By Myrtle Davies

Scott Laughton, one of three players with a hat trick Thursday, became the first Flyers skater to net four goals in a game in more than two decades.

* The Lightning and Penguins were two of three road teams to score seven or more goals. The only day in NHL history to feature more teams doing so was March 18, 1989 (4).

* Nikita Kucherov recorded six points in a game for the second time in his career and passed a former teammate to move up the franchise’s all-time assist list.

* Drake Batherson and the Senators (13-13-2, 28 points) clash with Seth Jarvis and the Hurricanes (18-9-1, 37 points) during Friday’s lone contest on NHL Network.

LAUGHTON LIGHTS THE LAMP FOUR TIMES, MATCHES FLYERS RECORD
Scott Laughton (4-0—4) scored at even strength, on the penalty kill and twice into an empty net to lift the Flyers (14-12-4, 32 points) to victory and become the NHL’s first player to put up a four-goal performance this season. Laughton scored one of three hat tricks Thursday night (also Bryan Rust & Jake Guentzel) to bump up AstraZeneca’s donation to the Hockey Fights Cancer Fund of the V Foundation by $9,000.

* Laughton matched the franchise record for goals in a game and became the first Flyers player to record a four-goal performance since John LeClair (4-0—4 on Oct. 15, 2002).

* Laughton notched his second career hat trick (also 3-0—3 on Feb. 7, 2021) and became the fifth active player with multiple for Philadelphia. The others: James van Riemsdyk (3), Sean Couturier (2), Travis Konecny (2) and Brayden Schenn (2).

TWO HIGHEST-SCORING TEAMS FROM THURSDAY? LIGHTNING AND PENGUINS

The Lightning and Penguins scored eight and nine goals, respectively, to mark the two highest-scoring teams of Thursday night.

* Nikita Kucherov (1-5—6) registered his second career six-point performance, Jake Guentzel scored his sixth career hat trick and Andrei Vasilevskiy recorded his 306th victory in his 500th game – already the most wins among all goaltenders through as many contests – as Tampa Bay posted its League-leading fourth eight-goal outing of the season. Guentzel, who is set to skate for the United States for the first time in February at the 4 Nations Face-Off, trails only Auston Matthews (13), Patrick Kane (9), Max Pacioretty (7) and Cam Atkinson (7) for the most hat tricks among active American players.

* Kucherov matched the franchise record for the most points and assists in a game while also becoming the only player in Lightning history with multiple six-point contests. Kucherov recorded his 583rd career assist and surpassed Steven Stamkos for the third most in franchise history.

Bryan Rust (3-1—4) scored his sixth career hat trick – the most by a Penguins player since his debut in 2014-15 – and Sidney Crosby (0-3—3) climbed three all-time lists as Pittsburgh became the first team this season to pot nine goals in a game. The Penguins scored six goals in the third period for the sixth time in franchise history (also 7 on Nov. 22, 1972, 6 on Nov. 27, 2019, Dec. 26, 1991, Jan. 28, 1989 & April 5, 1978) and also became the first team to do so this season.

* Crosby recorded his 1,024th, 1,025th and 1,026th career assists and moved past Gordie Howe (1,023) for sole possession of the fifth most with a single franchise in NHL history. Crosby also secured his 477th multi-point outing and tied Steve Yzerman for seventh on the all-time list.

CELEBRINI COLLECTS THREE POINTS IN 20TH CAREER GAME

Macklin Celebrini scored twice and collected an assist to boost his career totals to 10-9—19 (20 GP) and move into second place in the rookie goals and points (tied) race as the Sharks (11-16-5, 27 points) defeated the Blues Thursday.

* Celebrini became the seventh 18-year-old in NHL history to record 10 goals through their first 20 career games, following Steve Yzerman (13 in 1983-84), Patrik Laine (12 in 2016-17), Dale Hawerchuk (12 in 1981-82), Ted Kennedy (11 from 1942-43 – 1943-44), Connor Bedard (10 in 2023-24) and Paul Gagne (10 in 1980-81). He also became the third-fastest player in Sharks history to score 10 NHL goals behind only Rob Gaudreau (10 GP) and Tomas Hertl (17 GP).

