Miro Heiskanen posted a three-point game and climbed the NHL’s all-time points list among Finnish defensemen in the process as the Stars bested the Bruins to move into second place in the Central Division.
* The Lightning continued their winning ways ahead of the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series, earning a comeback win against the Sharks to extend their point streak to 14 games (13-0-1) – tied for the third longest in franchise history.
* A six-game schedule starts with an Original Six matchup between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings broadcast nationally in the U.S. (TNT, HBO Max, truTV) and Canada (Sportsnet, TVA Sports).
STARS CONTINUE TO SHINE FOR DALLAS THROUGH 50TH GAME OF THE SEASON
Miro Heiskanen (0-3—3), Jason Robertson (2-0—2) and Wyatt Johnston (1-0—1) each continued their point-producing ways in 2025-26 as the Stars (28-13-9, 65 points) scored six times to snap the Bruins’ six-game win streak and move into second place in the Central Division standings.
* Heiskanen (Team Finland) notched his ninth career three-assist game to boost his career totals to 65-257—322. He overtook Janne Niinimaa (319) for seventh place on the NHL’s all-time points list among Finnish defensemen. Overall, only three other Finnish blueliners have registered as many outings with three or more helpers: Teppo Numminen (11 GP), Reijo Ruotsalainen (11 GP) and Kimmo Timonen (10 GP).
* Robertson (29-29—58 in 50 GP) and Johnston (26-28—54 in 50 GP) are two of Dallas’ three 50-point players this season (also Mikko Rantanen: 19-44—63 in 49 GP) – tied for the most among all teams. The 2025-26 campaign is the first in team history in which three players have produced 50-plus points through the team’s first 50 games of a season; the last season in franchise history to accomplish the feat was 1989-90: Brian Bellows (60), Neal Broten (55) and Mike Gartner (53).
* Johnston found the score sheet with his NHL-leading 16th power-play goal this season and surpassed Brett Hull (15 in 1998-99) for the third most in a single season in Stars team history, behind Mike Modano (18 in 1993-94) and Jamie Benn (17 in 2015-16).
KUCHEROV IGNITES RALLY WITH THREE-ASSIST OUTING AS LIGHTNING EXTEND STREAK
Nikita Kucherov (0-3—3) assisted on three of Tampa Bay’s four unanswered goals as the Eastern Conference-leading Lightning (31-13-4, 66 points) captured their 12th comeback win of the season and matched the third-longest point streak in franchise history (13-0-1). The club is 11 days away from meeting the Bruins at the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium.
* Kucherov’s three-point outing propelled the Lightning forward into third in NHL scoring this season (24-49—73 in 44 GP), one point ahead of San Jose’s Macklin Celebrini (24-48—72 in 49 GP). David Pastrnak (20-39—59 in 44 GP), Kucherov’s opponent outdoors, also found the score sheet on Tuesday and sits ninth in scoring.
* #NHLStats Pack: 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series
* 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series Information Guide
* Rink construction begins for the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series
ROOKIES HELP CLUBS TO VICTORY IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates saw the Canadiens (28-15-7, 63 points) and Sabres (27-17-5, 59 points) both skate to victories Tuesday with the help of multi-point performances by rookies.
* Ivan Demidov (0-2—2) recorded two assists and Cole Caufield (1-0—1) scored with 15 seconds remaining in regulation – tied for the latest go-ahead goal by the Canadiens this season – as Montreal defeated Minnesota at Bell Centre. Demidov, who boosted his rookie-leading totals to 11-32—43 (50 GP) in 2025-26, became the first Canadiens rookie to record 10 career multi-point outings through 50 games in a season since Gilbert Dionne (34 GP in 1991-92).
* One day after making his NHL debut, Konsta Helenius (1-2—3) scored his first career NHL goal and first two career assists as the Sabres survived a Predators rally to leapfrog the Bruins (28-20-2, 58 points) for the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. Helenius, who was selected by the Sabres with the No. 14 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, became the seventh Finnish teenager in League history with a three-point game, following Patrik Laine (9x), Sebastian Aho (3x), Aleksander Barkov (2x), Hannu Virta (2x), Henri Jokiharju and Jesse Puljujarvi. Virta (March 19, 1983 & Oct. 16, 1982) had both of his with the Sabres.
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THREE WEEKS UNTIL NHL PLAYERS RETURN TO OLYMPIC WINTER GAMES
NHL players will soon be heading to Italy to play for gold at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The men’s tournament begins exactly in three weeks (Wednesday, Feb. 11), when Team Finland faces Team Slovakia and Team Italy meets Team Sweden.
Sidney Crosby, F, Pittsburgh Penguins / Team Canada (3rd Olympics)
* Crosby, the only member of the Triple Gold Club on Canada’s roster by virtue of a Stanley Cup (3x), Olympic gold (2x) and World Championship (2015), is set to become the third player age 38-plus to skate for Team Canada at Olympics involving NHL players, following Martin St. Louis in 2014 (38 years, 250 days at oldest) and Al MacInnis in 2002 (38 years, 228 days at oldest). Fresh off his 1,400th career game (651-1,091—1,742), the Penguins captain is closing in on overtaking Ray Bourque (1,111 w/ BOS) for the most assists by a player with one franchise in NHL history.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson, D, Toronto Maple Leafs / Team Sweden (2nd Olympics)
* Ekman-Larsson (No. 6 in 2009), one of 12 players on Team Sweden’s roster who were top-10 selections in the NHL Draft, can join Crosby in the Triple Gold Club following a Stanley Cup championship in 2023-24 and a gold-medal performance at the 2018 World Championship. The Maple Leafs defenseman sits two goals shy of his first 10-goal campaign since 2018-19 and eighth of his career – a benchmark only three Swedish defensemen in NHL history have accomplished: Nicklas Lidstrom (17x), Erik Karlsson (10x) and Victor Hedman (10x).
* Did You Know? NHL.com will also be a hub for content before, during and after the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 with a dedicated section of the site including Mike Zeisberger’s recent feature on the Hughes brothers. Their father, Jim, reflects on his boys growing up in Toronto as Jack and Quinn are set to take the Olympics stage for the first time in their careers.
THIRD STRAIGHT TNT DOUBLEHEADER HEADLINES WEDNESDAY’S SLATE
A six-game slate opens with an Original Six showdown between the Maple Leafs and Red Wings broadcast nationally in the U.S. (TNT, HBO Max, truTV) and Canada (Sportsnet, TVA Sports) before the Islanders and Kraken take over the second half of a doubleheader on TNT.
* Auston Matthews enters Wednesday with an NHL-best 10 goals in 10 games since the calendar flipped to 2026. The Maple Leafs captain needs one goal to equal his most in a single month of January (11 in 2024) and two to become the first player in franchise history with 12 since Eddie Olczyk in 1988.
* Dylan Larkin, who will skate alongside Matthews for Team USA at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, has tallied 15-17—32 in 35 career games versus Toronto – his second-highest goal and point total versus a single franchise (20-16—36 in 36 GP vs. BUF).
* Matthew Schaefer has two assists in each of his past two games and can join Bobby Orr (3 GP in 1966-67) as the second 18-year-old defenseman in NHL history to post three straight multi-point performances. The Islanders rookie can also become the third 18-year-old at any position to post three straight multi-assist games, following Patrick Kane (3 GP in 2007-08) and Dale Hawerchuk (3 GP in 1981-82).
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