We are less than four weeks away from the start of the men’s Olympic hockey tournament in Milan Cortina on Feb. 11 and have reached the “injury concern” portion of the proceedings.
The latest is Leo Carlsson, who is out three to five weeks with a thigh injury. His Olympic participation with Team Sweden is now in question. The 21-year-old Anaheim Ducks sensation had 38 points through 29 games this season, but he had been struggling recently to the tune of six points in 15 games. Coach Joel Quenneville noted that Carlsson played through the pain for some period of time before undergoing a procedure for the issue. Carlsson still leads the team with 44 points in 44 games.
Meanwhile, Carlsson’s Sweden teammate — and Minnesota Wild defenseman — Jonas Brodin‘s Olympic hopes are in jeopardy due to a lower-body injury; he is week-to-week. “It’s something that has been building up a little bit,” Wild coach John Hynes recently noted to reporters.
Canada’s Brayden Point was placed on injured reserve by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Point scored a goal in last Monday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers, but his leg was tangled with Cam York‘s, leaving Point grabbing his knee in obvious pain while exiting the ice. “I think we all saw [the injury], so let’s see,” Lightning and Team Canada coach Jon Cooper said after the game.
Team USA defenseman Seth Jones hasn’t played since the Winter Classic on Jan. 2 due to an upper-body injury and is also on injured reserve. However, Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice recently told reporters that “we expect him back before the Olympic break. We’re hopeful for that.”
A young hockey player’s dream is always to win the Stanley Cup. Growing up, you played out Game 7 overtime in your driveway or frozen pond — but you would also throw in overtime in the gold medal game every now and then, especially in an Olympic year.
An injury leading up to the Games is one of the most crushing moments for a hockey player in their career. What makes it more painful is that the Olympics come around just once every four years — representing one’s country at the World Cup of Hockey or IIHF World Championship just isn’t the same.
It matters immensely to the NHL players to be there. They fought for it in the CBA, and they got it.
“I grew up watching all those Olympic teams, 2010 and 2014. To be a part of it now is a dream come true just like every other American [player],” New Jersey Devils forward Jack Hughes told The Drop. “I remember I was crushed in 2010 when [the U.S.] lost in the final It’s just so special the NHLers are back in the Olympics and I’m so excited to be a part of it.”
Hughes is especially looking forward to playing with his brother Quinn — they didn’t have the chance to play together at the 4 Nations Face-Off due to Quinn’s injury.
But speaking of injuries … given the rough nature of the sport, I asked T.J. Oshie whether players ease up physically on national teammates when facing off in an NHL game. Are they motivated to play harder against their upcoming international opponents in those games?
“I was linemates with David Backes,” Oshie recalled. “Maybe he won’t tell you this, but every time we got that close to the Olympics, if there was a Canadian on the other team — you can go back and search this — if we were playing [Sidney] Crosby, Backes was on him. Any Canadian … I think [Ryan] Getzlaf was another one. Backes was 100 percent on him. He is going [hard].”
Jump ahead:
Games of the week
What I loved this weekend
Hart Trophy candidates
Social post of the week
Stick taps
Biggest games of the week
Monday, 8:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+
Without a doubt the most emotional game of the week — in a positive way, compared to what Mitch Marner will face in his Toronto return — will be when former Blackhawks captain and three-time Stanley Cup winner Jonathan Toews returns to the Windy City for the first time as a visitor, wearing Jets blue.
There have been some great ceremonies and tribute videos that have elicited a lot of real emotion from players, and I expect this to be no different for “Captain Serious.”
The Kraken have been playing “playoff hockey”-style games lately and nestling into that third playoff spot in the Pacific. Seattle followed up a nine-game win streak with a three-game losing streak, so this will be a critical stretch.
Seattle has had solid goaltending from Philipp Grubauer, and scoring by committee — only two players are above 30 points so far this season (Jordan Eberle and Matty Beniers). It’s not all Grubauer, though; the Kraken have done an excellent job in limiting high-danger chances in front of the net, keeping offensive threats toward the boards and away from the center of the ice.
It’s a homestand this week for the Kraken, hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, the New York Islanders on Wednesday, the Ducks on Friday and the Devils on Sunday. There are a good mix of teams that are all still battling for playoff positioning.