AMERICAN PLAYERS FIND THE SCORE SHEET THURSDAY
Several American players found the back of the net Thursday, including Max Pacioretty, Jack Hughes and Zach Werenski – the latter two will represent their country in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February:
* Pacioretty (2-1—3) recorded his 61st career multi-goal game in the Maple Leafs’ (18-9-2, 38 points) victory over the Ducks and surpassed Patrick Kane for the 10th most in NHL history among U.S.-born players – he also moved within three of Bill Guerin (64 GP) for ninth. Pat LaFontaine tops the list with 96.

* Hughes (1-2—3) had a hand in all three of New Jersey’s goals to help the Devils (19-10-3, 41 points) snap the Kings’ winning streak. Hughes had his 34th career three-point game and passed LaFontaine (33) for the fourth most in NHL history among American players age 23 or younger, trailing Jeremy Roenick (49), Jimmy Carson (43) and Mike Modano (41).

* Werenski scored his 10th goal of the season – the most among all blueliners – and the 100th of his career to become the first defenseman and eighth skater to reach the milestone with the Blue Jackets. In doing so, Werenski (29 GP) set a new benchmark for fastest Blue Jackets blueliner to 30 points in a season, a distinction he already held (40 GP in 2023-24).

AROUND THE RINKS FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES

The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured a number of noteworthy performances from around the rinks during Thursday’s 14-game slate:

* Aliaksei Protas scored both the tying goal and overtime winner to help Washington (20-6-2, 42 points) earn its 20th win of the season, matching its fewest games in franchise history to reach the mark (also 28 GP in 2015-16 & 1991-92). The Capitals extended their road winning streak to 10 games, tied for the seventh longest in NHL history behind the 2005-06 Red Wings (12 GP), 2014-15 Wild (12 GP), 2022-23 Devils (11 GP), 2022-23 Avalanche (11 GP), 2023-24 Kings (11 GP) and 2023-24 Panthers (11 GP).

* Victor Olofsson scored to tie the game at 2-2 with 1:49 remaining and Ivan Barbashev scored in the extra frame to help the Golden Knights (19-7-3, 41 points) boost their lead for top spot in the Pacific Division. Vegas earned its 49th overtime win since joining the League in 2017-18, which passed Tampa Bay and Columbus for the fourth most among all teams over that span. The only teams with more are Boston (53), Pittsburgh (51) and St. Louis (50).

* Connor Bedard (1-2—3) tallied his third three-point game of the season and the seventh of his career – only five active players recorded more as a teenager: Sidney Crosby (26), Connor McDavid (10), Patrick Kane (10), Patrik Laine (9) and Jeff Skinner (8).

* Leon Draisaitl (1-3—4) factored on four of the Oilers’ season-high (tied) seven goals to record his 27th career four-point game and tie Mark Messier for fourth place on the franchise’s all-time list. Draisaitl and Connor McDavid both factored on the same goal for the 458th time, passing Rod Gilbert and Jean Ratelle (457x) for the seventh-highest total by a pair of teammates in NHL history.

QUICK CLICKS

* NHL in ASL returns for season two and begins with the Discover NHL Winter Classic

* Lightning reunite with young fan battling brain cancer in Calgary

* Trevor Zegras out 6 weeks for Ducks after knee surgery

* Unsuspecting mom of Canucks forward wins massive 50/50 prize

* NHL Cultural Celebrations/Community Theme Nights blog

SENATORS AND HURRICANES TAKE OVER FRIDAY SPOTLIGHT

All eyes will be on an NHL Network broadcast featuring Drake Batherson and the Senators (13-13-2, 28 points) facing off against Seth Jarvis and the Hurricanes (18-9-1, 37 points). Batherson, who recorded a hat trick in his last contest Wednesday, can become the third Senators player in five seasons to post back-to-back multi-goal games (Brady Tkachuk in 2023-24 & Anthony Duclair in 2019-20) – no Ottawa skater has ever scored hat tricks in consecutive contests. Jarvis, meanwhile, was the youngest player named to Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster and will be representing his country in a major international tournament for the first time – he has not played at the Under-18 World Championship, World Junior Championship, World Championship or Olympics.

COURTESY NHL PUBLIC RELATIONS