Top-5: Two-point match for… goalkeeper Pyotr Kochetkov

The Canadiens did not play yesterday.

But there were still six other games presented across the league!

Let’s see what happened:

Nathan MacKinnon and Leon Draisaitl became the first two players to record 20 points this December and helped each of their teams earn a League-best eighth win in the final month of 2024.#NHLStats: https://t.co/z2MyZARzvy pic.twitter.com/4uQXPCNwC4

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) December 23, 2024

1 : Two-point game for… Pyotr Kochetkov
You don’t see that often in the NHL.

Really not!

But yesterday, Hurricanes goaltender Pyotr Kochetkov helped his team win 3-1 against the Rangers… While accumulating two assists in the game.

He became the 4th goalie since 2017 to have a two-point game:

KOCHETKOV MULTI-POINT GAME ALERT

He becomes just the fourth goalie since 2017 to have a two-point night! pic.twitter.com/y6iEDSsj25

— NHL (@NHL) December 22, 2024

The goalie was also solid in front of his net, stopping 22 of the 23 shots directed at him.

In all this, it’s also another loss for the Rangers…

2 : The Revenge of Dubois
The Kings were visiting Washington yesterday to face the surprising Capitals.

Pierre-Luc Dubois was solid in the game: the forward recorded two assists against his former team and was named the first star of the match.

After the game, the Quebecer said it felt good… Because he remembers last year:

Pierre-Luc Dubois got the gold chain as the Capitals’ Player of the Game. Also the first star tonight against his former Kings.

“You remember some of the things that happened last year and you just wanna win.”

Finally at home with the #ALLCAPS. pic.twitter.com/9rS8pDXKe9

— Sammi Silber (@sammisilber) December 23, 2024

Dubois isn’t tearing it up in Washington, but he has still tallied 25 points in his first 33 games of the season.

And he helped his team win 3-1 against the Kings.

3 : A painful loss for the Sens
It was a big challenge for the Ottawa Senators.

They were in Edmonton to battle the Oilers, who are really doing well lately.

Zach Hyman took advantage of the Senators’ visit to score in his 6th straight game. He has nine goals in his last nine outings:

Hyman scores in his 6th straight game! pic.twitter.com/hy2cVYr4SD

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 23, 2024

But that’s not what stands out in the match.

The Senators ultimately lost 3-1… And the fact that they lost goaltender Linus Ullmark is really painful.

The goalie was injured in the upper body during the game and never returned in front of his net after the first period:

Linus Ullmark will not return tonight after sustaining an injury.

(HT @Media_Sens) pic.twitter.com/vqwk9zBcnp

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) December 23, 2024

4 : Hat trick for Joel Kiviranta
Joel Kiviranta may not be the best-known player in the National Hockey League, but he can still stand out in a game.

We saw it yesterday: the former Dallas Stars player had fun against the Seattle Kraken by scoring three goals.

The forward completed his natural hat trick with a beautiful goal:

Joel Kiviranta collects the first regular-season hatty of his career!

Hat Trick Challenge presented by @AstraZenecaUS pic.twitter.com/M7010LKGGn

— NHL (@NHL) December 23, 2024

The Kraken never had a chance in the match.

The big guns of the Avalanche were in shape (two assists for MacKinnon and Rantanen + three points for Makar) and that made the difference.

The Avalanche won the game 5-2.

5 : A first for Kakko with his new team
Let’s stay in the Avalanche vs Kraken match because something happened on the Seattle side.

Kaapo Kakko, who was in his 3rd game with his new team, found the back of the net.

He fired a shot without warning after a face-off, allowing him to score his 5th goal of the season:

Kakko bombs it off the face-off! pic.twitter.com/lP3tW7oicX

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 23, 2024

In three games with the Kraken, Kakko has recorded one point.

I can’t wait to see if he can blossom in Seattle because he has the talent for it.

Overtime
– I love it.

Holiday hugs from Skinner and @GenePrincipe pic.twitter.com/7TdYQj5Pw9

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 23, 2024

– Well done.

THE DUCKS SCORE THREE UNANSWERED TO TIE IT AND WIN IN A SHOOTOUT pic.twitter.com/TlLn6nf4Ct

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) December 23, 2024

– Nice goal.

Brayden Point stays hot

He’s now got 18 points in the last eight games!

: @Sportsnet or stream on Sportsnet+ https://t.co/4KjbdjVctF pic.twitter.com/b7NDgRvDq0

— NHL (@NHL) December 23, 2024

– Wow!

À VOIR: malgré la défaite du Lightning, Vasilevskiy a réalisé un véritable vol. pic.twitter.com/k3eLi5jLz2

— TVA Sports (@TVASports) December 23, 2024

– The top scorers of the night:

(Credit: NHL.com)
– Several games today in the NHL, including the Canadiens’ game:

(Credit: Google)