* Twenty-four hours after the Lightning completed their four-goal comeback win during the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series, the Predators achieved one of their own, establishing the third instance in NHL history of four-goal comeback victories on consecutive days.
* Alex Ovechkin notched his 1,670th career point with Washington to move past Wayne Gretzky on an all-time NHL list as the Capitals earned their third straight win and inched closer to a playoff spot.
* National broadcasts in the U.S. and Canada are scattered across Tuesday’s seven-game slate as the League enters the final three gamedays before the Olympic break.
STAMKOS, JOSI LEAD PREDATORS TO FOUR-GOAL COMEBACK WIN
One day after the Lightning recorded a four-goal comeback win outdoors, the Predators did so inside Bridgestone Arena propelled by a multi-goal outing from Steven Stamkos and a four-assist performance from Roman Josi. Nashville recorded the fourth four-goal comeback win of 2025-26, tied with 1986-87 and 1984-85 for the fourth most at this stage of a season in NHL history (884 GP), behind 2019-20 (5), 1985-86 (5) and 1983-84 (5). Notably, each instance in the 1980s had 840 games in the entire season.
* Stamkos moved into the top 20 on the NHL’s all-time goals list by passing Dino Ciccarelli (608) and scored his 122nd career game-tying tally, which equaled Jarome Iginla (122) for the ninth most in NHL history. The only active player ahead of him on that list is Alex Ovechkin (152), who sits atop it. Stamkos also became the 11th player in League history to score 100 game-winning goals.
* Josi recorded his fourth career four-assist game, which matched the most by an active defenseman (also Victor Hedman, Morgan Rielly & Quinn Hughes). He also secured his ninth four-point performance and moved within one of tying Erik Karlsson (10) for the most among active blueliners. Josi, who will represent Team Switzerland at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, already paces his countrymen in both of those categories.
OVECHKIN, CARLSON MOVE UP ALL-TIME LISTS IN CAPITALS WIN
A pair of Capitals veterans, Alex Ovechkin (0-1—1) and John Carlson (1-0—1), moved up all-time NHL lists and helped Washington skate to a third straight win. The Capitals (28-22-7, 63 points) inched within two points of the Islanders (30-21-5, 65 points) for third in the Metropolitan Division.
* Ovechkin notched his 751st career assist and surpassed Larry Robinson (750) to move into the top 50 in NHL history. The Capitals captain also recorded his 1,029th career game with at least one point, tying Ray Bourque for the seventh most in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky (1,221 GP), Mark Messier (1,143 GP), Gordie Howe (1,132 GP), Ron Francis (1,123 GP), Jaromir Jagr (1,117 GP) and Steve Yzerman (1,033 GP).
* Carlson recorded his ninth career 10-goal season and became the eighth American defenseman in NHL history with as many. He joined Phil Housley (16), Brian Leetch (13), Mathieu Schneider (13), Kevin Hatcher (12), Reed Larson (11), Gary Suter (11) and Dustin Byfuglien (9).
HIGHLIGHTS FROM OLYMPIC-BOUND PLAYERS DAYS AWAY FROM BREAK
A number of players headed to Italy for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 achieved noteworthy mentions in one of the final days before the NHL breaks for them to represent their country:
* Sandis Vilmanis and Uvis Balinskis (Team Latvia) both found the back of the net with the Panthers and established the first time in NHL history two Latvian-born players on the same team have scored in a single game. Balinskis will be competing in his second Olympics after skating in four games and collecting three assists in 2022 in Beijing.
* William Nylander (Team Sweden) had 1-2—3 to lift the Maple Leafs to their eighth straight win versus the Flames since 2022-23 – their longest active winning streak against one opponent. Nylander notched his 46th career three-point game to pass fellow Swede Borje Salming while moving into a tie with Doug Gilmour for the eight most in franchise history.
* Macklin Celebrini (Team Canada) required the fourth-fewest games by a teenager to reach 80 points in a season (28-53—81 in 54 GP), behind only Wayne Gretzky (45 GP in 1980-81 & 50 GP in 1979-80) and Sidney Crosby (47 GP in 2006-07). He also recorded his 143rd and 144th career points, which put him past Ron Francis (142) for the seventh most by a teenager in NHL history – a list Crosby (202) leads.
* Thomas Harley (Team Canada) and Jake Oettinger (Team USA) helped the Stars win their fifth straight game. Harley scored his sixth career overtime goal and tied John Klingberg for the most by a Stars/North Stars defenseman, while Oettinger became the seventh American goaltender to record 10 winning streaks of five contests.
* Quinn Hughes (0-3—3) factored on Minnesota’s final three goals, including the overtime winner, to reach 400 career assists and help the Wild earn a third-period comeback win. The defenseman logged his fifth three-assist game since joining Minnesota and established a franchise record for most in a season. Hughes (484 GP), who will represent Team USA on the international stage next week, became the second-fastest American in NHL history to hit the 400-assist milestone, behind Craig Janney (477 GP).
SCHMALTZ NETS HIS SECOND HAT TRICK OF THE SEASON
Nick Schmaltz scored his second hat trick of the season – and the League’s first of February – after a January that saw the most in any month in NHL history. Schmaltz helped the Mammoth improve to 29-23-4 (62 points) and move from outside the playoff line and into the first Wild Card seed in the Western Conference.
* Schmaltz joined Logan Cooley as Utah’s second player with multiple hat tricks in 2025-26. The only other team to have two skaters with multiple three-goal performances this season is Chicago (Connor Bedard & Tyler Bertuzzi).
