It’s going to be a fun day in and around loanDepot park ahead of the 2026 Winter Classic on Friday.

In the hours leading up to the big game between the Florida Panthers and New York Rangers, there will be plenty for hockey fans to do to enjoy the event.

The NHL has already announced a special pregame festival taking place in the West Plaza and West Lot 3 of loanDepot park.

The 2026 Enterprise NHL Pregame will feature a wide variety of activations and interactive experiences, which will be open to all Winter Classic ticket holders.

Additionally, the NHL announced that fans will have the opportunity to welcome the players from each team to the ballpark when they arrive for the big game.

The Rangers are scheduled to get there around 4:45 p.m. and the Panthers at approximately 5:15 p.m.

Both teams are also expected to be wearing matching, themed attire for their arrivals to the ballpark, which is something that has become a tradition in recent years for outdoor games.

Fans interested in welcoming the players during their arrivals should gather on Sixth Street between 14th Avenue and 16th Avenue.

Former Panthers defenseman and NHL media personality Jason Demers will be on hand to welcome and interview players as they enter the ballpark.

The outdoor festival will run from 2 p.m. until 8 p.m., when the puck drops on the big game inside.

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Another calendar year has passed, bringing the Vancouver Canucks to near the halfway point of the 2025–26 season. 2025 was filled with interesting plot points for the Canucks, who were consistently one of the most relevant teams in the NHL for a variety of reasons. As they prepare to start 2026 with a home match against the Seattle Kraken on Friday night, here are five resolutions Vancouver should make for the new year.  

Find A Direction And Commit To It

Vancouver has consistently been one of those teams who can only be described with a question mark. They claim they want to contend, but later admit to being deep in a “retool.” In fact, only a couple of weeks ago, the Canucks went from describing themselves as a rebuilding team to one going through a ‘hybrid retool.’ This description shifted within the span of a week. 

For 2026, the Canucks should aim to find some clarity when it comes to their current situation. Currently operating like a rudderless ship, Vancouver should pinpoint the specific direction they want to go in first. From there, they need to commit to where they’re going, rather than starting the journey in one direction only to decide midway that they’re heading a different way. Whether they commit to rebuilding or commit to contending, Vancouver needs to pick a direction and make sure they don’t stray away from it.  

Improve The Home Numbers 

It’s no secret that the Canucks have not been a very strong team while playing at home. Their 4–12–1 record at Rogers Arena ranks last in the NHL when it comes to home records. Vancouver ranks 30th in the NHL in goals scored on home ice (44), with only the Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers trailing them. Having said that, when playing away from Rogers Arena, the Canucks are tied for the eighth-highest goals-for in the NHL with 64. Their goals-against on home-ice (67) versus away (69) are much closer, though Vancouver has been getting the offensive run support to combat the goals surrendered while on the road. 

Interestingly enough, the Canucks have averaged more shots-for on home ice compared to their numbers on the road. On the road, they’ve only avearaged 23.23 shots per game, while at home, they’ve averaged a surprising 30.88. At home, the lowest shot total the Canucks have registered is 20 against the Minnesota Wild on December 6, with 10 of their home games resulting in shot totals above 30. Away from Rogers Arena, Vancouver has recorded 20 shots or less in eight different games, including three 15-shot games. In the new year, the Canucks should hope that their home anomaly doesn’t continue; it’ll give their fans a whole lot more to cheer for if it doesn’t. 

Be Strategic With Assets

To give them credit, Vancouver’s current management has acted quickly when they know they could be parting ways with a big asset; trading away Quinn Hughes, J.T. Miller, and Bo Horvat, for example. It’s something that the previous regime was somewhat infamous for not doing. Even so, it’s always good to remember to be strategic with the assets Vancouver has. A player that comes to mind in this scenario is someone like Kiefer Sherwood, who has performed excellently for the Canucks but could easily end up pricing himself out of Vancouver with how well he has played. If the opportunity comes up for Vancouver to receive something along the lines of a first-round pick for him, the Canucks need to take that opportunity — even if it comes at the cost of a potential playoff spot. 

Get Healthy 

Ironically enough, I suggested this resolution for the Canucks last year. The fact that it’s being suggested again isn’t a good thing. For the most part, Vancouver’s injury issues seem to have tapered off compared to October and November, but they’re still missing some pretty big players from their lineup. Filip Chytil and Teddy Blueger have yet to return since October 19, while Derek Forbort has been out since October 13. That’s a massive blow to a Canucks penalty kill that hasn’t found very much success this season. 

