WASHINGTON (AP) — CAPITALS 6, RANGERS 3
WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson had two goals and an assist to lead Washington to victory over New York.
Wilson, who was named to Canada's Olympic roster earlier in the day, brawled with Sam Carrick in the second period for at least his second Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist and fight) since March 3, 2025.
Justin Sourdif also scored two goals, and Anthony Beauvillier and Alexei Protas scored for the Capitals, who have won two of their last three games.
Adam Fox, returning from years of injured reserve, had a goal and an assist for the Rangers, who have lost three in a row. Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider also scored.
With the Capitals tied 1-1 and needing a spark in the second, Wilson rose to the occasion. The 28-year-old streaked down the ice to tie the game with Noah Laboy before getting in front of the net and cutting in Connor McMichael's feed to restore Washington's lead, becoming the first Capital to reach the 20-goal mark this season. A few minutes later he responded to Laba's blow by fighting Carrick.
A fight initiated by Carrick put the Capitals on the power play. Sourdif fired the puck past Jonathan Quick, who had 21 saves, to end a 16-game drought to make it 3-1.
Fox responded soon after with a power-play goal of his own to make the score 3-2 heading into the third.
Protas and Wilson, who scored their 200th career goals, added insurance runs late to soften the lead.
PREDATORS 4, GOLDEN NIGHTS 2
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored his 600th career goal and Nashville beat Vegas.
The Predators, midway through a seven-game season, won for the 12th time in 17 games, including the third of their first four on the road.
With the win, the Predators (18-17-4) are above .500 for the first time since Oct. 16, just five games into the season when they were 2-1-2.
Meanwhile, Vegas lost for the sixth time in seven games. The Knights finished their four-game homestand with a 1-2-1 record.
In his 18th season, Stamkos scored his 18th goal of the season and ninth against the Golden Knights since they entered the league in 2017. The decisive goal was part of an unanswered three-goal spurt in five minutes that turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 Predators lead.
Nick Perbix, Reed Schaefer and Michael Bunting also scored for the Predators. Justus Annunen made 29 saves.
Former Knight Erik Haula, who is two games shy of skating in his 800th game, recorded the 200th assist of his career on Bunting's goal.
Mark Stone, who was named to Canada's Olympic roster earlier in the day, scored his 10th goal of the season and Ben Hutton added his sixth for the Knights. Akira Schmid stopped 15 shots before being ejected late in the third period for an extra skater.
Vegas forward Mitch Marner and defenseman Shea Theodore were also named to Team Canada. All three Knights represented their homeland in the 2025 4 Nations match.
LIGHTNING 4, DUCKS 3, OT
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Darren Raddysh scored midway through overtime and Tampa Bay squandered three one-goal leads before beating Anaheim for its fifth straight win.
Tampa Bay coach John Cooper celebrated his 1,000th regular-season game with his 595th win as the longest-tenured bench coach in the NHL. The Lightning coach has also led the team through 155 playoff games since March 2013, winning two championships and reaching the Stanley Cup Final four times.
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist and the Lightning won the first game of their three-game road trip to California when Raddysh converted a pass from Brandon Hagel, who had three assists.
JJ Moser and Brayden Point also scored for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves.
Mason McTavish tied the game on the power play with 6:58 left in regulation for the Ducks, who had lost four straight and eight of 10. Jansen Harkins and Beckett Senneke also scored and Lukas Dostal stopped 24 shots as the Ducks earned a point for only the second time in six games.
Moser opened the scoring in the first period, scoring his first goal since agreeing to an eight-year, $54 million contract extension last weekend.
Anaheim scored its first two goals without turnovers, and the 19-year-old Senneke scored his 12th goal of his rookie season early in the third period.
Kucherov scored his 18th goal off a cross-ice pass from Hagel on the power play four minutes later, but the Ducks tied the game again when Pavel Mintyukov made an exceptional play at the blue line, setting up McTavish for his 10th goal.
SHARKS 4, WILD 3, SO
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — McLean Celebrini had a goal and an assist hours after he was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics as San Jose beat Minnesota in a shootout.
Celebrini and William Eklund scored for the Sharks in the tiebreaker, while Minnesota failed to convert on either of its two attempts. San Jose has won three straight after a three-game skid.
