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N.H.L. Takeaways From January

In January, the first month of the 2020s, the N.H.L. was ruled by steely glares from the old guard. Not far behind were the bright eyes of those rookies eager to etch their names into hockey lore. Marquee players in their prime continued to roll; the world junior championships showed off aspiring prospects; and talent across generations, and genders, was on display at All-Star weekend. And, of course, two more coaches were fired.

Washington Capitals wing Alex Ovechkin, 34, led the N.H.L. in goals in January with 13, 11 of them in his past five games. Four of the 13 elevated him above a Hall of Famer on the career goals list. On Friday, he scored his 694th and 695th career goals to tie and then pass Mark Messier for eighth on the career list. Earlier in January, he leapt over Steve Yzerman, the general manager of the Detroit Red Wings and a former captain of the team; the Finnish sniper Teemu Selanne, who had held the best career mark for a European-born player; and Mario Lemieux, whose average of .754 goals per game in the regular season per goals is higher than every other player in N.H.L. history except the Islanders’ Mike Bossy.

Ovechkin’s next target is Mike Gartner’s 708 career goals at No. 7. He would need 200 to pass Gretzky at No. 1. Ovechkin averaged 50 goals per season in the previous two seasons, and is on pace for 59 this year. He ended the month tied with Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak for the league lead in goals. Ovechkin has won the goal-scoring crown eight times, including the past two seasons.

Two of Ovechkin’s contemporaries from the star-laden 2005-6 rookie class, Penguins centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, also made a splash in January. Crosby, 32, had missed 28 games after undergoing core muscle surgery. He returned to play in six January contests, accumulating 11 points with three multiple-point efforts. Malkin, 33, racked up 15 points in 12 games in January, as he continued to lead the Penguins in scoring despite missing 13 games this season.

In a league that is trending younger, veterans made a strong impact elsewhere as well. Chicago Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews, 31, had 16 points in 10 games in January. A teammate of his, right wing Patrick Kane, 31, recorded his 1,000th point on Jan. 19, making him the youngest United States player to accomplish the feat.

Ilya Kovalchuk, 36, had his contract terminated by the Los Angeles Kings in December but has bounced back with the Canadiens. He posted five goals, nine points and a plus-3 rating with Montreal in January after signing for the league-minimum salary.

The Tampa Bay Lightning tied the Islanders’ season-best 10-game winning streak in mid-January, and won 14 of their previous 17 games through Jan. 31, posting an .850 point percentage in that span. Right wing Nikita Kucherov and center Steven Stamkos were Nos. 1 and 2 leaguewide in scoring for the month. Goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy appeared poised to repeat as the Vezina Trophy winner, posting nine wins and a 1.58 goals-against average, which led goalies with more than one start in January. The Lightning have picked up points in his last 11 road starts and his last 15 outings over all. Their 10-2-1 record in January topped the N.H.L., just ahead of a resilient Columbus Blue Jackets club, a distinct iteration of which knocked Tampa Bay out of last year’s playoffs.

Edmonton center Leon Draisaitl overtook the scoring lead from his teammate Connor McDavid. He strung together his second point streak of 10 or more games this season, racking up 17 points in nine games. He owns the best per-game average for the month and the season over all. Rangers left wing Artemi Panarin continued to ink up the score sheet with 15 points in nine games, and is likely to coast to the first 100-point season for a Blue Shirt since Jaromir Jagr in 2005-6.

On the blue line, three potential Norris Trophy finalists tied for the high mark in scoring. Nashville’s Roman Josi, Washington’s John Carlson and St. Louis’s Alex Pietrangelo contributed 12 points apiece.

In January, Blackhawks wing Dominik Kubalik had 10 goals, second among all players, and 14 points, first among rookies. Kubalik, 24, is a Czech player who starred in Switzerland’s top pro league last year. He was a seventh-round selection by Los Angeles, which traded him to Chicago for a fifth rounder. He has 21 goals over all.

Colorado defenseman Cale Makar, in nine games, and Vancouver defenseman Quentin Hughes, in 11 games, added eight points apiece to fuel their campaigns for the Calder Trophy.

In goal, Washington’s Ilya Samsonov and Columbus’s Elvis Merzlikins were lights-out in January. Samsonov was 6-0-0 with a 1.68 goals-against average and a .944 save percentage. Merzlikins was 8-2-0 with a 1.72 goals-against average and a .948 save percentage as he buoyed the Blue Jackets in the absence of the starter Joonas Korpisalo and a plethora of injured skaters.

The women’s world junior championships at the under-18 level were held in Slovakia and won by the United States, its fifth title in six tournaments.

The United States did not win a medal in the Czech Republic at the men’s under-20 tournament. Canada prevailed in the gold medal game with a frenetic rally against Russia that was capped by Akil Thomas’s daring game-winner. Thomas was one of nine prospects who competed in the tournament from the Kings’ system, the most representatives of any N.H.L. franchise. That was positive news for the Kings, who narrowly avoided having only one win in January by squeaking out an overtime victory in Arizona on Jan. 30. They tied the Red Wings and Anaheim Ducks for the lowest win total, two, in January.

At the N.H.L.’s All-Star weekend, Bruins right wing David Pastrnak took home most valuable player honors, though his Atlantic Division stars fell to the Pacific delegation in the three-on-three tournament’s final. In the skills competition, Islanders center Mathew Barzal upset Edmonton’s Connor McDavid in the fastest skater competition. For the first time, the league held an all-women’s hockey event, with representatives from the Canadian national team defeating members of the United States national team, 2-1. There were also women’s national team participants in the new “shooting stars” challenge, in which players shot from the stands at targets on the ice. Chicago right wing Patrick Kane won the challenge.

The N.H.L. had its sixth and seventh coaching changes of the season in January, with both vacancies filled by coaches who had been fired earlier this season.

The Nashville Predators sacked Peter Laviolette, who led them to the Stanley Cup finals in 2017 and to the Central Division title in each of the past two seasons. They replaced him with John Hynes, who was fired by the Devils this season. The Vegas Golden Knights parted ways with Gerard Gallant, who was the first and, until then, only coach in franchise history. He was replaced by Peter DeBoer, who was let go by the San Jose Sharks after a turbulent start to their season.

DeBoer had a .625 winning percentage in January with Vegas, and Hynes had a .556 mark with Nashville. The St. Louis Blues won the Stanley Cup after an in-season coaching switch last season, as did the Kings in 2012 and the Penguins in 2009 and 2016.

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