NHL Recaps: Saturday, Jan 3, 2026

13 games: what happened that matters for your fantasy team, built from the play-by-play and shift charts.

Game recaps

Final

Full report

Pittsburgh Penguins

Detroit Red Wings

Pittsburgh Penguins beat Detroit Red Wings 4–1

Pittsburgh Penguins beat Detroit Red Wings 4–1 at DET. Sidney Crosby (PIT) led the scoring with 0G 2A.

•Parker Wotherspoon had 2 assists (2 points) on 1 shot in 18:49.
•Sidney Crosby had 2 assists (2 points) on 1 shot in 18:17.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

New Jersey Devils beat Utah Mammoth 4–1

New Jersey Devils beat Utah Mammoth 4–1 at home. Jesper Bratt (NJD) led the scoring with 1G 1A. New look for NJD: Noesen–Glendening–Lammikko skated 8:14 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (15.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 18:38.
•Brett Pesce had 2 assists (2 points) on 3 shots in 22:56.
•Jack Hughes had 2 assists (2 points) on 2 shots in 19:17.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Final

Full report

Buffalo Sabres

Columbus Blue Jackets

Columbus Blue Jackets rout Buffalo Sabres 5–1

Columbus Blue Jackets beat Buffalo Sabres 5–1 at home. Denton Mateychuk (CBJ) led the scoring with 1G 1A. Josh Doan (BUF) played 21:30, +5:42 up on his 15:48 season average over 81 games.

•Denton Mateychuk had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 24:15.
•Damon Severson had 2 assists (2 points) on 3 shots in 16:55.
•Zach Werenski had 2 assists (2 points) on 5 shots in 23:12.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Philadelphia Flyers beat Edmonton Oilers 5–2

Philadelphia Flyers beat Edmonton Oilers 5–2 at EDM. Connor McDavid (EDM) led the scoring with 1G 1A. EDM's first power-play unit (Hyman, Nugent-Hopkins, Draisaitl, McDavid and Bouchard) scored 1 power-play goal on 1 attempt in 2:37 together.

•Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 6 shots in 23:17.
•Nick Seeler had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 18:23.
•Owen Tippett had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 15:58.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

St. Louis Blues beat Montreal Canadiens 2–0

St. Louis Blues beat Montreal Canadiens 2–0 at home. Robert Thomas (STL) led the scoring with 1G 0A. New look for MTL: Gallagher–Danault–Bolduc skated 9:36 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (73.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•New look for MTL: Gallagher–Danault–Bolduc skated 9:36 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (73.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•New look for MTL: Blais–Veleno–Beck skated 6:05 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (44.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•New look for STL: Fabbri–Joseph–Toropchenko skated 7:17 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (25% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Tampa Bay Lightning rout San Jose Sharks 7–3

Tampa Bay Lightning beat San Jose Sharks 7–3 at SJS. Nikita Kucherov (TBL) led the scoring with 1G 4A.

•Nikita Kucherov had a goal and 4 assists (5 points) on 2 shots in 15:37.
•Darren Raddysh had a hat trick (3 points) on 3 shots in 20:48.
•Pavol Regenda had a hat trick (3 points) on 6 shots in 9:11.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Ottawa Senators beat Winnipeg Jets 4–2

Ottawa Senators beat Winnipeg Jets 4–2 at home. Thomas Chabot (OTT) led the scoring with 2G 0A. New look for WPG: Niederreiter–Lowry–Barron skated 4:56 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (25% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Thomas Chabot had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 20:30.
•Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 22:29.
•New look for WPG: Niederreiter–Lowry–Barron skated 4:56 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (25% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

New York Islanders edge Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 (OT)

New York Islanders beat Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 in overtime at home. Auston Matthews (TOR) led the scoring with 2G 0A. NYI won it by committee.

•Auston Matthews had two goals (2 points) on 6 shots in 22:29.
•Matthew Schaefer had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 22:11.
•Emil Heineman had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 20:11.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Chicago Blackhawks edge Washington Capitals 3–2 (SO)

Chicago Blackhawks beat Washington Capitals 3–2 in a shootout at WSH. Ryan Leonard (WSH) led the scoring with 1G 0A. CHI's first power-play unit (Teravainen, Grzelcyk, Burakovsky, Bertuzzi and Donato) scored 1 power-play goal on 2 attempts in 1:04 together.

•CHI's first power-play unit (Teravainen, Grzelcyk, Burakovsky, Bertuzzi and Donato) scored 1 power-play goal on 2 attempts in 1:04 together.
•Tom Wilson (WSH) played 5:55, −13:44 down on his 19:39 season average over 71 games.
•New look for WSH: McMichael–Sourdif–Leonard skated 7:01 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (80% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Colorado Avalanche beat Carolina Hurricanes 5–3

Colorado Avalanche beat Carolina Hurricanes 5–3 at CAR. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) led the scoring with 1G 3A.

•Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and 3 assists (4 points) on 2 shots in 20:04.
•Brock Nelson had two goals (2 points) on 7 shots in 22:28.
•Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 7 shots in 22:11.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Nashville Predators edge Calgary Flames 4–3

Nashville Predators beat Calgary Flames 4–3 at CGY. Michael Bunting (NSH) led the scoring with 1G 3A. New look for NSH: Stamkos–Haula–Bunting skated 9:37 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (55.6% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Michael Bunting had a goal and 3 assists (4 points) on 2 shots in 16:23.
•Erik Haula had two goals (2 points) on 6 shots in 18:29.
•Matt Coronato had 2 assists (2 points) in 18:00.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Los Angeles Kings edge Minnesota Wild 5–4 (SO)

Los Angeles Kings beat Minnesota Wild 5–4 in a shootout at home. Quinton Byfield (LAK) led the scoring with 1G 1A. MIN's first power-play unit (Zuccarello, Eriksson Ek, Kaprizov, Hughes and Boldy) scored 1 power-play goal on 8 attempts in 4:54 together.

