Cole Sillinger(6), Mason Marchment(10,11,12-ENG), Adam Fantilli(13), Dmitri Voronkov(17), Charlie Coyle(11-PPG), and Sean Monahan(8-ENG) torched the Lightning for eight goals, and Jet Greaves stopped 25 of 30 Tampa Bay shots to beat the Bolts 8-5 on Saturday night. 

This one wasn't pretty, and there was no better example than when Jet Greaves tried to clear a puck in front of his net and accidentally sent it into Isac Lundestrom's skate and into his own net. 

That play could have been a back breaker, and if we're being honest, a month ago, it probably would have been. But less than a minute later, Mason Marchment would score his first goal of the night to take the lead right back. From there, the game turned into a shootout, with Marchment and the CBJ getting the better of Tampa on this night. 

With the win, Columbus will win the three-game season series against the Lightning since 16-17. 

Team Notes Per CBJ PR

• Columbus (2-0-0) has won the season series over Tampa Bay (0-2-0) with one game left on the schedule (Mar. 10 at Tampa Bay).  It’s the third time in club history CBJ have won the season series over the Lightning (multiple games) after going 3-0-0 in 2016-17 and 2-1-0 in 2013-14.
• The eight goals scored by the Jackets tonight were the most tallied in the all-time series against the Lightning, besting the previous seven scored on Nov. 21, 2024 (7-6 OTW).
• The Blue Jackets snapped the Lightning’s 15-game points streak, the second time the club broke an opposing team’s double-digit points streak this season (Jan. 3 vs. Buffalo, ended 10-game win streak).  According to NHL Stats, it’s the second time in CBJ history in which the club has snapped multiple opponents double-digits points streaks.  The other campaign was 2016-17 (Minnesota’s 13-game points streak; Montreal’s 10-game points-streak and Pittsburgh’s 10-game points streak).
• Columbus has won six of its past seven games overall since Jan. 11 (6-1-0) as well as collected points in six of its last seven played at Nationwide Arena dating back to Jan. 3 (5-1-1).
• The four goals scored by the Blue Jackets in the first period was tied for the most tallied by the club in a single period this season (2x before – MR: 2nd period on Dec. 6 at FLA).
• The club scored the first goal of the game for the 30th time this season and for the 15th time in the past 20 outings.  The Jackets are 20-6-4 when scoring first overall and 12-4-1 when doing so at Nationwide Arena.
• The Jackets scored in the opening 10 minutes of the game for the fourth-straight game with Sillinger’s goal 5:47 into the first period.  The team has scored in the first 10 minutes in seven of the last nine outings.

Final Stats

Player Stats

• Cole Sillinger scored his 6th goal and had 2 shots. He scored the 200th goal of his NHL career (200-316-516, 1,001 GP) alongside collecting two assists for his fifth performance of at least three points this season (1-2-3). Tonight marked the second three-point game in his last six contests (Jan. 13 vs. CGY, 2-1-3) and he has tallied 5-3-8 in his past seven overall.
• Mason Marchment scored three goals, an assist, and was a plus-2. He registered the third hat trick in his NHL career and first since Dec. 31, 2023 at Chicago (3-1-4) with his three goals and assist tonight against Tampa Bay (3-1-4). Marchment has picked up points in seven of his nine games as a Blue Jacket since making his debut on Dec. 20 (8-3-11, 3 multi-point efforts) to tie Zach Werenski (9 GP) and Artemi Panarin (9 GP) for the second-fewest games to 10 points with the franchise. He also became the third player in Blue Jackets history to record a hat trick prior to their 10th game (Nylander, 5 GP and Filatov, 6 GP). He has now tallied 7-5-12 in 15 career contests against Tampa Bay, with goals in back-to-back matchups and has posted points in six of his last seven home contests against the club (6-4-10).
• Adam Fantilli scored his 13th goal and had 2 assists. He has points in four-straight games against Tampa Bay (2-4-6) and has 2-5-7 in six career games overall.
• Dmitri Voronkov scored his 17th goal. Voronkov scored his first goal since Jan. 11 and has now collected 2-4-6 in eight career matchups against the Lightning, with points in four of his last five contests overall (2-3-5). With 58-54-112 in 199 career games played, he has tied Kristian Huselius for the eight-most goals score by a Blue Jacket prior to their 200th game with the franchise.
• Charlie Coyle scored his 11th goal, had 2 assists and was a plus-3.
• Sean Monahan scored his 8th goal. He also has posted 9-7-16 in 21 career games, with points in six of his last eight home games (4-5-9).
• Kirill Marchenko had two assists. He recorded his third multi-assist – and seventh multi-point – game of the season with two helpers (0-2-2) and has picked up 2-6-8 in his last seven games. He now has points in nine of his 10 career matchups against Tampa Bay (6-7-13) and points in all five career games at Nationwide Arena (2-5-7).
• Zach Werenski had two assists. He recorded two helpers for his 18th multi-point (8th multi-assist) game of the season and has picked up points in six of his past seven contests (3-6-9) as well as 15 of his past 17 (10-15-25). With 0-2-2 in the second period, he posted his 15th career multi-assist period to tie Rick Nash for the most in franchise history. Werenski improved to 8-15-23 in 26 career contests against Tampa Bay, including posting points in 13 of his last 15 games overall (7-13-20) and points in eight of his last nine played at Nationwide Arena (4-9-13).

