The Week Ahead: Kings Play Five Times

There is only four days left after Feb. 1 before the NHL breaks for the Olympics. As I have mentioned before, you could get quite a boost from players not going to the Olympic Games, as they will be well rested from the almost three-week vacation. That includes all Russian players as the country is currently banned from participating in the quadrennial Games.

All stats are through Saturday night unless otherwise noted.

Visit RotoWire's NHL Daily Starting Lineups to find out starters for every game on the schedule!

WEEK OF JANUARY 26-FEBRUARY 1

5 Games - Los Angeles

4 Games - Boston, Columbus, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia, Utah, Vegas

3 Games – Anaheim, Buffalo, Carolina, Chicago, Colorado, Edmonton, Dallas, Detroit, Florida, Minnesota, Montreal, Nashville, New Jersey, San Jose, St. Louis, Tampa Bay, Toronto, Vancouver, Washington, Winnipeg

2 Games – Calgary, Ottawa, Pittsburgh

Los Angeles plays all five games on the road.

Colorado, Dallas, Nashville, Philadelphia, San Jose, Utah and Winnipeg play three games on the road.

Detroit, Edmonton, St. Louis, Tampa Bay and Vancouver play three games at home.

ANAHEIM

Games this week

@ Edmonton, @ Vancouver, vs. Vegas

Tired: @ Edmonton (Monday)

Rested: vs. Vegas (Sunday)

Notes

The Ducks will likely have to wait until after the Olympic break to get Leo Carlsson (thigh) back in the lineup... Mason McTavish had taken over as the No. 1 center in Carlsson's absence, but McTavish is also currently out with an upper-body injury, though he could return in time for Thursday's game in Vancouver... Cutter Gauthier had a goal and an assist Friday and has a career high 23 goals and 45 points in just 50 games.

BOSTON

Games this week

@ New York Rangers, vs. Nashville, vs. Philadelphia, @ Tampa Bay

Tired: vs. Nashville (Tuesday)

Rested: vs. Philadelphia (Thursday)

Notes

The Bruins play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week... Jeremy Swayman will get at least a pair of starts, and likely three with Joonas Korpisalo starting the remainder... Boston has been red hot of late, winning eight of their last nine games... Charlie McAvoy had three assists Saturday, giving the defenseman 14 points in his last 12 games. He has four goals and 29 assists in 40 games this season... Morgan Geekie had a pair of goals including the game-winner and has 28 goals this season.

BUFFALO

Games this week

@ Toronto, vs. Los Angeles, vs. Montreal

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Sabres signed Josh Doan to a seven-year, $48.65 million contract extension Wednesday... I've been disappointed with the offensive production this season from Owen Power. I thought he would eventually be a 50-point defenseman, and while that still may happen, he has only three goals and 12 assists in 50 game this season... Ryan McLeod is having a nice season with 11 goals and 23 assists in 51 games.

CALGARY

Games this week

@ Minnesota, vs. San Jose

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

Nazem Kadri scored Monday for the first time in 14 games. Kadri has nine goals and 34 points in 51 appearances this season. He could dealt by the trade deadline... MacKenzie Weegar has moved up to the first power-play unit after Rasmus Andersson was dealt to Vegas on Jan. 18... Dustin Wolf is 1-6-0 in his last seven starts with a 3.75 GAA and an .885 save percentage, opening the door again for Devin Cooley to steal some starts in net.

CAROLINA

Games this week

vs. Utah, @ Washington, vs. Los Angeles

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Hurricanes are atop the Eastern Conference standings with 69 points, tied with Detroit, but Carolina has a game in hand... Jalen Chatfield had a pair of assists Saturday, snapping a seven-game point drought... Taylor Hall tallied his 12th of the season and had 12 PIM on Saturday. Hall has 10 points in his last 12 contests... Andrei Svechnikov has six goals and eight points in his last five appearances.  

CHICAGO  

Games this week

@ Minnesota, @ Pittsburgh, vs. Columbus

Tired: vs. Columbus (Friday)

Rested: None

Notes

Chicago plays three games in four nights... Spencer Knight should get two starts while Arvid Soderblom will handle the crease once... Knight has won his last two starts and is 15-13-6 with three shutouts, a 2.54 GAA and a .913 save percentage across 34 appearances this season... Frank Nazar (upper body) returned to action Thursday after missing 14 games... Teuvo Teravainen has missed the last five games with an upper-body injury and there is no timeline for his return.

