Tom Wilson has Gordie Howe hat trick in Capitals’ win against Rangers

By Canadian Press on December 31, 2025.

WASHINGTON (AP) — CAPITALS 6, RANGERS 3

WASHINGTON (AP) — Tom Wilson had two goals and an assist to lead Washington past New York.

Wilson, who earlier in the day was named a member of Canada’s Olympic roster, got into a fight with Sam Carrick in the second period for at least his second Gordie Howe hat trick — a goal, an assist and a fight — since March 3, 2025.

Justin Sourdif also had two goals and Anthony Beauvillier and Aliaksei Protas each scored for the Capitals, who have won two of the last three games.

Adam Fox, making his return from long-term injured reserve, had a goal and an assist for the Rangers, who have lost three straight. Vincent Trocheck and Braden Schneider also scored.

With the Capitals tied 1-1 and needing a spark in the second, Wilson rose to the occasion. The 28-year-old came streaking up ice and leveled Noah Laba before getting to the front of the net and roofing a feed from Connor McMichael to restore Washington’s lead as he became the first Capital to hit the 20-goal mark this season. Minutes later, he answered for Laba’s hit, fighting Carrick.

The fight, initiated by Carrick, put the Capitals on the power play. Sourdif snuck a loose puck past Jonathan Quick, who had 21 saves, to end a 16-game goal drought to make it 3-1.

Fox responded with a power-play goal of his own soon after to pull things to 3-2 going into the third.

Protas and Wilson, netting his 200th career goal, added insurance tallies late to cushion the lead.

PREDATORS 4, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 2

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Steven Stamkos scored his 600th career goal and Nashville beat the Vegas.

The Predators, in the middle of a season-long seven-game road trip, won for the 12th time in 17 games, including the third of their first four on the trip.

The win put the Predators (18-17-4) above .500 for the first time since Oct. 16, just five games into the season, when they were 2-1-2.

Vegas, meanwhile, lost for the sixth time in seven games. The Knights closed their four-game homestand with a 1-2-1 mark.

Now in his 18th season, Stamkos scored his 18th of the season and ninth against the Golden Knights since they entered the league in 2017. The game-tying goal was part of an unanswered three-goal spurt over five minutes that turned a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 lead for the Predators.

Nick Perbix, Reid Schaefer and Michael Bunting also scored for the Predators. Justus Annunen made 29 saves.

Former Knight Erik Haula, who is two games shy of skating in his 800th game, registered the 200th assist of his career on Bunting’s goal.

Mark Stone, who earlier in the day was named to Canada’s Olympic roster, scored his 10th goal of the season, while Ben Hutton added his sixth for the Knights. Akira Schmid stopped 15 shots before being pulled late in the third period for an extra skater.

Vegas forward Mitch Marner and defenseman Shea Theodore were also named to Canada’s team. All three of the Knights represented their homeland in the 2025 4 Nations Face-Off.

LIGHTNING 4, DUCKS 3, OT

ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) — Darren Raddysh scored midway through overtime, and Tampa Bay blew three one-goal leads before beating Anaheim for its fifth consecutive victory.

Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper celebrated his 1,000th regular-season game in charge with his 595th victory as the longest-tenured bench boss in the NHL. The Lightning’s coach since March 2013 has also led them in 155 playoff games, won two championships and reached four Stanley Cup Finals.

Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist as the Lightning skated off with a win in the opener of their three-game California road trip when Raddysh converted a pass from Brandon Hagel, who had three assists.

J.J. Moser and Brayden Point also scored for Tampa Bay, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 24 saves.

Mason McTavish tied it on a power play with 6:58 left in regulation for the Ducks, who have lost four straight and eight of 10. Jansen Harkins and Beckett Sennecke also scored, and Lukas Dostal stopped 24 shots as the Ducks earned a point for only the second time in six games.

Moser opened the scoring in the first period with his first goal since agreeing to an eight-year, $54 million contract extension last weekend.

Anaheim scored its first two goals off turnovers, with the 19-year-old Sennecke getting the 12th of his rookie season early in the third period.

Kucherov scored his 18th goal on a cross-ice pass from Hagel during a power play four minutes later, but the Ducks evened it again when Pavel Mintyukov made an exceptional play at the blue line to set up McTavish for his 10th goal.

SHARKS 4, WILD 3, SO

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) — Macklin Celebrini had a goal and an assist hours after being selected to play for Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, and San Jose beat Minnesota in a shootout.

Celebrini and William Eklund scored for the Sharks in the tiebreaker, while Minnesota failed to convert on either of its two attempts. San Jose has won three straight following a three-game slide.

Igor Chernyshov had a goal and two assists, and Jeff Skinner also scored for the Sharks. The 19-year-old Celebrini got his 40th assist of the season, passing Mikko Rantanen for second-most in the NHL. Yaroslav Askarov finished with 20 saves.

The Associated Press