* The top two teams in the Atlantic Division skated to victory on Sunday as the Lightning And Red Wings collected another two points in the rankings. Andrej Vasilevsky helped Tampa Bay extend its points streak and reach the 20-win mark for the 10th consecutive campaign.
* A busy Monday includes matinees as Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated in the United States Jonathan Toews’ return to Chicago – the team he captained for 15 years and produced three Stanley Cup championships.
NUGENT-HOPKINS FIRES OILERS FOUL IN 1000TH CAREER GAME
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – whose teammates celebrated the longtime Edmonton forward with festive shirts upon his arrival And imitated his pre-match warm-up routine – opened the scoring in his thousandth career match Oil squirters and contributed to his club’s second high-scoring shutout victory in as many days after a win against the Canucks on Saturday (6-0).
*Nugent-Hopkins became the second player inside Oil squirters history to reach the milestone of 1,000 matches (also Kevin Low), the second player to score in his thousandth career game this season (also Nazem Kadri: 1-0-1 on November 5, 2025) and the 10th player in NHL history to score in both his league debut and his 1,000th game.
* The Oilers became the third team in NHL history to record a shutout victory by a greater than five-goal margin in consecutive daysafter the Rangers 2022-2023 (March 18, 2023 & March 19, 2023) and Bruins 1970-71 (October 31, 1970 & November 1, 1970).
*Edmonton’s streak of 11 consecutive goals tied for the franchise’s second-longest streak since 2000-01, alongside April 12-20, 2022 (11), March 28 to April 1, 2013 (11), December 7-11, 2002 (11) and March 2-11, 2001, and the route of November 16-21, 2013 (14).
VASILEVSKIY BECOMES A MEMBER OF ELITE COMPANY WITH 10TH CONSECUTIVE SEASON WITH 20 VICTORIES. . .
Andrei Vasilevskiy (19 saves) reached the 20-win mark for the 10th straight season, providing a backstop for the leading Atlantic Division Lightning (30-13-4, 64 points) to their 30th win and extend the NHL’s longest active points streak to 13 games (12-0-1). Tampa Bay tied its fourth-longest points streak in franchise history (also 13 GP in 2019-20 and 2002-03), behind 2003-04 (18 GP), 2018-19 (16 GP) and 2018-19 (14 GP).
* Vasilevskiy became the second goaltender with twenty wins this season (also Karel Vejmelka) and joined Sergei Bobrovsky (12) as the second active netminder (min. 1 GP in 2025-26) to have at least 10 20-win campaigns in his career. Vasilevskiy also secured his sixth points streak over 10 games, which ended in a draw Connor Hellebuyck for most active goaltenders.
* The Lightning have five games left before they clash with the Bruins 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series (February 1, 6:30 PM ET on ESPN, SN & TVAS). Vasilevskiy, who also helped the club to victory Stadium Series 2022can become the sixth goaltender to win each of his first two career outdoor appearances; he would participate Henrik Lundqvist (4-0-0), Craig Anderson (3-0-0), Jordan Binnington (2-0-0), Igor Shesterkin (2-0-0) and Braden Holtby (2-0-0). Click here for our #NHLStats package: 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series.
. . . WHILE DIVISIONAL RIVAL RED WINGS Rally and stay on track with overtime
The Senators built a 2-0 lead in the first 5:05 Patrick Kane (0-1-1) helped initiate one Red Wings comeback with his 1,372nd career point – two behind tie Mike Fashionable‘S all-time record among US-born skaters – And Alex DeBrincat (1-1-2) capped the rally with the winner 36 seconds into overtime, while Detroit (30-16-4, 64 points) recorded the fastest pace to 30 wins in a single season since 2011-2012 (46 GP).
* DeBrincat, with a team-best 26 goals in 50 games in 2025-2026, leads a Red Wings team on the hunt for their first participating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2015-2016. Detroit, which has qualified for the postseason every time it has recorded more than 30 wins in the first 50 games of a season (11x), has held a top three position in the Atlantic Division for 74 days in 2025-26 – third among Eastern Conference clubs, behind Carolina (98 days) and Montreal (80 days).
