NHL Morning Coffee Headlines – January 4, 2026
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews set a franchise goal record, the Avalanche made history as they extended their win streak to 10 games, and more in today’s NHL Morning Coffee Headlines.
NHL.COM: Auston Matthews scored twice to become the Toronto Maple Leafs’ all-time goal-scoring leader (421) in a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders. Matthew Schaefer tallied twice, including the winning goal, for the 23-15-4 Islanders, while the Maple Leafs (19-15-7) extended their points streak to six games (4-0-2).
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews (NHL Images).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Matthews moved past Mats Sundin, who held the previous record of 420 goals for 18 seasons. It was also a milestone game for Maple Leafs defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson, who played in his 1,100th NHL regular-season game.
Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and three assists to rally his club from a 3-1 deficit to defeat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-3. Brock Nelson scored two goals for the league-leading Avalanche (31-2-7, 69 points), as they extended their win streak to 10 games. Sebastian Aho had a goal and an assist for the 24-14-3 Hurricanes, who have lost three straight games but remain in first place in the Metropolitan Division.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: The Avalanche became the fourth team in NHL history to post two double-digit win streaks in one season, joining the 2019-20 Tampa Bay Lightning, the 1970-71 Boston Bruins, and the 1929-30 Bruins. Meanwhile, Avalanche defenseman Brent Burns played his 965th straight NHL regular-season game, which is the third-most in league history.
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and four assists, and teammate Darren Raddysh tallied his first career NHL hat trick, as the Tampa Bay Lightning rolled to a 7-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks. Pavol Regenda scored all three goals for the Sharks (20-18-3) as their three-game win streak ended. The Lightning picked up their seventh straight victory, improving to 25-13-3 and taking over first place in the Eastern Conference with 53 points.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sharks defenseman Shakir Mukhamadullin left this game with an undisclosed injury. There was no postgame update regarding his status.
The Buffalo Sabres’ 10-game win streak ended in a 5-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Denton Mateychuk had a goal and an assist, and Jet Greaves stopped 31 shots for the Blue Jackets (18-16-6), who’ve won four of their last five games. Josh Doan replied for the 21-15-4 Sabres.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Sabres defenseman Michael Kesselring missed this game with a lower-body injury.
Chicago Blackhawks captain Nick Foligno’s shootout goal lifted his club over the Washington Capitals by a score of 3-2. Spencer Knight made 32 saves for the 16-18-7 Blackhawks. Dylan Strome and Ryan Leonard scored for the Capitals (21-15-6), who have only four wins in their last 14 games (4-6-4).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Washington winger Tom Wilson left in the first period with an injured right leg. Following the game, head coach Spencer Carbery said he thought Wilson’s injury wasn’t too bad, and they’ll know more on Sunday. Meanwhile, Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas was a late scratch with a lower-body injury.
The Ottawa Senators doubled up the Winnipeg Jets 4-2. Thomas Chabot scored two goals, and Tim Stutzle picked up an assist to extend his points streak to 12 games for the 20-15-5 Senators. Kyle Connor had a goal and an assist for the Jets (15-21-4) as their winless skid reached nine games (0-6-3).
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Jets defenseman Logan Stanley got into a tussle with Senators captain Brady Tkachuk, ending with Stanley dropping Tkachuk with a sucker punch. Stanley received two roughing penalties, while Tkachuk was handed a misconduct penalty.
Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby collected two assists in a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Yegor Chinakhov scored his first goal for Pittsburgh since being acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets last week, as the Penguins (19-12-9) have won four straight games. Alex DeBrincat replied for the 24-15-4 Red Wings, who were limited to 12 shots in this contest.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Speaking of recently-acquired Penguins, Egor Zamula was suspended by the team for failing to report to its AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He was acquired from the Philadelphia Flyers on Dec. 31.
The Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Edmonton Oilers 5-2. Travis Sanheim and Owen Tippett each had a goal and an assist, and rookie forward Denver Barkey tallied his first NHL goal for the 21-12-7 Flyers. Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist to extend his points streak to 15 games for the Oilers (20-16-2), who remain in first place in the Pacific Division with 46 points.
St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington made 25 saves for his first shutout of the season in a 2-0 win over the Montreal Canadiens, ending the latter’s points streak at seven games. Jonatan Berggren and Robert Thomas scored for the 17-18-8 Blues, while Jacob Fowler turned aside 17 shots for the 22-13-6 Canadiens.
A shootout goal by Brandt Clarke gave the Los Angeles Kings a 5-4 victory against the Minnesota Wild. Quinton Byfield had a goal and an assist for the Kings as they improved to 17-14-9 on the season. Brock Faber had a goal and an assist, and Jesper Wallstedt made 35 saves for the 25-10-8 Wild.
