Many have wondered how the Colorado Avalanche would handle adversity after such a prolonged run of unrivaled success to start this season.

Adversity came in spades throughout January, but the Avalanche have one more chance to finish the month on a positive note, but they’ll have to do it against their longtime (and much improved) rival, the Detroit Red Wings.

Colorado Avalanche

Today’s game is the final game of a four game road trip, and the first of a home and home series with Detroit, who will fly out to Denver to wrap up the season series against the Avalanche on Monday night at Ball Arena. The Avalanche are coming off consecutive losses to the Ottawa Senators and Montréal Canadiens in consecutive nights, losing both games by a combined score of 12-5. The Avs looked limp and lifeless as Ottawa shelled Mackenzie Blackwood for five goals on Wednesday night, and Scott Wedgewood fared worse as Montréal pumped seven goals—including two from behind the goal line—behind him on Thursday.

Despite feeling his team put together a more competitive effort against Montréal than what they showed in Ottawa, head coach Jared Bednar noted the struggles that his team is having on both ends of the ice. “We’re having trouble putting the puck in the net; we’re having trouble keeping it out of our net right now, too […] It’s kind of tough sledding for us right now, but we’ve got to be a little better in some areas again than we were tonight.”

Brock Nelson has continued to shine bright for the Avs in the goal scoring department, scoring four goals in his last three games. His 28 goals rank second to League leader Nathan MacKinnon (38), and his 47 points are good for fourth place on the team. MacKinnon, however, has not scored a goal since January 19 against Washington. The goal scoring drought isn’t limited to just MacKinnon; Martin Nečas hasn’t scored since January 12 against Toronto.

When asked about the lack of production from both MacKinnon and Martin Nečas, Bednar said, “It’s not like they’re not doing some good things, because they did. They’re creating some chances; they’re not scoring on them like they normally would, right? Part of it is that, you’re going to finish off some of the chances, so I think they fall into that category.”

Currently, the Avs sport a 5-6-2 record for the month of January. Without a win today, the Avs will finish with a sub-500 record for a given calendar month since going 5-6-0 in October 2024. Despite their struggles this month, they still remain the undisputed leader across the Central Division, Western Conference, and League standings. With three games remaining on their schedule before the Olympic break, they’re not in any danger of losing much ground to the third second place Minnesota Wild or the Dallas Stars prior to heading to Italy.

The Avs have won three of their last four regular season games against Detroit, including the most recent matchup on March 25, 2025, by a 5-2 decision.

Projected Lineup

Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Victor Olofsson – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton – Jack Drury – Gavin Brindley
Zakhar Bardakov – Parker Kelly – Joel Kiviranta

Defense:
Sam Malinski – Cale Makar
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Keaton Middleton – Sam Girard

Between the Pipes:
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Detroit Red Wings

Detroit currently sits in second place in the Atlantic Division standings, just two points shy of the first place Tampa Bay Lightning. Given the packed standings in the Eastern Conference, a playoff spot isn’t guaranteed at this point in the season, but Detroit’s chances of seeing their first playoff berth in nine seasons is looking more and more likely. With the franchise currently celebrating its centennial season, a return to the postseason would be a noteworthy accomplishment to commemorate the occasion.

Detroit has fared better than Colorado throughout the month of January overall, going 6-2-2 in their previous ten games. However, Detroit has lost two of their current three game home stand at Little Caesars Arena, losing 3-1 to the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday evening, and a 4-3 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday. Despite the loss, right winger Patrick Kane recorded his 1,375 point of his career to become the highest scoring American-born player in the NHL, surpassing one-time former Red Wing Mike Modano.

Alex DeBrincat currently leads Detroit in goals (30), and is one point shy of the team lead in overall points behind Lucas Raymond (58). Raymond also leads the team in assists (40). Team captain Dylan Larkin ranks second on the team behind DeBrincat in goals (25) and third in points (48).

