NHL Recap December 31, 2023 – SUNDAY’S RESULTS

The final gameday of 2023 saw plenty of milestone moments and scoring plateaus for stars like Marc-Andre Fleury, Nathan MacKinnon and Nikita Kucherov as well as some New Year’s Eve fireworks from Warren Foegele and Mason Marchment, who led the Oilers and Stars to high-scoring wins.

FLEURY BECOMES FOURTH GOALTENDER TO 1,000 GAMES
Marc-Andre Fleury (Sorel, Que.) became the fourth goaltender in NHL history to reach the 1,000-game milestone, joining a trio of Hockey Hall of Fame netminders from his home province – Martin Brodeur (Montreal, Que.), Roberto Luongo (Montreal, Que.) and Patrick Roy (Quebec City, Que.) – all of whom were part of a video tribute.

• Fleury’s 550 wins at the 1,000-game mark is the second-highest total by a goaltender at the conclusion of the milestone game (Brodeur: 557 W). That breakdown includes 39 victories with the Wild and 19 wins in part of a single season with the Blackhawks, however, Fleury is most known as the all-time franchise wins leader for both the Penguins (375 W) and the Golden Knights (117 W).
• In addition to ranking fourth on the NHL’s all-time games played list among goaltenders, Fleury ranks third in wins (550), third in saves (since 1955-56), first in shootout wins (65) and 12th in shutouts (73).

AND WITH THAT, THE 2023 CALENDAR YEAR COMES TO AN END

• David Pastrnak (0-2—2) factored on two of his team’s five goals to become the fourth player to reach the 50-point mark in 2023-24 (22-28—50 in 35 GP) and help the Bruins (32-9-4 on the road in 2023) become the first team in NHL history to capture 32 regular-season road victories in a single calendar year.
• Nathan MacKinnon (0-2—2) concluded his December by setting a franchise benchmark for points in a calendar month and finished the year with a League-leading 53-82—135. His penultimate point came from an assist on Mikko Rantanen’s 50th goal of 2023 as the pair became the first duo in Avalanche/Nordiques history to each score 50 goals in the same calendar year.
• Warren Foegele (2-3—5) registered his first career outing with at least four points and became the first player in Oilers history to register a five-point outing a game contested on New Year’s Eve. In fact, he registered the 11th instance in NHL history of a player collecting at least five points in that scenario and first since Sean Monahan on Dec. 31, 2018 (0-5—5).
• Mason Marchment (3-1—4), who netted the fifth-ever hat trick on New Year’s Eve in franchise history, factored on four of eight goals and did so a game after Roope Hintz also netted three goals against the Blackhawks on Dec. 29. The Stars/North Stars franchise has featured at least one hat trick in consecutive games for the seventh time following Dec. 1-4, 2022, March 4-6, 2022, Nov. 24-28, 2017, March 17-19, 1986, March 6-8, 1983 and March 16-21, 1971 (all 2 GP).
• Andrew Mangiapane (0-3—3) assisted on three of four Flames goals as Calgary improved to 13-4-2 on games played on New Year’s Eve since Dec. 31, 2000 – the most among all teams through that span and one more than the next closest (DET: 12-4-2, DAL: 12-5-2 & NYI: 12-2-1).

KUCHEROV, HEDMAN HELP LIGHTNING CLOSE OUT 2023 ON A WINNING NOTE
On a New Year’s Eve that saw captain Steven Stamkos become the franchise leader in games played, it was the League’s scoring leader, Nikita Kucherov (1-1—2), and Victor Hedman (0-2—2) who helped the Lightning (18-15-5, 41 points) conclude 2023 on a winning note.

• Hedman hit the 30-assist mark for the ninth straight season dating to 2015-16 and became just the 18th different defenseman in NHL history to record 30-plus helpers in at least nine consecutive campaigns. Tyson Barrie (9 from 2014-15 – 2022-23) is the only other active blueliner to accomplish the feat while Ray Bourque (20 from 1981-82 – 2000-01) leads the list.
• Kucherov (26-35—61 in 37 GP) became the first player to reach the 60-point mark this season and established a new franchise pace for fewest games to reach the plateau in a campaign, besting his previous mark of 38 contests set in 2018-19. The Lightning forward went on to win the Art Ross Trophy that season with 128 points.

SEATTLE, VEGAS SET TO RING IN NEW YEAR OUTDOORS AT 2024 DISCOVER NHL WINTER CLASSIC
The Kraken and Golden Knights will ring in the new year by squaring off outdoors in the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic at the home of the MLB’s Seattle Mariners, T-Mobile Park. The 39th regular-season outdoor game in League history will be available on TNT, Max and TruTV in the U.S. as well as on Sportsnet and TVA Sports in Canada.

