* Nathan Mackinnon accounted for three of the Avalanche’s five goals and became the first player to record 50 points this season – the 10th straight campaign he’s reached the goal.

*The Utah Hockey Club was one of several teams to extend their streak Saturday as they set an NHL benchmark for the longest road winning streak by a franchise in its inaugural season.

* Many of the players who will represent their countries in February’s 4 Nations showdown have put in standout performances, including Auston Matthews, Jack Hughes And Josh Morrissey.

*A doubleheader on Sportsnet and TVA Sports involving the Islanders, Blackhawks, Rangers and Blues highlights a five-game Sunday.

MacKINNON REACHES 50 POINTS, BLACKWOOD IMPRESSES IN TEAM DEBUT

Nathan Mackinnon (2-1-3) followed up a five-point performance from two games ago with another multi-point outing tonight and became the first player to reach the 50-point mark this season, while Mackenzie Blackwood made 37 saves in his team debut as Colorado (18-14-0, 36 points) beat Vancouver (15-9-5, 35 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Only two other players in franchise history have been the first in the NHL to reach 50 in a campaign: Mikko Rantanen (2018-19) and Peter Forsberg (1997-98).

* MacKinnon’s 90th career three-point night helped him record his 10th straight 50-point season. The only players in franchise history with such a long streak are Joe Sakic (18), Pierre Stastny (10) and Michael Goulet (10).

*Blackwood is no stranger to high save totals in his franchise debut – he set the NHL benchmark for saves in his team debut when he stopped 51 shots for the Sharks on October 14, 2023 against his current team. With his 37-save performance on Saturday, Blackwood became the fourth goaltender in Avalanche/Nordiques history to achieve that much in his debut with the club, joining Adam Werner (40 on November 12, 2019), Craig Anderson (38 on October 1, 2009) and Jeremy Smith (37 on February 14, 2017).

UTAH HOCKEY CLUB, CAPITALS AND OILERS EXTEND SERIES SATURDAY

The Utah Hockey Club (14-11-5, 33 points), Capitals (21-6-2, 44 points) and Oilers (18-10-2, 38 points) each extended their respective winning streaks over the course of a plethora of matches. SATURDAY:

* Logan Cooley (0-2-2) and Dylan Guenther (1-0-1) both extended their road point streaks to eight games – the longest active streaks in the NHL – and Clayton Keller (1-1-2) scored the league’s eighth goal in the final minute of regulation this season as Utah beat San Jose in a contest that featured a tying goal in each period. Utah became the first franchise in NHL history to record a six-game road winning streak in its inaugural season, breaking a tie with the North Stars (5 GP in 1967-68).

* Buffalo erased a 2-1 deficit, but Dylan Strome (1-0-1) broke the tie in the third period and Jakob Chychrun (1-1-2) scored another one for good measure as Washington extended its point streak to nine games (8-0-1) and overtook New Jersey for first place in the Conference standings East. Chychrun leads the Capitals in points and assists in the absence of **Alex Ovechkin**with 4-8—12 (11 GP).

* Leon Draisaitl (1-2-3) extended his multi-point streak to five games with his 97th career three-pointer and surpassed Nikita Koucherov (96 GP) ranked second since the debut of the first in 2014-15, behind only Connor McDavid (128GP). This Oilers duo both took into account Ryan Nugent-Hopkins‘, the 122nd goal they have both contributed in their careers, and helped Edmonton extend the League’s longest active winning streak to five games, while also ending Vegas’ four-game winning streak in the process.

PLAYERS POST A SNAPSHOT OF WHAT TO EXPECT IN THE 4 NATIONS FACE-OFF

Several players preparing to represent their countries in the 4 Nations showdown gave fans a glimpse of what to expect at the tournament following their productive performances on Saturday.

* Auston Matthews scored for the second time in three games and brought his regular season total this calendar year to 50-33-83 (69 GP) – the third most goals among all players during this periodbehind Sam Reinhart (53 out of 77 GP) and Kirill Kaprizov (53 out of 70 GPs). The Maple Leafs captain, one of nine players in NHL history with four or more consecutive calendar years with 50 or more regular season goals, is the only player in franchise history to accomplish this feat several times.

* In a battle between two goalkeepers who could face each other in February’s 4 Nations showdown, Jake Oettinger – ready to represent the United States – and the Stars defeated Jordan Binnington – ready to represent Canada – and the Blues with an overtime victory. Oettinger earned his 49th victory of the 2024 calendar year (including playoffs) and managed Ed Belfour (48 in 2000) for the most by a goaltender in Stars/North Stars history.

