HOLTBY BACKSTOPS CAPITALS TO EIGHTH STRAIGHT WIN
Braden Holtby turned aside all 31 shots he faced to post his 22nd career shutout (second this season) and lead the Capitals to their eighth straight victory, their longest such run since April 2-16, 2013 (also 8-0-0).

* At 27-6-2 (56 points), the Capitals continued their best start to a season – in terms of wins and points – in the franchise’s 41-year history. They also moved within one point of the idle Stars (27-7-3, 57 points) for first place in the NHL standings.

* The Capitals have earned at least one point in 16 of their last 17 games dating to Nov. 21 (15-1-1), including five straight wins as visitors. Their 13 road victories are tied for first in the NHL this season (w/ SJS).

* Holtby earned his League-leading 23rd win of the season (29 GP), including his seventh in a row. He also paces the NHL with a 1.86 goals-against average and ranks second with a .937 save percentage.

* Overall, Holtby has recorded at least one point in 16 consecutive decisions dating to Nov. 12 (15-0-1). Per Elias, he became the first goaltender to achieve that feat sinceJonas Hiller (14-0-2 w/ ANA) and Semyon Varlamov (11-0-5 w/ COL) posted equal runs in 2013-14.

CANADIENS EDGE LIGHTNING, END TRIO OF SKIDS
Max Pacioretty registered an assist on the tying goal with 5:46 remaining in regulation and scored the decisive tally in the third round of the shootout to lift the Canadiens over the Lightning in their first meeting since the Second Round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, a six-game victory by Tampa Bay.

* In securing the win, the Canadiens halted a trio of skids: they snapped a six-game overall losing streak dating to Dec. 15 (0-6-0), ended a six-game road losing streak dating to Dec. 5 (0-6-0) and halted a seven-game losing streak in the regular season vs. TBL dating to Feb. 1, 2014 (0-5-2).

* At 21-14-3 (45 points), the Canadiens climbed back into first place in the Atlantic Division, where the top six teams are separated by five points. They also improved to 9-2-1 against divisional opponents this season.

* Mike Condon made a career-high 36 saves to snap a seven-game personal skid. He owns a 10-9-3 record in his first 25 NHL appearances (2.48 GAA, .904 SV%).

CENTRAL CLUBS CONTINUE CLIMB
Both the Wild and Predators earned wins on Monday to keep pace in the crowded Central Division, where teams Nos. 2-5 are separated by six points:

* Mikko Koivu scored twice in 74 seconds, including what stood as the game-winning goal, to guide the Wild to their sixth victory in their last eight contests at Xcel Energy Center. Koivu posted his second multi-goal game of the season, both in the past two weeks (also Dec. 17 vs. NYR: 2-1—3). He has 6-5—11 over his past eight outings, surpassing his goal total from the first 27 games of the season (4-16—20).

* James Neal also scored twice to propel the Predators to their third victory in their last four games. Neal recorded his fourth multi-goal performance of the season, two of which have come in December (also Dec. 10 vs. CHI: 2-0—2). He leads the team with 15 goals overall (36 GP), five more than the next-closest players (Filip Forsberg and Shea Weber: 10).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Kings defenseman Derek Forbort, the 15th overall selection in the 2010 NHL Draft, scored his first career goal (11 GP).

* Canucks forward Chris Higgins (700) and Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop (200) played in milestone games.

* Alain Vigneault (NYR) coached his 1,007th career game to tie Jacques Demers for 21st place on the NHL’s all-time list among head coaches.