COLORADO

Games this week

@ Ottawa, @ Montreal, @ Detroit  

Tired: @ Montreal (Thursday)

Rested: None

Notes

The Avalanche play all three games on the road this week, across four nights... Scott Wedgewood should get a pair of starts with Mackenzie Blackwood starting once... The Avs have lost only twice in regulation at home this season, both in the last week with Blackwood between the pipes. The two games were both 7-3 losses, with Nashville beating them Jan. 16 and Philadelphia winning Friday... Valeri Nichushkin missed Monday's game versus Washington as he was involved in a car accident on his way to the game. He was well enough to return Wednesday.

COLUMBUS

Games this week

vs. Los Angeles, vs. Philadelphia, @ Chicago, @ St. Louis  

Tired: @ St. Louis (Saturday)

Rested: @ Chicago (Friday)

Notes

The Blue Jackets play four games this week, including three games in four nights... Jet Greaves will likely play three times with Elvis Merzlikins starting once... Greaves gave up five goals on 30 shots Saturday against the Lightning, but still managed the win. He is 16-12-6 with a 2.68 GAA and a .908 save percentage... Mason Marchment has been a great pickup by the Blue Jackets. He has eight goals and 11 points in just nine games after striking for the hat trick Saturday.

DALLAS

Games this week

@ St. Louis, @ Vegas, @ Utah  

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Stars play St. Louis three times in 12 days with Tuesday's tilt the middle game of the three... Mikko Rantanen returned to action Friday after missing a pair of games with an illness... Wyatt Johnston leads the NHL with 17 power-play goals and has 27 goals and 56 points in 52 games... Roope Hintz has four assists in his last three games... Miro Heiskanen went five games without a point (plus another two games when he was out for personal reasons), but he has four assists in his last three appearances.

DETROIT

Games this week

vs. Los Angeles, vs. Washington, vs. Colorado

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Los Angeles (Tuesday)

Notes

The Red Wings are in first place in the Atlantic Division after a 5-1 win over Winnipeg on Saturday... Lucas Raymond continued his outstanding season with a goal and an assist in the win, giving the young Swede 18 goals and 58 points in 2025-26... Alex DeBrincat leads the Wings with 27 goals... Marco Kasper is having a terrible sophomore season, but he could be snapping out of it, as he has a goal and five points in his last five games.

EDMONTON

Games this week

vs. Anaheim, vs. San Jose, vs. Minnesota

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Anaheim (Monday)

Notes

The Oilers welcomed Leon Draisaitl back Thursday after he missed a couple of games dealing with a personal matter back in Germany... Connor McDavid snapped a seven-game goalless streak Saturday with a pair of goals, including the overtime winner, as Edmonton prevailed over Washington 6-5... Evan Bouchard had the hat trick Saturday and three assists, giving the blueliner 14 goals and 55 points in 53 games.

FLORIDA

Games this week

vs. Utah, @ St. Louis, vs. Winnipeg

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Utah (Tuesday)

Notes

Seth Jones (upper body) will not return before the Olympic break and will not participate for the United States in Italy, as he is still ailing. The Americans have informed the Ducks' Jackson LaCombe that he will be Jones' replacement at the Olympics... Matthew Tkachuk (groin surgery) returned to the lineup Monday for the first time this season. He has three assists in three games and has been sorely missed by the Panthers... Brad Marchand returned Saturday after missing seven games with an undisclosed injury and had two goals, including the overtime winner.

LOS ANGELES

Games this week

@ Columbus, @ Detroit, @ Buffalo, @ Philadelphia, @ Carolina

Tired: @ Detroit (Tuesday)

Rested: None

Notes

The Kings play five games this week, all on the road... Darcy Kuemper should play three games with Anton Forsberg playing twice... They hope to get Anze Kopitar back in action this week as he is travelling with the team on their current six-game road trip. Kopitar has missed the last nine games with a lower-body injury... Brian Dumoulin scored his first goal of the season Saturday in a 5-4 shootout win over St. Louis.

MINNESOTA

Games this week

vs. Chicago, vs. Calgary, @ Edmonton

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

Matt Boldy returned to action Saturday after missing four games with a lower-body injury and had a goal and an assist in the Wild's 4-3 overtime loss to Florida... Mats Zuccarello has been a pleasant surprise this season. The veteran Norwegian started the season on the shelf, missing 15 games with a lower-body injury. The 37-year-old has eight goals and 22 assists in 33 games, including 11 points with the man advantage.

