NHL Winter Classic, All-Star Game among January highlights

We've just about hit the halfway mark of the season, and in many places the spring -- and the Stanley Cup Playoffs -- feel oh-so-far away. But warmth and postseason hockey will be here eventually, and January will go a long way in solidifying which teams are contenders, which are pretenders, which are going to surprise us and which will disappoint.

Because even in the few short weeks between the Bridgestone 2019 NHL Winter Classic between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana on Jan. 1 (1 p.m. ET; NBC, SN, TVAS) and the 2019 Honda NHL All-Star Game at SAP Center in San Jose on Jan. 26 (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS), the NHL has packed in a lot.
So let's hope everyone gets a bit of rest during the holiday season and is ready to head into 2019 with a full head of steam. There's a lot to watch for in these short, snowy days ahead.
Here are 10 of the best storylines of the first month of the new year:

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1. Are the Sabres for real?

While not quite as surprising as the Vegas Golden Knights last season, the Buffalo Sabres have been one of this season's most compelling stories, as forwards Jack Eichel and Jeff Skinner have led the Sabres into contention for Buffalo's first spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011.
But January brings with it a new set of challenges. They'll play seven road games during the month, including three in five days in Western Canada from Jan. 14-18.

Will the Sabres continue to roll? Will they take a step back? Are they for real? Those questions could be answered by the time the All Stars roll into San Jose.

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2. Ovechkin chases history

It might feel like Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin constantly is chasing history, but he'll be at it again in the New Year. He leads the NHL with 29 goals and is 14 goals away from becoming the 14th player in League history with 650. Ovechkin already has shot up the all-time list this season, jumping ahead of Dino Ciccarelli (608, 19th), Bobby Hull (610, 18th), Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic (625, tied for 16th). Dave Andreychuk (640, 15th) is next on the list, and 650 could be attainable in January.
It would take a gargantuan effort from Ovechkin to get 14 goals before the All-Star Game; the Capitals play 15 games between Christmas and the All-Star Game, including 12 in January. But for a player who is capable of back-to-back hat tricks, it's hard to put anything past him.
Oh, and after he gets to 650, next on the all-time list is Brendan Shanahan and his 656 goals in 13th place.

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3. Winter Classic

A lot of history has already been made at Notre Dame Stadium, but more is coming Jan. 1, when the Bruins and Blackhawks play in the NHL Winter Classic in front of nearly 80,000 fans.
For the Blackhawks it will be an opportunity to have some fun on a national stage during a disappointing season, and to get their first win in their fourth Winter Classic -- they lost in 2009 (Detroit Red Wings), 2015 (Washington Capitals) and 2017 (St. Louis Blues). For the Bruins, under pressure in the Atlantic Division, every game is a big game and this will be among their biggest of the season.

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4. McDavid-Eichel rivalry revisited

For the first few seasons of the rivalry between the top two picks in the 2015 NHL Draft, it was clear who was getting the better of the bounce of the ping pong balls. McDavid, selected by the Edmonton Oilers at No. 1, was considered the future of the NHL and Eichel, taken by the Sabres at No. 2, had seen his stock fall a bit.
Things have changed during 2018-19.
The Sabres now are third in the Atlantic Division and pushing them there is Eichel. Named captain Oct. 3, he leads the Sabres with 48 points (14 goals, 34 assists) and is in the conversation for the Hart Trophy. More importantly, the Sabres are in position to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in Eichel's NHL career.

And the Oilers, after a slow start led to Ken Hitchcock replacing Todd McLellan as coach Nov. 20, entered the Christmas break as the second wild card into the playoffs in the Western Conference with McDavid leading them with 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists).
The pair play for the first time this season when the Sabres face the Oilers at Rogers Place on Jan. 14 (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNW, MSG-B, NHL.TV).

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5. Tops for Tampa

The Tampa Bay Lightning are doing their best to run away from the rest of the League, entering the Christmas break six points ahead of their closest contender. The Lightning have been to the Eastern Conference Final in two of the past three seasons, and the Stanley Cup Final in 2015.
The Lightning haven't won the Cup during their sustained run of excellence but they're hoping this is the season they make it happen, and they might collect the Presidents' Trophy along the way. They have 10 games in January in which to further separate themselves, starting with the final two games of a three-game swing through California.

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6. Golden boys

Last season the Vegas Golden Knights were the best story in hockey, reaching the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season. But 2018-19 started with the Golden Knights losing four of their first five games (1-4-0). They were tied for the second-fewest points in the Western Conference on Nov. 11.
Since then, however, the Golden Knights are 13-6-2 and pushed themselves into wild card position into third place in the Pacific Division. In January, Vegas has seven games at T-Mobile Arena, where they're 11-3-3, giving it a prime chance to make up even more ground in the race for a playoff spot.

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7. Back to Carolina

Skinner, second in the NHL with 26 goals, has been a big factor in the Sabres' turnaround, and he'll get his first chance to show his former team, the Carolina Hurricanes, what they're missing when the Sabres play the Hurricanes at PNC Arena on Jan. 11 (7:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, FS-CR, MSG-B, NHL.TV).

Selected by the Hurricanes with the No. 7 pick of the 2010 NHL Draft, Skinner had 379 points in 579 games (204 goals, 175 assists) in eight seasons with Carolina. He was traded to the Sabres on Aug. 2.

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8. Starry weekend

If you're searching for January fun, look no further than the 2019 SAP NHL All-Star Skills competition at SAP Center on Jan. 25 (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS), when the best and brightest of the NHL get a chance to showcase their skills and their personalities in what might be the most relaxed night of the NHL calendar.
Will McDavid blow everyone away in the Fastest Skater competition? Which NHL offspring will steal the show? And will a Jaromir Jagr wig be involved?
Tune in to find out.

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9. Eastern clash

The Lightning and Toronto Maple Leafs have been the best teams in the Eastern Conference for most of the season. They go head-to-head for the second time this season at Amalie Arena on Jan. 17 (7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, TVAS, SUN, SNO, NHL.TV). The first time they played, the Lightning won 4-1 at Amalie Arena on Dec. 13.
This game will give the Maple Leafs a chance to gain ground on the Lightning, or give the Lightning a chance to pull further away from their closest competition.
To win in December, the Lightning needed a personal NHL-high 48 saves from goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Maple Leafs likely will coming gunning for him again Jan. 17.

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10. Wild for the West

Lightning-Maple Leafs isn't the only big game Jan. 17. Two of the best teams in the Western Conference also will play that night, with the Nashville Predators facing the Winnipeg Jets at Bridgestone Arena (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, FS-TN, TSN3, NHL.TV).

While the Predators have been the class of the West all season, the Jets started slowly before surging through November and into December. This is a chance for the Jets to assert their dominance and prove that the Predators are in for a season-long fight in the standings, possibly one ending in another epic playoff battle, like their Western Conference Second Round series last season that ended in a Jets win in Game 7.
Because it's never too early to start thinking about the playoffs. It's almost 2019. Let's go.