Three Stars
1. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning. With his second consecutive four-point game in the Tampa Bay Lightning’s wild 6-5 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday night, Nikita Kucherov officially took over the lead in the NHL’s scoring race with 61 points so far on the season. He not only has at least four points in his past two games, but he is also on a run of four consecutive multi-point games. Over his past 20 games he has at least a point in 19 of them, at least two points in 13 of them, and at least three points in seven of them. He is on a roll.
2. Anton Khudobin, Dallas Stars. Anton Khudobin played one of the best games of his NHL career on Thursday night when he stopped all 49 shots he faced in a 2-0 win over the Nashville Predators.
3. Johnny Gaudreau, Calgary Flames. The Calgary Flames snapped a three-game losing streak on Thursday night with a big win over the top team in the Western Conference, the Winnipeg Jets. Leading the way, as he always does, was Johnny Gaudreau with a three-goal night. He continues to be on pace for career highs across the board offensively.
Other notable performances on Thursday
-- Phil Kessel scored two goals for the Pittsburgh Penguins in their 5-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings.
-- Paul Stastny had two points for the Golden Knights, including an assist on brandon Pirri’s game-winning goal, in their 2-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche.
-- Ryan O’Reilly scored against his former team, the Buffalo Sabres, in the St. Louis Blues’ 4-1 win.
Highlights of the Night
It came in a losing effort but Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux scored one of the best goals of the year against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
John Gibson has been the best goalie in hockey this season, and this is one of the best saves you will see.
The Columbus Blue Jackets extended their winning streak to five games thanks to Pierre-Luc Dubois’ overtime goal against the New York Rangers.
Factoids
Elias Petterson just keeps on rolling for the Vancouver Canucks.
Elias Pettersson joined Pavel Bure (6 in 1991-92) as just the second rookie in @Canucks franchise history to score six game-winning goals in a single season. https://t.co/EnlwA7RIkn #NHLStats #VANvsEDM pic.twitter.com/fDgnqLBL5N
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 28, 2018
Patrick Kane’s hat trick for the Chicago Blackhawks took him to the 20-goal mark for the season.
20+ goals in 12+ consecutive seasons, @NHLBlackhawks franchise history:
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 28, 2018
14 – Stan Mikita (1961-62 to 1974-75)
13 – Bobby Hull (1959-60 to 1971-72)
12 – Patrick Kane (2007-08 to 2018-19) #NHLStats #MINvsCHI pic.twitter.com/sqiOU4w1xg
Brent Burns played in his 1,000th NHL game on Thursday night.
Brent Burns is the sixth player from the 2003 #NHLDraft class to skate in 1,000 career regular-season games and third player this season (also Ryan Suter and Dion Phaneuf). #NHLStats #ANAvsSJS pic.twitter.com/Xsos0IE6dt
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 28, 2018
Scores
New Jersey Devils 5, Boston Bruins 2
Columbus Blue Jackets 4, New York Rangers 3 (OT)
Pittsburgh Penguins 5, Detroit Red Wings 2
Washington Capitals 3, Carolina Hurricanes 1
Tampa Bay Lightning 6, Philadelphia Flyers 5 (OT)
St. Louis Blues 4, Buffalo Sabres 1
Dallas Stars 2, Nashville Predators 0
Calgary Flames 4, Winnipeg Jets 1
Chicago Blackhawks 5, Minnesota Wild 2
Vancouver Canucks 4, Edmonton Oilers 2
Vegas Golden Knights 2, Colorado Avalanche 1
Los Angeles Kings 2, Arizona Coyotes 1
San Jose Sharks 4, Anaheim Ducks 2
MORE: Your 2018-19 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.