As much as Vancouver would love to get these players back, especially in the case of Chytil, these players need to make sure they’re healthy before coming back into the lineup. At the end of the day, rushing any recovery may only make the injuries worse. Not just that, but the intensity of a condensed schedule may result in different injuries arising as well. 

Let The Young Guys Cook 

At both the NHL, AHL, and even junior levels, Vancouver’s promising young players have been finding success this season. Tom Willander has surpassed expectations early this season, making his NHL debut and sticking in the lineup long before many believed he would. Linus Karlsson, while a little older, has gotten off to a great start in 2025–26 and is now tied for third on the Canucks in goals scored with nine to his name. 

Down in Abbotsford, the AHL Canucks have faced quite a few struggles this season, but this hasn’t come without a couple of positives. Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio have been strong for Abbotsford this year, coming third (12) and fourth (11) respectively in points for the AHL Canucks. Jonathan Lekkerimäki has bounced back-and-forth from the NHL to AHL but has seemed to find his stride with Abbotsford as of late, scoring six goals and four assists in 10 games. Victor Mancini was also a player that many expected to make the Canucks full-time this year, though he ultimately ended up in Abbotsford and has worked to form his game there. 

Fans don’t need to look too far to see stories of success for their junior prospects either. Braeden Cootes has somehow elevated his game even more at the WHL level, scoring 10 goals and 13 assists in 17 games played for the Seattle Thunderbirds. Aleksei Medvedev, who is in his second season with the London Knights of the OHL, has also shown his skills by posting a 2.81 GAA and 13–8–1 record over 22 games. Other players like Riley Patterson, Gabriel Chiarot, and Anthony Romani have also played well with their respective teams throughout the OHL and NCAA. 

In 2026, Vancouver should remain vigilant with letting their young players take the time needed to grow at the levels that suit them best. Cootes, for example, played his way to making his NHL debut on October 9, but was ultimately re-assigned and given a chance to continue to grow his game in the WHL. Rather than rush their players to different levels, Vancouver will want to continue allowing these players to develop their game where it suits them best. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.

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The Chicago Blackhawks are going to play the Dallas Stars for the second time in a week. Last Saturday night, they defeated them in a shootout. That is also Chicago’s only win since Connor Bedard went down with an injury early in December.

The Stars are one of the best teams in the NHL, which makes that win even more shocking. At 25-8-7, the Stars are second in the overall league standings. Anything but winning the Stanley Cup would be a bust for them.

Scouting Dallas

The Dallas Stars have a great mix of super young players, guys in their legitimate prime, and aging veterans who have been around the block. They also have one of the league’s best goaltenders.

Steel - Johnston - Rantanen

Robertson - Hintz - Bourque

Hryckowian - Duchene - Benn

Bäck - Faksa - Blackwell

Lindell - Heiskanen

Harley - Lundkvist

Lyubushkin - Petrovic

Oettinger

The Dallas Stars come to Chicago in the second half of a back-to-back. Casey DeSmith was in goal for that game, so Team USA goalie Jake Oettinger will get the nod against the Blackhawks.

Despite losing to the Buffalo Sabres (10 in a row for Buffalo), the Sabres will make no lineup changes from that game other than the goalie.

Wyatt Johnston, Roope Hintz, Jason Robertson, and Mikko Rantanen are their top four forwards, but Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, and others are also incredibly productive. This is not an easy group to defend.

Add in all-world defensemen like Miro Heiskanen and Thomas Harley, and it’s a group that moves the puck well, grinds you down, and has a ton of skill. After last week’s loss to the Hawks back in Dallas, along with losing last night to the Sabres, expect them to have their legs early.

Projected Lines, Defense Pairs, & Goalie For Chicago

The Chicago Blackhawks are coming off a tough home loss (in a shootout) to the New York Islanders on Tuesday. They are still missing Connor Bedard and Frank Nazar, but Jason Dickinson appears good to go.

