CAROLINA CONTINUES IMPRESSIVE RUN WITH SHUTOUT WIN
Cam Ward turned aside all 21 shots he faced to record his first shutout of the season, extend his personal point streak to 10 games (8-0-2) and lead the Hurricanes (19-13-8, 46) to an 8-2-1 record in their last 11 contests.

* Ward is the only goaltender in Hurricanes/Whalers franchise history to record a point streak of at least 10 games – he also led his team to at least one point in 10 straight appearances in 2008-09 (9-0-1) and 2015-16 (6-0-4).



* Ward, who also owns a 10-0-2 record in his last 12 decisions (2.33 GAA, .916 SV% and 1 SO), became just the third goaltender in Hurricanes/Whalers history to shut out the Penguins. The franchise’s only other clean sheets against the Penguins occurred on Mar. 6, 2003 (Kevin Weekes) and Dec. 16, 2001 (Tom Barrasso), both in Pittsburgh.

* Sebastian Aho (2-1—3) and Teuvo Teravainen (1-1—2) teamed up for three goals and five points, boosting their combined totals to 9-8—17 in their past six contests. Aho, who finished third among rookies with 24 goals in 2016-17, has scored six goals during an active six-game point streak (6-4—10) after scoring seven times in his first 34 contests of the season.

BERNIER BACKSTOPS AVALANCHE TO FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN
Jonathan Bernier made 34 saves to register his second shutout of the season and backstop the Avalanche (21-16-3, 45 points) to their fourth consecutive victory, their longest win streak since Jan. 18-23, 2016 (4-0-0). Colorado, who finished with the fewest points last season (22-56-4, 48 points), own a 9-3-1 record in their past 13 games and sit two points back of a playoff spot.

* Mikko Rantanen collected 1-1—2 to boost his season totals to 14-24—38 in 40 GP, matching his point total from his rookie campaign in 2016-17 (20-18—38 in 75 GP). He has recorded at least one point in 10 of his last 11 games (5-9—14).

STAMKOS, TAVARES JOIN 50-POINT CLUB
Lightning forward Steven Stamkos (17-33—50 in 40 GP) and Islanders forward John Tavares (22-28—50 in 41 GP) each found the score sheet on Thursday to join their respective teammates, Nikita Kucherov (26-31—57 in 40 GP) and Josh Bailey (12-38—50 in 40 GP), as the only 50-point players in 2017-18. They lead a group of 22 players averaging at least one point per game this season (min. 20 GP).



CANADIENS, BLUES EARN WINS AGAINST CONFERENCE LEADERS
The Canadiens (17-20-4, 38 points) and Blues (26-15-2, 54 points) both used strong performances from their goaltenders to defeat the top clubs in the Eastern and Western Conferences, respectively:

* Carey Price posted a season-high 44 saves through overtime – including a pair of highlight-reel stops in the extra frame – as the Canadiens edged the Eastern Conference and League-leading Lightning (29-8-3, 61 points) to snap a five-game skid (0-5-0).

* Carter Hutton totaled 32 saves as the Blues snapped the Western Conference-leading Golden Knights’ win and point streaks at eight and 13 games (12-0-1), respectively, while sweeping their own three-game homestand.

WILD, FLYERS SHOW OFFENSIVE STRENGTHS IN VICTORIES
The Wild (22-16-3, 47 points) and Flyers (17-15-8, 42 points) both erupted for six goals to power their way to victories:

* Nino Niederreiter scored the second hat trick of his NHL career (also Nov. 13, 2014 vs. BUF) to propel the Wild to their fourth consecutive win at Xcel Energy Center. Niederreiter became the third Wild player to score a hat trick this season and second in the past week following Mikael Granlundon Dec. 29. Overall, there have been 39 hat tricks through the first 626 games of 2017-18.

* Twelve Flyers recorded at least one point, including multi-point efforts by Ivan Provorov (2-1—3), Sean Couturier (1-1—2), Jakub Voracek (0-2—2) and Claude Giroux (0-2—2), en route to a home-ice victory. Voracek became the first player in 2017-18 to reach the 40-assist mark. Couturier, meanwhile, scored his team-leading 19th goal (a career high) and moved within one of matching his highest single-season point total (19-19—38 in 40 GP) – he recorded 13-26—39 in 2013-14 (82 GP) and 11-28—39 in 2015-16 (63 GP).

MONAHAN RALLIES FLAMES WITH ANOTHER GAME-WINNING GOAL
The Flames (20-16-4, 44 points) erased a 2-0 deficit with four straight goals in the second period en route to their second straight win. Sean Monahan (1-1—2) notched his seventh game-winning goal of the season – one shy of matching his career high set in 2014-15 (8 in 81 GP) – to move into a tie with Lightning forward Brayden Point for the League lead. Ducks forward Rickard Rakell led all players with 10 such goals in 2016-17.

“ROAD TO THE NHL WINTER CLASSIC” CONCLUDES THIS WEEK
The final episode of the critically-acclaimed Road To The NHL Winter Classic presented by Hondaairs this week, taking viewers on a behind-the-scenes journey with the Sabres and Rangersculminating with the 2018 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic at Citi Field in New York on New Year’s Day. Air dates (all times Eastern):

Sportsnet: Fri., Jan. 5 at 7 p.m. (on SN1)
NBCSN: Sun., Jan. 7 at 11 p.m. (following BOS-PIT game)
NHL Network: Mon., Jan. 8 at 10 p.m.
YouTube, Facebook.com/BestoftheNHL: Mon., Jan. 8

* Click here for a preview of the episode, including Rangers batting practice and family skate.



QUICK CLICKS

· Canada defeats Czech Republic in World Juniors semifinals

· United States falls to Sweden in World Juniors semifinals

· Ovechkin turning back clock for Capitals at age 32

· Maple Leafs goaltender Frederik Andersen fined for diving/embellishment

SNEAK PEEK AT FRIDAY’S ACTION

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Thanks to the NHL PR department for the information above.