The New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier (13) is congratulated teammates Jack Hughes (96) defenseman Luke Hughes (43) and left winger Jesper Bratt (63) after scoring his second goal against the Washington Capitals at the Capital One Arena in DC on Wed Jan 3, 2024 (AP News photo)

On the NHL podcast with Len:

#1 Nico Hischier scored two goals and got an assist for the New Jersey Devils getting three points as the Devils defeated the Washington Capitals at the Capital One Arena in Washington. New Jersey also got goals from Dawson Mercer and Michael McLeod who scored twice in the Devils 6-3 win. Alex Ovechkin had two assists for the Caps.

#2 Len, talk about the boarding penalty that the Arizona Coyotes forward Jason Zucker applied on the Florida Panthers forward Nick Cousins. Cousins was near the boards had stopped skating he was stationary and was not in movement and he was not scrambling for a puck and Zucker came from behind and blindsided him into the boards. Zucker received a three game suspension and got a major penalty and game misconduct for the hit.

#3 Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman was fined the maximum $4,427 for high sticking the Winnipeg Jets forward Cole Perfetti during Sun Dec 31, 2024 game in Minnesota. The high stick took place in the first period at 1:51 and the money will got the Players Emergency Assistance Fund.

#4 The Washington Capitals left wing Max Pacioretty made his first appearance since having his second Achilles surgery. Pacioretty said  “Obviously, I haven’t played. I’ve played five games in two years almost, so yeah, a lot of emotions. But at the end of the day, it probably couldn’t get any worse than it did tonight for me.”

#5 The San Jose Sharks go into tonight game against the Winnipeg Jets .The Jets have won seven of their last ten games. The Jets have won three in a row including beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 on Tuesday night. Meanwhile the Sharks lost their ninth straight game in a row to the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night 5-3 and will again try and snap that losing streak tonight.

Join Len Shapiro for the NHL podcasts each Thursday at http://www.sportsradioservice.com