*The Penguins tied the game twice before the Senators captain Brady Tkachuk extended his team record with a ninth career overtime goal and helped Ottawa (15-13-2, 32 points) advance to the playoffs for the first time since Nov. 13. Ullmark (25 saves), whose country will head head-to-head with his captain on Feb. 17 when Sweden and the United States meet at TD Garden, improved to 6-0-1 in his last seven games and has joined Martin Gerber (10-0-2 in 2006-07) as the second goaltender to post a streak of at least that length in his first season with the franchise.

* Matt Boldy (1-0-1) scored the game-winning goal to record his 200th NHL point and Marc-Andre Fleury made a highlight reel save to help the Wild (20-6-4, 44 points) tie their franchise mark for fewest games at 20 wins in a campaign (also 30 GP in 2011-12). Boldy became the fifth-fastest active American player to reach the milestone (233 GP) behind Jason Robertson (190 GP), Matthews (204 GP), Patrick Kane (215 GP) and Jack Eichel (230 XP). He also needed the second fewest games in Wild history to reach the mark behind Kaprizov (169 GP).

* Jack Hughes (1-0-1) scored the deciding goal during a four-goal third period to help the Devils (20-10-3, 43 points) earn their 11th comeback victory of the season, tied with the Jets in second place. all teams and trailing the Capitals (13). Hughes’ goal marked the 20th game-winning goal of his career and tied the game Zach Parise for most in franchise history before the age of 24.

* Josh Morrissey (0-2—2) accounted for two of the Jets’ four goals, including the game-winner, and brought his total for the 2024 calendar year to 7-62—69 as he surpassed his own benchmark for most points in a calendar year by a Jets/Thrashers Defenseman. Morrissey has also climbed a few franchise lists: now fifth for multi-assisted games and tied for sixth place for all-time assists.

* Brayden Point (1-1-2) became the third player to score 20 goals this season – after Kaprizov also reached the mark earlier Saturday – and did it in 24 games, the second fastest in Lightning history behind Steven Stamkos (21 GP in 2010-11). His teammate, but opponent in the 4 Nations Face-Off, Jake Guentzel (1-1-2) also found the back of the net and extended his scoring streak to a career-high six games and became the fourth active player with a streak of that length in his first season with a franchise , joining Alex Ovechkin (7 GP and 6 GP in 2005-06 with WSH), Evgeny Malkin (6 GP in 2006-07 with PIT) and Matthew Tkachuk (6 GP in 2022-23 with FLA).

#NHHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES FROM A 15-GAME SATURDAY

Notes and storylines were plentiful during a 15-game Saturday, including a four-point performance from the Bruins veteran. David Pastrnak (1-3-4) and 32-save shutout from the Flames rookie Dustin Wolf.

* Pastrnak played a role in four of the Bruins’ five goals and accounted for a game-winning 141st time (62-79-141), which was successful David Krejci (43-97-140) for the sixth record in franchise history. His efforts also brought his career totals to 359-400-759 (706 GP), as he required the second-fewest number of games by a Czech-born player in NHL history. to reach 400 career assistsbehind Jaromir Jagr (546 PCs).

* Nazem KadriIt is highlight goal won the game while Wolf (32 saves) recorded his second career shutout (29 saves on November 15) and became the fifth goaltender in franchise history to record multiple shutouts before the age of 24 years. In fact, only four rookie goalies have recorded more. saves in a shutout for the Flames.

QUICK CLICKS

* Flames forward Ryan Lomberg receives Panthers’ Stanley Cup ring
* The Devils welcome the Sirens to their arena with jerseys
* Auston Matthews gets a little help from Maple Leafs bench Jake McCabe after losing his skate blade
* Zeev Buium looks to help USA win first World Junior Championship gold
* NHL announces plans to select and celebrate quarter-century teams

DOUBLE HEADER ON SPORTSNET, TVA SPORTS HIGHLIGHTS FROM FIVE GAME SUNDAY
The second 15-game Saturday of the season will be followed by a five-game slate featuring the Islanders (12-12-7, 31 points), Blackhawks (9-19-2, 20 points), Rangers (15- 13-1, 31 points) and the Blues (14-14-3, 31 points) are all back in action during a doubleheader on Sportsnet and TVA Sports.