... NAMESTNIKOV ALSO POSTS THE FIRST HAT TRICK OF HIS NHL CAREER
Vladislav Namestnikov (3-0—3) completed the hat trick at 2:11 of overtime to lead the Lightning to their fourth straight win.

* At 23-17-4 (50 points), the Lightning leapfrogged the Bruins (22-16-5, 49 points) and idle Canadiens (23-18-3, 49 points) for sole possession of third in the Atlantic Division.

* Namestnikov recorded the first hat trick of his NHL career (91 GP) and has posted three consecutive multi-point outings (3-4—7).

HORVAT SCORES FIRST CAREER OVERTIME GOAL TO LEAD CANUCKS OVER HURRICANES
The Hurricanes tied the score with 2:10 left in regulation, but Bo Horvat (2-0—2) scored at 3:25 of overtime – his second goal of the contest – to help the Canucks improve to 7-3-2 in their last 12 games.

* At 18-17-10 (46 points), the Canucks moved into a tie with the idle Sharks (22-18-2, 46 points) – in terms of standings points – for third in the Pacific Division. San Jose, however, has played three fewer games than the Canucks. Vancouver also moved within a point of the idle Avalanche (22-20-3, 47 points), who hold the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

* Horvat scored his first career overtime goal (113 GP). Per Elias, at 20 years, 256 days old, he became the second-youngest player in Canucks history to score a regular-season overtime goal. The youngest: Tony Tanti (20 years, 198 days) on Mar. 23, 1984 at WPG (4-3 OT W).

* Horvat extended his point streak to a career-high six games (6-3—9), a stretch which includes his two career multi-goal performances (also Jan. 6 vs. CAR: 2-0—2). Prior to this run, Horvat had posted 2-8—10 in his first 39 games of the season.

AROUND THE RINKS
* Ryan Spooner (1-2—3) posted his second three-point game of the season (also Dec. 18 at PIT: 0-4—4) to help the Bruins snap a three-game losing streak (0-2-1). Jonas Gustavsson (34 saves) improved to 8-3-1 overall (2.33 GAA, .915 SV%). At 22-16-5 (49 points), the Bruins hold the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.

* Connor Hellebuyck turned aside all 24 shots he faced and Blake Wheelerscored the only goal of the contest at 3:07 of the first period as the Jets (21-21-3, 45 points) earned their second win in as many days on the heels of a three-game skid (0-2-1). Hellebuyck picked up his second shutout of the season (also Dec. 27 vs. PIT) to improve to 11-6-1 (2.00 GAA, .931 SV%, 2 SO). Wheeler has scored the game-winning goal in back-to-back contests and leads the club with 13-31—44 this season (45 GP).

* The Ducks scored four goals in the first period en route to their 4-2 win over the Stars, improving to 7-2-1 in their last 10 outings. At 19-17-7 (45 points), the Ducks moved within one point of the idle Sharks (22-18-2, 46 points) for third place in the Pacific Division and within two points of the idle Avalanche (22-20-3, 47 points) for the final Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

MILESTONES & BENCHMARKS
* Hurricanes defenseman Ron Hainsey (800) and Stars defenseman Jason Demers (400) each skated in milestone games.

ROSTERS FOR COLORADO 2016 NHL STADIUM SERIES ALUMNI GAME ANNOUNCED
Seven members of the Hockey Hall of Fame are among those on the preliminary rosters released Friday for the 2016 Stadium Series Alumni Game at Coors Field. Those playing for the Avalanche include Joe Sakic, Patrick Roy, Peter Forsberg, Rob Blake and Ray Bourque. Red Wings alumni include Nicklas Lidstrom and Larry Murphy among many other notable names. The alumni game will take place on Friday, Feb. 26 at 5 p.m. MT, a day prior to the 2016 Coors Light NHL Stadium Series. For the complete rosters, click here.

USA HOCKEY NAMES ASSISTANT COACHES FOR 2016 WORLD CUP OF HOCKEY TEAM
MikeSullivan (Duxbury, Mass.), JohnHynes (Warwick, R.I.), PhilHousley (South St. Paul, Minn.), JackCapuano (Cranston, R.I.) and ScottGordon (Easton, Mass.) will serve as assistant coaches under Head Coach John Tortorella (Boston, Mass.) for Team USA in the upcoming World Cup of Hockey 2016. Set for Sept. 17-Oct. 1 in Toronto, the World Cup of Hockey 2016 will feature eight teams including the U.S., Canada, Czech Republic, Europe, Finland, North America, Russia and Sweden. For more information, click here.