Bertuzzi-Greene-Burakovsky

Donato-Dickinson-Mikheyev

Teravainen-Moore-Lardis

Foligno-Dach-Slaggert

Vlasic-Crevier

Kaiser-Levshunov

Grzelcyk-Murphy

Knight

The line of Oliver Moore, centering Nick Lardis and Teuvo Teravainen, is the one to keep an eye on in this game. They produced a lot of offensive chances for Chicago last game, including their only two goals.

Spencer Knight will get the nod in goal to start for the third game in a row. His last game against the Islanders didn’t have the best start, but overall, it was a nice bounce back from the horrific game against the Pittsburgh Penguins last Sunday.

How To Watch

The game can be heard locally on AM 720 WGN in the Chicagoland area. To view this game, it can be found locally on CHSN. Nationally, it can be streamed on ESPN+. The puck will drop shortly after 7:30 PM CT.

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

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.

The Pittsburgh Penguins will try to start 2026 on a high note on Thursday.

They will welcome the red-hot Detroit Red Wings, who defeated the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Wednesday night and have won seven of their last nine games. They're in first place in the Atlantic Division with a 24-14-3 record and are trying to make the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.

Lucas Raymond is leading the way for the Red Wings this season, compiling 11 goals and 43 points in 39 games. He's a playmaking machine and can make anyone pay in an instant. 

Alex DeBrincat and Dylan Larkin have also been tremendous this season, compiling 20 and 21 goals respectively. Larkin is set to be on the U.S. Olympic Team when it gets announced on Friday after playing well at the 4 Nations Face-Off last year. 

DeBrincat has been in the running for a spot on Team USA's roster, but will likely fall a little bit short. Despite that, he has an outstanding release and can score from anywhere. 

Defenseman Moritz Seider has been tremendous on the Red Wings' top defensive pair, compiling seven goals and 31 points in 41 games. He's been driving a lot of the offense from the blue line and has also been great in transition. 

Goaltender Cam Talbot is the expected starter after John Gibson started on Wednesday. 

The Penguins will start Arturs Silovs in net as head coach Dan Muse continues his goalie rotation. Stuart Skinner started against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and will likely start against the Red Wings on Saturday. 

Forward Yegor Chinakhov is set to make his Penguins' debut after they acquired him from the Columbus Blue Jackets on Monday. He's going to play on the third line with Ben Kindel and Rutger McGroarty, replacing Ville Koivunen.

Here are the expected lines:

Forwards

Rakell-Crosby-Rust

Mantha-Novak-Brazeau

Chinakhov-Kindel-McGroarty

Dewar-Lizotte-Acciari

Defensive pairs

Wotherspoon-Karlsson

Kulak-Letang

Shea-St. Ivany

Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Fans can also listen to the game on 105.9 'The X.'

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

The greatest goal scorer who has ever lived makes an appearance in Ottawa on Thursday afternoon. The Senators will host Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals (1 p.m.) in what will likely be one of his final appearances at Canadian Tire Centre, at least in theory.

He is 40 years old, after all.

But on New Year’s Day, there doesn’t seem to be much regard for “out with the old and in with the new.” Ovechkin has played in all 40 games this season and sits second in Capitals scoring with 34 points.

Leevi Merilainen, the Senators’ new starting goaltender for the foreseeable future, and also the man Ovechkin will be shooting on today, was still a toddler when Ovechkin was putting up 106 points in his rookie season 20 years ago.

As for the Senators, they’ll be looking to start the new year on a winning note. All of the goodwill generated by their recent four-game winning streak was undone by a three-game holiday skid against teams that were behind them in the standings.

Now, only the Columbus Blue Jackets trail Ottawa in the East, and the Senators are in danger of drifting too far away from the teams currently holding playoff positions. It seems like just five minutes ago Senators fans were chuckling at the state of the poor old Buffalo Sabres, but Buffalo has now won 10 straight games and holds the second wild-card spot, five points ahead of Ottawa.

The Senators are also seven points back of the top three teams in the Atlantic Division. Needless to say, with so many teams ahead of them, Ottawa needs to go on a run, and soon.

Ottawa had its way with Washington back on October 25, defeating the Capitals 7–1. Drake Batherson and Dylan Cozens each recorded two goals and two assists in that game. The Senators will also be getting Washington on short rest, although that didn’t seem to matter a lick against Columbus earlier this week.