• Seattle will make its outdoor debut after going 6-0-2 in its last eight contests, with the franchise record-tying point streak coming on the heels of an eight-game winless drought. The Kraken will become the second NHL franchise to play an outdoor contest with an active point streak of at least eight games, following the Bruins in the 2023 Winter Classic at Fenway Park (7-0-3).
• Vegas will contest its second outdoor game, following a loss to Colorado in the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe opener. Reigning Stanley Cup champions own an all-time record of 5-1-0 in outdoor games.
• Jordan Eberle and the Kraken practiced outdoors at the venue Sunday after the Golden Knights did so earlier in the day. Eberle is set to contest the second outdoor game of his NHL career and first since skating with Edmonton in the 2016 Heritage Classic at Investors Group Field.

ROAD TO THE WINTER CLASSIC FINALE PREMIERES TODAY

The final episode of the four-part docuseries “Road To The Discover NHL Winter Classic presented by Enterprise” chronicling the Kraken and Golden Knights leading up to the 2024 Discover NHL Winter Classic premieres today (1:30 p.m. ET on TNT & Max in the U.S., 2:30 p.m. ET on Sportsnet in Canada). Cameras visit Vegas forward Jack Eichel at home with his bulldog and Seattle forward Yanni Gourde celebrating his 500th career NHL game with his family. Kraken players also get a sneak preview of T-Mobile Park as it transforms to host the iconic New Year’s Day game. The finale will also be available for streaming on Max starting Saturday, Jan. 6.

Aho, Panarin and Hughes Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

Carolina Hurricanes center Sebastian Aho, New York Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin and New Jersey Devils defenseman Luke Hughes have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Dec. 31, 2023.

FIRST STAR – SEBASTIAN AHO, C, CAROLINA HURRICANES

Aho led the NHL with nine assists and 11 points overall (2-9—11) – as well as five helpers and six points on the power play (1-5—6) – in three contests to lift the Hurricanes (20-13-4, 44 points) into second place in the Metropolitan Division via a perfect week. He became the first player in franchise history to record four points on consecutive days – and the first player to accomplish the feat League-wide since Jeremy Roenick from Nov. 25-26, 1999 (6-2—8 w/ PHX) – with 1-3—4 in a 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators Dec. 27 and 0-4—4 in a 5-4 victory against the Montreal Canadiens Dec. 28. It marked the eighth and ninth four-point performances of Aho’s career, with the former making him the fourth player in Hurricanes/Whalers history to reach the 500-point milestone and the latter standing as his first career four-assist outing. Aho added 1-2—3, including the decisive goal, in a 3-2 triumph over the Toronto Maple Leafs Dec. 30 to become the fourth player in franchise history to collect at least three points in three straight games, following Eric Staal (Oct. 28 – Nov. 3, 2005: 5-5—10 in 3 GP), Andrew Cassels (March 5-8, 1993: 4-5—9 in 3 GP) and Mike Rogers (April 2-6, 1980: 3-7—10 in 3 GP). The 26-year-old Aho, who ranks 15th in the NHL in scoring this season (15-27—42), tops Carolina in goals (15), assists (27), points (42), power-play assists (13) and power-play points (17) through 34 total contests in 2023-24.

SECOND STAR – ARTEMI PANARIN, LW, NEW YORK RANGERS

Panarin paced the NHL with five goals in three games (5-1—6) as the Rangers (25-9-1, 51 points) earned a pair of victories to move into first place in the overall League standings. He registered 1‑1—2, including his 41st career game-winning goal and second of the season (also Nov. 7 vs. DET: 1‑1—2), in a 5-1 triumph over the Washington Capitals Dec. 27. Panarin then scored once in a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers Dec. 29. He capped the calendar year with three goals, his sixth career hat trick and second of 2023-24 (also Dec. 3 vs. SJS: 3-1—4), in a 5-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning Dec. 30. The 32-year-old Panarin – who has goals in four straight games dating to Dec. 23 (6-1—7) – has played in 35 total contests this season (23-27—50), ranking among the League leaders in power-play points (t‑2nd; 23), points (t-3rd; 50), power-play assists (t-3rd; 15), goals (t-4th; 23), power-play goals (t-6th; 8) and shots on goal (7th; 145).

THIRD STAR – LUKE HUGHES, D, NEW JERSEY DEVILS

Hughes scored in all three of his games, totaling 3-2—5 to help the Devils (19-14-2, 40 points) complete a 2-1-0 week. He tallied a highlight-reel, game-tying goal with 1:25 remaining in regulation as New Jersey rallied for a 4-3 overtime victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets Dec. 27. Hughes then posted 1-2—3, his first career three-point performance, in a 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators Dec. 29. He scored again in a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins Dec. 30 to become the second rookie defenseman in franchise history with a three-game goal streak, joining Barry Beck (2x, 6 GP and 3 GP, in 1977-78). The 20-year-old Hughes – who joins his brothers Quinn and Jack as a “Star of the Week” recipient this season – leads rookie defensemen and places fourth among all rookies with 7-14—21 in 35 total appearances in 2023-24.