Goaltender John Gibson, who was acquired from the Anaheim Ducks during the offseason, is enjoying a bit of a renaissance in his first full season with Detroit. He currently has 21 wins on the season, the most he’s had since the 2018-2019 season (26), and setting a new career high in wins (Gibson won 31 games during the 2017-2018 season) isn’t out of the question, but if Detroit has its sights set on the postseason, Gibson’s career best will have to come this spring.

Detroit’s last victory over Colorado came on February 22, 2024, a 2-1 victory on an overtime goal from Kane.

Projected Lineup

Forwards:
Marco Kasper – Dylan Larkin – Lucas Raymond
Alex DeBrincat – Andrew Copp – Patrick Kane
Emmitt Finnie – J.T. Compher – James van Riemsdyk
Elmer Söderblom – Michael Rasmussen – Mason Appleton

Defense:
Jacob Bernard-Docker – Moritz Seider
Axel Sandin-Pellikka – Ben Chiarot
Albert Johansson – Travis Hamonic

Between the Pipes:
John Gibson
Cam Talbot

Something amazing is happening over the next several days in Sunrise.

When the Florida Panthers host the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday afternoon, it will be the start of something that hasn’t been seen in South Florida for quite some time.

For the first time in a month, the Panthers will be hosting an actual, real life homestand.

Even better, they won’t have to play any back-to-back sets! It’s truly like Christmas in July for the Panthers.

All joking aside, it will be nice for the Cats to have some stability in their lives for a couple weeks.

The only road game the Panthers will play between now and March is on Feb. 5 against Tampa, which also happens to be the last game Florida will play for the NHL breaks for the Winter Olympics.

Now the important next step for Florida will be to resume winning games on home ice.

Saturday’s game on Winnipeg, which comes on Jan. 31, will be the fifth home game of the month for the Panthers, including the Winter Classic that was planed at loanDepot park in Miami.

Florida has won just once on home ice this month, all the way back on Jan. 4 against Colorado.

Getting back on the right track and picking up some crucial points in the standings will go a long way toward Florida climbing back into striking distance of a playoff race.

Entering play Saturday, Florida’s 59 points is eight points back of Boston and Montreal, who are tied for the two Wild Card spots in the Eastern Conference, and Buffalo, who hold the third spot in the Atlantic Division.

Florida has two games in hand on the Bruins, one on Montreal and the same amount of games played as Buffalo.

Here are the Panthers projected lines and pairings for Saturday’s matchup against Winnipeg:

Carter Verhaeghe – Evan Rodrigues – Sam Reinhart

Sandis Vilmanis– Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Mackie Samoskevich

A.J. Greer – Cole Schwindt – Luke Kunin

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 center Sam Bennett (9) shoots wide of Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck (37) in overtime at Canada Life Centre. (James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images)

Who: New York Rangers (22-27-6, 50 points, 8th place Metropolitan Division) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (27-14-11, 65 points, 2nd place Metropolitan Division)

When: 3:30 p.m. ET

How to Watch: National broadcast on ABC

Pens’ Path Ahead: The Penguins have a busy next few days heading into the Olympic break. The Pens have a back-to-back set next Monday and Tuesday against the Ottawa Senators at home and New York Islanders on the road, then get one day off before wrapping up this portion of the season with a Thursday road game against the Buffalo Sabres.

Opponent Track: It hasn’t gone as former Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan was likely hoping for his first year in Manhattan. The Rangers are reportedly sitting Artemi Panarin in case of a potential trade. They’ve waved the white flag with a Jan. 16 letter to fans. They’re 3-9-1 since the start of the calendar year, they’ve sunk down to bottom of the Eastern Conference and Tankathon currently gives them the fourth-best odds at the first overall draft pick this spring. They most recently dropped a 2-1 home loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday.

Season Series: The Pens and Rangers met twice early in the season, with the Penguins shutting the Rangers out 3-0 at Madison Square Garden to kick off the campaign before losing 6-1 at home four days later.

Hidden stat: The Rangers just went 0-4-0 against the Islanders in their cross-city rivalry. This marked the first time in franchise history the Rangers never held a lead in the season series, per The Athletic’s Peter Baugh.

