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Kris Letang, Pittsburgh Penguins (Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)

NHL Morning Recap – January 2, 2026

Originally posted on The Hockey Writers
By Spencer Lazary | Last updated Jan 2, 2026 5:30 AM ET

Welcome to another edition of the NHL Morning Recap.

All the Latest NHL Daily Recaps

Today, we will be looking at the scores of the eight NHL games that were played on Jan. 1, 2026. Which saw the Toronto Maple Leafs mount a massive comeback against the Winnipeg Jets, while the Nashville Predators and Seattle Kraken battle it out in the late game.

All that and more in the Morning Recap.

CAPITALS 3 at SENATORS 4

Senators Out-Muscle & Out-Score Capitals, Earn 4-3 Victory

Washington Capitals Scoring Summary

P1 8:13 – Tom Wilson (22) from Justin Sourdif (7)
P1 18:59 – Dylan Strome (9) from Ryan Leonard (15), Jakob Chychrun (16)
P2 7:42 – Nick Jensen (2) from Jake Sanderson (20), Shane Pinto (7)
P3 15:53 – Aliaksei Protas (16) from Justin Sourdif (8), Wilson (20)

Ottawa Senators Scoring Summary

P2 19:31 – Ridly Greig (5) from Pinto (8), Michael Amadio (9)
P3 2:47 – David Perron (8) from Stephen Halliday (6), Nick Cousins (4)
P3 17:38 – Fabian Zetterlund (10) from Thomas Chabot (11), Tim Stutzle (23)

MAMMOTH 7 at ISLANDERS 2

Mammoth Dominate Islanders With a 7-2 Win

Utah Mammoth Scoring Summary

P2 0:36 – Dylan Guenther (18) from Barrett Hayton (6), Mikhail Sergachev (22)
P2 10:20 – Guenther (19) from Lawson Crouse (8), Hayton (7)
P2 16:19 – Nick Schmaltz (13) Unassisted
P3 2:52 – Mikhail Sergachev (6) from Clayton Keller (22), Guenther (16)
P3 5:41 – Clayton Keller (13) from Schmaltz (22), Sergachev (23)
P3 13:54 – Guenther (20) from Crouse (9), Sean Durzi (9)
P3 16:55 – Schmaltz (14) from JJ Peterka (14), Keller (23)

New York Islanders Scoring Summary

P2 2:35 – Calum Ritchie (6) from Maxim Shabanov (9), Marshall Warren (3)
P3 11:48 – Matthew Schaefer (10) from Jonathan Drouin (14), Shabanov (10)

JETS 5 at MAPLE LEAFS 6

Maple Leafs Mount Huge Comeback to Beat Jets 6-5

Winnipeg Jets Scoring Summary

P1 14:09 – Gabriel Vilardi (17) from Mark Scheifele (28), Kyle Connor (28)
P1 17:38 – Dylan DeMelo (2) from Adam Lowry (5), Morgan Barron (7)
P2 2:11 – Alex Iafallo (7) from Jonathan Toews (9), Cole Perfetti (6)
P2 5:24 – Scheifele (19) from Vilardi (18), Neal Pionk (5)
P3 8:50 – Scheifele (20) from Josh Morrissey (25), Gustav Nyquist (8)

Toronto Maple Leafs Scoring Summary

P2 1:34 – Auston Matthews (16) from Max Domi (14), Oliver Ekman-Larsson (18)
P2 11:04 – Ekman-Larsson (7) from Scott Laughton (2)
P2 19:57 – Matthews (17) from Morgan Rielly (21), Matias Maccelli (9)
P3 6:30 – Maccelli (6) from Matthew Knies (25), John Tavares (22)
P3 13:13 – Troy Stecher (2) from Bobby McMann (9), Matthews (13)
P3 15:38 – Matthews (18) Unassisted

RED WINGS 3 at PENGUINS 4 – OT

Detroit Red Wings Scoring Summary

P1 17:46 – James van Riemsdyk (10) from Marco Kasper (3), Simon Edvinsson (10)
P2 1:01 – Andrew Copp (5) from Ben Chiarot (5), Patrick Kane (18)
P3 17:02 – Alex DeBrincat (21) from Lucas Raymond (33), Dylan Larkin (17)

