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SABRES HEAD TO WINTER CLASSIC ON WINNING NOTE

Jack Eichel found the back of the net twice to help the Sabres overcome a 3-1 deficit and Rasmus Ristolainen(1-1—2) scored in overtime to power Buffalo to victory in their final game before the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic. The Sabres will face the Rangers, who lost in a shootout on Friday and own a 4-1-2 record in their last seven contests, outdoors at Citi Field in New York on New Year’s Day (1 p.m. ET on NBC, Sportsnet, TVA Sports).

* Eichel has collected 7-4—11 in his last six outings (1.83 P/GP), including an active four-game point streak (4-3—7). He leads all Buffalo skaters with 15-20—35 overall this season (38 GP).

* Ristolainen scored his third career regular-season overtime goal (all w/ BUF) to move into a tie with Phil Housley and Tyler Myers for the most in franchise history by a defenseman.

* ICYMI: NHL.com’s Dan Rosen compiled an oral history of the first-ever NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 1, 2008 between the Sabres and Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo.

BLACKHAWKS’ GLASS MAKES 42 SAVES IN NHL DEBUT

Jeff Glass made 42 saves to earn a win in his NHL debut and Patrick Kane (1-1—2) scored 50 seconds into overtime to power the Blackhawks to victory.

* Per Elias, Glass (32 years, 40 days) became the second-oldest goaltender in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to earn a win in his NHL debut, behind Rob Zepp (34 years, 106 days) on Dec. 21, 2014 at WPG (4-3 OT W w/ PHI).

* Glass, a third-round selection (89th overall) by the Senators in the 2004 NHL Draft who has appeared for 10 teams across three leagues (American Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League and Kontinental Hockey League) in 13 professional seasons before his first career NHL game, became the third Blackhawks goaltender to make 40 or more saves in his NHL debut since the statistic was officially recorded in 1955-56; he joined Gilles Meloche (42) on March 16, 1971 at VAN (7-4 W) and Ed Belfour (45) on Oct. 18, 1988 at DET (4-3 OT L).

GOALTENDERS HELP CLUBS CONTINUE HOME SUCCESS

Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) and Cam Ward (CAR) each helped their respective clubs continue recent strings of success on home ice:

* Hellebuyck made 42 saves to backstop the Jets to a 14-3-1 (29 points) record at Bell MTS Place in 2017-18. Hellebuyck improved to 20-4-5 this season (2.45 GAA, .921 SV%, 2 SO), including a 14-1-1 record at home (2.19 GAA, .927 SV%, 2 SO).

* Elias notes that Hellebuyck established a Jets/Thrashers franchise record for fewest appearances to reach 20 wins in a season (31 GP), eclipsing the mark of 34 games set by Michael Hutchinson in 2014-15.

* Ward made 27 saves to help the Hurricanes extend their overall and home win streaks to four and six games, respectively. Ward improved to 10-2-1 this season (2.53 GAA, .917 SV%), including wins in each of his last six outings (1.80 GAA, .934 SV%).

* Elias notes that Ward matched the Hurricanes/Whalers franchise record for fewest appearances to reach 10 wins in a season (14 GP), a mark set by Martin Gerber in 2005-06 and matched by Anton Khudobin in 2013-14.

JAGR PASSES FRANCIS FOR THIRD IN ALL-TIME GAMES PLAYED

Flames forward Jaromir Jagr skated in his 1,732nd career regular-season game to pass Ron Francis (1,731) for sole possession of third place on the NHL’s all-time list.

SEVERAL PLAYERS EXTEND POINT STREAKS

Several players extended lengthy point streaks on Friday:

* Islanders forward Josh Bailey (0-1—1) pushed his career-high point streak to 10 games (6-12—18) and shares second in the NHL with 11-38—49 this season (38 GP). Linemate John Tavares (0-1—1) stretched his point streak to nine contests (4-14—18) and has registered 21-28—49 in 2017-18 (38 GP), keeping pace with Bailey.

* Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (0-2—2) extended his point streak to nine games (5-9—14) and paces the NHL with 24-30—54 overall this season (37 GP).

* Avalanche forward Mikko Rantanen (1-0—1) pushed his point streak to eight contests (3-6—9), the longest such run of his NHL career.

* Flyers captain Claude Giroux (0-3—3) stretched his point streak to seven games (0-12—12) and is tied for fifth in the NHL with 13-33—46 this season (38 GP).

QUICK CLICKS

· 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic: By the Numbers

· Winter Classic: Shattenkirk happy to see growth of hockey in home state

· To Adam Graves, NHL Winter Classic opportunity to savor

SNEAK PEEK AT SATURDAY’S ACTION

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