DID YOU KNOW?

William Karlsson – who scored the first hat trick of his NHL career and recorded a career-high four points – became the first Golden Knights player to reach the 20-goal mark this season (20-13—33 in 37 GP).

* Nine of 10 teams to debut in the 1990s or later have featured a 20-goal scorer in their inaugural season, including five clubs who each had two (CBJ, ANA, OTT, TBL, SJS).

* 32 of the 40 all-time NHL franchises have had at least one 20-goal scorer in their inaugural season. The Vancouver Canucks and Edmonton Oilers share the record with six 20-goal scorers each, in 1970-71 and 1979-80, respectively.

* The most goals scored by a player on a team in its inaugural season is 56, a mark set by Blaine Stoughtonwith the Hartford Whalers in 1979-80.

VASILEVSKIY POSTS NHL-BEST FIFTH SHUTOUT, 25TH WIN

Andrei Vasilevskiy (21 saves) posted his NHL-best fifth shutout and 25th win of the season (25-5-1; 2.02 GAA, .935 SV%, 5 SO) to backstop the League-leading Lightning to a 28-8-2 (58 points) record, incuding an 11-2-0 (22 points) mark in December.

* Elias notes that Tampa Bay matched a franchise record for most wins in a calender month, a mark set in January 2004 (11-3-2, 24 points) prior to capturing the franchise’s first Stanley Cup later that year.

AVALANCHE, STARS SCORE SIX IN VICTORY

The Avalanche (19-16-3, 41 points) and Stars (22-15-3, 47 points) each scored six goals en route to victories over the Islanders and Sharks, respectively.

* Colorado’s offense, led by three-point outings from Gabriel Landeskog (2-1—3) and Nathan MacKinnon (0-3—3), notched at least six goals in a game for the sixth time this season. Only the Maple Leafs (7) have recorded more such outings in 2017-18.

* Tyler Pitlick (2-0—2) found the back of the net twice and Ben Bishop stopped all 26 shots he faced for his fourth shutout of the season to lead Dallas to a 6-0 win, their largest margin of victory in a shutout since exactly three years prior on Dec. 31, 2014 vs. ARI (6-0 W).

MATTHEWS REACHES 100-POINT MILESTONE

Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews scored twice to reach the 100-point milestone (57-43—100 in 112 GP). Elias notes that Matthews required the third-fewest games to reach the 100-point mark (all w/ TOR) among players to debut with the Maple Leafs in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44).

* Matthews leads the NHL with 37 road goals since making his League debut in 2016-17, seven more than the next-closest players in that span (Anders Lee and Nikita Kucherov: 30).

STREAKING INTO THE NEW YEAR

Several players found the scoresheet on Sunday to extend lengthy point streaks and multiple goaltenders earned wins to continue recent strings of success:

* Islanders forward Josh Bailey (1-0—1) pushed his career-high point streak to 11 games (7-12—19) and became the second player to reach the 50-point mark this season (12-38—50 in 39 GP); he joined Lightningforward Nikita Kucherov (25-31—56 in 38 GP), who stretched his point streak to 10 contests (6-10—16).

* Coyotes forward Clayton Keller (1-0—1) extended his point streak to a career-high eight games (3-6—9), the longest such run by a rookie this season.

* Golden Knights goaltender Malcolm Subban (20 saves) improved to 10-2-0 this season (2.25 GAA, .922 SV%), including wins in each of his last six outings.

* Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (35 saves) blanked the Oilers to improve to 21-4-5 this season (2.37 GAA, .923 SV%, 3 SO), including a 5-0-1 clip in his last six appearances.

* Ducks forward Rickard Rakell (2-0—2) has recorded at least one goal in a career-high five consecutive games (6-2—8).

* Lightning forward Tyler Johnson (2-0—2) has recorded at least one point in 12 consecutive personalappearances (8-10—18) and five consecutive team games (4-2—6).

QUICK CLICKS

· Winter Classic making dreams come true for Rangers, Sabres (via Nick Cotsonika)

· Cancer survivor attends Rangers practice prior to Winter Classic

· NHL gives three stranded New York ferry riders tickets to Winter Classic

· Swedish goaltender connection for Rangers, Sabres at Winter Classic

· Lundqvist's mask for Winter Classic pays homage to New York landmarks

· 2017 was Centennial year to remember in NHL (via Dave Stubbs)

SABRES, RANGERS TO MARK 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST WINTER CLASSIC

The Sabres and Rangers will open the new year outdoors at Citi Field in New York City in the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, exactly 10 years after Buffalo hosted the first-ever Winter Classic. The 24th regular-season outdoor game in League history – and second of three this season – takes the spotlight as the lone NHL game today (1 p.m. ET on NBC, SN, TVAS & NHL.TV).

* Only one player on Buffalo’s current roster played in the inaugural Winter Classic: forward Jason Pominville, who logged 20:51 and recorded four shots on goal in the team’s 2-1 shootout loss to the Penguins.

* Buffalo’s Benoit Pouliot is expected to play in his fifth outdoor game, which would equal the most by any player. Overall, nine Sabres have participated in a regular-season outdoor NHL game.

* New York’s Henrik Lundqvist is the only goaltender with three wins in NHL outdoor games, owning a perfect 3-0-0 record with a 2.00 goals-against average and .933 save percentage in such contests. Overall, 13 Rangers, including head coach Alain Vigneault (2-0-0), have participated in a regular-season outdoor NHL game.

* REMINDER: The PreGame, the official tailgate party of the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic, is open today from 9 a.m. - 1 p.m. ET at Citi Field. The PreGame is free of charge and open to fans of all ages. A ticket to the Winter Classic is not required for entry.

Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.