Zach attack
Zach Werenski has had a good January for the Columbus Blue Jackets with 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) after the defenseman missed four games in late December with a lower-body injury. The Blue Jackets (24-20-7) host the Philadelphia Flyers at Nationwide Arena (7:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT). Werenski will represent the United States at Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026. His 55 points (19 goals, 36 assists) are second among NHL defensemen behind Cale Makar of the Avalanche and Evan Bouchard of the Oilers (56 each).
You again?
Carson Soucy didn't have to wait long to see some familiar faces. He'll play for the New York Islanders at home against the New York Rangers at UBS Arena (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, MSG 2) two days after the Islanders (28-19-5) acquired the defenseman in a trade with the Rangers (22-25-6) for a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Soucy fills an immediate need for the Islanders, who are without Ryan Pulock and Alexander Romanov. Pulock has missed two games with an upper-body injury. Romanov has not played since Nov. 18 because of a shoulder injury that required surgery. At the time of the surgery, he was expected to be out 5-6 months. The Islanders on Tuesday then acquired Ondrej Palat from the New Jersey Devils with a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft for Maxim Tsyplakov.
Hanging in there
The Flyers (24-18-9) are 2-6-2 in their past 10 games and outside the Stanley Cup Playoff bubble coming off a 4-0 loss to the Islanders in Philadelphia on Monday, when coach Rick Tocchet said he was disappointed in their performance against a Metropolitan Division rival. The Blue Jackets are in the same division, so the Flyers want to get their energy back for this one.
