NHL Recaps: Thursday, Jan 8, 2026

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

Game recaps

Final

Full report

Calgary Flames

Boston Bruins

Boston Bruins beat Calgary Flames 4–1

Boston Bruins beat Calgary Flames 4–1 at home. Sean Kuraly (BOS) led the scoring with 1G 1A. New look for BOS: Geekie–Steeves–Minten skated 11:31 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (60.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Sean Kuraly had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 14:28.
•Tanner Jeannot had 2 assists (2 points) in 12:23.
•New look for BOS: Geekie–Steeves–Minten skated 11:31 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (60.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

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

Montreal Canadiens rout Florida Panthers 6–2

Montreal Canadiens beat Florida Panthers 6–2 at home. Alexandre Texier (MTL) led the scoring with 3G 0A.

•Alexandre Texier had a hat trick (3 points) on 6 shots in 17:15.
•Oliver Kapanen had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 1 shot in 17:19.
•Sam Bennett had two goals (2 points) on 4 shots in 20:16.

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

Detroit Red Wings rout Vancouver Canucks 5–1

Detroit Red Wings beat Vancouver Canucks 5–1 at home. Patrick Kane (DET) led the scoring with 2G 0A.

•Patrick Kane had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 15:36.
•Axel Sandin-Pellikka had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 15:55.
•J.T. Compher had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 14:45.

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

Buffalo Sabres beat New York Rangers 5–2

Buffalo Sabres beat New York Rangers 5–2 at NYR. Jason Zucker (BUF) led the scoring with 1G 1A. BUF's first power-play unit (Zucker, Thompson, Norris, Dahlin and Doan) scored 1 power-play goal on 7 attempts in 2:13 together.

•Jason Zucker had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 15:00.
•Mattias Samuelsson had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 23:56.
•Ryan McLeod had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 17:30.

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

Toronto Maple Leafs edge Philadelphia Flyers 2–1 (OT)

Toronto Maple Leafs beat Philadelphia Flyers 2–1 in overtime at PHI. Easton Cowan (TOR) led the scoring with 1G 0A. New look for PHI: Grundstrom–Cates–Michkov skated 8:33 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (56.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•New look for PHI: Grundstrom–Cates–Michkov skated 8:33 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (56.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.
•Travis Konecny (PHI) played 13:04, −6:06 down on his 19:10 season average over 76 games.
•New look for PHI: Hathaway–Abols–Grebenkin skated 5:30 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (55.6% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

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

Pittsburgh Penguins beat New Jersey Devils 4–1

Pittsburgh Penguins beat New Jersey Devils 4–1 at home. Erik Karlsson (PIT) led the scoring with 1G 1A. PIT's first power-play unit (Malkin, Crosby, Karlsson, Rust and Rakell) scored 1 power-play goal on 8 attempts in 3:17 together.

•Connor Dewar had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 1 shot in 11:43.
•Erik Karlsson had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 22:56.
•Rickard Rakell had 2 assists (2 points) on 4 shots in 19:11.

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

Carolina Hurricanes beat Anaheim Ducks 5–2

Carolina Hurricanes beat Anaheim Ducks 5–2 at home. Taylor Hall (CAR) led the scoring with 1G 1A. New look for ANA: Killorn–Strome–Carlsson skated 12:37 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (47.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games.

•Jalen Chatfield had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 20:59.
•Logan Stankoven had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 2 shots in 15:27.
•Taylor Hall had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 12:58.

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

Nashville Predators edge New York Islanders 2–1 (SO)

Nashville Predators beat New York Islanders 2–1 in a shootout at home. Simon Holmstrom (NYI) led the scoring with 1G 0A. Mathew Barzal (NYI) played 24:51, +4:14 up on his 20:37 season average over 80 games.

•Mathew Barzal (NYI) played 24:51, +4:14 up on his 20:37 season average over 80 games.
•Emil Heineman (NYI) played 22:45, +6:13 up on his 16:32 season average over 81 games.
•Ryan O'Reilly (NSH) played 23:52, +3:31 up on his 20:21 season average over 80 games.

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

Edmonton Oilers edge Winnipeg Jets 4–3

Edmonton Oilers beat Winnipeg Jets 4–3 at WPG. 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 5 attempts in 3:16 together.

•Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 5 shots in 24:24.
•Evan Bouchard had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 4 shots in 26:02.
•Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 20:43.

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

Colorado Avalanche rout Ottawa Senators 8–2

Colorado Avalanche beat Ottawa Senators 8–2 at home. Josh Manson (COL) led the scoring with 2G 2A.

•Josh Manson had two goals and 2 assists (4 points) on 5 shots in 19:25.
•Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and 3 assists (4 points) on 5 shots in 17:14.
•Brock Nelson had two goals and an assist (3 points) on 2 shots in 16:09.

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

Final

Full report

Columbus Blue Jackets

Vegas Golden Knights

Vegas Golden Knights beat Columbus Blue Jackets 5–3

Vegas Golden Knights beat Columbus Blue Jackets 5–3 at home. Mark Stone (VGK) led the scoring with 1G 2A.

