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Tampa Bay Lightning - In Play! magazine
Tampa Bay skated to a fourth straight win in the final game before the hockey world converges upon Montreal and Boston for the 4 Nations Face-Off. File photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
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Feb

NHL RECAP FEBRAURY 9, 2025 – TAMPA BAY, UTAH EARN WINS IN FINAL GAMES BEFORE 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF

HEDMAN LIFTS LIGHTNING TO FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN AHEAD OF 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF
Just three days before captaining Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, Victor Hedman (1-1—2) helped the Lightning (31-20-4, 66 points) earn their second four-game winning streak of the season (also 4 GP from Dec. 12-19) and skate into the break two points back of the Maple Leafs (33-20-2, 68 points), who occupy second place in the Atlantic Division.

  • Hedman, who will skate at Bell Centre again on Feb. 12 for Sweden’s opening game against Canada, became the first active defenseman to record 50 career points against Montreal (10-41—51 in 51 GP).
  • The Lightning captain also notched his 179th career multi-point performance and passed Sergei Gonchar (178) for sole possession of 19th most by a defenseman in NHL history.

TWO QUICK TALLIES, GUENTHER’S 20TH GOAL HELP UTAH EARN VICTORY
Utah Hockey Club came out of the gates by matching the fastest two goals to start a game this season (1:42) before adding two more, capped by Dylan Guenther’s 20th tally of the season. The Capitals, however, rallied back led by Alex Ovechkin (0-3—3) – who passed Phil Esposito (1,590) for sole possession of 11th on the NHL’s all-time points list – and sent the contest to a shootout, where Utah (24-23-9, 57 points) prevailed to earn a crucial two points in its chase for a Wild Card spot.

  • Guenther recorded his first career 20-goal campaign and tied Clayton Keller for the team lead in goals. He paces all players age 21 or younger this season in goals – Macklin Celebrini is second with 17.

4 Nations Face-Off opens with clash between Canada, Sweden on Wednesday
Best-on-best international competition returns this week when the League and NHLPA host the 4 Nations Face-Off, a seven-game tournament featuring NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and USA played over a nine-day period. The event opens with a clash between Canada and Sweden at Bell Centre on Wednesday, marking the first of four contests in Montreal before the tournament shifts to TD Garden in Boston.

  • Games will be played in accordance with NHL rules (with the exception of OT, which will be 10:00 instead of 5:00 for round-robin games) and each team will contest three games in a traditional round-robin format under the following points system: 3 points for a win in regulation; 2 points for a win in overtime/shootout; 1 point for a loss in overtime/shootout; and 0 points for a loss in regulation. The two teams with the best record (including use of the tournament’s tiebreaking procedure, if necessary) will then advance to the winner-take-all championship game, which will feature the same overtime format as the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
  • In addition to their normal operations out of Toronto and New York City, respectively, the NHL Hockey Operations Department and Department of Player Safety will be on-site in Montreal and Boston.
  • Monday marks the first of two designated training/practice days and Media Day takes place tomorrow. The opener is followed by Finland facing USA on Thursday before a two-game Saturday featuring historic rivalries as Sweden squares off with Finland and Canada clashes with USA. Saturday is also when fans can visit the one-day Fan Festival in Montreal (11 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET) followed by a three-day Fan Village in Boston (Feb. 15-17 from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET). Both events are free to the public.

Hagel, Demko and Tkachuk Named NHL ‘Three Stars’ of the Week

Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Brandon Hagel, Vancouver Canucks goaltender Thatcher Demko and Florida Panthers left wing Matthew Tkachuk have been named the NHL’s “Three Stars” for the week ending Feb. 9.

FIRST STAR – BRANDON HAGEL, LW, TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Hagel – who will represent Canada at this week’s 4 Nations Face-Off – led the NHL with 4-4—8, all at even strength, in four contests to lift the Lightning (31-20-4, 66 points) into third place in the Atlantic Division via four straight wins over division opponents. He helped Tampa Bay sweep back-to-back games versus the Ottawa Senators, one of the teams ahead of them in the Atlantic entering the week, potting the tiebreaking goal early in the third period of a 4-3 victory Feb. 4 and scoring the game-winner (his third of 2024-25) in a 5-1 triumph Feb. 6. Hagel then registered his third career four-point performance, all of which have come this season (also Oct. 22 at NJD: 3-1—4 and Nov. 25 vs. COL: 0-5—5), with 2-2—4 in a 6-3 win against the Detroit Red Wings Feb. 8. He closed the week with a pair of assists, his 16th multi-point outing of the campaign, in a 5-3 triumph over the Montreal Canadiens Feb. 9 at Bell Centre – the site of the first four games of the 4 Nations Face-Off, including the tournament opener this Wednesday (CAN vs. SWE, 8 p.m. ET, TNT, truTV, Max, SN, TVAS). The 26-year-old Hagel ranks second on the Lightning and 16th in the entire NHL with 26-36—62 through 55 total appearances this season. He also places among the 2024-25 League leaders in shorthanded assists (t-1st; 4), shorthanded points (t-1st; 6), even-strength goals (3rd; 24), even-strength points (5th; 49), goals (t-9th; 26) and plus/minus (t-10th; +24).

SECOND STAR – THATCHER DEMKO, G, VANCOUVER CANUCKS

Demko stopped 64 of the 65 shots he faced across three appearances, going 2-0-0 with a 0.46 goals-against average, .985 save percentage and one shutout as the Canucks (26-18-11, 63 points) moved into the final playoff spot in the Western Conference via a perfect week. He earned his ninth career shutout and first of 2024-25 with 25 saves in a 3-0 victory against the Colorado Avalanche Feb. 4. Demko then turned aside 33 shots, including a combined 17 in the third period and overtime, in a 2-1 triumph versus the San Jose Sharks Feb. 6. The 29-year-old Demko, who denied all six shots he saw before exiting Vancouver’s 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs Feb. 8, owns a 6-6-3 record, 2.87 goals-against average and .891 save percentage through 17 total contests this season.

THIRD STAR – MATTHEW TKACHUK, LW, FLORIDA PANTHERS

Tkachuk – another participant in the 4 Nations Face-Off – scored in all three of his outings, totaling 4-3—7, to extend his goal streak to six games (Jan. 29 – Feb. 8: 7-6—13) as the defending Stanley Cup champion Panthers (34-20-3, 71 points) maintained a three-point cushion atop the Atlantic Division. He found the back of the net once in a 6-3 loss to the Washington Capitals Feb. 4. Tkachuk then posted 2-1—3, including the tiebreaking goal with 11.8 seconds remaining in regulation, in 3-2 victory at his hometown St. Louis Blues Feb. 6 before adding 1-2—3, his seventh three-point performance of the season, in a 5-1 triumph over the Ottawa Senators Feb. 8. The 27-year-old Tkachuk sits second on Florida in goals (22), assists (35) and points (57) through 52 total games in 2024-25.

As the presenting partner of the NHL’s “Three Stars” of the week, GEICO also is presenting the NHL’s “Fourth Star” – a season-long fan appreciation program. Click here to meet January’s “Fourth Star.”

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Guest Writer