•Brock Faber had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 23:20.
•Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 20:47.
•MIN's first power-play unit (Zuccarello, Eriksson Ek, Kaprizov, Hughes and Boldy) scored 1 power-play goal on 8 attempts in 4:54 together.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Boston Bruins edge Vancouver Canucks 3–2 (OT)

Boston Bruins beat Vancouver Canucks 3–2 in overtime at VAN. Fraser Minten (BOS) led the scoring with 2G 0A. BOS's first power-play unit (Lindholm, Pastrnak, Zacha, McAvoy and Geekie) scored 1 power-play goal on 4 attempts in 2:20 together.

•Fraser Minten had two goals (2 points) on 6 shots in 20:30.
•Filip Hronek had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 30:01.
•David Pastrnak had 2 assists (2 points) on 2 shots in 22:07.

Full report: shot map, shifts, lines, box score →

Goal of the night

The hardest tracked shot of the night: Darren Raddysh for TBL @ SJS, 85.8 mph. Full game report →

Darren Raddysh (TBL @ SJS): Point shot, 6 passes, 85.8 mph shot.

Top performers

Player	Game	G	A	P	SOG	Hits	Blk	TOI	PP
Nikita Kucherov TBL	at SJS	1	4	5	2	1	0	15:37	—
Nathan MacKinnon COL	at CAR	1	3	4	2	2	1	20:04	—
Michael Bunting NSH	at CGY	1	3	4	2	0	0	16:23	—
Pavol Regenda SJS	vs TBL	3	0	3	6	2	0	9:11	—
Darren Raddysh TBL	at SJS	3	0	3	3	1	1	20:48	—
Brock Nelson COL	at CAR	2	0	2	7	1	0	22:28	—
Auston Matthews TOR	at NYI	2	0	2	6	0	2	22:29	—
Fraser Minten BOS	at VAN	2	0	2	6	1	0	20:30	—
Erik Haula NSH	at CGY	2	0	2	6	0	0	18:29	—
Thomas Chabot OTT	vs WPG	2	0	2	2	0	3	20:30	—
Matthew Schaefer NYI	vs TOR	2	0	2	2	1	1	22:11	—
Sebastian Aho CAR	vs COL	1	1	2	7	1	2	22:11	—

Line changes

New look for NJD: Noesen–Glendening–Lammikko skated 8:14 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (15.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for MTL: Gallagher–Danault–Bolduc skated 9:36 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (73.7% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for MTL: Blais–Veleno–Beck skated 6:05 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (44.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for STL: Fabbri–Joseph–Toropchenko skated 7:17 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (25% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for WPG: Niederreiter–Lowry–Barron skated 4:56 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (25% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for OTT: Zetterlund–Greig–Stützle skated 6:34 together at 5v5 as the L3 trio (23.1% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for WSH: McMichael–Sourdif–Leonard skated 7:01 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (80% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for NSH: Stamkos–Haula–Bunting skated 9:37 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (55.6% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →

Goalie notes

Goalie	Game	Dec	SA	GA	SV%
Jesper Wallstedt MIN	at LAK	O	38	4	.921
Dustin Wolf CGY	vs NSH	L	36	4	.889
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen BUF	at CBJ	L	34	4	.882
Spencer Knight CHI	at WSH	W	34	2	.941
Frederik Andersen CAR	vs COL	L	34	4	.882
Jeremy Swayman BOS	at VAN	W	34	2	.941
Jet Greaves CBJ	vs BUF	W	33	1	.970
Logan Thompson WSH	vs CHI	O	33	2	.939
Jacob Markstrom NJD	vs UTA	W	31	1	.968
Karel Vejmelka UTA	at NJD	L	30	4	.867
John Gibson DET	vs PIT	L	29	2	.931
Calvin Pickard EDM	vs PHI	L	28	4	.857
Scott Wedgewood COL	at CAR	W	28	3	.893
Darcy Kuemper LAK	vs MIN	W	28	4	.857
Connor Hellebuyck WPG	at OTT	L	27	4	.852
Jordan Binnington STL	vs MTL	W	26	0	.1000
Dan Vladar PHI	at EDM	W	25	2	.920
Joseph Woll TOR	at NYI	O	25	4	.840
Leevi Meriläinen OTT	vs WPG	W	23	2	.913
Juuse Saros NSH	at CGY	W	23	3	.870
Andrei Vasilevskiy TBL	at SJS	W	22	3	.864
Kevin Lankinen VAN	vs BOS	O	22	3	.864
David Rittich NYI	vs TOR	W	21	3	.857
Jacob Fowler MTL	at STL	L	19	2	.895
Alex Nedeljkovic SJS	vs TBL	L	16	4	.750
Stuart Skinner PIT	at DET	W	12	1	.917
Yaroslav Askarov SJS	vs TBL	—	10	3	.700

Next up: tonight's starting goalies, today's line combinations and today's games. Takeaways are generated from the numbers with fixed rules; nothing is written by a language model.