•Mark Stone had a goal and 2 assists (3 points) on 3 shots in 22:32.
•Reilly Smith had two goals (2 points) on 2 shots in 14:21.
•Boone Jenner had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 17:57.

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

Minnesota Wild edge Seattle Kraken 3–2 (OT)

Minnesota Wild beat Seattle Kraken 3–2 in overtime at SEA. Brock Faber (MIN) led the scoring with 1G 1A. SEA's first power-play unit (Stephenson, Gaudreau, McCann, Dunn and Beniers) scored 1 power-play goal on 9 attempts in 2:55 together.

•Brock Faber had a goal and an assist (2 points) on 3 shots in 29:09.
•Kirill Kaprizov had 2 assists (2 points) on 4 shots in 24:44.
•Vince Dunn had 2 assists (2 points) on 4 shots in 25:32.

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

Goal of the night

The hardest tracked shot of the night: Alex Tuch for BUF @ NYR, 80.1 mph. Full game report →

Alex Tuch (BUF @ NYR): Odd-man rush, carried in, 3-on-2 at the blue line, 0 passes, 80.1 mph shot.

Top performers

Player	Game	G	A	P	SOG	Hits	Blk	TOI	PP
Josh Manson COL	vs OTT	2	2	4	5	3	4	19:25	—
Nathan MacKinnon COL	vs OTT	1	3	4	5	0	1	17:14	—
Alexandre Texier MTL	vs FLA	3	0	3	6	1	0	17:15	—
Brock Nelson COL	vs OTT	2	1	3	2	0	0	16:09	—
Mark Stone VGK	vs CBJ	1	2	3	3	0	3	22:32	—
Oliver Kapanen MTL	vs FLA	1	2	3	1	0	4	17:19	—
Cale Makar COL	vs OTT	1	2	3	1	1	1	19:50	—
Ross Colton COL	vs OTT	0	3	3	4	2	0	15:14	—
Sam Bennett FLA	at MTL	2	0	2	4	1	0	20:16	—
Patrick Kane DET	vs VAN	2	0	2	2	0	1	15:36	—
Reilly Smith VGK	vs CBJ	2	0	2	2	0	0	14:21	—
Connor McDavid EDM	at WPG	1	1	2	5	0	0	24:24	—

Line changes

New look for BOS: Geekie–Steeves–Minten skated 11:31 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (60.9% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for CGY: Frost–Sharangovich–Zary skated 10:07 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (47.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for PHI: Grundstrom–Cates–Michkov skated 8:33 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (56.3% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for PHI: Hathaway–Abols–Grebenkin skated 5:30 together at 5v5 as the L4 trio (55.6% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for ANA: Killorn–Strome–Carlsson skated 12:37 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (47.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for ANA: Granlund–McTavish–Sennecke skated 11:56 together at 5v5 as the L2 trio (36.4% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →
New look for SEA: McCann–Kakko–Beniers skated 13:12 together at 5v5 as the L1 trio (57.1% of the shot attempts), a combination not used in the team's last 5 games. Report →

Goalie notes

Goalie	Game	Dec	SA	GA	SV%
Ville Husso ANA	at CAR	L	34	4	.882
Philipp Grubauer SEA	vs MIN	O	34	3	.912
Colten Ellis BUF	at NYR	W	32	2	.938
Juuse Saros NSH	vs NYI	W	31	1	.968
Scott Wedgewood COL	vs OTT	W	31	2	.935
Dustin Wolf CGY	at BOS	L	30	4	.867
Connor Hellebuyck WPG	vs EDM	L	30	4	.867
Joonas Korpisalo BOS	vs CGY	W	29	1	.966
Jake Allen NJD	at PIT	L	29	4	.862
Stuart Skinner PIT	vs NJD	W	29	1	.966
Jesper Wallstedt MIN	at SEA	W	28	2	.929
Samuel Montembeault MTL	vs FLA	W	27	2	.926
David Rittich NYI	at NSH	O	27	1	.963
Jet Greaves CBJ	at VGK	L	26	5	.808
John Gibson DET	vs VAN	W	24	1	.958
Kevin Lankinen VAN	at DET	L	24	4	.833
Akira Schmid VGK	vs CBJ	W	24	2	.917
Dan Vladar PHI	vs TOR	O	23	2	.913
Dennis Hildeby TOR	at PHI	W	23	1	.957
Jonathan Quick NYR	vs BUF	L	20	4	.800
Sergei Bobrovsky FLA	at MTL	L	19	5	.737
Leevi Meriläinen OTT	at COL	L	18	3	.833
Calvin Pickard EDM	at WPG	W	16	3	.813
Mads Sogaard OTT	at COL	—	16	5	.688
Frederik Andersen CAR	vs ANA	W	13	2	.846
Carter Hart VGK	vs CBJ	—	1	1	.000

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.