LYON EXTENDS WINNING STREAK IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
Monday’s 10-game slate was covered in #NHLStats: Live Updates and included notes on Alex Lyon and the Sabres. Lyon won his eighth straight road game, which is the longest run by a goaltender in franchise history, while Buffalo (32-18-5, 69 points) moved within one point of Montreal (31-17-8, 70 points) for third in the Atlantic Division.
QUICK CLICKS
* Brady Tkachuk ready to live ‘childhood dream’ of playing in Olympics
* Jake Guentzel, Brandon Hagel turning Olympic foes after Stadium Series win for Lightning
* Barry Trotz to retire as Predators GM after three seasons
* Jared McCann, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Travis Konecny named Three Stars” for week ending Feb. 1
* #NHLStats Pack: Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026
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TIGHT PLAYOFF RACE CONTINUES DURING SEVEN-GAME SLATE
Tuesday features a doubleheader on TNT and HBO Max that opens with a Metropolitan Division clash between the Penguins (28-15-11, 67 points) and Islanders (30-21-5, 65 points) and closes with a Pacific Division showdown between the Ducks (29-23-3, 61 points) and Kraken (26-19-9, 61 points). The seven-game slate will also see the Lightning (35-14-4, 74 points) battle the Sabres (32-18-5, 69 points) on ESPN+ and Hulu while the Maple Leafs (26-21-9, 61 points) face off against the Oilers (28-20-8, 64 points) on Sportsnet and TVA Sports. Pittsburgh, New York, Buffalo, Anaheim and Seattle all enter Tuesday in a playoff position after missing the postseason last year.
* The Penguins and Islanders would meet in the playoffs if they started today as they hold the second and third position in the Metropolitan Division, respectively. Pittsburgh has had success as the visitor since the calendar flipped to 2026 with six wins in seven road games – tied with Florida and Buffalo for the second most among all teams behind Tampa Bay (7). New York, however, has a track record of performing well against Pittsburgh at home with a 7-2-1 record dating to Feb. 27, 2021.
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* The Kraken look to extend their win streak to five games for the first time since 2023-24 (9 GP) and maintain their hold over third place in the Pacific Division, with the Ducks hot on their heels in the second Wild Card spot. Meanwhile, Anaheim (55 GP) can become the first team in its division to reach 30 wins in 2025-26 and can do so in its fewest games since 2014-15 (46 GP), a season they finished atop the Western Conference standings before making a run to the Conference Finals.
* The Lightning and Sabres, who rank first and fourth in the Atlantic Division, respectively, are set to clash in their first of four meetings this season and are two of the League’s hottest teams. Buffalo has accumulated a League-leading 22 wins since Dec. 1 and ranks first in points percentage over that span (.750 P%), while Tampa Bay ranks second in points percentage (19 wins; .714 P%) thanks, in part, to eight straight home wins.
* The Oilers, who rank second in the Pacific Division, and Maple Leafs, are set to battle for the second time this season after Edmonton bested Toronto on Dec. 13. The Oilers can win their first season series against the Maple Leafs since 2002-03 (2-1-0), however, Toronto has a 7-2-1 record in its past 10 trips to Edmonton (EDM: 3-7-0).
* Connor McDavid penned a piece in The Players’ Tribune on Monday titled, ‘Dear Canada,’ expressing how much it means to represent Team Canada at the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, how it felt to play in the 4 Nations Face-Off, his passion to win a Stanley Cup in Edmonton and how he came to love hockey as a child.
#NHLSTATS MEMOS TO MILAN: MAJOR MATCHUPS WITH GOLDEN DREAMS IN MIND
The national slate of NHL action includes a bevy of stars ready to make their Olympic debut, or return, for another shot at gold:
* Victor Hedman returned to the Lightning lineup in their historic outdoor win Sunday – his first game in nearly two months – and will skate against another Swedish captain heading for Milan tonight, Sabres blueliner Rasmus Dahlin. Hedman is one of 19 first-time Olympians on the Team Sweden roster as the nation seeks its third medal (second gold) at Olympics with NHL players.Dahlin was 17 when he made his Olympic debut in 2018, posting one assist in two games as Team Sweden’s youngest player before becoming the first Swedish defenseman ever selected with the No. 1 pick in the NHL Draft.
* Another contest on tonight’s slate also features an Olympic-bound NHL captain – Ducks blueliner Radko Gudas (Team Czechia) – as well as a player from a Nordic nation who made his Olympic debut at a young age, Kraken forward Eeli Tolvanen (Team Finland). Tolvanen, 18 at the time, secured a spot on the All-Star Team after tying for second in tournament scoring (3-6—9 in 5 GP) while skating alongside another teenager headed for the NHL in Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
* The oldest NHL player on an Olympic roster is Penguins captain Sidney Crosby (Team Canada), who will square off against the youngest player in the League this season, Islanders rookie blueliner Matthew Schaefer. Crosby and Drew Doughty will become the ninth and 10th players to represent Team Canada at three Olympics with NHL players (currently 6 skaters & 2 goaltenders).
* The 21st all-time NHL head-to-head meeting between Oilers captain Connor McDavid (Team Canada) and Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews (Team USA) will also be Toronto’s final contest before the Olympic break when Matthews and teammates William Nylander and Oliver Ekman-Larsson (both Team Sweden) head over to Milan to play for gold. Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl will compete alongside Edmonton rookie Josh Samanski (who recorded his first NHL point Saturday) when they represent Team Germany next week – including a clash against Matthews and Team USA to close out Group C round-robin play on Feb. 15.