MONTREAL

Games this week

vs. Vegas, vs. Colorado, @ Buffalo

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Colorado (Thursday)

Notes

The Canadiens may not have a spot available for Patrik Laine (core muscle surgery) once he is ready to return. The Habs won't have the salary cap room it needs to activate Laine and it may be easier to deal him elsewhere, rather than fiddle with a winning lineup... Kirby Dach returned to the lineup Tuesday after missing 31 games with a foot injury. He is seeing time on the first line, alongside Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield... Caufield had the hat trick Saturday in a 4-3 loss to Boston and has 29 goals to date.

NASHVILLE

Games this week

@ Boston, @ New Jersey, @ New York Islanders

Tired: None

Rested: @ Boston (Tuesday)

Notes

Steven Stamkos scored his 25th of the season Saturday and has seven goals and two assists in his last seven games... Ryan O'Reilly had 53 points in 79 games last season for the Predators and has already managed a team-leading 50 points in 51 appearances... Roman Josi has three goals and 12 points in his last seven contests, giving the blueliner 30 points in 39 contests.

NEW JERSEY

Games this week

vs. Winnipeg, vs. Nashville, @ Ottawa

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Devils placed defenseman Luke Hughes on long-term injured reserve with a shoulder injury suffered Monday. He is hoping to avoid surgery... That would help the fantasy value of Dougie Hamilton if he sticks around, except he had agreed to a potential deal with Toronto, his hometown club. The Devils might have a hard time trading him now with Hughes out of action, however... Lenni Hameenaho made his NHL debut Monday and had a goal and an assist in his third game Friday, as the Devils upended Vancouver 5-4.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS

Games this week

@ Philadelphia, vs. New York Rangers, @ New York Rangers, vs. Nashville

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Islanders play four games this week, including three games in four nights... Ilya Sorokin will play at least twice and possibly three times with David Rittich picking up the remainder of the starts... The Islanders play a home-and-home series with the Rangers this week, so look for Scott Mayfield to be involved if there is any rough stuff... Matthew Schaefer continues to have an outstanding rookie season, as the 18-year-old defenseman has 13 goals and 21 assists in 51 contests.

NEW YORK RANGERS

Games this week

vs. Boston, @ New York Islanders, vs. New York Islanders, vs. Pittsburgh

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Rangers hope to get Igor Shesterkin back in action this week after he has missed the last three weeks with a lower-body injury... They play four games this week, and it's likely that a healthy Shesterkin will play three times with Jonathan Quick playing once... The Rangers play a home-and-home series with the Islanders, so expect Matt Rempe to be involved if there are any fisticuffs... J.T. Miller told the Rangers that he won't waive his no-movement clause for any potential deal.

OTTAWA 

Games this week

vs. Colorado, vs. New Jersey

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Senators switched up their lines Saturday, and Claude Giroux started on the top unit alongside Tim Stutzle and Drake Batherson. Giroux had an assist on the Senators' lone goal by Stutzle... Jake Sanderson is having a terrific season, as the 23-year-old defenseman has 10 goals and 41 points in 51 games... The Senators goaltending situation is in shambles and they can only hope that Linus Ullmark (personal), who is likely to return to action this week for the first time since Dec. 27, can turn things around.

PHILADELPHIA

Games this week

vs. New York Islanders, @ Columbus, @ Boston, @ Los Angeles

Tired: @ Boston (Thursday)

Rested: None

Notes

The Flyers play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week... Look for Dan Vladar (if healthy) to play three times with Samuel Ersson starting once... Owen Tippett had a hat trick and an assist Friday in a 7-3 win over Colorado... Matvei Michkov had two goals and an assist in the same game, halting a slump in which he had one goal in his previous eight games.

PITTSBURGH

Games this week

vs. Chicago, vs. New York Rangers

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Penguins could have Evgeni Malkin back for one more season in 2026-27, as the veteran center said he would take a pay cut to return and isn't ready to retire, though that was the idea at the start of the season... Yegor Chinakhov is having a much better time with the Penguins than he did with the Blue Jackets. Chinakhov has five goals and one assist in 12 games with Pittsburgh after tallying three goals and six points in 27 contests with Columbus.

SAN JOSE

Games this week

@ Vancouver, @ Edmonton, @ Calgary

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Sharks are in Western Canada this week... It helps to be playing alongside Macklin Celebrini, as Collin Graf can attest to. Graf has three goals and five points in his last nine games... Will Smith is on the other side and he has two goals and four points in four games since returning from an upper-body injury that cost him 13 games... Kiefer Sherwood (upper body) was acquired from the Canucks on Monday and hopes to play back in Vancouver on Tuesday, as he has been out since Jan. 10 in Toronto.

