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Mark Stone - Vegas Golden Knights - In Play! magazine
Mark Stone continued his strong start to 2026 by extending his franchise-record point streak to 14 contests, File photo: Tim Jarrold - In Play! magazine
24
Jan

NHL JANUARY 23, 2026 – KUCHEROV, STONE CONTINUE STRONG STARTS TO 2026 FOR TAMPA BAY, VEGAS

Nikita Kucherov (1-0—1) scored Tampa Bay’s lone goal in regulation while Mark Stone (2-1—3) had a game-high three points for Vegas as both players continued strong starts to 2026 and helped their clubs skate to victory.

  • Kucherov tallied his League-leading 23rd point of 2026 and helped the Lightning extend their point streak to 15 games (14-0-1) – the third-longest run in franchise history. Tampa Bay (32-13-4, 68 points) overtook idle Detroit (31-16-5, 67 points) for first place in the Atlantic Division with its third straight win and is just eight days away from facing off against Boston at the 2026 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series.
  • Stone, who will represent Team Canada at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, extended his franchise-record point streak to 14 games and established the second-longest run this season by a player named to an Olympic roster behind only Connor McDavid (Team Canada; 20 GP from Dec. 4 – Jan. 13).
  • Stone has recorded a point in all 12 games since the calendar flipped to 2026. Only four active players have posted a streak of that length to start a calendar year: McDavid (15 GP in 2023), Nathan MacKinnon (13 GP in 2024), Sam Reinhart (13 GP in 2024) and Alex Ovechkin (13 GP in 2007).

CELEBRINI REACHES 50-GOAL PLATEAU IN SHARKS VICTORY

Macklin Celebrini’s first goal of the night was the 50th of his career and the first of two power-play goals by the Sharks in the opening 3:08 of the contest. San Jose (26-21-3, 55 points) would go on to hold its lead throughout the game and overtake Seattle (22-19-9, 53 points) for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference.

  • The Sharks scored the fastest two power-play goals to begin a game in franchise history, besting Oct. 18, 2018 (4:02). The last team to achieve the feat faster was the Bruins on Feb. 15, 2001 (2:07).
  • Celebrini (120 GP) became the fastest Sharks player to score his 50th NHL goal, besting the previous benchmark established by Logan Couture (135 GP). His second tally of the night marked his seventh career multi-goal period, passing Devin Setoguchi and Brent Burns (both w/ 6) for sole possession of the eighth most in franchise history.

TIPPETT SCORES HAT TRICK, FOUR POINTS AGAINST LEAGUE-LEADING AVALANCHE

Owen Tippett recorded his second career hat trick and third four-point game, while Matvei Michkov tallied 2-1—3 to help the Flyers (24-17-9, 57 points) score seven against the League-leading Avalanche (34-6-9, 77 points) – who have the fewest goals allowed across the NHL – and move within three points of a Wild Card spot.

  • Michkov recorded his ninth career multi-goal game and tied Peter Zezel for the second most by a Flyers player before age 22. Eric Lindros (17) tops the list.

DUCKS WIN AGAIN, JOHNSTON NETS ANOTHER PPG

  • Lukas Dostal made 20 saves to extend his winning streak to five games and help the Ducks extend theirs to six – the longest active run in the NHL – as Anaheim improved to 27-21-3 (57 points) and moved within one point of Edmonton (25-19-8, 58 points) for second in the Pacific Division. Dostal became the second Ducks goaltender in the past 10 years to record multiple win streaks of five-plus games in a single season, joining Frederik Anderson (7 GP & 5 GP in 2015-16).
  • Dallas saw Jason Robertson become the League’s third 30-goal scorer this season and Wyatt Johnston tally his League-leading 17th power-play marker of 2025-26. Johnston’s 28 power-play goals dating to 2024-25 passed Leon Draisaitl (27) for the most through that span.

KEY ATLANTIC DIVISION MATCHUP HEADLINES HOCKEY NIGHT IN CANADA

Nearly half of Saturday’s nine-game slate will be featured as part of Hockey Night in Canada’s four-game broadcast on Sportsnet, which includes a pivotal Atlantic Division showdown between Original Six rivals, Connor McDavid continuing the pursuit of his sixth Art Ross Trophy while facing future Team Canada teammate Tom Wilson, Brady Tkachuk looking to extend his point streak to a season-high six games and the Jets looking to build on recent success (5-1-2 in last 8 GP) while hosting the Detroit Red Wings.

  • The Bruins (29-20-2, 60 points) have won seven of their last eight games and enter Saturday’s contest just three points back of the visiting Canadiens (28-16-7, 63 points), who sit third in the Atlantic Division and own one of the NHL’s strongest road records this season (14-5-6, 34 points).
  • Should both teams hold on to a postseason position, it would mark the first time in five years that both Original Six franchises qualified for the playoffs in the same season, with the last time being the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs which saw the Bruins get eliminated in the Second Round and the Canadiens advance all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.
  • The Bruins and Canadiens have played 177 postseason games against each other, the most by any two opponents in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. The last time the two rivals met in the postseason was the 2014 Second Round, a seven-game triumph by the Canadiens. Montreal’s Brendan Gallagher, who assisted on the series-clinching goal, is the only player remaining on either roster who participated in that Game 7.

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Guest Writer