NHL Recaps: Thursday, Jan 2, 2025

12 games: what happened that matters for your fantasy team, built from the play-by-play and shift charts.

Game recaps

Final

Full report

Carolina Hurricanes

Florida Panthers

Carolina Hurricanes beat Florida Panthers 3–1

Carolina Hurricanes beat Florida Panthers 3–1 at FLA. Jaccob Slavin (CAR) led the scoring with 1G 1A. New look for CAR: Staal–Necas–Svechnikov skated 12:04 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (60.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Jaccob Slavin had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 20:21.
•New look for CAR: Staal–Necas–Svechnikov skated 12:04 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (60.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•Sergei Bobrovsky (FLA) faced 39 shots and stopped 37 (.949), +14 against a season average of 25.5; the loss.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

New York Rangers edge Boston Bruins 2–1

New York Rangers beat Boston Bruins 2–1 at home. Mika Zibanejad (NYR) led the scoring with 1G 0A. New look for BOS: Marchand–Lindholm–Pastrnak skated 11:45 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (71.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•New look for BOS: Marchand–Lindholm–Pastrnak skated 11:45 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (71.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•New look for BOS: Coyle–Zacha–Geekie skated 6:18 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (76.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•Elias Lindholm (BOS) played 21:28, +3:26 up on his 18:02 season average over 81 games.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Minnesota Wild edge Washington Capitals 4–3 (SO)

Minnesota Wild beat Washington Capitals 4–3 in a shootout at WSH. Ryan Hartman (MIN) led the scoring with 1G 1A. WSH's first power-play unit (Ovechkin, Carlson, Wilson, Strome and Chychrun) scored 1 power-play goal on 4 attempts in 2:52 together.

•Ryan Hartman had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 17:01.
•WSH's first power-play unit (Ovechkin, Carlson, Wilson, Strome and Chychrun) scored 1 power-play goal on 4 attempts in 2:52 together.
•Jonas Brodin (MIN) played 27:15, +4:23 up on his 22:52 season average over 49 games.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Final

Full report

Detroit Red Wings

Columbus Blue Jackets

Detroit Red Wings edge Columbus Blue Jackets 5–4

Detroit Red Wings beat Columbus Blue Jackets 5–4 at CBJ. James van Riemsdyk (CBJ) led the scoring with 2G 1A. DET won it by committee.

•James van Riemsdyk had two goals and an assist (3 points) on 2 shots in 13:00.
•Alex DeBrincat had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 2 shots in 14:24.
•Zach Werenski had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 8 shots in 26:16.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Toronto Maple Leafs edge New York Islanders 2–1

Toronto Maple Leafs beat New York Islanders 2–1 at NYI. Bobby McMann (TOR) led the scoring with 2G 0A. Isaiah George (NYI) played 8:07, −7:46 down on his 15:53 season average over 32 games.

•Bobby McMann had two goals (2 points) on 6 shots in 15:01.
•Isaiah George (NYI) played 8:07, −7:46 down on his 15:53 season average over 32 games.
•David Kampf (TOR) played 18:50, +6:33 up on his 12:17 season average over 58 games.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Dallas Stars beat Ottawa Senators 4–2

Dallas Stars beat Ottawa Senators 4–2 at home. Roope Hintz (DAL) led the scoring with 2G 0A.

•Roope Hintz had two goals (2 points) on 3 shots in 16:50.
•Brady Tkachuk had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 20:00.
•Matt Duchene had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 17:50.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Anaheim Ducks edge Winnipeg Jets 4–3 (OT)

Anaheim Ducks beat Winnipeg Jets 4–3 in overtime at WPG. Troy Terry (ANA) led the scoring with 2G 1A. Radko Gudas (ANA) played 24:40, +4:52 up on his 19:48 season average over 80 games.

•Troy Terry had two goals and an assist (3 points) on 3 shots in 17:07.
•Alex Iafallo had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 14:06.
•Radko Gudas had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 24:40.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Colorado Avalanche edge Buffalo Sabres 6–5 (OT)

Colorado Avalanche beat Buffalo Sabres 6–5 in overtime at home. Jason Zucker (BUF) led the scoring with 3G 1A. COL won it by committee.

•Jason Zucker had a hat trick and an assist (4 points) on 4 shots in 18:14.
•Devon Toews had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 4 shots in 27:14.
•Nathan MacKinnon had 3 assists (3 points) on 3 shots in 26:16.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Utah Mammoth beat Calgary Flames 5–3

Utah Mammoth beat Calgary Flames 5–3 at CGY. Lawson Crouse (UTA) led the scoring with 2G 0A. CGY's first power-play unit (Backlund, Kadri, Coleman, Andersson and Pospisil) scored 1 power-play goal on 3 attempts in 3:02 together.

•Lawson Crouse had two goals (2 points) on 3 shots in 12:22.
•Blake Coleman had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 17:43.
•Clayton Keller had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 17:51.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Vegas Golden Knights beat Philadelphia Flyers 5–2

Vegas Golden Knights beat Philadelphia Flyers 5–2 at home. Mark Stone (VGK) led the scoring with 1G 1A. PHI's first power-play unit (Konecny, Tippett, Frost, Farabee and Drysdale) scored 1 power-play goal on 3 attempts in 1:10 together.

