Recap of NHL from 30 January 2026

he two hottest teams in the NHL will hit the ice for practice in Florida today when the Lightning (11 a.m. ET) and Bruins (1 p.m. ET) practice at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa before clashing in the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, SN, TVAS).

* January will conclude with an ABC Hockey Saturday doubleheader featuring four teams captained by players heading to Milan, plus a jam-packed Hockey Night in Canada slate on Sportsnet which includes a key Atlantic Division battle and two of the League’s two highest scoring defensemen this season.

* Charlie Coyle extended a League record by notching the NHL’s 31st hat trick in January (the most all-time in any calendar month) and Zach Werenski (Team USA) tallied two assists to spur Columbus to a 7-1-0 record under new head coach Rick Bowness. Werenski (19-40—59) now shares the NHL lead in points among defensemen, one shy of the most by a blueliner before an Olympic break (Mike Green: 14-46—60 in 2009-10 w/ WSH).

#NHLSTATS MEMOS TO MILAN: LEADERSHIP, AWARD-WINNING DEFENSE

Four teams who will send their captains to Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 and a bevy of decorated defensemen who will be key to their country’s medal hopes will hit the ice for matinee action this afternoon.

* NHL captains Dylan Larkin (DET; Team USA), Gabriel Landeskog (COL; Team Sweden), J.T. Miller (NYR; Team USA) and Sidney Crosby (PIT; Team Canada) have all been tabbed to represent their country in Milan, with Crosby (gold in 2010 & 2014) and Landeskog (silver in 2014) the two of the group with prior Olympic experience. Landeskog has not played since Jan. 4, however, earlier this week Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said that he could return to the lineup before the Olympic break.

* Crosby and Landeskog went head-to-head in the gold medal game in 2014, with Crosby scoring Team Canada’s second goal in a 3-0 victory. The only two countries to meet in a gold medal game multiple times at Olympics with NHL players are Team Canada and Team USA (2002 & 2010).

* Six Norris Trophy winners (9 total wins) will be representing their country in Milan, with Team Sweden (Erik Karlsson & Victor Hedman) and Team Canada (Cale Makar & Drew Doughty) boasting two on their respective roster. The others participating are Team Switzerland’s Roman Josi (2019-20) and Team USA’s Quinn Hughes (2015-16).

* Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider (Team Germany) is a Calder Trophy winner (2021-22) and could be in the mix of Norris Trophy contenders in 2025-26. Seider (No. 6 in 2019) is the highest-drafted German-born defenseman in NHL history and will be playing alongside Leon Draisaitl (No. 3 in 2014) and Tim Stützle (No. 3 in 2020) – the two highest selected German born-and-trained players in the history of the NHL Draft.

* Just five seasons (383 GP) into his NHL career, Seider already ranks fourth among German-born defensemen in career points – every player ahead of him on the list skated in over 700 career NHL games.

* Martin Necas will represent Team Czechia in Milan and has actively been working to grow the game in his home country through a hockey camp he started. Necas (22-40—62 in 52 GP) is currently tied for most goals among Czechia players this season with soon-to-be teammate David Pastrnak (22) and sits second in points behind Pastrnak (69) – he is a role model for youth in Czechia and wants to encourage young people to chase their dreams in hockey.

CANADIENS–SABRES SET UP CRITICAL CLASH ON HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA
A quartet of contests will make up Sportsnet’s Hockey Night in Canada slate and features a pivotal matchup between the Sabres (31-17-15, 67 points) and Canadiens (30-17-7, 67 points) to determine if Buffalo can hold on to the Atlantic Division’s third seed or if Montreal will leapfrog them in the standings.

* Buffalo and Montreal enter their bout tied in terms of standings points and can both make the postseason in the same year for the first time since 2011. The Canadiens will visit a Sabres team that own the third-highest points percentage at home this season (.712) and have won five straight games thanks in part to hat tricks in their past two. Montreal, meanwhile, carries the fourth-highest (tied) road points percentage in 2025-26 (.654) as their captain Nick Suzuki looks to follow up his multi-goal outing with another and reach the 20-goal mark for the fifth straight season.

* The lone all-Canadian matchup will see Toronto’s Auston Matthews (11) aim to finish the month first in goals when he faces Vancouver. Matthews enters one back of Brock Nelson (12) for the most goals this January and can become the second American in NHL history to lead a calendar month in goals (tied or outright) at least nine times, following Brett Hull (12x). The only other active players to do so as many times are Alex Ovechkin (14x) and Steven Stamkos (10x).

Calgary will also be featured on Sportsnet ahead of Hockey Night in Canada with a 4 p.m. ET matinee that will see the team celebrate women in sports. Susan Darrington, the Flames’ Chief Venues & Entertainment Officer and Head of Scotia Place, will be featured today as part of the Women in Hockey series presented by Canadian Tire. Darrington has over a decade of experience in hockey and is playing an integral role in bringing a new arena to the city.

NHL’S HOTTEST TEAMS TO PRACTICE AT RAYMOND JAMES STADIUM SATURDAY

The Lightning (11-1-1, 23 points; .855 P%) and Bruins (11-2-1, 23 points; .821 P%) are the NHL’s top teams since Jan. 1 – and would meet in the First Round if the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs started today – as they head toward a clash outdoors at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa for the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Sunday (6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN, SN, TVAS).

* Prior to Sunday’s showdown, the Lightning (11 a.m. ET) and Bruins (1 p.m. ET) will skate on the stadium ice for the first time Saturday. The practices are scheduled to take place under the climate-controlled structure to keep the ice in optimal condition for game day.

* The NHL announced Friday that based on current weather forecasts, the dismantling of the climate-controlled structure at Raymond James Stadium, originally scheduled to begin at 6 a.m. on Sunday, will now begin at 12 a.m. on Sunday. This could allow the process to be complete around 10 a.m. on game day.