Roman Josi and Steven Stamkos helped the Predators prevail against fellow veteran Alex Ovechkin, who reached the 20-goal mark for the 21st time in as many seasons.
* Zach Werenski assisted on the Blue Jackets’ overtime winner to tie former teammate Seth Jones atop a franchise list. Werenski and Jones are set to reunite as part of Team USA’s defense corps at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
* Monday’s schedule is set to feature another “Hughes Bowl,” several streaks on the line, the No. 91 being retired as well as a Prime Monday Night Hockey game between the Canucks and Canadiens, one of several all-Canadian national telecasts slated for the week ahead including three during the 26th annual Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada.
Veterans Josi, Stamkos pilot Predators past Ovechkin, Capitals
Roman Josi (1-2—3) and Steven Stamkos (1-1—2) combined for five points as the Predators (21-20-4, 46 points) climbed closer to the Western Conference’s final Wild Card spot and improved to 8-4-0 (16 points) in their last 12 games dating to Dec. 20, 2025.
* Josi and fellow NHL captain Nico Hischier are set to lead Team Switzerland into the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 in Italy, a country where the program had a noteworthy win nearly 20 years ago. Martin Gerber stopped 49 shots in the Swiss’ upset victory versus Team Canada during the round robin of the Torino Games, marking the most saves in a shutout win at an Olympics with NHL players.
* Alex Ovechkin (1-1—2) opened the scoring to record his 21st career 20-goal season and pass Ron Francis (20) for the second most in NHL history behind Gordie Howe (22), while also moving within one of Howe (22 from 1949-50 – 1970-71) for the most consecutive 20-goal campaigns in League history. Ovechkin became the NHL’s third player age 40 or older with 20 goals in 46 games or fewer, following Howe (43 GP in 1968-69 & 46 GP in 1970-71) and Johnny Bucyk (42 GP in 1975-76).
* Ovechkin continues THE GR8 CHASE for Victory Over Cancer with the Capitals, Hockey Fights Cancer and V Foundation by personally donating to pediatric cancer research for each regular-season goal he scores for the remainder of his career. Click here for details.
victories BY vegas, WINNIPEG, BOSTON AND COLUMBUS FEATURED IN LIVE UPDATES
Sunday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured more notes from the five-game slate to cap the first full week of 2026. Some highlights include:
* Tomas Hertl (2-3—5) had a franchise record-tying five points and Mark Stone (0-3—3) extended his scoring streak to eight games as the Golden Knights (21-11-12, 54 points) padded their lead atop the Pacific Division. Stone has found the score sheet in 25 of his 28 contests this season (89.3%), which marks the highest percentage in the NHL (min. 2 GP). Connor McDavid (39 of 45 GP; 86.7%) ranks second.
* Josh Morrissey (0-2—2) assisted on the game-winning goal in the third period to cap his 89th career multi-point outing and tied Dustin Byfuglien for the most by a defenseman in franchise history. The victory also made Connor Hellebuyck the fourth active goaltender to record 10-plus wins in each of his first 11 seasons, joining Sergei Bobrovsky (16), Cam Talbot (13) and Frederik Andersen (12).
* Viktor Arvidsson had the lone goal and Joonas Korpisalo turned aside all 27 shots he faced as the Bruins followed up their 10-2 victory on Saturday with a shutout win during the 7,000th regular-season game in franchise history. Korpisalo became Boston’s first goaltender with a shutout against Pittsburgh since Tuukka Rask (Dec. 16, 2015).
* Zach Werenski factored on the goal in extra time and matched his former Blue Jackets teammate, Seth Jones (21), for the most overtime points in franchise history. Werenski also became the first Columbus player to record 50 career assists on game-winning goals. Werenski and Jones will be teammates once again when they suit up for Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.