Other key games to watch
MONDAY
1:30 p.m. ET | TNT/HBO Max
4 p.m. ET | TNT/HBO Max
7:30 p.m. ET | ESPN+
TUESDAY
7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
7:30 p.m. ET | TNT/HBO Max
WEDNESDAY
7 p.m. ET | TNT/HBO Max
THURSDAY
7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
9 p.m. ET | ESPN+
9:30 p.m. ET | ESPN
FRIDAY
7 p.m. ET | ESPN+
7 p.m. ET | ESPN
9 p.m. ET | ESPN+
SATURDAY
1 p.m. ET | ESPN+
7 p.m. ET | NHL Network
10 p.m. ET | ESPN+
SUNDAY
1:30 p.m. ET | NHL Network
What I loved this weekend
Imagine getting a call that you need to suit up for the Chicago Blackhawks after eating lunch at Hooters? That’s exactly what happened to 45-year-old David Nozzolillo, who is on the rotation as one of four designated emergency backup goaltenders (EBUGs) for the Hawks. The flu had gone through the team’s dressing room, thinning the goalie roster. Arvid Soderblom and Spencer Knight were unavailable, so in came Nozzolillo.
Emily Kaplan wrote a great article about the surreal experience Nozzolillo had that night as an EBUG — with his name on the back of a Hawks jersey and sitting on the bench and all.
The EBUG has long been one of the most loved and endearing moments in sports; every fan lives vicariously through this one guy, for this brief moment turned into an NHL player, on NHL ice, playing against NHL players. One day you’re an accountant, the next you’re trying to make saves against Auston Matthews.
The CBA rules next season will effectively end this era of EBUGs — NHL teams will hire a third goalie that fills the EBUG role — so Nozzolillo’s tale will be one of the final instances.
Hart Trophy candidates if the season ended today
Unless Nikita Kucherov and Leon Draisaitl pick up the pace, our current top three candidates — Nathan MacKinnon, Connor McDavid and Macklin Celebrini — might just stay there the rest of the way.
Following Saturday’s games, McDavid is first in scoring at 83 points, followed by MacKinnon (82) and Celebrini (72). In January, McDavid has 13 points in eight games, MacKinnon has 12 in seven and Celebrini has 10 in seven. And oh yeah, they’ll all be teammates for Canada in Milan Cortina.
2:26
Connor McDavid nets hat trick vs. Predators
Connor McDavid scores three goals for the Oilers in their 6-2 win against the Predators.
Don’t think I forgot about the goaltenders. Here are three I’m most focused on:
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Scott Wedgewood continues to shine, with a league-leading .917 save percentage (minimum 20 games played) and just three losses.
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Jesper Wallstedt is in hot pursuit, with a .916 save percentage and just four losses.
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If the New York Rangers somehow turn this thing around and make a run, Igor Shesterkin will be a big reason why. Though currently injured, he has a .913 save percentage and the fourth-most total saves in the NHL this season (864).
Social media post of the weekend
First, shoutout to this fan at the Flyers game on Saturday who chugged a beer out of his own prosthetic leg while Gritty was cheering him on. Iconic.
A guy just chugged a beer out of his own prosthetic leg with @GrittyNHL at the @NHLFlyers @NYRangers game. What a legend. pic.twitter.com/11RN9oZVkm
— Jake Brown (@JakeBrownLive) January 17, 2026
Also, Jaxson Dart has had himself a fun stretch lately; on Saturday, he was cheering on his hometown Utah Mammoth just as news of his New York Giants hiring coach John Harbaugh was made official:
You heard him, #TusksUp!!! pic.twitter.com/hYpxH0eq71
— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) January 17, 2026
The week before, he was casually crushing the trench run and blowing up the Lego Death Star projected onto Sphere in Las Vegas while sitting in a life-sized Lego X-Wing:
All wings report in. JD6 standing by.
Last night, quarterback for the New York Giants, Jaxson Dart lived out his Rebel pilot dream by bringing the brand new LEGO® Smart Brick to life at Sphere in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/JT9IkOSOqj
— Star Wars (@starwars) January 8, 2026
Stick taps
The snow in the Northeast over the weekend was a burden to many but not kids in backyards across the state — particularly 4-year-old Ollie, who took his passion for hockey to another level by creating this snowman hockey player, complete with a South Carolina Gamecocks hockey sweater, beanie, hockey gloves and stick:
The snowman would record a hat trick, add two assists and was a plus-6 in the game.
Speaking of snowmen with a similar name to Ollie, there is only one prominent NHL player in history with the first name Olaf: former Washington netminder Olaf Kolzig, who took the Caps to the Stanley Cup Final in 1998. Some who are close include Avalanche winger Victor Olofsson and former Rangers prospect Olof Lindbom.