Getting to know the Rangers

Projected lines

FORWARDS

J.T. Miller – Mika Zibanejad – Gabriel Perreault

Will Cuylle – Vincent Trocheck – Alexis Lafrenière

Brennan Othmann – Noah Laba – Taylor Raddysh

Brett Berard – Sam Carrick – Matt Remde

DEFENSEMEN

Vladislav Gavrikov / Braden Schneider

Matthew Robertson / Will Borgen

Urho Vaakanainen / Scott Morrow

Goalies: Jonathan Quick, Spencer Martin

Potential scratches: Artemi Panarin (roster management), Jonny Brodzinski, Connor Mackey

Injured Reserve: Conor Sheary, Adam Fox, Adam Edstrom, Igor Shesterkin

• Artemi Panarin hasn’t played since Jan. 26. He isn’t expected to slot back into the lineup before rosters freeze for the Olympic break on Feb. 4, and ESPN’s Emily Kaplan reportedly it’s “likely” he’s already skated in his final game for the Rangers.
• The Rangers lost two key players to injury earlier this month when star goaltender Igor Shesterkin and top defenseman Adam Fox were placed on injured reserve the same day. Fox was placed on LTIR, and Saturday is the first day he’s eligible to return. He returned to practice in a non-contact jersey on Wednesday.

Season stats
via hockeydb

• With Panarin sidelined, Mika Zibanejad is the most dangerous Rangers player to look out for. He’s got goals in two straight games, although the Rangers were outscored by a total of 8-3 in those outings, and he was the lone player to score Thursday against the Islanders.
• The Rangers have been leaning on Jonathan Quick and Spencer Martin in net since Sorokin went down with injury. The two have been alternating starts for the last six games. Quick hasn’t recorded a regulation win since Nov. 7— his lone victory since then came on Jan. 26 against the Boston Bruins in overtime. He got the last start Thursday against the Islanders, so it could potentially be Martin back in net tonight.

And now for the Pens

Projected lines 

FORWARDS

Anthony Mantha – Sidney Crosby – Rickard Rakell

Egor Chinakhov – Tommy Novak – Evgeni Malkin (?)

Kevin Hayes – Ben Kindel – Justin Brazeau

Connor Dewar – Blake Lizotte – Noel Acciari

DEFENSEMEN

Parker Wotherspoon / Erik Karlsson

Brett Kulak / Kris Letang (?)

Ilya Solovyov / Ryan Shea

Goalies: Arturs Silovs and Stuart Skinner

Potential Scratches: Bryan Rust (serving the second game of his three-game suspension), Connor Clifton

IR: Ryan Graves, Filip Hallander, Caleb Jones, Jack St. Ivany

• What the Penguins’ lineup looks like today will depend on the status of Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin. The Pens announced Friday that an update was coming on both players.

• If Letang and Malkin are unable to play Saturday, Kevin Hayes will likely slot in on the second line and Connor Clifton will draw in on defense, while the Penguins will hope the upcoming Olympic break gives their veterans a chance to rest up. As one player pointed out to the Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh, they are “closer to 40,” after all.

• Penguins team reporter Michelle Crechiolo shared a fun article Friday about the chemistry on the Penguins this season, both in terms of the coaching staff and among the players in the locker room. That’s included Evgeni Malkin taking Arturs Silovs, Sergei Murashov, Egor Chinakhov and Ilya Solovyov out for meals, according to Crechiolo.

• Erik Karlsson will enter Saturday’s matchup one assist away from career helper No. 700.

The 2026 NHL Draft will, without a doubt, be one of the deeper drafts in recent years, with some big-time talent set to be available in the early selection pool. Names such as Gavin McKenna, Keaton Verhoeff, and Carson Carels figure to headline the lottery range of the draft, and there is still a lot of talent in the slots to follow.

A few months ago, many were under the impression that the Pittsburgh Penguins would be in contention for one of those slots. Even if they weren't going to be a lottery team - especially after electing to keep their best trade chips in Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Erik Karlsson - many presumed they'd be selecting in the top half of the draft.

