* Matthew Schaefer and Darren Raddysh both achieved rare defensemen-centric feats, as the Islanders rookie added to his point totals as an 18-year-old and the Lightning blueliner extended his goal streak.
* Sebastian Aho was one of several soon-to-be 2026 Olympians who found the score sheet Tuesday, with the Hurricanes forward posting his 10th straight 20-goal season.
* The penultimate gameday ahead of the Olympic break will see 20 teams in action, including eight as part of a pair of doubleheaders on TNT and Sportsnet.
* There will be a trade freeze (no trade transactions of any kind) from 3 p.m. ET today through 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 22.
SCHAEFER, KUCHEROV LEAD TEAMS TO OVERTIME WINS AFTER LATE TYING GOALS
Matthew Schaefer (1-1—2) and Nikita Kucherov (1-3—4) both assisted on overtime goals to help the Islanders and Lightning prevail in late comeback wins. The two clubs accounted for the 105th and 106th game-tying goals in the final five minutes of regulation this season – the most at this stage of a campaign (891 GP) in NHL history. With the win, New York (31-21-5, 67 points) moved within one point of Pittsburgh (28-15-12, 68 points) for second in the Metropolitan Division.
* Schaefer (16-23—39) passed Bobby Orr for the third-most career points by an 18-year-old defenseman in League history, behind only Phil Housley (57) and Rasmus Dahlin (44). He also joined those three as the only 18-year-old blueliners in NHL history with at least eight career multi-point outings, tying Dahlin and Orr and trailing Housley (13).
* Kucherov factored on all four of Tampa Bay’s goals, including Darren Raddysh’s tying tally in the third period and Jake Guentzel’s overtime winner, as the Lightning earned their eighth straight victory at home and improved to 18-1-1 over their past 20 games. Kucherov recorded his 39th career four-point game and passed Teemu Selanne (38 GP) for the fourth most by a player born and trained outside North America, behind only Jaromir Jagr (56 GP), Peter Stastny (54 GP) and Jari Kurri (47 GP). Raddysh, meanwhile, extended his goal streak to five games and became the second defenseman with a run of that length this season, following Jakob Chychrun (5 GP from Nov. 20-28).
OLYMPIC-BOUND STARS SPOTLIGHTED IN #NHLSTATS: LIVE UPDATES
The latest edition of #NHLStats: Live Updates featured several noteworthy performances from skaters and goaltenders set to appear in the upcoming Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026:
* Sebastian Aho (Team Finland) tallied 1-2—3 and hit the 20-goal mark for the 10th straight season as the Hurricanes (35-15-6, 76 points) extended their home point streak to nine games and kept pace with the Lightning (36-14-4, 76 points) atop the Eastern Conference standings. Aho tied Ron Francis (10 from 1981-82 – 1990-91) for the most consecutive 20-goal campaigns in franchise history and also became the fourth Finnish player to post a run of that length, following Teemu Selanne (11 from 1992-93 – 2002-03), Aleksander Barkov (10 from 2015-16 – 2024-25) and Jari Kurri (10 from 1980-81 – 1989-90).
* Lukas Dostal backstopped the Ducks (30-23-3, 63 points) to victory over the Kraken (26-20-9, 61 points) as Anaheim surpassed them for third in the Pacific Division standings. Dostal, who will represent Team Czechia next week, earned his 21st victory of 2025-26 and will head to Milan as part of a Czechia goaltending trio that has combined for 64 wins this season (also Karel Vejmelka: 26 & Dan Vladar: 17) – the most of any country heading to the Olympics.
* Zach Werenski (0-1—1) factored on one of three Blue Jackets goals and Elvis Merzlikins turned aside all 24 shots he faced to help Columbus earn its sixth consecutive victory – the longest active run in the League. Werenski, who is set to represent Team USA, extended his assist streak to five games and took the outright lead in points among defensemen this season (19-42—61) while Merzlikins, who is set to skate for Team Latvia, moved into a tie with Marc Denis (13) for the third-most shutouts in Blue Jackets history.
* ICYMI: Werenski was featured in one of two episodes of “NHL MY WORLD,” a short-form series that premiered on YouTube on Monday that shows fans a day in the life of NHL players from eight different countries as they prepare to represent their NHL club’s city and their nation on the world stage. The other episode featured Vegas’ Mitch Marner.