LOOSE PUCKS
Despite suffering the shootout loss, the Lightning have earned at least one point in 10 consecutive regular-season games against the Canadiens dating to Nov. 12, 2013 (8-0-2) . . . The Avalanche snapped a 13-game drought with their first regular-season win in San Jose since Feb. 6, 2008 (0-9-4) . . . Kings forward Anze Kopitar (0-4—4) equaled a career high for assists in one game, last achieved Dec. 18, 2014 vs. STL (1-4—5) . . . Predators forward Mike Ribeiro (0-3—3) posted his first three-point game since Jan. 27 vs. COL (0-3—3). He has 1-7—8 over his past four outings . . . Avalanche forward Carl Soderberg (1-2—3) equaled a career high for points in one game, last achieved Dec. 29, 2014 vs. DET (1-2—3 w/ BOS) . . . Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov scored to extend his point streak to a career-high six games (2-7—9) . . . Sharks forward Joe Thornton (2-6—8) and Predators forward Filip Forsberg (4-2—6) extended their point streaks to six and five games, respectively . . . Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop (31 SV) fell to 10-1-3 in 15 career regular-season appearances vs. MTL (1.62 GAA, .938 SV%, 1 SO) . . . The Avalanche (4-for-6) connected for four power-play goals in one game for the first time since Oct. 13, 2011 at OTT (4-for-6) . . . ICYMI: Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau, Stars goaltender Antti Niemi and Maple Leafs forward Tyler Bozak were named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Dec. 27.

NHL ANNOUNCES OUTDOOR WOMEN’S CLASSIC
The NHL announced that it will host the first-ever Outdoor Women’s Classic presented by Scotiabank on Thursday at Gillette Stadium as part of the festivities for the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic.

The abbreviated exhibition game, which will begin at 2:00 p.m. ET, will feature the Boston Pride of the newly formed National Women’s Hockey League (NWHL) versus Les Canadiennes of the Canadian Women’s Hockey League (CWHL).

Fans who have tickets for the 2016 NHL Winter Classic Alumni Game presented by Molson Canadian (3:30 p.m. ET) can use those tickets to gain early entry into Gillette Stadium to watch the Outdoor Women’s Classic presented by Scotiabank. There are no separate tickets available for the game.

Click here for more information, including rosters for both teams.

SNEAK PEEK AT TUESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
Ottawa @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., TSN5, RDS2, NESN
NY Islanders @ Toronto, 7:00 p.m., TVAS, MSG+ 2, TSN4
Carolina @ New Jersey, 7:00 p.m., FS-SE, MSG+
Dallas @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., FS-SW, FS-O
Montreal @ Florida, 7:30 p.m., SNE, RDS, FS-F
Nashville @ St. Louis, 8:00 p.m., NBCSN, SNO, SNP
Detroit @ Winnipeg, 8:00 p.m., FS-D, TSN3
Anaheim @ Calgary, 9:00 p.m., PRIME, FS-SD, SNW
Los Angeles @ Edmonton, 9:00 p.m., FS-W, SNOL
Chicago @ Arizona, 9:00 p.m., CSN-CH, FS-A
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BRUINS, CANADIENS PLAY FINAL GAMES BEFORE WINTER CLASSIC
The Bruins (19-12-4, 42 points) and Canadiens (21-14-3, 45 points) – who are separated by three points for first place in the Atlantic Division – play their final games before they meet on Friday in the 2016 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. Boston, who has lost three straight, returns to TD Garden to face Ottawa in the second half of a home-and-home series; the Senators picked up a 3-1 win on Sunday behind two goals from Mark Stone and 38 saves from Craig Anderson. Montreal, meanwhile, snapped a pair of six-game losing streaks (overall and on the road) with a 4-3 shootout victory over Tampa Bay on Monday. The Canadiens continue their trip through Florida when they visit the Panthers, winners of six straight, at BB&T Center.

CENTRAL DIVISION RIVALS CLASH ON NBCSN
Important points are on the line when the Blues (22-12-4, 48 points) face the Predators (18-12-6, 42 points) at Scottrade Center in a national broadcast on NBCSN. St. Louis currently ranks second in the Central Division, six points ahead of Nashville, who is clinging to the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. This marks the third of five meetings this season between these divisional rivals; the Blues have won each of the first two, with Jake Allen denying 72 of 73 shots (.986 SV%) to earn both victories. These clubs will not play each other again until February, when they close their season series with a pair of games at Bridgestone Arena.

the above information was provided by the NHL PR department