NHL Recap Dec. 30, 2021

BLUES BEAT OILERS IN FINAL GAME BEFORE 2022 DISCOVER NHL WINTER CLASSIC
Jordan Kyrou and Vladimir Tarasenko each tallied 1-2—3 as St. Louis skated to a victory in its final game before the 2022 Discover NHL Winter Classic, which will see the Blues square off against the Wild at Target Field on New Year’s Day.

• St. Louis (18-9-5, 41 points) extended its home point streak to 10 games (9-0-1 dating to Nov. 18) and moved into first place in the Central Division, with Minnesota (19-9-2, 40 points) and Nashville (19-11-1, 39 points) currently ranking second and third, respectively. The Predators contest one more game before Jan. 1, which goes tonight at Nationwide Arena.

CARLSON, HUGHES HELP CAPITALS, DEVILS EARN WINS WITH MULTI-POINT GAMES
John Carlson (1-3—4) and Jack Hughes (1-2—3) recorded four and three points, respectively, as the Capitals (19-6-7, 45 points) and Devils (11-15-5, 27 points) snapped slides in their first game back from the Holiday Break.

• Carlson factored on four of five Washington goals to record his second career four-point outing as the Capitals snapped their eight-game slide against the Predators (0-7-1 dating to Feb. 25, 2017). Only six active defensemen have registered more four-point games than Carlson: Erik Karlsson (5x), Morgan Rielly (5x), Roman Josi (4x), Tyson Barrie (4x), Victor Hedman (4x) and Kris Letang (3x).
• Hughes registered his fourth career three-point game as New Jersey snapped its six-game losing streak (0-6-0 dating to Dec. 10) and moved within six points of Detroit (15-13-3, 33 points), which occupies the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Hughes’ four three-point games are the most among Devils players since his debut season in 2019-20.

PANTHERS POST 15TH HOME WIN
Updates feature several more notes from the six-game slate. Some highlights include:

• J.T. Miller (1-1—2) scored 26 seconds into overtime as the Canucks improved to 7-0-0 since naming Bruce Boudreau head coach on Dec. 5. Thatcher Demko (22 saves) extended his career-best winning streak to six games.
• Claude Giroux reached the 600-assist milestone and surpassed Bill Barber (420-463—883 in 903 GP) for sole possession of second place on the Flyers’ all-time points list, while Ivan Provorov scored the overtime winner as Philadelphia extended its point streak to six games (5-0-1 dating to Dec. 10). Provorov potted his third career overtime goal and 10th career game winner.
• The Panthers scored three straight goals in the final frame en route to their League-leading sixth third-period comeback win and 15th home victory of the season (15-3-0, 30 points). Florida set a franchise mark for fewest games to 15 home wins, eclipsing its previous best of 20 from 1995-96 (15-3-2, 32 points) and 1999-00 (15-2-3, 33 points).

PANTHERS, LIGHTNING SET TO CLASH DURING THURSDAY’S SLATE
The Panthers (19-7-4, 42 points) are set to welcome the NHL-leading Lightning (21-6-4, 46 points) to FLA Live Arena Thursday in the third head-to-head game between the intrastate rivals this season. Florida and Tampa Bay split the two previous meetings after squaring off in the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.