But given the season the Penguins are having, that seems unlikely to be the case. 

Right now, Pittsburgh sits second in the Metropolitan Division with 65 points, which is just six behind the Carolina Hurricanes for the division lead and tied with the New York Islanders - sitting in third - yet having two games in hand on them. They've also created some separation between themselves and the Columbus Blue Jackets and Washington Capitals, who sit six points back and have played one and three more games than the Penguins, respectively. 

If they can continue to string together wins - and their season does produce a playoff result - it may end up making things quite interesting for their 2026 first-round pick. 

If the season ended now, the Penguins would be selecting 22nd overall, which is a number that could, potentially, keep hiking up if the Penguins continue to win hockey games. If that pick becomes a late-20s first-rounder, there is not a whole lot of separation between the impact value of that pick versus a low-30s second-round pick.

Takeaways: Penguins Dominate Blackhawks To Earn League-Best Fifth Consecutive WinThe Pittsburgh Penguins kept their league-best five-game winning streak alive after a dominant performance Thursday against the Chicago Blackhawks

And that's exactly what the Penguins are, likely, on track to have from the Winnipeg Jets, the reigning President's Trophy winners who currently have the fourth-worst record in the NHL. Pittsburgh owns Winnipeg's second-round pick this season thanks to the trade that sent defenseman Luke Schenn to the Jets just prior to the deadline last season.

According to Jacob Billington of the Hockey Writers, if the Penguins venture into that high-20s range - let's say 26th overall or above - only 12.7 percent of players selected at 26th overall have produced more than 500 NHL points. At 27th, 28th, and 29th, 7.2 percent. At 30th, 5.4 percent. The 31st and 32nd haven't existed long enough for a large sample size. 

But venture into the entirety of the second round? 4.7 percent of players have registered 500 or more NHL points. And that's the average for the entirety of the second round, not the upper second-round, where the percentage is skewed a bit higher.

Malkin, Letang Miss Penguins Practice On FridayTwo of the Pittsburgh Penguins' top players missed Friday's practice.

So, in terms of an impact player, they have a nearly equal chance of drafting someone early in the second round that could make a relatively substantial NHL impact as they would drafting late in the first round. And in terms of positional need, the Penguins need defensemen in their system, and there are plenty of defensemen projected to be available in that 25-32 and 33-40 range.

Of course, the more swings you take in this range, the higher likelihood a team has of at least one of those players panning out. Pick quantity is an important part of the drafting, scouting, and development puzzle. 

However, if the Penguins do make the playoffs - given the fact that their system is already on the upswing, that they have 15 picks in the first, second, and third rounds for the next three years, and that the 2026 NHl draft class is deep into the second round - would it be a worthwhile gamble to leverage that late first-round pick in a package for a young, impact NHL player this summer?

I have a hypothetical question.

IF the Penguins secure a playoff spot, they figure to have a pretty late pick in the first round. And Winnipeg's second may be in the low-30s.

If you're Kyle Dubas, would you surrender that first for a young impact player this summer?

— Kelsey Surmacz (@kelsey_surmacz4) January 30, 2026

The unrestricted free agent pool is shaping up to be a bit thin this summer, as many of the bigger names have already signed extensions. However, the restricted free agent pool is a different story, and the Penguins may be able to take advantage of a few teams either looking for that first-round draft capital or open to moves due to their cap situation. 

Obviously, the most notable name is Jason Robertson, but the Dallas Stars would be best-served to do anything they possibly can to re-sign him - even if it means jettisoning other contracts. If he does become available, the Penguins should absolutely be willing to pay the price, but there are other intriguing names out there as well. 

One is Jets center Cole Perfetti, a 24-year-old who is having a bit of a rough campaign after three promising seasons. With the Jets near the basement while carrying an aging core despite a lot of young talent on the way, Perfetti might be someone who becomes available for the right price. 

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On the defensive side, a guy like Pavel Mintyukov might be a worthwhile gamble, as he's fallen a bit out of favor with the Anaheim Ducks but might not be worth a first-round pick. Perhaps even Ottawa Senators blueliner Jordan Spence or Los Angeles Kings defenseman Brandt Clarke could be had for the right price. 

