Around the League notebook for Monday, Dec. 22, Johnny Gaudreau (3-0—3) scored three goals to send the game to overtime where Mark Giordano (1-1—2) scored the winner as the Calgary Flames won 4-3 against the Los Angeles Kings. The Flames ended an eight-game losing streak and improved to 18-15-3 (39 points this season). With the victory, Calgary also improved to a 7-3-1 record this season against Pacific Division opponents.
* Gaudreau's three-goal performance is the first hat trick of his career. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, at 21 years, 131 days, Gaudreau is the eighth youngest player in Calgary franchise history to record a hat trick. Gaudreau ranks second among NHL rookies in points (10-17—27) and assists and is tied for second in goals.
* The last member of the Flames to record a hat trick was also a rookie, Josh Jooris (3-0—3), who did so earlier this month on Dec. 2 in a 5-2 victory over the Arizona Coyotes. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the last team to have two different rookies record a hat trick in the same month was the 1992-93 Buffalo Sabres. Joe Juneau (3-0—3) scored three goals on Jan. 12, 1993 in a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins and Steve Heinze (3-0—3) scored three goals two days later on Jan. 14 in a 7-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
* Giordano had his sixth multipoint performance of the season and first since Nov. 8 (1-2—3). Giordano ranks first among League defensemen in points (10-24—34) and assists and is tied for first in goals.
* Jonas Hiller made 31 saves on 34 shots to improve to 10-10-2 this season with a 2.40 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.
* Jiri Hudler (0-2—2) had two assists to bring his career total to 201. Dennis Wideman (0-2—2) recorded his second two-assist and fifth multipoint game of the season.
RINNE LEADS NASHVILLE TO WIN VS. COLUMBUS
Pekka Rinne made 30 saves to lead the Nashville Predators to a 5-1 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Predators improved to 22-8-4 (46 points) and rank second in the Central Division and third in the Western Conference standings. With the victory, Nashville also swept their season series (2-0-0) against Columbus.
* Rinne stopped 30 of 31 shots to improve to 22-6-1 this season. Rinne has been in net for all 22 of Nashville's victories and he leads NHL goaltenders in wins. Rinne's 1.84 GAA and .934 save percentage also rank him third among League goaltenders in both categories.
* Craig Smith (2-0—2) netted two of Nashville's five goals to record his second two-goal game of the season. Smith has also recorded four points (3-1—4) in his past two games.
* Colin Wilson (1-1—2) opened the scoring in the second period with his seventh goal and added his eighth assist for his third multipoint game of the season.
* Victor Bartley (0-2—2) recorded his second consecutive multi-assist game and extended his point streak to three games (0-5—5).
* Filip Forsberg (0-1—1) recorded his 19th assist of the season. The assist tied Forsberg with Seth Jones for third on the all-time franchise assists list by a rookie. Forsberg leads NHL rookies in goals (13), assists (19) and points (32) this season.
* Mike Fisher (1-0—1) netted his third goal of the season and now has five points (3-2—5) in his past five games. Mike Ribeiro (0-1—1) recorded his 19th assist of the season, tying him for the team lead, and has 11 points (4-7—11) in his past 10 games.
HOLTBY STELLAR IN VICTORY VS. SENATORS
Braden Holtby made 38 saves to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 win against the Ottawa Senators. The Capitals improved to 17-10-6 (40 points) and took sole possession of third in the Metropolitan Division standings. With the victory, Washington also extended its team point streak to nine games (7-0-2), dating to a 2-1 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Dec. 4. The Capitals have a 12-2-2 record in their past 16 home games against the Senators.
* Holtby stopped 38 of 39 shots to improve to 15-7-5 this season with a 2.24 GAA and a .920 save percentage. Holtby's 38 saves tied a season-high he set on Nov. 7 vs. the Chicago Blackhawks, where he led Washington to a 3-2 win. Holtby has also started all nine games during the Capitals current team point streak (7-0-2).
* Jay Beagle (1-0—1) opened the scoring in the second period with his career-high fifth goal of the season. Beagle has three points (1-2—3) in his past two games and has tied his career-high with nine points (5-4—9) this season. With the goal, the Capitals also improved to 16-1-2 when scoring first and 8-0-0 when Beagle records a point.
