HOLTBY, CAPITALS BOUNCE BACK TO RECLAIM FIRST PLACE
Braden Holtby made 25 saves to help the Capitals bounce back from a pair of losses (0-1-1) and improve to 17-2-2 in their last 21 games dating to Nov. 21.

* At 29-7-3 (61 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 leapfrogged the Stars (28-10-4, 60 points) – who lost in regulation – for first place in the NHL standings.

* Holtby earned his League-leading 25th win of the season, three more than the next-closest goaltender (Jonathan Quick: 22). He also extended his personal point streak to 19 consecutive decisions (17-0-2), the longest such run by any goaltender since 2010-11 (Roberto Luongo: 16-0-5).

* Holtby improved to 9-2-0 in 11 career regular-season appearances vs. BOS (1.57 GAA, .952 SV%, 3 SO). That includes five consecutive wins, with a 0.60 goals-against average, .979 save percentage and three shutouts in that span.

CENTRAL TEAMS CONTINUE TO GAIN GROUND
Both the Blackhawks (24-13-4, 52 points) and Wild (21-11-7, 49 points) picked up wins to gain ground in the Central Division, where teams Nos. 2-5 are separated by seven points:

* The Penguins erased a two-goal deficit in the third period, but Artemi Panarin (2-0—2) scored at 3:47 of overtime to lift the Blackhawks to a victory in the first half of a back-to-back, home-and-home series – their fourth consecutive win overall. Panarin, who registered his second career multi-goal game (also Nov. 8 vs. CHI: 2-1—3), continues to pace all rookies with 13-23—36 – eight points more than the next-closest player (Max Domi: 10-18—28).

* Zach Parise posted his fourth career hat trick – and second of the season (also Oct. 8 at COL: 3-0—3) – to power the Wild to a 3-1-1 record in their past five games. Parise became the second player in franchise history to pick up multiple hat tricks in one season. The other: Marian Gaborik, who achieved that feat three times (2001-02: 2x, 2002-03: 3x and 2003-04: 2x).

DID YOU KNOW?
Blue Jackets forward Nick Foligno (19:44) and Wild forward Mikael Granlund (19:46) combined for two goals in two seconds in the final minute of the third period.

That matched a record for the fastest two goals in NHL history, a mark established on Dec. 19, 1987, when Bruins forward Ken Linseman (19:50) and Blues forward Doug Gilmour (19:52) scored two seconds apart in the third period of a 7-5 St. Louis win.

AROUND THE RINKS
* Connor Hellebuyck made a career-high 43 saves, including 17 in the opening frame, to backstop the Jets to their fourth victory in their past six games. Via Elias, Hellebuyck equaled a Jets/Thrashers record for saves by a rookie goaltender, established by Ondrej Pavelec on Nov. 30, 2008 vs. STL (4-2 L).

* Four players – Rick Nash (0-3—3), Derek Stepan (2-0—2), Jayson Megna (1-1—2) and Kevin Klein (0-2—2) – registered multiple points to lead the Rangers to their third win in their last five games. Megna, who was making his team debut, scored his first goal since March 16, 2014 vs. PHI (w/ PIT).

* Karri Ramo turned aside 30 shots to guide the Flames to their 12th victory in their past 14 games at Scotiabank Saddledome. Ramo, a sixth-round selection (191st overall) by the Lightning in the 2004 NHL Draft, improved to 2-2-1 in five career appearances against his former team (1.79 GAA, .937 SV%).

* Three players – Brayden Schenn (1-2—3), Sean Couturier (1-1—2) and Shayne Gostisbehere (1-1—2) – collected multiple points to help the Flyers snap a three-game skid (0-3-0). Schenn equaled a career high for points in one game, last achieved on April 5, 2015 vs. PIT (1-2—3).

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Panthers forward Jaromir Jagr scored his 736th career goal – and fourth in his past four games – to move within five of tying Brett Hull (741) for third place in NHL history.

* Stars forward Jason Spezza (0-2—2) recorded his 500th NHL assist to extend his assist/point streak to five games (1-7—8).

* Rangers forward Rick Nash (0-3—3) played in his 900th NHL game.

LOOSE PUCKS
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane (0-2—2) recorded his 16th multi-point game of the season to extend his League leads in assists (36) and points (59). He has earned at least one point in 36 of 41 appearances . . . Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (1-1—2) collected his fifth multi-point game in his past eight contests (6-6—12), while teammateKris Letang (1-1—2) registered his third consecutive multi-point game (3-5—8) . . . Jets forward Drew Stafford (2-0—2) notched his fourth multi-goal game of the season . . . Flames captain Mark Giordano picked up two assists, giving him 4-7—11 in his last eight games . . . Stars forward Patrick Sharp posted one assist to extend his point streak to a career-high 10 games (6-7—13) . . . Stars defenseman John Klingberg (1-5—6) and Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews (3-2—5) both extended their point streaks to five games . . . Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford (34 SV) improved to 5-1-0 in six career games vs. PIT (1.75 GAA, .943 SV%) . . . ICYMI: Maple Leafs prospect Kasperi Kapanen scored at 1:33 of overtime to lift Finland to the gold medal at the 2016 IIHF World Junior Championship . . . Linesman Mike Cvik officiated his 1,868th and final NHL regular-season game (TBL-CGY).

SNEAK PEEK AT WEDNESDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
New Jersey @ Montreal, 7:00 p.m., SN, MSG+, RDS
Pittsburgh @ Chicago, 8:00 p.m., NBCSN, TVAS
St. Louis @ Colorado, 10:00 p.m., FS-MW, ALT
Carolina @ Vancouver, 10:00 p.m., FS-CR, SNP
Toronto @ Anaheim, 10:00 p.m., SNO, FS-W
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder
NHLN Channel Finder

LACK RETURNS TO VANCOUVER WITH HURRICANES
Goaltender Eddie Lack returns to Vancouver for the first time when the Hurricanes (16-17-7, 39 points) visit the Canucks (15-16-9, 39 points) at Rogers Arena. Lack – an undrafted free agent who signed with Vancouver in 2010 – played his first two NHL seasons with the Canucks, compiling a 34-30-9 record with a 2.43 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and six shutouts in 82 appearances before being traded to the Hurricanes during the offseason.

“It’s fun seeing a lot of familiar faces,” Lack told the Canadian Press. “It’s been a while. I had a really good relationship with the fans and my teammates. When you get close to people like that you miss them.”

the information above was provided by the NHL PR department