Adn that's only the RFA trade market. The trade market as a whole will also be open for business, exposing the Penguins to other potential opportunities like St. Louis Blues center Robert Thomas, Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson, Seattle Kraken center Shane Wright, New York Rangers blueliner Braden Schneider, or Jets defenseman Logan Stanley. All of these players could help the Penguins both now and down the line. 

Regardless of whether or not the Penguins do end up making the playoffs - and if they do consider dealing their 2026 first-round pick - the fact that this discussion can even be had in a season where most thought the Penguins would be rebuilding speaks volumes. The truth is that the Penguins are a good hockey team, and there looks to be some sustainability for the next few seasons, as there is more talent on the way, and the Penguins have a boatload of cap space and draft capital to work with. 

Good teams make the right decisions in these situations. And given Penguins' GM and POHO Kyle Dubas's track record since last summer, it's pretty safe to say that he'll make the right one when the time comes.

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Bookmark THN - Pittsburgh Penguins on your Google News tab to follow the latest Penguins news, roster moves, player features, and more!    

CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks returned home for the second half of a back-to-back on Friday night. Chicago hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets with a chance to quickly move past their bad loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins one night prior. 

The first period looked like it was going to be scoreless as both goalies (especially Spencer Knight) were brilliant. In the final minute of the opening frame, however, the two teams exchanged goals. 

Charlie Coyle scored a power play goal at 19:13 to give the Blue Jackets a 1-0 lead. With less than three seconds remaining, Connor Bedard tied it up at 1. That 1-1 score held through the first intermission. 

In the second period, Columbus dominated the first half. They scored two goals (Charlie Coyle again and Mathieu Olivier) and outshot Chicago 7-0 to begin the middle frame.

The second half of the period is where the Blackhawks took over. They ended up getting the second period shot counter to 9-8, and one of their shots went in via Frank Nazar. Nazar desperately needed a goal, and Connor Bedard set him up for a great chance that he didn't miss. 

This 3-2 score went to the second intermission. In a game where the Blackhawks were being mostly outplayed, they were within one with one period to go. 

In the third period, the Blackhawks were the better team, but the only goal was Charlie Coyle's hat-trick marker into an empty net. Both goalies were strong in the final frame, which favored the Blue Jackets because they came in with a lead and skated away with a 4-2 victory. 

Once again, the power play was held off the board for Chicago. They are currently in a 0-26 drought as a unit after going 0/2 on Friday. One of their power plays came with under 6 minutes to go and down a goal, but they were unable get one to tie the game. It's getting to a back-breaking point of no production. 

Before the game, the Blackhawks called up Sam Rinzel from AHL Rockford. Artyom Levshunov is going to take a seat for a while, so Rinzel's chance to prove he deserves to stay is staring him in the face. 

Blackhawks Have A Plan In Place For Artyom Levshunov's DevelopmentThe Chicago Blackhawks have a plan to make sure that Artyom Levshunov continues on a positive development track.

It was a good start for Rinzel as he played a clean, safe, mistake-free game. He led all Blackhaws defensemen in time on ice with 22:18, earning ice time in all situations. 

Chicago, as mentioned before, can make a claim that they were the better team in the second half of the game, but that isn't good enough when they can't find the tying and winning goal. It will take a full 60-minute effort to get back in the win column.

Watch Every Chicago Goal

with THREE seconds left in the period 👏 pic.twitter.com/XcLWFP88xW

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 31, 2026

Friday Night 𝗙𝗥𝗔𝗡𝗞 🤩 pic.twitter.com/dLaiU64ViU

— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 31, 2026

What’s Next For The Blackhawks?

The Blackhawks are back in action on Monday night. Macklin Celebrini and the San Jose Sharks will be at the United Center for a battle of two young and exciting squads. 

Visit The Hockey News Chicago Blackhawks team site to stay updated on the latest news, game-day coverage, player features, and more.

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