Matthews, Stamkos chasing goal marks
Forward Auston Matthews needs six goals to break Mats Sundin’s Toronto Maple Leafs’ record. Sundin scored 420 goals in 981 games during 13 seasons with Toronto (1994-2008). Matthews has 415 goals in 660 games during 10 seasons with the Maple Leafs. Nashville Predators forward Steven Stamkos needs four goals to become the 22nd player in NHL history to reach 600. Stamkos holds the Tampa Bay Lightning record with 555 goals in 16 seasons and has scored 41 during the past two seasons with the Predators.
Hockey Day in Canada
Moncton, New Brunswick will be the host city for the 26th annual Scotiabank Hockey Day on Jan. 17. The day-long celebration includes all seven Canadian NHL teams in action, beginning with the Calgary Flames hosting the New York Islanders at 3 p.m. ET. The Montreal Canadiens visit the Ottawa Senators and the Maple Leafs visit the Jets at 7 p.m. ET before the day concludes with the Edmonton Oilers playing at the Vancouver Canucks at 10 p.m. ET.
Toews and Marner returns
Toews will play his first game at United Center as a visitor when the Jets face the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. Mitch Marner will play his first as a visitor at Scotiabank Arena when the Vegas Golden Knights take on the Maple Leafs on Jan. 23. Toews played 16 seasons for the Blackhawks, served as captain for 15 seasons and led them to the Stanley Cup in 2010, 2013 and 2015 before leaving following the 2022-23 season. He resumed playing this season with his hometown Jets after taking a two-season break because of health issues. Marner played his first nine NHL seasons with his hometown Maple Leafs before signing an eight-year, $96 million contract and being traded to the Golden Knights on July 1 (moments before he could’ve become an unrestricted free agent).
Kopitar’s 1,500th game
Anze Kopitar, who entered the break with 1,486 NHL games, is on schedule to play in his 1,500th game when the Los Angeles Kings visit the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 24. The 38-year-old Kings captain plans to retire after this season, his 20th in the NHL. Kopitar would be the 25th player to reach 1,500 games, and third this season, following Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns on Oct. 11 and Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin Oct. 25. He will be the ninth to do it with one franchise, joining Gordie Howe (Red Wings), Patrick Marleau (San Jose Sharks), Nicklas Lidstrom (Red Wings), Alex Delvecchio (Red Wings), Shane Doan (Winnipeg Jets/Arizona Coyotes), Ray Bourque (Boston Bruins), Steve Yzerman (Red Wings) and Ovechkin (Capitals).
Lightning host Stadium Series
After watching their cross-state rivals host the Winter Classic, the Lightning will get their turn to host an outdoor game when they face the Bruins in the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union Stadium Series at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida on Feb. 1 (6:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS). Tampa Bay played outdoors previously in the 2002 NHL Stadium Series as the visitors in a 3-2 win against the Predators at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. This time, they’ll be the host team, taking over the NFL home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for the NHL’s 45th regular-season outdoor game. The Bruins are 4-1-0 in outdoor games in their history with their lone loss coming in the 2016 Winter Classic against the Montreal Canadiens (5-1).
