Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes is set to be one of the standout players at the 2026 Olympic tournament. The American blue-liner has been in great form recently, setting a new Wild record for the longest assist streak by a defenseman. Hughes has had at least one helper in 10 consecutive appearances. This has also made him the first defenseman in NHL history with an assist streak of at least 10 games in his first season with a franchise. Thanks to his impressive playmaking ability, Hughes is tied with Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov for the longest active point streak in the NHL. Overall, Hughes has tallied 31 assists and 34 points in 26 appearances with the Wild, averaging a massive 28:18 of ice time. He is also set to eat up a lot of ice time on Team USA's blue line, along with Columbus' Zach Werenski and Boston's Charlie McAvoy.

Boston Bruins forward Pavel Zacha (upper body) will miss the 2026 Olympics. Zacha was on the Czechia roster for the tournament but won't be able to play after sustaining an upper-body injury in late January. Former Ottawa Senators forward Filip Chlapik, who currently plays for HC Sparta Praha in the Czech Extraliga, will replace him on the team. Zacha missed a pair of games for the Bruins due to his injury, and it's unclear whether he will be healthy to play when the NHL season resumes. Boston will return to action on Feb. 26. Zacha has been a key contributor for the team, posting 15 goals and 37 points in 54 games.

Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun recorded a game-high three points in Thursday's 4-2 victory over the Nashville Predators. He potted two goals, including a power-play marker to ice the game, and had one assist. This made Chychrun only the second defenseman in Capitals history with back-to-back 20-goal campaigns. He has lit the lamp 21 times, adding 25 assists in 57 contests. Chychrun leads all defensemen in goals scored and needs just two more points to set a new career high. Despite his fantastic form, Chychrun won't be part of Team Canada's roster at the Olympics, giving him three weeks to recharge for the most important part of the season.

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi had to make only 16 saves for his second shutout of the season in Thursday's 2-0 victory over the New York Rangers. Jordan Staal and Andrei Svechnikov took care of the offense for the streaking Hurricanes, who are on a 10-game point streak. Bussi has been pivotal to the team's success, winning each of his last seven starts. He is now only the second goaltender in franchise history with multiple seven-game winning streaks in a single season. The 27-year-old has come out of nowhere to rank second in the NHL with a 2.16 goals-against average. Additionally, Bussi is tied for the third most wins among all goalies, carrying an outstanding 23-3-1 record with a .908 save percentage.