San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton notched his 1,041st career helper Sunday to stand alone at 10th on the NHL's all-time assist leaderboard.

The 39-year-old helped Tim Heed score in the opening frame against the Arizona Coyotes, breaking a tie with Hall of Famer Marcel Dionne.

Thornton began the 2017-18 season sitting in 13th place behind six-time Art Ross Trophy winner Mario Lemieux. On Nov. 23rd versus the Vancouver Canucks, he passed Lemieux for 11th place.

The four-time All-Star and 21-year NHL veteran is eight points shy of tying Detroit Red Wings legend Gordie Howe. He currently has five goals and 11 assists so far this season.

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Welcome to Puck Pursuit, a weekly NHL podcast hosted by John Matisz, theScore's National Hockey Writer.

Subscribe to the show on iTunes, SoundCloud, Stitcher, and Google Play.

This week, John's joined by ESPN prospect writer Chris Peters and former OHL scout Jonathan Kyriacou to preview the 2019 World Junior Hockey Championship.

Topics of discussion include:

• Is Canada the clear-cut favorite to win gold?
• What to expect from the incredible Hughes brothers
• Why you shouldn't count out the Czechs
• Scouting reports on Canada's top players
• How scouts view the world juniors tournament

... and more!

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San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson has been handed a two-game suspension for an illegal hit to the head of Los Angeles Kings forward Austin Wagner on Saturday night, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced.

Here's the collision that landed Karlsson his first career suspension:

The hit knocked Wagner out of the game - which the Kings won 3-2 in overtime - but went uncalled by officials.

The suspension was handed out quickly as the Sharks take on the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday before the NHL's Christmas break.

Karlsson recorded two assists in Saturday's contest to reach 26 points in 37 games with San Jose.

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Former Detroit Red Wings forward Johan Franzen was forced to retire from the NHL three years ago due to concussions and has since been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, as he battles with depression, severe anxiety, and panic attacks.

"Sometimes my whole world falls apart and I can't see the light in the end of the tunnel," Franzen told Gunnar Nordstrom of SportExpressen. "All I can do then is to sleep and lay in my bed. I take antidepressants and try to feel better again. But it quickly gets dark. Very dark."

The 39-year-old's last NHL contest was Oct. 10, 2015, which was the second game of an attempted comeback from a concussion he sustained in January of the same year.

Franzen has continued to feel the effects of that head trauma in the years since.

"Most of the time I think I am moving in the right direction, but when I have the down periods there is nothing positive. I almost give up then, and it is even worse because you think you have been better for a while," he said.

"It's embarrassing. I can speak to one person and the next day I've forgotten his or her name."

His wife, Cissi, wrote a blog in May about her husband's struggles, describing living with him as "not easy" and "like a rollercoaster."

Franzen believes moving back to his native Sweden from Detroit could help ease some of his pain

"I used to go to the mountains. As soon as I see a mountain I feel better."

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have recalled forward Trevor Moore from the AHL's Toronto Marlies on an emergency basis, the team announced.

Moore will fill a hole in the Leafs' lineup left by Tyler Ennis, who suffered a broken ankle during Saturday night's win over the New York Rangers.

The 23-year-old is expected to make his NHL debut when the Leafs take on the Detroit Red Wings Sunday night, according to The Athletic's Jonas Siegel.

Moore signed with Toronto in 2016 as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Denver. He's recorded 17 goals and seven helpers in 27 games with the Marlies this season, and was a part of their Calder Cup-winning team last year.

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After a scary incident Saturday night, Buffalo Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret is doing well and resting at Buffalo General Medical Center, the team announced in a statement.

"Sabres broadcaster Rick Jeanneret, who was hospitalized at Buffalo General Medical Center last night, is resting and doing well," the statement read. "On behalf of Rick and his family, we'd like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers. Rick looks forward to being back in the booth after the break."

Jeanneret was taken away from KeyBank Center in a stretcher during the third period of Saturday night's game against the Anaheim Ducks. He was feeling light-headed and stopped talking during the broadcast.

The 76-year-old also texted The Athletic's John Vogl Sunday morning to update his status.

Jeanneret has been with the Sabres since 1971 and was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame with the Foster Hewitt Award for outstanding broadcasting in 2012.

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