Streaking Marchand’s 1,000-point ceremony
Brad Marchand will be honored for getting his 1,000th NHL point earlier this season during a ceremony before the Florida Panthers host the Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, TSN2, RDS). Marchand, who reached the milestone on Nov. 13, can extend his point streak to nine games; he has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) during his run. Florida (21-15-2) is looking more like the team that won the Stanley Cup the past two seasons; it is 9-3-0 in its past 12 games despite being without injured forwards Aleksander Barkov (knee surgery) and Matthew Tkachuk (surgery to repair a torn adductor muscle and sports hernia). Tkachuk has resumed skating with the Panthers in a noncontact jersey but has not been cleared to play. Montreal (20-12-6) has points in five straight games (3-0-2) and is 1-0-2 so far during its stretch of seven consecutive road games. This will be the Panthers’ final game before hosting the New York Rangers in the 2026 Discover NHL Winter Classic at loanDepot park in Miami on Friday (8 p.m. ET; HBO Max, truTV, TNT, SNW, SNO, SNE, TVAS).
Hurricanes look to extend East lead
The Carolina Hurricanes will try to close out 2025 with a win add to their Eastern Conference lead at the Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, SN-PIT, SNP, SNW, SNE). Carolina (24-11-3) is going for its third straight win and leads the Detroit Red Wings by two points for first in the East, and the Islanders by five points for first in the Metropolitan Division. Sebastian Aho has four points (one point, three assists) during a three-game point streak for the Hurricanes; Sidney Crosby has four points (one goal, three assists) during a three-game point streak for the Penguins (16-12-9), who will attempt to win consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 1 and 4.
Matthews pursuing Maple Leafs’ goals record
Auston Matthews (lower body) will be a game-time decision for the Toronto Maple Leafs against the New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; SNO, MSG). The Maple Leafs captain is five goals away from becoming their all-time leader; Mats Sundin scored 420 goals in 981 games during his 13 seasons with Toronto (1994-2008). Matthews has 416 in 662 games over 10 seasons with the Maple Leafs, including one in two games since the holiday break. Toronto (17-15-6) has points in three straight games (2-0-1); New Jersey (20-16-2) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). Devils forward Jack Hughes has one goal in three games since returning from a finger injury.