* Nicklas Backstrom (1-0—1) scored the game-winning goal on a power play. The goal is Backstrom's third game-winner and first power-play goal of the season. Backstrom has scored six goals and earned eight points (6-2—8) in his past five games and he leads the Capitals in points (11-25—36) this season.
* Mike Green (0-2—2) had his fourth two-assist performance of the season and extended his point streak to three games (1-4—5).
PANTHERS DEFEAT PENGUINS IN SHOOTOUT
Aleksander Barkov netted the shootout winner in the seventh round to lift the Florida Panthers to a 4-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Florida improved to 15-9-8 (38 points) this season and has now earned nine points (4-1-1) in its past six games. With the win, the Panthers have also tied the New York Rangers in points for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
* According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Florida's 38 points is the club's best record after the first 32 games of a season since the 2011-12 season (17-9-6, 40 points).
* Roberto Luongo stopped 24 of 27 shots through 65 minutes and all seven shooters in the shootout to improve to 13-7-6 this season with a 2.30 GAA and a .924 save percentage. The win was also Luongo's 386th and he passed Mike Vernon for sole possession of 12th on the all-time NHL wins list.
* Jimmy Hayes (2-0—2) had his first two-goal game of the season. Hayes ranks second on the club in goals (9) and fourth in points (9-6—15). Sean Bergenheim (0-2—2) had his first two-assist and second multipoint game of the season.
CANUCKS POUR IN SEVEN GOALS IN WIN VS. COYOTES
The Vancouver Canucks netted five consecutive goals to build a 5-0 lead en route to a 7-1 victory against the Arizona Coyotes. The Canucks scored seven goals for the first time this season and improved to 20-11-2 (42 points). With the win, Vancouver also improved to 9-2-1 against Pacific Division opponents.
* Ryan Miller made a season-high 38 saves to improve to 18-7-0 this season with a 2.59 GAA and a .906 save percentage. Miller is tied for fifth among NHL goaltenders with 18 wins.
* Alexandre Burrows (2-0—2) had his first two-goal and second multipoint game this season. Burrows ranks seventh on the Canucks with 15 points (8-7—15).
* Daniel Sedin (1-1—2) had his eighth multipoint game of the season and has now posted four points (1-3—4) in his past two games. He leads the Canucks with 30 points (8-22—30).
* Henrik Sedin (0-2—2) had his fifth two-assist game of the season. He is one point shy of the club lead with 29 (6-23—29).
* Brad Richardson (1-1—2) had his fifth multipoint game of the season. Richardson ranks fifth on the Canucks with 17 points (8-9—17).
KESLER SCORES OVERTIME-WINNER IN WIN VS. SHARKS
Ryan Kesler (1-0—1) scored 58 seconds into overtime to give the Anaheim Ducks a 3-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks. The Ducks improved to 23-8-5 (51 points) and remained at the top of the League standings. Anaheim has won nine of its past 11 games (9-2-0) and four consecutive (4-0-0) on home ice, which ties a season-high home winning streak set from Oct.17-24. With the victory, the Ducks also lead the League with 17 wins in one-goal games (17-0-5) and join the Vancouver Canucks as the only teams without a regulation loss in a game decided by one goal.
* Kesler has nine points (6-3—9) in his past nine games. The goal is also Kesler's first in overtime and third game-winning goal of the season.
* Ryan Getzlaf (0-2—2) had two assists to extend his point streak to six games (4-6—10). Getzlaf also has points in 11 of his past 12 games (6-14—20) and leads the Ducks with 27 assists and 39 points (12-27—39) this season. Getzlaf is also tied for third among League-leaders in assists and fourth in points.
* Frederik Andersen stopped 30 of 32 shots to improve to 19-5-4 this season with a 2.39 GAA and a .914 save percentage. Andersen's 19 victories rank him tied for second among League goaltenders in wins this season.
* Andrew Cogliano played in his 576th consecutive game since the start of his NHL career. Cogliano is the fifth player in NHL history to play 500 consecutive games since starting an NHL career, and he tied Bill Harris (576 consecutive games to start his career with the New York Islanders from 1972-73 to 1979-80) for third on the five-player list in consecutive games played.
* Cam Fowler (1-0—1) and Matt Beleskey (0-1—1) each registered a point while playing in his 300th career NHL game.
* Rickard Rakell (1-0—1) opened the scoring in the second period with his first career regular-season NHL goal.