Team Stats

• The Jackets power play went 1/2.
• The Columbus PK allowed one goal on two Tampa power plays.
• Columbus only won 39% of the faceoffs - 23/59
• The Blue Jackets had 27 hits and 15 blocks.

Up Next: Columbus is back at home on Monday to take on the Los Angeles Kings. 

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The Florida Panthers are continuing their chilly road trip in another place they have struggled in recent years.

On Thursday, the Panthers picked up a gritty 2-1 shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets. It was Florida’s first win in Winnipeg under Head Coach Paul Maurice, who is in his fourth season behind the Cats’ bench.

Florida has had similar results when visiting the Chicago Blackhawks.

Under Maurice, Florida has lost three straight games in the Windy City by a combined score of 12-5.

We’ll see if the Cats can exorcise their recent demons in Chi-town and continue a recent run of strong play.

Overall, Florida arrives in Chicago with wins in five of their past seven

The interesting thing about those five wins is that they all came on the road.

It’s also worth noting that the Panthers are as healthy at forward as they’ve been all season.

Both Matthew Tkachuk and Brad Marchand have joined Florida’s lineup over the past week, each having an instant impact on Florida’s ability to earn victories.

Tkachuk has picked up three points over his past two games, including a pair of primary helpers, while Marchand logged two goals and an assist, including the overtime winner, Saturday night in Minnesota.

Now Florida will try to wrap up a perfect road trip and pick up a third win in four nights when they face the Blackhawks.

Similarly to the Panthers, Chicago is scratching for every point they can get in order to keep pace in a busy playoff race.

Both teams are five points behind the second Wild Card spot in their respective conference, but while Florida has two games in hand and only one team to climb over, the Blackhawks have played one more game than San Jose and have three other teams they’d need to leapfrog.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s battle with the Blackhawks:

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Brad Marchand

A.J. Greer – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart

Sandis Vilmanis – Luke Kunin – Mackie Samoskevich

Gus Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

Niko Mikkola – Uvis Balinskis

Tobias Bjornfot – Jeff Petry

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Photo caption: Jan 22, 2026; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Florida Panthers players celebrate their victory over the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images)

If the Montreal Canadiens lost an important game against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, they lost an even more important one on Saturday night against the Boston Bruins. After the Sabres had leapfrogged over them thanks to a Saturday afternoon matinee win, the Canadiens almost played a perfect road game but came up just short.

While playing on the road and without the last change, the Canadiens looked surgical on the ice for most of the game. After 40 minutes of play, the Bruins had only been able to take 13 shots on net, including only two in the first frame. Six of their 13 shots had come on the power play as well.

Canadiens: Injury Bug Bites Reinbacher Again
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Which Team Hits The Post Or Crossbar The Most Often?