Igor Chernyshov had a goal and two assists, and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Sharks. Celebrini, 19, recorded his 40th assist of the season, passing Mikko Rantanen for second in the NHL. Yaroslav Askarov finished with 20 saves.
RED WINGS 2, JETS 1
DETROIT (AP) — John Gibson continued his hot December with 24 saves, Dylan Larkin and Mason Appleton scored and Detroit beat faltering Winnipeg.
Gibson won for the ninth time in 10 starts, and the Red Wings improved to 11-3-1 in December.
The Jets lost their seventh straight game (0-4-3) on a night where Connor Hellebuyck made 17 saves. Logan Stanley scored Winnipeg's goal.
DEVILS 3, BLUE JACKETS 2
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Luke Hughes scored the go-ahead goal at 4:45 of the third period and New Jersey scored three times in 1:56 in a win over Columbus.
Hughes also recorded an assist, giving him his 28th multi-point game and tying Rob Ramage for the most under-23 defensemen in franchise history. Hughes hit a shot from the slot to give the Devils the lead.
Nico Hischier and Arseniy Gritsyuk also scored for New Jersey, which trailed 2-0 going into the final 20 minutes. This is the first time the Devils have won this season after trailing after two periods. It's also their first multi-goal comeback since Nov. 29, 2024, in Detroit.
Jake Allen made 34 saves, including stopping Kirill Marchenko's goal late in the third period.
SABERS 4, STARS 1
DALLAS (AP) — Tage Thompson scored twice in 2 1/2 minutes midway through the third period and had an assist as Buffalo beat the Dallas Stars, extending its winning streak to 10 games.
This matches both the franchise record and the longest run for an NHL team this season, also achieved by Colorado in November.
Josh Doan and defenseman Bowen Byram had a goal and an assist for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves in his third start of the series, allowing one goal in each game.
Mavrik Bourque scored for the Stars. They are in second place in the overall NHL standings and have a six-game winning streak (4-0-2).
Casey DeSmith stopped 27 shots and lost in regulation for the first time since his first start of the season on Oct. 16. DeSmith went on a franchise-record 13-point streak (9-0-4).
AVALANCHE 6, BLUES 1
DENVER (AP) — Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, including his 400th career goal, and Valeri Nichushkin scored his second NHL hat trick as Colorado beat St. Louis for its ninth straight win.
MacKinnon became the third player in franchise history to score 400 goals and the first to score them all with the Avalanche. Joe Sakic scored 625 goals, the first 233 of which came with the Quebec Nordiques before the team moved to Colorado. Michel Goulet ranks second in club history with 456 goals, all for Quebec.
MacKinnon, who has two assists, leads the NHL with 34 goals. His 70 points tied Edmonton star Connor McDavid for the most in the league.
Nichushkin scored twice during a four-goal streak in the first 4:39 of the game and finished with three goals. Brock Nelson later scored on the power play for Colorado, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 12 shots.
FLAMES 5, FLYERS 1
CALGARY, Alberta (AP) — Dustin Wolf made 25 saves, Mikael Backlund scored his 10th goal and Calgary beat Philadelphia.
Morgan Frost, Jonathan Huberdeau, Rasmus Andersson and Connor Zary also scored, while Mackenzie Weegar and Matt Coronato each had two assists.
The Flames have won five straight and are 10-1-1 in their last 12 games at home. Their overall rating is 18-18-4. Wolf won eight matches in a row.
With the score 2-1, Calgary gained a two-man advantage midway through the second period. Zary set up Andersson for a one-time goal with 18 seconds left on the power play.
Travis Konecny scored for Philadelphia and Sam Ehrsson stopped 20 shots. The Flyers fell to 20-12-7.
Bruins 6, Oilers 2
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — David Pastrnak had two goals and an assist as Boston closed out the calendar year with a much-needed win over Edmonton.
Hampus Lindholm and Elias Lindholm had a goal and an assist for the Bruins (21-18-2), who snapped a six-game losing streak that began with a 3-1 home loss to Edmonton on Dec. 18.
Casey Mittelstadt and Jonathan Aspirot also scored, while Viktor Arvidsson and Fraser Minten each had two assists. Jeremy Swayman scored strongly, making 34 for the win.
Hampus Lindholm had just one point in his previous 12 games.
Zach Hyman and Jack Roslovic scored for the Pacific Division-leading Oilers (20-15-6), who had lost two of three but still went 9-5-1 in December.
