—33 in 22 GP) and first star for the week ending Nov. 26, Connor McDavid (7-18—25 in 18 GP), return to the ice with the hopes of continuing their point-producing prowess of late when the Canucks (14-7-1, 29 points) and Oilers (7-12-1, 15 points) host their respective opponents.

* Hughes has found the score sheet in all but one game during the month of November and welcomes the Ducks to Rogers Arena with points in each of his past 11 contests. The Canucks captain has the opportunity to establish a franchise record for longest point streak by a defenseman and become the first Vancouver skater with 23-plus points in a calendar month since Henrik Sedin (4-20—24 in March 2010).

* McDavid has sparked an Oilers offense that’s scored 13 goals in their past two games, posting 0-4—4 and 1-4—5 in those contests, respectively. While no player in NHL history has ever posted three consecutive outings with four assists, the Edmonton captain can join rare company in recent history should he post another performance with at least four points.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.