Despite playing the second half of a back-to-back and enduring brutal travel conditions, the Blue Jackets embarrassed the Senators at home, 4–1, leading to Ottawa being booed off the ice. Head coach Travis Green called it one of the worst performances of the season. With a game set for 1 pm, just 13 hours after the new year clock struck midnight, the players who indulged should be easy to spot.

Tim Stützle has 17 points during his 10 game point streak and will look to continue that momentum. Tyler Kleven returns from injury and will skate in the bottom pairing with Jordan Spence.

The Capitals received good news on Wednesday when both Tom Wilson, their leading scorer, and goaltender Logan Thompson were named to Team Canada’s Olympic roster.

Washington is coming off a 6–3 victory over the New York Rangers on New Year's Eve, and Wilson showed exactly why he earned that selection. With the score tied 1–1, Wilson delivered a massive hit, scored the go-ahead goal on the same shift, and on the next shift got into a fight. Wilson finished the night with two goals, the third Gordie Howe hat trick of his career, and the 200th goal of his NHL career.

It’s easy to envision Wilson and Brady Tkachuk butting heads on Thursday afternoon in Ottawa, and potentially doing it again next month in Italy. 

Here are the projected lineups (subject to change) from NHL.com.

CAPITALS (21-14-5) at SENATORS (18-15-5), 1 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5

Capitals projected lineup

Connor McMichael -- Justin Sourdif -- Alex Ovechkin

Aliaksei Protas -- Dylan Strome -- Tom Wilson

Justin Leonard -- Nic Dowd -- Ethen Frank

Brandon Duhaime -- Hendrix Lapierre -- Anthony Beauvillier

Martin Fehervary -- John Carlson

Jakob Chychrun -- Matt Roy

Rasmus Sandin -- Dylan McIlrath

Logan Thompson

Charlie Lindgren

Injured: Pierre-Luc Dubois (lower body)

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Tim Stutzle -- Fabian Zetterlund

David Perron -- Dylan Cozens -- Drake Batherson

Michael Amadio -- Shane Pinto -- Claude Giroux

Ridly Greig -- Stephen Halliday -- Nick Cousins

Jake Sanderson -- Artem Zub

Thomas Chabot -- Nick Jensen

Tyler Kleven -- Jordan Spence

Leevi Merilainen

Hunter Shepard

Scratched: Kurtis MacDermid, Nikolas Matinpalo

Injured: Lars Eller (broken foot)

By Steve Warne
The Hockey News - Ottawa

The NHL spotlight will be shining brightly on the Florida Panthers again this week.

It’s something the back-to-back Stanley Cup Champions are probably getting used to.

On Friday, the Panthers will host the New York Rangers for the 2026 Winter Classic at loanDepot park in Miami.

It will be the southernmost outdoor game the NHL has hosted yet, featuring the league’s budding dynasty against one of its Original Six franchises celebrating its centennial.

It’s a big deal for the Panthers, who will be playing the first outdoor game in franchise history, while the Rangers will be playing in their sixth outdoor game and third Winter Classic.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, considering the majority of Florida’s current roster has been acquired over the past several years, there are quite a few Panthers players who have previously participated in an NHL outdoor game.

Let’s go down the list and see how they all did, shall we?

We’ll start with Sergei Bobrovsky, who played in the 2012 Winter Classic at Citizens Bank Park with the Philadelphia Flyers. He made 30 saves on 33 shots in a 3-2 loss to the Rangers.

In 2017, Jeff Petry and the Montreal Canadiens faced off against the Ottawa Senators in the NHL100 Classic in 2017. Petry finished with two shots, two blocks, three hits, two giveaways, and a minus-2 on-ice rating in Montreal’s 3-0 loss to Ottawa at Lansdowne Park.

A pair of current Panthers were on the ice at Citi Field for the 2018 Winter Classic with the Buffalo Sabres.

Sam Reinhart scored a power play goal on two shots, adding a block and two hits, while Evan Rodrigues logged a pair of shots in Buffalo’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers.

The following year, a trio of Cats played in the 2019 Heritage Classic between the Calgary Flames and Winnipeg Jets at Mosiac Park in Regina, Saskatchewan.

Suiting up for Calgary were Matthew Tkachuk (six shots) and Sam Benentt (one shot, two penalty minutes) while Dmitry Kulikov played for the Jets, finishing with a shot, two blocks five hits and a giveaway in Winnipeg’s 2-1 win.