SEATTLE

Games this week

vs. Washington, vs. Toronto, @ Vegas

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

Shane Wright's name is being bandied about in trade rumors as the Kraken need a goal scorer, and the 22-year-old Wright could bring that back in a deal... Philipp Grubauer has taken over as the Kraken's top netminder from Joey Daccord, starting five of the last seven games... Vince Dunn has 11 points in his last 11 games, including six power-play assists, though he is minus-7.

ST. LOUIS

Games this week

vs. Dallas, vs. Florida, vs. Columbus

Tired: None

Rested: vs. Columbus (Saturday)

Notes

The Blues look to be sellers, and moves could come soon. Veterans like Robert Thomas, Jordan Binnington, Justin Faulk and Jordan Kyrou have been mentioned in trade rumors... Thomas remains out of action with a lower-body injury, while Dylan Holloway re-injured his ankle injury after returning Jan. 18 and has missed the last three games... Joel Hofer gave up four goals on 28 shots in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Kings on Saturday. He had been hot prior to that, allowing four goals on 64 shots in his previous three games.

TAMPA BAY

Games this week

vs. Utah, vs. Winnipeg, vs. Boston

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Lightning dropped an 8-5 decision to Columbus on Saturday... Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists and is moving into Hart Trophy consideration after a slow start (for him) to the season. Kucherov has points in 18 of his last 20 games and has 14 goals and 30 helpers in that time... Andrei Vasilevskiy (who didn't play in the 8-5 loss) is 22-7-3 with a sizzling 2.16 GAA and a .916 save percentage. He will definitely get Vezina Trophy consideration.

TORONTO

Games this week

vs. Buffalo, @ Seattle, @ Vancouver

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Maple Leafs could be interested in defensemen Dougie Hamilton and Luke Schenn as the trade deadline approaches... Anthony Stolarz returned to action Friday after missing 33 games with an upper-body injury. He gave up five goals on 30 shots in a 6-3 home loss to Vegas... Auston Matthews is without a point in his last two games after picking up 11 goals and eight assists in his previous 12 contests.

UTAH

Games this week

@ Tampa Bay, @ Florida, @ Carolina, vs. Dallas

Tired: @ Florida (Tuesday)

Rested: None

Notes

The Mammoth play four games this week, including three in four nights... Karel Vejmelka should get three starts with Vitek Vanecek playing once... Dylan Guenther has three goals, five assists and a plus-8 rating over his last five games... Logan Cooley could be back just before the Olympic break. He has a lower-body injury and has missed the last 22 games. Cooley had 14 goals and 23 points in 29 games prior to his injury.

VANCOUVER

Games this week

vs. San Jose, vs. Anaheim, vs. Toronto

Tired:  None

Rested: None

Notes

The Canucks will look to unload some more of their veteran players, with Evander Kane at the top of the list. The pending UFA is drawing interest from Dallas and Colorado... They dealt Kiefer Sherwood to San Jose in exchange for a second-round pick in 2026 and 2027, as well as Cole Clayton... The Canucks are a mess in net with Thatcher Demko (lower body) on the sidelines. It is hoped that he returns as some point this week.

VEGAS

Games this week

@ Montreal, vs. Dallas, vs. Seattle, @ Anaheim

Tired: @ Anaheim (Sunday)

Rested: None

Notes

The Golden Knights play three games in four nights as part of their four-game week... Adin Hill should get at least two starts and possibly three with Akira Schmid starting the remainder of the games... Rasmus Andersson got his visa issues out of the way and played his first game in a Vegas uniform Friday in Toronto, picking up an assist... Jack Eichel is on an 11-game point streak and has seven goals and 13 assists in those 11 appearances.

WASHINGTON

Games this week

@ Seattle, @ Detroit, vs. Carolina

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Capitals got Tom Wilson back Wednesday after he missed eight games with a lower-body injury. He has four assists in three games since his return and has 46 points in 44 games. Wilson is on pace to smash his career high of 65 points, set last season... Connor McMichael is having another nice season with eight goals and 22 assists in 53 games.

WINNIPEG

Games this week

@ New Jersey, @ Tampa Bay, @ Florida

Tired: None

Rested: None

Notes

The Jets put together a nice four-game winning streak after going 0-7-4 in their previous 11 games, but have given it all back, going 1-4-0 in their last five contests... Mark Scheifele continues to shine, but is without a point in his last two games. He did have five goals and 13 points in his previous eight games and has 25 goals and 61 points in 51 appearances... Connor Hellebuyck will not win his third straight Vezina. He is 12-14-6 with nary a shutout, a 2.69 GAA and a .902 save percentage.