STADIUM SERIES MOST-VIEWED NHL REGULAR-SEASON GAME EVER ON CABLE
The 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series on Sunday delivered the most-viewed NHL regular-season game ever on cable. The Bruins-Lightning matchup on ESPN averaged 2.1M viewers (peak: 2.4M), +30% vs. last year’s Stadium Series (Red Wings-Blue Jackets). The matchup is also the most-viewed NHL regular-season game since January 2019 (Bruins-Blackhawks Winter Classic).
* ABC Hockey Saturday also delivered double-digit increases as Rangers-Penguins averaged 1.4M viewers, +68% vs. last season’s NHL on ABC average and Avalanche-Red Wings averaged 1.2M viewers, +39% vs. last season’s NHL on ABC average. Click here for more on the ratings from last weekend.
QUICK CLICKS
* ‘NHL Tonight: Milano Cortina 2026′ to deliver on-site Olympic coverage on NHL Network
* Crave to release new hockey series ‘Hockey Fanatics’
* Anthony Cirelli out for Olympics, replaced by Sam Bennett on Team Canada
* Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen out for Olympics, replaced by Joonas Korpisalo on Team Finland
* Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026: 2 Days from Opening Ceremonies, 7 from First Games
#NHLSTATS MEMOS TO MILAN: FINLAND ON FULL DISPLAY TONIGHT
With one week until the opening games of the men’s hockey tournament in Milan, the majority of Team Finland’s roster will be represented during tonight’s 10-game schedule – which includes potentially seven skaters playing as part of U.S. national broadcasts with the Stars (4) and back-to-back reigning Stanley Cup champion Panthers (3) in action.
* Florida’s Anton Lundell, Eetu Luostarinen and Niko Mikkola can join a select group of players in NHL history to follow up a Stanley Cup championship with an Olympic gold medal in the subsequent season, a list that includes Sidney Crosby (PIT; Team Canada) who won the Cup in 2008-09 and Olympic gold in 2010. The last set of players to accomplish the feat were Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Patrick Sharp during the 2013-14 campaign with Chicago and Team Canada.
* Luostarinen and Mikkola also have an opportunity to join elite hockey history when they don the blue and white for Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. The Panthers teammates, who also collaborated for their country’s gold medal-winning performance at the 2019 World Championships, can join the illustrious Triple Gold Club – a distinction only three active players hold (Crosby, Toews & Corey Perry).
* Roope Hintz, Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen and Esa Lindell will represent the Stars on Finland’s roster, with Heiskanen among a small group of NHL skaters to also participate in the 2018 and 2022 Olympic Winter Games (also Finnish teammate Eeli Tolvanen). Overall, the Stars’ four representatives are tied for the most by one NHL team on an Olympic roster (also MIN: 4 on Sweden).
* Legendary Finnish icon Teemu Selanne was crucial for his country during Olympic Winter Games that featured NHL players and helped Finland reach the podium in four of his five appearances (silver in 2006; bronze in 2014, 2010 & 1998). Overall, a Finnish skater owns four of the top six scoring performances in a single tournament with NHL players, a benchmark Selanne shares with Saku Koivu.
HUGHES’ HELPING HAND FEATURED ON NHL’S 10-GAME WEDNESDAY
Quinn Hughes and the Wild (33-14-10, 76 points) are one of 20 teams in action Wednesday. The full slate of hockey also includes a pair of all-Canadian matchups when the Canadiens (31-17-8, 70 points) face the Jets (22-25-8, 52 points) as well as the next instalment of the “Battle of Alberta” between the Oilers (28-21-8, 64 points) and Flames (22-27-6, 50 points) as part of a Sportsnet doubleheader.
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* Hughes (Team USA) will take to the ice against the Predators with an opportunity to establish a franchise record for longest assist streak; his active nine-game stretch is currently tied with teammate Kirill Kaprizov (9 GP in 2022-23).
* Bolstered by the NHL’s second-most assists (29) since joining the Wild on Dec. 14, 2025 and five outings with three or more helpers, Hughes can become the first defenseman in League history to register a 10-game assist streak in his first season with a franchise (tied w/ Tom Kurvers: 9 GP in 1991-92 w/ NYI & Tom Edur: 9 GP in 1977-78 w/ PIT).
VERHAEGHE, PANTHERS IN FIRST GAME OF TNT DOUBLEHEADER
Wednesday will also feature a TNT doubleheader, starting with Carter Verhaeghe and the Panthers welcoming the Bruins before the Blues visit the Stars. Verhaeghe is making the game of hockey more inclusive – he is a proud supporter of Best Buddies, Special Olympics and the Panthers Adaptive Hockey Crew, and had them be a part of his Stanley Cup celebration this summer.