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* #NHLStats Pack: Milano Cortina Winter Olympics 2026
FULL MONDAY WITH 20 TEAMS IN ACTION
While Martin Luther King Jr. Day is celebrated in the United States, the NHL’s schedule will expand to include a matinee TNT doubleheader that will feature two of the top three teams in the League since December 1 – the Sabers (16-5-1, 33 points; 2nd over that span) and Avalanche (15-4-2, 32 points; 3rd) – as Buffalo visits Carolina before Colorado hosts Washington. The slate will also contain Jonathan Toews returning to Chicago for the first time when the Jets visit the Blackhawks.
* The Metropolitan Division leader Hurricanes (30-15-4, 64 points) will face the Sabres (26-16-5, 57 points), occupying the second Wild Card spot in the East, in a game with multiple streaks on the line. Carolina, which has seen a hat trick in its past two games, has recorded wins in each of its previous 12 home games against Buffalo. tied for the NHL’s longest active home winning streak against a single opponent in addition to Colorado (12 GP vs. SJS) and Dallas (12 GP vs. DET). In the meantime, Take Thompsonwho reached the 50-point plateau in his final match for the fifth consecutive season, will attempt to match a career high (8 GP in 2024-25) in what will be his final match against his Team USA teammate, Jacob Slavinbefore the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics.
* The league-leading Avalanche (33-5-8, 74 points) have a chance to become the NHL’s first team to reach 20 home wins for the second time in franchise history (also 2023-24). They will do this against Washington’s John Carlsonthose two helpers are shy about the third Capitals player – and first defenseman – to 600 career assists. He could also become the fifth active defenseman to reach the back plateau Erik Karlsson (699), Brent Burns (665), Victor Hedman (635) and Kris Letang (619).
* Toews returns to Chicago, where he played 1,067 games, won three Stanley Cup championships and finished his tenure at the top of a number of franchise lists. Toews recorded 372-511-883 with the Blackhawks and remains sixth in franchise history goals And pointsas well as eighth in assists. He also has 11 game-winning goals in the playoffs the most tied in franchise history. Toews was their captain for fifteen seasons, which is currently the fifth-longest captaincy in NHL history. Read more on NHL.com of what Toews says will be a “very emotional” game.
NATIONAL GAMES ON THE RADAR THIS WEEK
Five #NHLStats and storylines to know about other national broadcasts this week:
1. Prime Monday Night Hockey: Auston Matthews comes into play in January with nine goals (9-4-13 in 9 GP) and can pass Pat LaFontaine (11) for most 10-goal months by a US-born player in NHL history.
2. Devils visiting Oil squirters on TNT (Tuesday): Connor McDavid opens a 17-game streak against New Jersey on Tuesday and could tie its longest against a single opponent (18 GP vs. SJS). Only two other active players have posted a game run of more than 18 matches against another franchise: Leon Draisaitl (21 GP vs. VAN & 20 GP vs. CHI) and Sidney Crosby (19 GP vs. BUF).
3. Red Wings on Sportsnet on consecutive days (Wednesday, Thursday): Patrick Kane enters the week three points behind to pass Mike Modano for the the most by a US-born player in NHL history and will be given several opportunities to do so on the national broadcaster when the Red Wings play the Maple Leafs on Sportsnet and TVA Sports, followed by the Wild on Sportsnet One. Kane is averaging 1.28 points per game against Toronto (18-23-41 in 32 GP), his fifth-highest against any opponent, and Minnesota is tied for his fourth-highest goal total against any club (25).
4. Marner returns to Toronto on Sportsnet (Friday): Exactly a week later Mitch Marner played with the Maple Leafs for the first time since being traded in the offseason and helped the Golden Knights record a multi-goal third-period comeback against his former club. He will return to the Scotiabank Arena for the first time. Marner recorded 289 assists and 392 points in Toronto as a member of the Maple Leafs. fourth in assists And sixth in points on the franchise’s all-time lists at home.
5. Ovechkin, McDavid Clash on Hockey Night in Canada (Saturday): Alex Ovechkin will continue its pursuit of 1,000 goals (regular season and playoffs) when the Capitals visit Connor McDavid and the Oil squirters. From that plateau, Ovechkin enters the week with six goals and would follow suit Wayne Gretzky (1.016) if only the second player in NHL history to achieve that feat. Ovechkin will play three games before facing McDavid on Hockey Night in Canada.
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