Mr. Saturday Night

Not so long ago, that nickname belonged to Carey Price in Montreal, but nowadays, it refers to sniper Cole Caufield. With a hat trick against the Bruins, the sniper has now taken the lead in goals scored on Saturday night with 11, two ahead of Nathan MacKinnon and three ahead of Connor McDavid.

What’s even more impressive is that he also leads the league in most game-tying and go-ahead goals with 20, that’s 69% of his goals that have been determinant. Caufield doesn’t score the seventh goal in a 7-2 blowout; he’s in the trenches early on and scores when his team needs him the most.

Since being left off the Team USA roster, Caufield has 10 goals and 14 points in 13 games. I think it’s fair to say that the snub has motivated him. In the end, Bill Guerin and co. might have given both the Canadiens and the Canadians a hand there. Caufield is playing insanely well for his team and won’t hurt Team Canada at the Olympics, the best of both worlds.

TOUR DU CHAPEAU, COLE CAUFIELD

IT'S A COLE CAUFIELD HAT TRICK#GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/M86nPjhJtM

— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) January 25, 2026

A Big Scare

For a minute, it looked like we may not get any fights in this traditional rivalry matchup, until Kirby Dach and Jonathan Aspirot dropped the gloves 15:33 into the first frame. Yes, you read that right, Dach dropped the gloves.

After the tilt, he skated right to the rook and needed some repairs on a lacerated finger. The 25-year-old was lucky in his misfortune, as his first punch got nothing but a helmet; he could have broken a hand or a thumb on that play. Skating away with just a cut was a blessing.

Dach and Aspirot fight. #GoHabsGopic.twitter.com/LtDYWZSX2d

— Marc Dumont (@MarcPDumont) January 25, 2026

Don’t tell the coach that’s not something Dach should be doing, though; he didn’t want to hear it after the game.

Lack Of A Killer Instinct

For much of the third period, the Bruins couldn’t get near the net. With less than seven minutes to go in the game, Boston only had 15 shots, but when you only have a one-goal lead, you’re playing with fire.

The Habs had the perfect opportunity to put the game away when Brendan Gallagher drew a penalty, but Montreal was unable to put the final nail in the Bruins’ coffin; they could only muster one shot on goal on that power play.

With just over 6 minutes left in the game, Fraser Minten scored with a backhand shot to tie the score. Seconds later, Alexandre Carrier took a holding penalty, and on the ensuing draw, which Phillip Danault lost, the Bruins set up Morgan Geekie for a slap shot, and he didn’t miss. The puck flew by Montembeault so quickly that nobody but Geekie knew that it was in the back of the net. Two goals in 15 seconds and the game flipped on its head. After the match, Martin St-Louis said that Geekie’s shot deflected off Evans’ leg, and that’s why it got past the goalie.

It’s another four goals on just 21 shots, which gives Montembeault an .810 save percentage on the night, but given the fact that three goals were scored on the power play, it’s hard to blame the goaltender. Still, the masked man is paid to do a tough job and to win games, you need your goaltender to make the big save.

With that loss, the Canadiens are now in the first wildcard spot, a single point ahead of the Bruins. Meanwhile, the Sabres are now third in the Atlantic, and while they have the same number of points as the Canadiens, they have a game in hand. With just five games to go before the Olympic break, the Habs find themselves in some troubled waters, and they must find a way to win some games in a hurry. Next Saturday, they will once again be playing against the Sabres in what will truly be a do-or-die affair.

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Who: Pittsburgh Penguins (25-14-11, 61 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division) @ Vancouver Canucks (17-29-5, 39 points, 8th place Pacific Division)

When: 6:00 p.m. ET

How to Watch: Locally broadcast on Sportsnet Pittsburgh, SN and TVAS in Canada, streaming on ESPN+

Pens’ Path Ahead: There’s another extended break after this one for the Pens, who don’t play again until a home game next Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks. After that there are only two home games (against the New York Rangers and Ottawa Senators) and two road games (at the New York Islanders and Buffalo Sabres) before the Olympic break.