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QUICK CLICKS
* Connor McDavid extends point streak to 18 for Oilers, ‘very motivated to be the best player’
* Leon Draisaitl honored by Oilers for 1,000 point mark, family dog attends
* Lindy Ruff looks ahead to 1,900th regular-season game as coach in Q&A with NHL.com
* Christian Gonzalez rocks Zdeno Chara jersey to playoff game
* Matt MacPherson honored at TD Garden for reaching 1,000-game milestone
All-Canadian clash set for Prime Monday Night Hockey
An #NHLStats primer before tonight’s Canucks–Canadiens game on Prime Monday Night Hockey:
* Ivan Demidov and Oliver Kapanen lead all rookies this season in points (36) and goals (15), respectively, while Zeev Buium ranks third in scoring among rookie defensemen (18) as he takes on last season’s overall rookie scoring leader and Calder Trophy winner Lane Hutson. Montreal can become the first team with the rookie points leader in consecutive seasons since Vancouver from 2018-19 to 2019-20 (Elias Pettersson & Quinn Hughes).
* Buium, who was acquired by the Canucks in the blockbuster trade that sent Hughes to the Wild, won a gold medal alongside Hutson as well as Jacob Fowler with Team USA at the 2024 World Junior Championship. Buium then had an assist on Fowler in the Denver Pioneers’ national championship-clinching win against the Boston College Eagles three months later.
* Kapanen is one of three rookies currently in the NHL named to Olympic rosters and will be the 11th NHL rookie to play for Team Finland at the Olympics, joining a list that includes the likes of Aleksander Barkov (2014), Olli Määttä (2014), Mikko Koivu (2006) and Jussi Jokinen (2006).
* Monday is also set to feature the latest edition of the “Hughes Bowl,” the third to date and first pitting the Wild against the Devils. Other storylines on the docket: Connor McDavid looks to find the score sheet for a 19th consecutive game; Tampa Bay and Colorado aim to extend lengthy winning streaks; and Atlantic Division-leading Detroit raises Sergei Fedorov’s No. 91 to the Little Caesars Arena rafters. Fedorov will be the first of two players to have his number retired by an Original Six franchise this week, with Boston set to do the same for Zdeno Chara’s No. 33 on Jan. 15.
* Quinn, Jack and Luke Hughes have all played in the same NHL game twice before, both won by Jack, Luke and the Devils (also Oct. 30, 2024 & Dec. 5, 2023). Quinn and Jack are also set play together with Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 next month.
NATIONAL GAMES ON THE RADAR THIS WEEK
Five #NHLStats and storylines you need to know about other national broadcasts this week:
1. NHL on TNT and ESPN+ doubleheaders (Tuesday): Red Wings forward Patrick Kane can continue his pursuit of Mike Modano’s U.S.-born points record when Detroit duels Boston in the opener of an NHL on TNT doubleheader (also DAL-ANA). Kane recently passed longtime Bruins forward Johnny Bucyk (1,369) for the sixth-most points with Original Six franchises in League history. The 10-game slate also includes an ESPN+ doubleheader with Hurricanes–Blues and Maple Leafs–Mammoth matchups.
2. Second straight NHL on TNT two-pack (Wednesday): Soon-to-be Team USA forward Tage Thompson and the surging Sabres face the Flyers in the first half of a second straight NHL on TNT doubleheader. Buffalo has an NHL-best 13 wins and 26 points since Dec. 9, climbing from last place in the Eastern Conference into a Wild Card spot over that span.
3. Senators at Rangers on Sportsnet (Wednesday): Four players named to Team USA’s roster for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 are in action (J.T. Miller, Jake Sanderson, Brady Tkachuk & Vincent Trocheck). Tkachuk’s father, Keith, was a four-time Olympian (including three involving NHL players) and helped the Americans win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey – a tournament in which he scored the winning goal in both of their round robin games at Madison Square Garden (Sept. 2-3, 1996).
4. “Battle of Pennsylvania” and Maple Leafs visiting Marner on ESPN (Thursday): The lone “Triple Gold Club” member heading to the Olympics is Sidney Crosby (Team Canada), who this week will lead the Penguins against the Flyers in the opener of an ESPN doubleheader, which is also set to feature Mitch Marner (Team Canada) facing his former team for the first time since joining the Golden Knights. Crosby tops the NHL’s all-time lists for most goals (59), assists (78) and points (137) versus Philadelphia.
5. 26th annual Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada (Saturday): All seven Canadian teams are in action during a day-long celebration from Moncton, N.B., as Sportsnet hosts a marathon broadcast with several special guests and in-depth features. The festivities take place at an outdoor event venue next to Avenir Centre, home of the QMJHL’s Moncton Wildcats.
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