. . . CENTRAL DIVISION RIVALS KEEP PACE
The Blues (20-10-4, 44 points), Blackhawks (19-11-4, 42 points) and Predators (16-11-6, 38 points) also earned victories to keep pace in the crowded Central Division standings, where teams Nos. 2-5 are separated by six points:

* Vladimir Tarasenko (1-2—3) factored in on all three Blues goals to help the club pick up its third straight victory and halt the Flames' winning streak at seven games. Tarasenko, who ranks second in the League with 21 goals, established a career high with a goal in his fifth straight contest (5-4—9). Only two other players have registered goal streaks of at least five games this season: Chicago’s Patrick Kane (Nov. 2-15: 7-9—16 in 7 GP) and San Jose’s Joe Pavelski (Oct. 24 – Nov. 3: 6-1—7 in 5 GP).

* Buffalo native Patrick Kanetied the score with 33.5 seconds remaining in regulation and then notched the lone shootout goal to rally the Blackhawks to a win in his hometown. Kane, who continues to pace the NHL with 20-28—48, has registered a point in 31 of 34 games this season. Per Elias, Kane is the only U.S.-born player to score 20 or more goals in each of his first nine seasons in the NHL. The only other U.S. natives to register nine or more consecutive 20-goal seasons at any time during their NHL careers are Keith Tkachuk (12 straight; 1992-93 through 2003-04) and Tony Amonte (nine straight; 1995-96 through 2003-04).

* Shea Weber (0-2—2) notched two primary assists and James Neal scored the eventual game-winning goal to help the Predators halt the Wild’s point streak at nine games (6-0-3). Weber, who ranks second on the Predators with 9-13—22 this season, has collected 3-9—12 in the month of December – tied for the League-lead (w/ VladimirTarasenko: 7-5—12 and Johnny Gaudreau: 7-5—12).

LAST LINE OF DEFENSE
The Avalanche, Maple Leafs, Coyotes, Hurricanes and Ducks all secured victories on Saturday backed by strong performances from their respective goaltender:

* Semyon Varlamov made 39 saves, including 27 over the first two periods, to backstop the Avalanche to their fifth consecutive victory, their longest winning streak since March 25 – April 5, 2014 (6-0-0). Varlamov extended his personal winning streak to six games, equaling his career high last achieved from March 4-19, 2015. The Avalanche improved to 7-2-0 in the month of December, with Varlamov earning the decision in all seven victories after beginning the season with five wins in his first 14 appearances.

* Jonathan Bernier, the 11th overall selection by the Kings in the 2006 NHL Draft, made 26 saves to register his 10th career shutout (first this season) and guide the Maple Leafs past his former club. With the victory, Bernier earned his first win of the season and his first win in four career appearances against the Kings. Via Elias, Bernier is the fourth former Kings goaltender to record a shutout against the club and the first to do so since March 6, 1982 (Rogie Vachon: 24 SV w/ BOS).

* Louis Domingue, a fifth-round selection (138th overall) by the Coyotes in the 2010 NHL Draft, denied all 25 shots he faced to pick up his first career shutout (9 GP) and second career victory (also Feb. 1 at MTL). At 23 years, 288 days, Elias says Domingue became the youngest goaltender to post a shutout for the Coyotes since Feb. 16, 2001 at CAR (RobertEsche: 23 years, 25 days).

* Cam Ward made 37 saves, including 13 in the first period, to help the Hurricanes improve to 3-0-1 in their last four road contests. Per Elias, Ward improved his career record against the Penguins to 15-7-3. Ward's .660 points percentage versus the Penguins is the second-highest among active goaltenders with at least ten career decisions against Pittsburgh. Sergei Bobrovsky tops the list with a 9-4-1 (.679) mark versus the Penguins.

* FrederikAndersen made 21 saves to help the Ducks halt a three-game road losing streak and register a victory in his 100th career appearance (60-24-9, 2.37 GAA, .917 SV%, 3 SO). According to Elias, only two other goaltenders who have debuted in the last 30 years won at least 60 of their first 100 games in the NHL: Chris Osgood (69) andAntti Niemi (61).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla scored his 598th career goal to move within two of becoming the 19th player in NHL history to reach the 600-goal milestone. Iginla, an Edmonton native, has tallied 38-50—88 in 95 career games against the Oilers.

* Coyotes captain Shane Doan played in his 1,417th career game to surpass Al MacInnis (1,416 GP) and tie Luke Richardson (1,147 GP) for 29th place on the NHL’s all-time games played list.

* Defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who leads all blueliners with four game-winning goals this season, scored the 20th decisive tally of his career to surpass Teppo Numminen (19 GWG) for the most game-winning goals by a defenseman in Coyotes/Jets franchise history.

* Blue Jackets goaltender Joonas Korpisalo, a third-round selection (62nd overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft, made 30 saves through overtime – and denied five of six shootout attempts – to register his first career victory (3 GP).

* Penguins goaltender Matt Murray (24 SV), a third-round selection (83rd overall) in the 2012 NHL Draft, made his League debut.

* Penguins forward Phil Kessel (selected fifth overall by BOS) became the first member of the 2006 NHL Draft class to play in 700 career games. Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (400) and Sabres forward Jamie McGinn (400) also played in milestone games.

LOOSE PUCKS
Blue Jackets forward Brandon Dubinsky (0-1—1) scored in the sixth round of the shootout to lift the club to its second straight win and to a 9-1-0 record in their last 10 meetings with the Flyers dating to Dec. 21, 2013 (PHI: 1-7-2)… Blues goaltender Brian Elliott made 36 saves to move to 8-3-0 in 12 career appearances against the Flames, including seven consecutive victories (1.29 GAA, .930 SV%, 2 SO)... Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford made 25 saves through overtime and denied all three shootout attempts to improve to 6-1-0 in his last seven contests overall (0.85 GAA, .971 SV%, 3 SO). He also moved to 6-0-0 in six career appearances vs. BUF. (1.81 GAA, .932 SV%)… Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne (20 SV) improved to 10-3-3 on home ice this season (1.99 GAA, .922 SV%, 2 SO), compared to a 3-6-3 mark on the road. He denied Jason Zucker on a first-period penalty shot to lift goaltenders to a 24-for-32 success rate in that situation this season (75.0%)… Hurricanes defenseman John-Michael Liles scored his first goal of the season and first game-winning goal since April 4, 2010 vs. SJ (w/ COL)… Wild forward Zach Parise (1-0—1) registered at least one point for the seventh straight game (4-6—10), his longest point streak since Jan. 24 – Feb. 9, 2012 w/ NJ (6-3—9)… Maple Leafs forward Michael Grabner established a new career-high with four points (2-2—4)... Defensemen Nick Holden (COL) and Colton Parayko(STL), who both hail from St. Albert, Alta., scored against the Oilers and Flames, respectively. Parayko, who paces all first-year blueliners with 6-8—14, also tied Shayne Gostisbehere (PHI) for the League lead among rookie defensemen with six goals… The Blues improved to 8-0-1 in their last nine meetings with the Flames dating to April 25, 2013 (CGY: 1-8-0)… Blues forward Alexander Steen (0-2—2), who has 1-7—8 in his last six outings, ranks second on the team with 11-21—32 this season (34 GP)… Flyers forward Jakub Voracek (1-0—1), who scored the tying goal against the Blue Jackets, has 4-10—14 in 12 career appearances against his former team.

SNEAK PEEK AT SUNDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Vancouver @ Florida, 4:00 p.m., SNP, FS-F
New Jersey @ Boston, 5:00 p.m., MSG+, NESN
Ottawa @ Tampa Bay, 5:00 p.m., RDS2, TSN5, SUN
Calgary @ Detroit, 7:00 p.m., SN, FS-D
Washington @ NY Rangers, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, TVAS, CSN-DC, MSG
San Jose @ Chicago, 7:00 p.m., CSN-CA, CSN-CH
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

HOMETOWN HOCKEY STOPS IN SARNIA FOR HOLIDAY SPECIAL
The Flames, coming off their first loss in the month of December which ended a season-high seven-game winning streak, visit the Red Wings, who have earned at least a point in nine of their past 10 contests (5-1-4). The special holiday edition of Hometown Hockey (broadcast begins at 6:00 p.m. ET) explores Sarnia’s contributions to the game, from Hockey Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli to Sarnia Sting alumni Steven Stamkos and Alex Galchenyuk. The show will also include a holiday performance by The Tenors and a one-on-one interview with Canadian icon and Sarnia native, astronaut Chris Hadfield. Throughout 2015-16, Sunday games will be broadcast from a different community rink in various towns across Canada. Included in each telecast will be local NHL player profiles, grassroots stories and local entertainment features.

Click here for more details about the festivities in Sarnia.

Thanks to the NHL PR Department for the above information.