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PHT Morning Skate: A full hockey scouting report on Santa Claus

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Santa can make it around the world in one night, but how well does he handle the puck? Pierre McGuire breaks down the scouting report of the only man who's beard may be better than Brent Burns' and Joe Thornton's.

--It’s Christmas time, which means that we need a full hockey scouting report on Santa Claus. NBC Hockey Analyst Pierre McGuire even draws parallels between Jolly Saint Nick and Pavel Datsyuk. (Top)

--Earlier this week, Jaromir Jagr tied Mark Messier for second all-time in points, but which player was more dominant at their best? NHL.com’s Rob Vollman makes a case for Jagr’s best being better than Messier’s best. (NHL)

--The Minnesota Wild have made some pretty significant moves in the last few years. They’ve traded for Devan Dubnyk, hired Bruce Boudreau and signed Eric Staal. All those things have come together and have helped make the Wild a solid team in 2016-17. (Minneapolis StarTribune)

--The Philadelphia Flyers and Washington Capitals played a tight game last night, and it was eventually went to a shootout. Three total goals were scored in the shootout and the Flyers came out on top. Here are the highlights from that game:

--Hurricanes forward Lee Stempniak, who grew up in Buffalo, is appreciative of the support he received from his hard-working parents when he was growing up. “When it comes to hockey they were the two biggest influences in my life, just in terms of hard work and commitment,” he said of his parents. Tonight, he’ll play in his hometown. (Charlotte Observer)

--Many people feel the Oilers are lacking a true number one defenseman, but the Edmonton Journal believes they have one. His name is Andrej Sekera, and although he may not be a traditional top d-man like P.K. Subban or Drew Doughty, he’s certainly been effective. (Edmonton Journal)

--With Ben Bishop sidelined for 3-4 weeks, the Lightning will turn to Andrei Vasilevskiy to lead them in the short-term. But Tampa Bay Times columnist Tom Jones argues that it’s time for the Bolts to give Vasilevskiy the starting job for good. (Tampa Bay Times)