Opponent Track: The Canucks have been spiraling down the NHL standings pretty much ever since trading star defenseman Quinn Hughes to the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 13. Vancouver won a Wednesday matchup with the Washington Capitals, but that’s the team’s only victory in their last 12 games.

Season Series: Conor Garland was the only player who scored for the Canucks in a 5-1 loss to the Pens back at PPG Paints Arena in October.

FORWARDS

Evander Kane – Elias Pettersson – Jake DeBrusk

Drew O’Connor – Filip Chytil – Brock Boeser

Liam Ohgren – Teddy Blueger – Conor Garland

Nils Hoglander – Max Sasson – Linus Karlsson

DEFENSEMEN

Elias Nils Pettersson / Filip Hronek

Zeev Buium / Tyler Myers

Marcus Pettersson / Tom Willander

Goalies: Kevin Lankinen, Nikita Tolopilo

Potential Scratches: Pierre-Olivier Joseph, Aatu Raty

IR: Thatcher Demko, Marco Rossi, Derek Forbor

• Thatcher Demko hasn’t played since Jan. 10, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be able to return for the Canucks this season, Patrick Johnston reported Saturday for The Province. General manager Patrick Allvin has said Demko is receiving opinions from medical professionals regarding his injury. The Canucks are expecting an update on his status within the next few days, per Johnston.
• The Canucks recalled AHL goaltender Nikita Tolopilo on an emergency basis Saturday while sending down backup Jiri Patera. Tolopilo has made six appearances for the Canucks this season, most recently taking a shelling in a 6-0 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Jan. 17, while Lankinen has made a team-high 27 appearances.

• The Canucks are a team stacked with former Penguins including Drew O’Connor, Teddy Blueger and Marcus Pettersson. (P.O. Joseph will likely be scratched from the lineup).
• O’Connor has been one of the most productive Canucks as of late. He and his linemate Brock Boeser have contributed for five total goals and seven total points over the Canucks’ last five games.

• Elias Pettersson made an impressive empty-net save during Friday’s loss to the New Jersey Devils.

Season stats
via hockeydb

• The Canucks followed up the Hughes trade by sending Kiefer Sherwood to the San Jose Sharks. Given their spot in the standings, it seems likely the team would like to sell off a few more players down the stretch. Per PuckPedia, Evander Kane, Blueger and David Kampf are all pending free agents this season.
• Getting decent return value for that trio could be difficult, for a variety of reasons. The Athletic’s Thomas Drance reported earlier this month that Kane’s trade market is “lukewarm.” Blueger has missed almost the entirety of the season amid a three-month absence with a lower-body injury, and Kampf struggled this fall. If they can pick up play heading into the Olympic break, however, the Canucks could look to move them both to get some draft capital and clear roster spaces for young players down the stretch.
• Speaking of young players getting more playing time down the stretch in Vancouver: rookie defenseman Zeev Buium played almost 24 minutes during Friday’s loss to the Devils, one of his highest ice times of the season, and he’s been bumped up to the Canucks top power play unit.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines 

FORWARDS

Rickard Rakell – Sidney Crosby – Bryan Rust

Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin

Anthony Mantha – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau

Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Brett Kulak / Kris Letang (?)

Ryan Shea / Jack St. Ivany

Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner

Potential Scratches: Kevin Hayes, Ilya Solovyov, Connor Clifton

IR: Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones

• The Penguins could potentially have both Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang back for this one after Letang joined Saturday’s practice as a full participant, although coach Dan Muse stopped short Saturday of committing to Letang’s availability.

• If Letang is able to return, it looks like Connor Clifton could be headed back to the bench after a seven-game stretch in the lineup.

• This will mark Arturs Silovs’ Vancouver homecoming for the first time since his trade to the Pens last summer. He celebrated Saturday by receiving his Calder Cup Championship ring from his win with the Abbotsford Canucks last June.

• The Carolina Hurricanes refused to give up ground on their division lead with a Saturday night win over the Ottawa Senators. The Islanders were shut out 5-0 by the Buffalo Sabres, however, keeping them— at least for now— from climbing any closer to the Pens in the standings.