NHL On Tap: Olympians return to bolster Capitals, Golden Knights

There are four games on the NHL schedule for Friday, including one nationally televised in the United States and Canada. Here are five things to watch today, along with the complete game schedule.

Cavalry arrives in Vegas

The Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights are expected to get some much-needed help for their respective lineups when they meet at Capital One Arena (7 p.m ET; SCRIPPS, MNMT, NHLN, SNP, SNW, TVAS). Each returned to action following the break for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, and were able to post victories, despite missing some key performers who skated in the Olympics. The Capitals (30-23-7) will welcome back Tom Wilson, who missed a 3-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday and leads Washington with 49 points (23 goals, 26 assists) in 50 games. The Capitals, who trail the Boston Bruins by four points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, are 5-1-0 in their past six games, including winning four straight at home. The Pacific Division-leading Golden Knights (28-16-14) extended their own winning streak to three with a 6-4 win at the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday, scoring five times in the third period. Vegas pulled off the victory despite the absence of five Olympians -- center Jack Eichel and defenseman Noah Hanifin of Team USA and forwards Mark Stone and Mitch Marner and defenseman Shea Theodore of Team Canada. All five are expected to play against Washington, barring any game-day setbacks.

Road Tage

If the Buffalo Sabres (33-19-6) end the NHL’s longest current postseason drought by qualifying for the playoffs for the first time since 2010-11, their recent performances away from home will be a key reason why. The Sabres, who hold the first wild card in the East, enter their game against the Florida Panthers (30-25-3) at Amerant Bank Arena (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSG-B, SNO, SNE) riding a seven-game road point streak (6-0-1 since Jan. 20). Should Buffalo extend the run to eight games, it would mark their longest road point streak since a team record-tying 10-game stretch in 2006-07. Forward Tage Thompson has proven to be Buffalo’s biggest difference maker and showed that again Wednesday in the Sabres’ first game since the Olympic break. A gold medalist with Team USA, Thompson showed no fatigue as he scored once and assisted on the winner in a 2-1 victory at the New Jersey Devils. Thompson leads Buffalo in scoring with 61 points (31 goals, 30 assists) in 58 games, with at least 31 goals for the fourth time in five seasons.

Panthers look to pounce

With the Olympics having ended and his team finally getting healthy, Panthers coach Paul Maurice said Thursday there are no distractions in the way of Florida’s quest to make a Stanley Cup Playoff push. “Now this is nice and clean for us,” he said. So far so good. Indeed, the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions looked exactly that in a 5-1 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday, jumping out to a 3-0 lead and outshooting the visitors 16-6 in the first period. The win was the second in seven games (2-5-0) for the Panthers, who are eight points behind the Bruins for the second wild card in the East. Keep an eye on Florida's new-look top line of Evan Rodrigues centering Carter Verhaeghe and Sam Reinhart; the three combined for two goals and two assists on 14 shots against Toronto, with Rodrigues leading the way with a goal and an assist on nine shots. The Panthers will need to take advantage of home ice again, with 15 of their remaining 24 games on the road.

Are Hughes kidding?

Given his body of work since joining the Minnesota Wild, it’s safe to say Quinn Hughes continues to make his mark on his new team, which is bad news for the opposition. As proof, the 26-year-old will attempt to extend his point/assist streak to 12 games when the Wild (35-14-10) visit the Utah Mammoth (30-24-4) at Delta Center (9 p.m. ET; FDSNWIX, FDSNNO, Utah16, KSTP, SN360). A point against Utah will give Hughes lone ownership of the second-longest point streak by a defenseman in his first campaign with a franchise, trailing only Steve Duchesne, who had a 15-game run with the Quebec Nordiques in 1992-93. Since being acquired in a trade with the Vancouver Canucks on Dec. 12, Hughes has 35 points (three goals, 32 assists) in 27 games for Minnesota. Prior to his arrival, the Wild were averaging 2.81 goals per game (25th in the NHL), a number that has jumped to 3.96 goals per game (tied for first) since he arrived. Minnesota, five points behind the Colorado Avalanche for the Central Division lead, can record its third seven-game winning streak of the season following a 5-2 win at the Avalanche on Thursday. Utah, coming off a 4-2 loss to Colorado on Wednesday, holds the first wild in the Western Conference and received a boost in the return of forward Logan Cooley, who had an assist in his first game back since Dec. 5 because of a lower-body injury.

Plucky Duck

A thigh injury cost Anaheim Ducks center Leo Carlsson a chance to represent Team Sweden at the Olympics. But his return performance in a 6-5 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday after an 11-game absence showed he’s healthy and ready to produce for the Ducks (31-23-3) down the stretch. The 21-year-old had three points (one goal, two assists) in the win and will be looking to keep that momentum going against the Winnipeg Jets (23-26-8) at Honda Center (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, TSN3, TVAS). Anaheim, which has won three straight and is 10-2-0 in its past 12 games to rise to third place in the Pacific, should be boosted by the addition of Carlsson, who has 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 45 games. The victory against Edmonton was the 1,000th of Joel Quenneville’s NHL coaching career and the Ducks one step closer to their first postseason berth since 2017-18. The Jets are coming off a 3-2 overtime win at the Canucks on Wednesday without goalie Connor Hellebuyck, who starred for Team USA at the Olympics. Hellebuyck joined his teammates in Anaheim on Thursday and could get the start against the Ducks.

The schedule

Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSG-B, SNO, SNE)

Vegas Golden Knights at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MNMT, NHLN, SNP, SNW, TVAS)

Minnesota Wild at Utah Mammoth (9 p.m. ET; FDSNWIX, FDSNNO, Utah16, KSTP, SN360)

Winnipeg Jets at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, TSN3, TVAS)