LOOSE PUCKS
Bruins forward Matt Beleskey (1-1—2) posted his fourth multi-point game of the season (41 GP)... The Bruins improved to 6-1-2 in their last nine games vs. BUF dating to Dec. 21, 2013 (BUF: 3-4-2)... Sabres goaltender Robin Lehner (27 saves) made his first appearance since Oct. 8, 2015 vs. OTT... Blackhawks goaltender Scott Darling (28 saves) picked up his third straight win and improved to 5-3-2 overall (2.45 GAA, .915 SV%)... The Blackhawks improved to 10-2-0 in their last 12 games vs. TOR dating to Feb. 3, 2004 (TOR: 2-9-1)... Canucks goaltender Jacob Markstrom (38 saves) extended his personal point streak to four games (3-0-1) and improved to 7-5-4 overall (2.40 GAA, .922 SV%)... The Canucks have won six consecutive games vs. CAR dating to Dec. 1, 2013 (CAR: 0-5-1)... Lightning forward Valtteri Filppula (1-2—3) registered his first three-point game of the season (44 GP)... Lightning forward Steven Stamkos (0-2—2) has recorded back-to-back multi-point games (2-2—4) and shares the team-lead with 20-15—35 this season (w/ Nikita Kucherov: 16-19—35)... Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy made a season-high 36 saves to record his career-high fourth straight victory and improve to 6-4-0 overall (2.80 GAA, .910 SV%)... Penguins forward Patric Hornqvist (1-2—3) picked up his second three-point game of the season (43 GP)... Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (1-1—2) has scored five times in his last seven outings (5-7—12). Prior to this run, Letang had scored once in his first 27 games of the season (1-15—16)... Penguins forward Evgeni Malkin (0-2—2) leads the club in assists (22) and points (43) this season (43 GP). He also has 19-23—42 in 31 career games vs. TBL... The Jets improved to 5-1-0 in their last six games vs. MIN dating to Feb. 10, 2015 (MIN: 1-4-1)... Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg (1-1—2) recorded his third multi-point game of the season (43 GP), which have all been posted in his last four outings (2-4—6)... Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen (22 saves) improved to 7-8-5 this season (2.40 GAA, .915 SV%)... Stars forward Jamie Benn scored his 26th goal of the season and is tied for second among League leaders (w/ Alex Ovechkin)... Stars forwardMattias Janmark became the first rookie to score a shorthanded goal this season (45 GP)... The Penguins and the Ducks completed a trade Saturday morning. Pittsburgh picked up Carl Hagelin, while Anaheim added David Perron and Adam Clendening…The Coyotes acquired defenseman Jarred Tinordi from the Canadiens in a three-team trade also involving the Predators. The Predators traded defenseman Victor Bartley to the Coyotes for defenseman Stefan Elliott, and the Coyotes packaged Bartley and forward John Scott to acquire Tinordi and forward Stefan Fournier from the Canadiens... The NHL Central Scouting Midterm Rankings will be released on Tuesday, Jan. 19 at 11:00 a.m. ET on NHL.com... J.J. Watt of the NFL’s Houston Texans dropped by the Philadelphia Flyers practice and was greeted by general manager Ron Hextall... ICYMI: Minnesota North Stars and Wild alumni participated in a Skate with the Stars outdoor event in downtown St. Paul, Minn.

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION
All Times Eastern
NY Rangers @ Philadelphia, 1:00 p.m., SN, MSG, CSN-PH
New Jersey @ Arizona, 2:00 p.m., MSG+, FS-A
Ottawa @ Los Angeles, 4:00 p.m., RDS2, TSN5, FS-W
Toronto @ Boston, 7:00 p.m., CBC, CITY, NESN
Washington @ Buffalo, 7:00 p.m., CSN-DC+, MSG-B, BELL TV
Colorado @ Columbus, 7:00 p.m., ALT, FS-O
Montreal @ St Louis, 7:00 p.m., NHLN-US, TVAS, SN, FS-MW
Minnesota @ Nashville, 8:00 p.m., FS-N, FS-TN
Calgary @ Edmonton, 10:00 p.m., CBC, SN
Dallas @ San Jose, 10:30 p.m., FS-SW, CSN-CA
NBCSN Channel Finder
Sportsnet Channel Finder

THREE GAMES HIGHLIGHT SATURDAY’S NATIONAL SCHEDULE
Three games highlight Saturday’s Hockey Night in Canada telecast: The Toronto Maple Leafs travel to Boston to face the Bruins (CBC); the Canadiens take on the Blues in St. Louis (SN); the Flames are in Edmonton to renew the Battle of Alberta (CBC).

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the above information.