Connor McDavid exceeds 900 career points with a five-point performance, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin move up in the all-time points lists, the three stars and rookie of the month are revealed and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.

GAME RECAPS

NHL.COM: Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid scored a goal and set up four others to exceed 900 career points in a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins tallied twice and collected an assist while Zach Hyman had a goal and two assists for the 19-15-1 Oilers (39 points), who sit one point behind the Arizona Coyotes for the final Western Conference wild-card berth. Travis Konecny and Joel Farabee each had two points for the Flyers (19-13-5) as they slipped into the first Eastern Conference wild-card spot with 43 points.

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid (NHL Images).

SPECTOR’S NOTE: With 903 points in 602 NHL regular-season games, McDavid is the fifth-fastest player to reach the 900-point plateau. Wayne Gretzky is the all-time leader, accomplishing the feat in 382 games, followed by Mario Lemieux (463), Mike Bossy (582) and Peter Stastny (599). He also moved into third place in this season’s scoring race with 53 points.

The Washington Capitals scored four goals in the first period and held on to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. Tom Wilson, Beck Malenstyn, Martin Fehervary and Alex Ovechkin were the goals scorers for the Capitals (18-11-6) as they hold the second Eastern wild-card berth with 42 points. Rickard Rakell, Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel replied for the 18-14-4 Penguins, who sit two points behind the Capitals.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Crosby had a goal and an assist to collect his 1,540th career point to take over sole possession of 12th place on the all-time points leaderboard. Ovechkin picked up his 1,507th career point for the seventh-most with a single franchise, sitting behind the sixth-place Crosby.

Penguins winger Bryan Rust returned to the lineup after being sidelined since Dec. 6 with an upper-body injury while Matt Nieto (lower body) was shifted to long-term injury reserve.

The Boston Bruins regained top spot in the overall standings with 52 points in a 4-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. James van Riemsdyk led the way with a goal and two assists for the 23-7-6 Bruins while Linus Ullmark got the win with a 26-save performance. Kent Johnson scored for the 12-19-8 Blue Jackets.

Carolina Hurricanes winger Andrei Svechnikov scored two goals and Brady Skjei collected three assists in a 6-1 drubbing of the New York Rangers. Pyotr Kochetkov made 28 saves for the Hurricanes (21-13-4) as they’ve won four straight games and moved into second place in the Metropolitan Division with 46 points. Chris Kreider scored for the Rangers (25-10-1) as they slipped into second place in the overall standings with 51 points.

The Vancouver Canucks scored five goals in the first period in a 6-3 win over the Ottawa Senators. Elias Pettersson and Pius Suter each tallied twice while Thatcher Demko kicked out 35 shots for the Canucks (24-10-3) as they hold first place in the Western Conference with 51 points. Vladimir Tarasenko had two goals for the 14-19-0 Senators.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canucks forward Phillip Di Giuseppe left this game in the first period with an undisclosed injury.

An overtime goal by Nathan MacKinnon lifted the Colorado Avalanche over the New York Islanders by a score of 5-4. MacKinnon also picked up two assists, Valeri Nichushkin netted two goals and Cale Makar collected three assists for the 24-11-3 Avalanche as they hold first place in the Central Division with 51 points. Brock Nelson had a goal and an assist for the 17-10-10 Islanders as they sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 44 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Islanders also lost goaltender Semyon Varlamov in the first period and defenseman Robert Bortuzzo in the second to injuries. There was no postgame update regarding their conditions. The Avalanche sit second overall in the Western Conference as the Canucks hold a game in hand.

The Winnipeg Jets extended their points streak to nine games by doubling up the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2. Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 32 shots while Vladislav Namestnikov collected three assists for the Jets (23-9-4) as they sit one point behind the Avalanche in second place in the Central Division. Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov scored for the 18-16-5 Lightning (41) as they sit one point out of the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kucherov collected two points and leads all scorers with 63 points, two ahead of Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon. The Lightning also played with five defensemen as Erik Cernak is day-to-day with an upper-body injury while Haydn Fleury (upper body) is week-to-week.

Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki had a goal and an assist as his club held off the Dallas Stars 4-3 to snap a three-game losing skid. Jordan Harris also had a goal and an assist while Sam Montembeault made 30 saves for the 16-16-5 Canadiens. Mason Marchment picked up two assists for the Stars (22-10-4) as they sit third in the Central Division with 48 points.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Canadiens winger Josh Anderson left the game with an apparent injury to his right leg midway through the third period. He will be re-evaluated once the Canadiens return to Montreal.

The Florida Panthers picked up their fifth straight victory by downing the Arizona Coyotes 4-1. Carter Verhaeghe had a goal and an assist as the Panthers (23-12-2) sit in second place in the Atlantic Division with 48 points. Karel Vejmelka stopped 35 shots for the Coyotes (19-15-2) as they cling to the final Western wild-card spot with 40 points.

Toronto Maple Leafs netminder Martin Jones made 31 saves to blank the Los Angeles Kings 3-0. William Nylander potted two goals to reach 50 points on the season as the 18-10-7 Leafs hold third place in the Atlantic Division with 43 points. Cam Talbot made 26 stops for the Kings (20-9-5), who sit third in the Pacific Division with 45 points.

Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros turned in a 21-save shutout in a 3-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks. Gustav Nyquist and Ryan O’Reilly each had a goal and an assist for the 21-16-1 Predators as they hold the first Western Conference wild-card berth with 43 points. Arvid Soderblom stopped 33 shots for the 11-24-2 Blackhawks.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Blackhawks winger Anthony Beauviller joined their growing list of sidelined veterans as he left this game with an injured left wrist.

The Calgary Flames defeated the Minnesota Wild 3-1. Jonathan Huberdeau scored his first goal since Nov. 20 while Jacob Markstrom stopped 28 shots for the 16-16-5 Flames. Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves for the 16-16-4 Wild.

Detroit Red Wings forward David Perron scored two third-period goals in a 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks, handing the latter their ninth straight loss. Lucas Raymond had three assists for the 18-16-4 Red Wings as they sit two points out of an Eastern wild-card spot with 40 points. Mario Ferraro collected two assists for the 9-26-3 Sharks.

HEADLINES

NHL.COM: Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews and Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck are the NHL’s Three Stars for December 2023. For the second straight month, Chicago Blackhawks center Connor Bedard was named Rookie of the Month.

Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman was fined $4,427.08 for high-sticking Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti on Sunday.

SPECTOR’S NOTE: Following Hartman’s fine, Perfetti told reporters that the Wild forward told him the infraction was retaliation for uncalled cross-checks by Jets defenseman Brenden Dillon on Wild winger Kirill Kaprizov that forced the latter from the game. Perfetti was wearing a microphone for this game and said the exchange was recorded.

If so, and the league didn’t take that into account when handing down their verdict, it’s yet another example of why so many fans and pundits have a low opinion of the league’s department of player safety.

NEW JERSEY HOCKEY NOW: Devils winger Timo Meier is sidelined with a “mid-body injury” Head coach Lindy Ruff is hopeful Meier won’t be sidelined for long.

BUFFALO HOCKEY NOW: Sabres captain Kyle Okposo is out week-to-week with a lower-body injury.