* Mattias Ekholm followed up Evan Bouchard’s historic performance on Saturday with a three-goal game of his own and established an NHL first in the process as the Oilers and Ducks combined for the third dueling hat trick of 2025-26 – the most in a season in 33 years.
* A trio of goaltenders helped propel their teams to victories on Monday, including Andrei Vasilevskiy,who shut out the streaking Mammoth to help lift the Lightning back into the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
* A 10-game Tuesday will feature the Stars and Blues on ESPN+ as well as the second of four instalments of the Foligno Face-Off as Nick Foligno and the Blackhawks visit Marcus Foligno and the Wild.
EKHOLM’S HAT TRICK, OFFENSE FROM THE DEFENSE PROPEL OILERS TO VICTORY
Just two days after Evan Bouchard’s historic six-point night, Mattias Ekholm (3-0—3) scored his first career hat trick while Darnell Nurse (1-0—1) and Spencer Stastney (1-0—1) also found the back of the net from the blueline to propel the Oilers to victory. The trio scored four straight goals in a span of 3:49 during the middle frame, marking the fastest four tallies by defensemen in NHL history.
* The Oilers accounted for the sixth instance in NHL history of defensemen combining for four goals in a period, and the first since the Blues on Nov. 29, 2000. It was also the third time in which defensemen scored four consecutive goals, following a previous instance by the Oilers (March 31, 1985) as well as the Flyers (March 4, 1972).
* Ekholm and Mikael Granlund, who had his own three-goal performance for the Ducks, recorded the 26th and 27th hat trick of January. There have only been three other months in NHL history with as many: December 1985 (29), February 1981 (28) and December 1981 (27). The Oilers recorded a hat trick in consecutive regular-season games for the first time since March 20-22, 1995, while the Ducks also did so for the second time in franchise history, following Jan. 8-10, 2012.
EASTERN CONFERENCE GOALTENDERS COME UP BIG ON MONDAY NIGHT
Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jonathan Quick and Ilya Sorokin each played a pivotal role in helping their respective teams to victory during Monday’s four-game slate:
* Nikita Kucherov factored on both of Tampa Bay’s goals to reach the 80-point mark and Vasilevskiy saved all 28 shots he faced to help the Lightning (33-14-4, 70 points) shut out the streaking Mammoth and move back into first place in the Eastern Conference. Vasilevskiy, who climbed an elite list of goaltenders born outside of North America on Monday, can also join a short list of netminders to win each of their first two career outdoor appearances when the Lightning take on the Bruins in the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Sunday, Feb. 1. More notes on that can be found here.
* After Will Borgen (1-0—1) pulled the Rangers even in the third period, their goaltenderQuick (0-1—1) set up Matthew Robertson (1-0—1) in overtime to lift New York to a comeback win at Madison Square Garden. Quick, who made 21 saves, earned his 408th career win and surpassed Glenn Hall for sole possession of 12th place on the League’s all-time list among goaltenders.
* Sorokin stopped all 21 shots he faced to post his third shutout of January and sixth of the season – one shy of the Islanders record for the most in a campaign. The Islanders have recorded a League-leading eight shutouts in 2025-26 – the only seasons they’ve posted more are 2018-19 (11), 2020-21 (10), 1975-76 (10) and 2021-22 (9).
PASTRNAK’S MILESTONE FEATURED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Monday’s edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates spotlighted a milestone night for David Pastrnak (0-3—3), who became the sixth player in Bruins history to reach 900 career points and the second fastest among that cohort (412-488—900 in 804 GP). Pastrnak, who will represent Team Czechia at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, also became the third Czech player in NHL history to record 900 career points, following Jaromir Jagr and Patrik Elias.
QUICK CLICKS
* Kirill Kaprizov, Nikita Kucherov and Lukas Dostal named NHL’s “Three Stars” of the Week
* Rogers reveals final design for ‘Great Canadian Jersey’
* Auston Matthews says U.S. has what it takes to win gold at 2026 Winter Olympics
* Macklin Celebrini making it look easy with Sharks in 2nd NHL season
* William Nylander of Maple Leafs fined for inappropriate gesture
STARS, BLUES CLASH ON ESPN+ AS PART OF 10-GAME TUESDAY
A 10-game Tuesday will feature a number of Central Division matchups on display, including the Stars and Blues on ESPN+ as well as the second of four instalments of the Foligno Face-Off when Nick Foligno and the Blackhawks visit Marcus Foligno and the Wild.
* Mikko Rantanen (19-44—63 in 49 GP), who is just over two weeks away from representing his country at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, enters Tuesday one goal shy of tying Sebastian Aho (9) for the fourth-most 20-goal seasons by a Finnish player in NHL history, behind Teemu Selanne (17), Jari Kurri (13)and Aleksander Barkov (10). The contest between the Stars and Blues will also feature the final head-to-head between Thomas Harley, Colton Parayko and Jordan Binnington, who will all represent Team Canada in Italy after winning the 4 Nations Face-Off together.
* Marcus and Nick are proud Hockey Fights Cancer Champions and are turning their sibling rivalry into a season-long showdown for life-saving breast cancer research in honor of their late mother Janis Foligno, who they lost to breast cancer. Fans can join the Foligno Face-Off and donate $17, or any amount they can give, at v.org/FolignoFaceoff. 100% of donations will go to game-changing breast cancer research supported by V Foundation for Cancer Research, ensuring that every dollar contributes to a future with more survivors and fewer families impacted by this disease.
#NHLSTATS MEMOS TO MILAN: YOUNG CANADIENS TO CLASH IN TOURNAMENT OPENER
With the opening game of the men’s hockey tournament at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 just over two weeks away, #NHLStats looks at some of the NHL players who will hit the ice in the first contest – a matchup between medalists from the 2022 Games.
* Juraj Slafkovsky, now a goal away from his second 20-goal NHL season, was just 17 years old when he claimed tournament MVP, Best Forward and a spot on the All-Star Team at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games. Slafkovsky led the event in goals (7) and points (7; tied), totals that included the bronze medal-clinching goal that gave Team Slovakia its first medal of any color in Olympic ice hockey. Four months later, Slafkovsky became the highest NHL Draft pick in that country’s history (No. 1).
* Slafkovsky will go toe-to-toe with NHL teammate Oliver Kapanen, who is set to become the first rookie to represent the Canadiens at the Olympic Winter Games when he aims to help Team Finland defend its gold medal from 2022. Defenseman Yannick Weber played five games for Montreal in 2009-10 but was in the AHL in the weeks leading up to donning the Team Switzerland sweater in Vancouver.
* Kapanen is the youngest player on the Team Finland roster, but not the youngest Canadiens player heading to the event as Slafkovsky has him beat on that list.
* The NHL debuted a series of pages on Records.NHL.com that provide statistics and information from the League’s participation in the Olympic Winter Games in advance of this February’s tournament in Milano Cortina, Italy. Click here for more information.