Brad Marchand played in his first of three outdoor games during the 2019 Winter Classic when the Boston Bruins took down the Chicago Blackhawks 4-2 at Notre Dame Stadium. He had a goal on five shots and two hits in the win.

Marchand also played at the 2021 NHL Outdoors at Lake Tahoe, a 7-3 Boston win over the Flyers, and at the 2023 Winter Classic when Boston took down the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 at Fenway Park.

In those two games, Marchand combined for three assists, four shots, two blocks and three hits.

Luke Kunin skated in the 2022 Stadium Series with the Nashville Predators, logging three hits in a 3-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Nissan Stadium.

Also in 2022, Niko Mikkola picked up a pair of penalty minutes, three blocks and two hits for the St. Louis Blues in their 6-4 Winter Classic victory over the Minnesota Wild at Target Field in Minneapolis.

Skating with Marchand and the Bruins at the 2023 Winter Classic was Tomas Nosek, who recorded a shot and two hits. Nosek also played in the 2024 Stadium Series with the New Jersey Devils, logging a shot and two hits again, this time in a 6-3 win over the Flyers.

A.J Greer took part in the 2023 Heritage Classic between the Flames and Edmonton Oilers, picking up a goal, two blocks and three hits in a 5-2 Calgary defeat at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton.

The following year, Seth Jones and the Blackhawks hosted St. Louis for the second Winter Classic played at Wrigley Field. Jones logged an assist, four shots, a block and two hits as Chicago lost 6-2 to the Blues.

Current Panthers backup goaltender Daniil Tarasov had a great seat for last year’s Stadium Series matchup between the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings at Ohio Stadium, serving as the backup for Elvis Merzlikins in the Jackets’ 5-3 win.

As for former Florida first round pick Mackie Samoskevich, while this will be the 23-year-old’s first NHL outdoor game, he did play in the 2024 Queen City Outdoor Classic with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers. He had a fun time at Truist Field in Charlotte, picking up the game-winning goal on two shots.

Now we can’t forget about Panthers Head Coach Paul Maurice.

He’s been a part of two Heritage Classic games, both with Winnipeg. He coached the Jets in their 3-0 loss to Edmonton in 2016 and then again when they defeated Calgary 2-1 in 2019.

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Photo caption: Jan 2, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins left wing Brad Marchand (63) walks onto the ice before a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 2023 Winter Classic ice hockey game at Fenway Park. (Paul Rutherford-Imagn Images)

William Nylander will miss his third consecutive game on Thursday when the Toronto Maple Leafs host the Winnipeg Jets at Scotiabank Arena.

Nylander took the ice early before his teammates held a full morning skate session. Based on what we observed, Nylander appeared to be exercising some caution. While he worked on stickhandling and skating drills, he did not push himself with any power skating or full-stride drills, suggesting he is not yet nearing a return.

“He skated a little bit today. I would say he's doubtful to practice with us tomorrow, but you never know,” Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said of Nylander. “If he comes in tomorrow and he's feeling like he wants to get on the ice with the team, hopefully that's true and he is feeling better, so we'll have to see”.

Nylander exited in the second period of the Maple Leafs’ 7-5 win against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday after a collision with Senators defenseman Artem Zub. This marks the second time he has missed games due to injury this season, a departure from the durability he has shown for most of his NHL career. Nylander previously missed three games in late October with a lower-body injury after being cross-checked by Buffalo Sabres forward Jason Zucker. The Swedish superstar also missed one game this season due to illness.

TikTok · David AlterCheck out David Alter’s video.

Despite these absences, Nylander remains the club’s top scorer by a wide margin, tallying 41 points (17 goals and 27 assists) in 33 games. He leads the team’s next highest scorer, John Tavares, by five points.

The Leafs have managed to pick up three out of a possible four points without Nylander, including a 4-0 win against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. While they played that contest without superstar Auston Matthews, he is expected to return for the game against Winnipeg after missing one game due to a lower-body injury sustained while blocking a shot against Detroit.

William Nylander To Miss Maple Leafs' Key Divisonal Matchup Against Red Wings, Easton Cowan Draws Back InThe Maple Leafs look to extend their winning streak against the Atlantic Division-leading Red Wings while navigating the absence of William Nylander and the return of rookie Easton Cowan to the lineup.