The Boston Bruins got an overtime goal from Vancouver native Fraser Minten for a 3-2 win over the Canucks. Minten finished with two goals against his hometown club, and Jeremy Swayman kicked out 31 shots for the Bruins (22-18-2). Filip Hronek had a goal and an assist for the 16-20-5 Canucks, who are winless in their last three games (0-1-2).
New Jersey Devils winger Jesper Bratt had a goal and an assist as his club defeated the Utah Mammoth 4-1. Jacob Markstrom stopped 30 shots while Jack Hughes and Brett Pesce each had two assists for the Devils (22-17-2). Michael Carcone replied for the 19-20-3 Mammoth.
Nashville Predators forward Michael Bunting had a goal and three assists as his club nipped the Calgary Flames by a score of 4-3. Erik Haula tallied two goals for the Predators, who improved to 19-18-4. Dustin Wolf stopped 32 shots, and Matt Coronato collected two assists for the Flames (18-19-4) as their three-game win streak ended.
The standings, both East and West, seemed to have tightened up even more after last night’s 13 games – if that’s possible!
Washington (42gp), holding the 1st WC slot with 48 pts, is just 6 up on 16th-place Columbus – who hold 2 games in hand – but themselves are just 5 b/o 1st-place Tampa (who hold a game in hand) and 4 behind 2nd-place Detroit, with a game in hand on the Red Wings. Pittsburgh, in the 2nd WC slot, are only 1 point b/o the Capitals, in turn, with 2 games in hand on Washington, but at the same time, they are just 5 points ahead of last-place Columbus, both with 40gp.
In between Washington/Pittsburgh and Columbus are 7 teams only 2 and 1 back of Washington with all but Boston and NYR holding1 or 2 games in hand.
Great stuff!
Out West, where Colorado, Minnesota and Dallas seem out of reach at the top, Seattle and L.A., both with 43 pts, hold down the 2 WC spots, but are just 2 and 3 pts b/o Edmonton, Vegas and Anaheim, currently in the 4 to 6 positions. But, in turn, the 2 WC holders are just 6 up on 15th-place Vancouver and 6 teams no more than 4 behind them, with 4 of them being among the hottest over their past 10. Unless they soon get their act together, only the Jets appear hopeless.
We’re getting close to where all 32 teams will have reached the 41-game half-way point, with the first to reach it being Detroit back on Dec 28 and the last to get there being Vegas, who will play their 41st on Jan 6 – a span of 9 days which is usually the case with scheduling quirks every season. I’ve been keeping track of the records for each as the play their 41st and will post the standings on Jan 7.
As I indicate above, both East and West are getting tighter with each passing game.
Among all 32 teams, the hottest in the league over their past 10 are: Colorado 10-0-0 20; Buffalo 9-1-0 18; Tampa 7-2-1 15; Minnesota 6-1-3 15; Nashville 7-3-0 14; Montreal 6-2-2 14; and 4 tied with 6-3-1 13 records: Detroit, Florida, Ottawa and Seattle.
Conversely, these have struggled to varying degrees – in some cases in relation to their expectations – over their past 10
Anaheim 2-6-2 6; Winnipeg 1-6-3 5; Chicago & Los Angeles each 3-6-1 7; Washington, Boston & Vegas each 3-5-2 8; Carolina & NYR each 4-5-1 9; Dallas 4-4-2 10; and Edmonton, Columbus & Utah each at 5-5-0 10.
GeorgeO can never remember this much parity ever in the NHL. Buffalo and Nashville have pulled themself up off the floor. Colorado is having a season for the ages challenging Bostons record breaking season.Which teams move players to gain an edge. Teams that are sellers will have several potential dancers partners.
Your last sentence is especially bang on, Sr. And, as a result, the returns for the sellers will be significantly better where bidding wars develop and that, in turn, could result in the actual trades taking longer than usual.
Toughest To Beat At Home (So Far)
Colorado 19gp 17 0 2 36
Minnesota 22gp 13 4 5 31
Detroit 23gp 14 8 1 29
Florida 25gp 13 9 3 29
Islanders 23gp 13 8 2 28
Carolina 22gp 13 8 1 27
Washington 22 12 7 3 27
Dallas 20 12 6 2 26
Philadelphia 20 11 5 4 26
Calgary 20 12 6 2 26
Most Disappointing For the Home Crowds
Vancouver 19 4 12 3 11
Rangers 18 5 10 3 13
Los Angeles 19 6 9 4 16
Winnipeg 18 8 8 2 18
Utah 17 9 7 1 19
Road Warriors
Colorado 21 14 2 5 33
Rangers 25 15 8 2 32
Tampa 21 14 4 3 31
Dallas 21 13 3 5 31
Montreal 21 12 4 5 29
Minnesota 21 12 6 3 27
Los Angeles 21 11 5 5 27
Vancouver 22 12 8 2 26
Road Kill
Toronto 17 5 10 2 12
Calgary 21 6 13 2 14
Winnipeg 22 7 13 2 16
Florida 15 8 7 0 16
St. Louis 19 7 9 3 17