Pittsburgh Penguins Scoring Summary

P1 4:08 – Sidney Crosby (22) from Anthony Mantha (14), Karlsson (26)
P1 5:46 – Crosby (23) Unassisted
P3 15:51 – Blake Lizotte (4) from Erik Karlsson (27), Parker Wotherspoon (11)
OT 0:58 – Kris Letang (3) from Crosby (20), Bryan Rust (20)

LIGHTNING 5 at KINGS 3

Tampa Bay Lightning Scoring Summary

P1 3:34 – Brayden Point (8) from Jake Guentzel (22), Nikita Kucherov (34)
P2 18:07 – Point (9) from Darren Raddysh (21), JJ Moser (10)
P3 16:41 – Anthony Cirelli (11) from Brandon Hagel (17), Kucherov (35)
P3 18:19 – Gage Goncalves (4) from Guentzel (23), Cirelli (13)
P3 19:15 – Kucherov (19) – Empty Net

Los Angeles Kings Scoring Summary

P1 4:43 – Jeff Malott (3) from Corey Perry (10)
P1 6:14 – Andrei Kuzmenko (8) from Perry (11), Kevin Fiala (13)
P3 1:37 – Fiala (14) from Perry (12), Kuzmenko (6)

CANADIENS 7 at HURRICANES 5

Canadiens Start 2026 with a 7-5 Win Over Hurricanes

Montreal Canadiens Scoring Summary

P1 3:10 – Nick Suzuki (14) from Alexandre Texier (5), Sammy Blais (4)
P1 4:06 – Oliver Kapanen (12) from Ivan Demidov (24), Juraj Slafkovsky (16)
P2 5:01 – Blais (3) from Lane Hutson (34), Brendan Gallagher (11)
P2 16:23 – Cole Caufield (20) from Texier (6)
P2 16:46 – Josh Anderson (9) Unassisted
P3 11:20 – Slafkovsky (14) from Jayden Struble (6), Demidov (25)
P3 18:00 – Lane Hutson (6) – Empty Net

Carolina Hurricanes Scoring Summary

P1 10:47 – Nikolaj Ehlers (9) from Alexander Nikishin (11), Sebastian Aho (22)
P1 12:19 – Aho (15) from Joel Nystrom (8), Andrei Svechnikov (18)
P1 14:51 – Svechnikov (11) from Aho (23), Ehlers (19)
P2 0:54 – Nikishin (5) from Aho (24), Svechnikov (19)
P3 16:58 – Aho (16) from Ehlers (20), K’Andre Miller (13)

STARS 3 at BLACKHAWKS 4

Mikheyev, Blackhawks Defeat Stars 4-3

Dallas Stars Scoring Summary

P1 14:42 – Mikko Rantanen (16) from Sam Steel (8)
P3 16:03 – Jason Robertson (24) from Rantanen (40), Matt Duchene (4)
P3 19:42 – Duchene (3) from Wyatt Johnston (26), Robertson (24)

Chicago Blackhawks Scoring Summary

P1 11:48 – Artyom Levshunov (2) from Andre Burakovsky (15), Ryan Donato (7)
P2 0:13 – Teuvo Teravainen (8) from Burakovsky (16), Tyler Bertuzzi (11)
P2 9:14 – Ilya Mikheyev (7) from Matt Grzelcyk (8)
P3 3:58 – Mikheyev (8) from Donato (8), Connor Murphy (6)

PREDATORS 2 at KRAKEN 5

Nashville Predators Scoring Summary

P2 17:34 – Roman Josi (5) from Ryan O’Reilly (24), Luke Evangelista (24)

Seattle Kraken Scoring Summary

P1 3:48 – Matty Beniers (5) from Ryker Evans (6)
P1 10:51 – Beniers (6) from Jordan Eberle (12), Kaapo Kakko (7)
P1 10:41 – Jamie Oleksiak (3) from Ryan Winterton (4), Jacob Melanson (2)
P3 17:47 – Jared McCann (7) – Empty Net