Ovechkin record chase, Winter Classic highlight post-holiday hockey schedule

The NHL resumes play following its holiday break with eight games Friday. That begins a busy six-week stretch in the hockey world leading up to the 4 Nations Face-Off, a best-on-best tournament featuring NHL players from Canada, Finland, Sweden and the United States, from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston. Here are 10 things to watch for between now and then.

2025 IIHF World Junior Championship

The United States will attempt to repeat as champions for the first time at the 2025 WJC in Ottawa, which began Thursday and ends with the gold-medal game Jan. 5. Seven U.S. players (each previously selected in the NHL Draft) who played at least one game at the 2024 WJC return: forwards Ryan Leonard (Washington Capitals), Gabe Perreault (New York Rangers), Oliver Moore (Chicago Blackhawks) and Danny Nelson (New York Islanders), defensemen Zeev Buium (Minnesota Wild) and Drew Fortescue (New York Rangers) and goaltender Trey Augustine (Detroit Red Wings). Among the top prospects for the 2025 NHL Draft taking part are U.S. forward James Hagens, Canada forward Porter Martone, Canada defenseman Matthew Schaefer and Sweden forward Victor Eklund.

Post-Christmas returns

Tomas Hertl will be among those making their initial visits to their former NHL homes when the forward faces the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center on Friday (10:30 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NBCSCA) for the first time since they traded him to the Vegas Golden Knights on March 8. The 31-year-old forward played his first 11 NHL seasons for the Sharks. New Jersey Devils coach Sheldon Keefe will go back to Scotiabank Arena on Jan. 16 to face the Toronto Maple Leafs, who he coached the previous five seasons. On the same night, Washington Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun will return to Canadian Tire Centre, where he played the previous two seasons with the Ottawa Senators. It will be Capitals forward Andrew Mangiapane's turn on Jan. 28, when he goes back to Scotiabank Saddledome, where he played his first seven NHL seasons with the Calgary Flames. Toronto defenseman Chris Tanev will be back in Calgary, where he played four seasons, on Feb. 4.

Ovechkin resumes Gretzky record chase

Alex Ovechkin is almost ready to resume his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894 goals. The Capitals forward pulled within 27 goals of breaking it with 15 in his first 18 games this season, increasing his career total to 868 in 20 NHL seasons, before he fractured his left fibula against the Utah Hockey Club on Nov. 18. The 39-year-old returned to practice last week and could play in the Capitals' first game after the break, against the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP, NHLN, MNMT2). Ovechkin has 24 goals in 29 career games in Toronto, so it wouldn't be surprising to see him pick up where he left off before he was injured.

Winter Classic returns to Wrigley

Wrigley Field will host the Discover NHL Winter Classic for the second time when the Chicago Blackhawks face the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 31 (5 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, SN, TVAS). Wrigley, home of the Major League Baseball's Chicago Cubs, also was the site of the 2009 Winter Classic, when the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Blackhawks 6-4. This time, the Blackhawks will be led by 19-year-old forward Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and forward Teuvo Teravainen, who will play for Finland at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Blues will be represented at 4 Nations by goalie Jordan Binnington and defenseman Colton Parayko, each of whom will play for Canada.

Quarter-Century Teams revealed

The Blues (Dec. 30) and Blackhawks (Dec. 31) will be first two to have their Quarter-Century Teams announced. Each club's First Team and Second Team, each consisting of three forwards, two defensemen and one goalie who played in at least one game with the franchise since Jan. 1, 2000, were selected by a panel of media, retired players and executives specific to that club. A Quarter-Century Team will be revealed each day concluding with the Utah Hockey Club on Jan. 31. Following the club Quarter-Century Team announcements, a League-wide fan vote will be held Feb. 12-26 to determine the NHL Quarter-Century Team presented by SAP. Voting conducted on NHL.com and X will determine the top 25 NHL players of the past 25 years, regardless of position.

Eric Staal jersey retirement

Eric Staal will become the fourth player to have his number retired by the Carolina Hurricanes in a ceremony before they host the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 12. Staal, whose No. 12 will join Glen Wesley's No. 2, Ron Francis' No. 10 and Rod Brind'Amour's No. 17 in the Lenovo Center rafters, played 12 of his 18 NHL seasons with Carolina, which selected him with the No. 2 pick in the 2003 NHL Draft. The 40-year-old was Hurricanes captain for seven seasons (2009-16). Since the franchise relocated to North Carolina in 1997, Staal is the Hurricanes leader in games (909), goals (322), assists (453) and points (775), and is second in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 43 points (19 goals, 24 assists) in 43 games. That includes an NHL-leading 28 points (nine goals, 19 assists) in 25 games when Carolina won the Stanley Cup in 2006.

Crosby climbing points list

Sidney Crosby should pass Joe Sakic for ninth on the NHL points list by the time he represents Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. The Pittsburgh Penguins forward had four points (one goal, three assists) in a 7-3 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, and now has 1,635 points (602 goals, 1,033 assists) in 1,308 games, leaving him six away from passing Sakic (1,641). The 37-year-old also needs one assist to pass Mario Lemieux for the all-time Penguins lead.

Hockey Day in Canada

Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada celebrates its 25th anniversary Jan. 18 with Canmore, Alberta, serving as the host city for off-ice activities. The day-long celebration features all seven Canada-based NHL teams in action, beginning with the Ottawa Senators hosting the Boston Bruins at 3 p.m. ET. The Montreal Canadiens host the Maple Leafs and the Winnipeg Jets host the Flames at 7 p.m. ET before the day concludes with the Edmonton Oilers playing at the Vancouver Canucks at 10 p.m. ET.

Maurice's milestones

Paul Maurice is expected to become the second coach to reach 1,900 NHL regular-season games when the Florida Panthers host the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 29. Maurice will join Scotty Bowman, who coached in an NHL-record 2,141 games. Maurice, who turns 58 on Jan. 30, was the second youngest coach in NHL history at 28 for his first NHL game with the Hartford Whalers, a 7-3 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 7, 1995. With 891 wins in his 27 NHL seasons, Maurice also could become the fourth coach to reach 900 wins before the pause for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Maurice, who won the Stanley Cup for the first time last season with Florida, would join Bowman (1,244), Joel Quenneville (969) and Barry Trotz (914).

2024-25 Canada-USA Rivalry Series concludes

International women's hockey will be in the spotlight for the final two games of the five-game Canada-USA Rivalry Series, at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia on Feb. 6 and at Credit Union Place in Summerside, Prince Edward Island on Feb. 8. The U.S. won the opener, 7-2 on Nov. 6, but Canada took the next two, winning 5-4 in a shootout on Nov. 8 and 4-1 on Nov. 10.