•Mark Stone had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 15:15.
•Jack Eichel had 2 assists (2 points) on 3 shots in 16:38.
•Noah Hanifin had 2 assists (2 points) on 1 shot in 23:13.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Vancouver Canucks edge Seattle Kraken 4–3 (SO)

Vancouver Canucks beat Seattle Kraken 4–3 in a shootout at SEA. Vince Dunn (SEA) led the scoring with 1G 1A. New look for VAN: Di Giuseppe–Garland–Suter skated 8:52 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (72.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Matty Beniers had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 16:47.
•Vince Dunn had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 25:22.
•Andre Burakovsky had 2 assists (2 points) on 2 shots in 15:08.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

San Jose Sharks edge Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1

San Jose Sharks beat Tampa Bay Lightning 2–1 at home. Anthony Cirelli (TBL) led the scoring with 1G 0A. New look for SJS: Granlund–Kostin–Zetterlund skated 10:07 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (50% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•New look for SJS: Granlund–Kostin–Zetterlund skated 10:07 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (50% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•New look for SJS: Goodrow–Kunin–Sturm skated 6:38 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (50% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•New look for SJS: Smith–Celebrini–Graf skated 8:47 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (50% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Goal of the night

The hardest tracked shot of the night: Cale Makar for COL vs BUF, 90.8 mph. Full game report →

Cale Makar (COL vs BUF): Point shot, 4 passes, 90.8 mph shot.

Top performers

Player	Game	G	A	P	SOG	Hits	Blk	TOI	PP
Jason Zucker BUF	at COL	3	1	4	4	2	2	18:14	—
Troy Terry ANA	at WPG	2	1	3	3	1	0	17:07	—
James van Riemsdyk CBJ	vs DET	2	1	3	2	0	1	13:00	—
Zach Werenski CBJ	vs DET	1	2	3	8	1	4	26:16	—
Devon Toews COL	vs BUF	1	2	3	4	0	2	27:14	—
Alex DeBrincat DET	at CBJ	1	2	3	2	1	0	14:24	—
Tage Thompson BUF	at COL	0	3	3	4	0	1	19:43	—
Nathan MacKinnon COL	vs BUF	0	3	3	3	1	1	26:16	—
Bobby McMann TOR	at NYI	2	0	2	6	2	0	15:01	—
Cale Makar COL	vs BUF	2	0	2	5	1	2	28:17	—
Lawson Crouse UTA	at CGY	2	0	2	3	3	1	12:22	—
Roope Hintz DAL	vs OTT	2	0	2	3	0	0	16:50	—

Line changes

New look for CAR: Staal–Necas–Svechnikov skated 12:04 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (60.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for CAR: Martinook–Carrier–Kotkaniemi skated 10:50 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (51.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for CAR: Robinson–Blake–Jaaska skated 5:38 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (58.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for BOS: Marchand–Lindholm–Pastrnak skated 11:45 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (71.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for BOS: Coyle–Zacha–Geekie skated 6:18 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (76.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for VGK: Karlsson–Hertl–Dorofeyev skated 10:11 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (58.8% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for VAN: Di Giuseppe–Garland–Suter skated 8:52 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (72.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for VAN: Blueger–Joshua–Sherwood skated 8:48 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (76.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for SJS: Granlund–Kostin–Zetterlund skated 10:07 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (50% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for SJS: Goodrow–Kunin–Sturm skated 6:38 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (50% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for SJS: Smith–Celebrini–Graf skated 8:47 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (50% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →

Goalie notes

Goalie	Game	Dec	SA	GA	SV%
Sergei Bobrovsky FLA	vs CAR	L	39	2	.949
Jonathan Quick NYR	vs BOS	W	33	1	.970
Charlie Lindgren WSH	vs MIN	O	33	3	.909
Joseph Woll TOR	at NYI	W	33	1	.970
Marc-Andre Fleury MIN	at WSH	W	31	3	.903
Ilya Sorokin NYI	vs TOR	L	31	2	.935
John Gibson ANA	at WPG	W	30	3	.900
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen BUF	at COL	O	29	6	.793
Jeremy Swayman BOS	at NYR	L	27	2	.926
Pyotr Kochetkov CAR	at FLA	W	26	1	.962
Elvis Merzlikins CBJ	vs DET	L	26	5	.808
Karel Vejmelka UTA	at CGY	W	26	3	.885
Aleksei Kolosov PHI	at VGK	L	26	4	.846
Cam Talbot DET	at CBJ	W	25	4	.840
Leevi Meriläinen OTT	at DAL	L	25	4	.840
Dan Vladar CGY	vs UTA	L	25	4	.840
Ilya Samsonov VGK	vs PHI	W	25	2	.920
Andrei Vasilevskiy TBL	at SJS	L	25	2	.920
Yaroslav Askarov SJS	vs TBL	W	25	1	.960
Connor Hellebuyck WPG	vs ANA	O	24	4	.833
Philipp Grubauer SEA	vs VAN	O	22	3	.864
Scott Wedgewood COL	vs BUF	—	18	4	.778
Kevin Lankinen VAN	at SEA	W	15	2	.867
Jake Oettinger DAL	vs OTT	W	13	2	.846
Thatcher Demko VAN	at SEA	—	12	1	.917
Mackenzie Blackwood COL	vs BUF	W	3	1	.667

Next up: tonight's starting goalies, today's line combinations and today's games. Takeaways are generated from the numbers with fixed rules; nothing is written by a language model.