NHL Games on TV Today - Friday, January 31, 2025
NHL Games on TV Today, Tonight - Friday, January 31, 2025
Whether you're tuning in via traditional TV or streaming your favorite basketball teams online, NHLGamesToday keeps you informed with the latest broadcast details, making it the ultimate destination for sports enthusiasts.
| NHL REGULAR SEASON | Time ET | TV |
| Nashville Predators vs Buffalo Sabres | 7:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports South MSG-BUF |
| Vancouver Canucks vs Dallas Stars | 8:00pm | ESPN+ Victory+ Sportsnet |
| St. Louis Blues vs Colorado Avalanche | 9:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports MW ALT |
| Columbus Blue Jackets vs Utah Hockey Club | 9:00pm | ESPN+ FanDuel Sports OH Utah16 |
Nashville Predators vs Buffalo Sabres Preview, What to Watch
The Buffalo Sabres still struggle to win on a regular basis. One of the NHL's streakiest teams, the Nashville Predators, can identify.
The Sabres play the Predators on Friday night, and both teams are at or near the bottom of their conferences.
With 43 points between them, Nashville is third from the bottom in the Western Conference and Buffalo is last in the Eastern Conference.
Buffalo has only won back-to-back games twice, despite being 8-7-1 since its 0-9-3 run. But on Tuesday, the Sabres came out on top and defeated Boston 7–2 at home.
After being restricted to two goals four times in the previous seven games, Buffalo tied a season high for goals with hat tricks from Tage Thompson and JJ Peterka, who each contributed an assist. Peterka has four goals and nine assists in 12 January games, while Thompson has nine goals and ten assists in his past 16 games.
The Sabres have lost their last three games against Nashville, two of which were at home, and haven't had much success. But after winning a season-high five consecutive games, the Predators have already lost two in a row.
Nashville has suffered six occasions this season when they have lost at least two straight games in regulation. It has only won two or more games in a row four times this year.
The Predators have combined for three goals in the last two games after scoring 27 goals during that five-game winning streak. Despite having 32 shots on goal, Nashville's only goal in Wednesday's 3-1 home loss to Vancouver came from Tommy Novak in the first period.
The Predators as a team appear optimistic going into a back-to-back road trip to Pittsburgh and Buffalo, even though they were unable to convert those several opportunities against the Canucks.
Juuse Saros, a Predators standout, has given up 11 goals in his in three appearances despite stopping 19 of 21 shots on Wednesday. Despite having a 3.00 goals-against average, backup Justus Annunen has a 3-0-0 record in three January starts.
Filip Forsberg of Nashville lost Wednesday, ending his 10-game point streak with nine goals and ten assists.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen of Buffalo has been playing well lately; in his last three games, he has a 2.35 goals-against average and a.918 save percentage. James Reimer, the backup, has only won once in eight starts since joining the Sabres, but in his two January starts, he has stopped 61 of 67 shots.
Vancouver Canucks vs Dallas Stars Preview, What to Watch
The Vancouver Canucks are riding a three-game winning streak into a Friday night road game against the Dallas Stars, amid all the soap opera-level drama surrounding a breach between outstanding forwards J.T. Miller and Elias Pettersson.
Vancouver's first three-game winning streak since the beginning of November culminated in a 3-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Wednesday, propelling the team into a Western Conference wild-card spot.
In recent weeks, the Canucks have created more buzz off the ice than on it as they go into the last game of a three-game road trip. Jim Rutherford, president of hockey operations, acknowledged that the two elite players are at odds, causing conflict and stoking trade speculation.
The Stars are now riding a three-game winning streak of their own and are tied with the Minnesota Wild for second place in the Central Division.
Dallas defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-3 in overtime on Tuesday, capping an incredible comeback. Five minutes into the second period, the Stars were behind 3-1. Wyatt Johnston pulled them even with a short-handed goal and then finished with the winning goal to complete his second career hat trick.
The Stars, who have won four of their last five games, are not without their problems, but their victory in Vegas ended a 13-game losing streak and was the first time they had won a game after falling down after two periods.
The team's comeback after star defenseman Miro Heiskanen left the game before the middle of the third period due to a knee injury added to the achievement.
In the future, the Stars will have to be more resilient. With an average of over 25 minutes per game, Heiskanen leads the squad in ice time and the club's defenseman in scoring. It is not anticipated that he will return soon.
DeBoer stated that they will learn more after Heiskanen visits a specialist on Thursday. The club has listed Heiskanen as out on a week-to-week basis.
St. Louis Blues vs Colorado Avalanche Preview, What to Watch
Both clubs are attempting to recover from slumps, and the St. Louis Blues will be visiting the Colorado Avalanche on Friday night.
As the NHL season draws to a close for the 4 Nations Face-Off, St. Louis (23-24-4) has dropped three straight games and is now further adrift in the Western Conference playoff race.
But the Blues aren't just sitting there. After the veteran only managed seven goals and nine assists in 43 games, they amicably parted ways with attacker Brandon Saad. A free agent will be able to sign the left winger.
Earlier in the week, St. Louis dealt defenseman Scott Perunovich to the New York Islanders, which is why Saad is leaving.
In an effort to maintain their postseason hopes, the Blues are refocusing on their young players. Jordan Kyrou (21 goals, 21 assists), Dylan Holloway (16 goals, 22 assists), and Robert Thomas (12 goals, 24 assists) are their top three scorers, and all are under the age of 26.
This season, the teams will play four games together, and Friday's matchup is crucial for both teams. St. Louis is 10 points behind Colorado in the standings going into the game.
In each of their last five games, the Blues have lost four of them and failed to score more than two goals.
They're facing a Colorado team that's 4-5-1 in its last 10 games after wrapping up a 1-2-0 road trip through Boston and New York, where the Avs played the Rangers and Islanders.
Friday night is the first home game since the Avalanche (29-21-2) shook the foundation by trading their top goal scorer, Mikko Rantanen, to the Carolina Hurricanes. Martin Necas and Jack Drury, acquired in the trade, played in all three road games and made an immediate impact. Drury had two goals and Necas added four assists in their first three games with Colorado.
The Avalanche still have NHL points leader Nathan MacKinnon (19 goals, 59 assists) and Cale Makar, whose 56 points (18 goals, 38 assists) ranks second among defensemen.
Necas is among the top 15 players in the league with 59 points total (16 goals, 43 assists) this season.
After suffering a lower-body injury, the Avalanche anticipate seeing big forward Valeri Nichushkin return soon. Nichushkin has only participated in 21 games this season and has been sidelined since December 31 due to the injury and a ban.
It is anticipated that he will return following the 4 Nations Face-Off.
After missing time since November 27 due to an upper-body ailment, defenseman Oliver Kylington is almost fully recovered and should be back in the lineup before the NHL break begins next week.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs Utah Hockey Club Preview, What to Watch
With a season record of 24-19-7, the Blue Jackets are narrowly shy of a postseason berth and in fourth place in the Metropolitan Division going into the game. The Blue Jackets will not be selling at the trade deadline since they are still in the running for the playoffs. They played the Los Angeles Kings in their most recent game. The Kings would tie the game in the first period, but Zach Weresnki got the scoring began with a goal. Dante Fabbro would give the Blue Jackets the lead once more following a scoreless second period, but with 65 seconds remaining, the Kings would draw the game. Kirill Marchenko won the game for the Blue Jackets in overtime as a result of this. On Thursday night, they will take on the Golden Knights.
The Utah Hockey Club, whose moniker might be sticking around longer than anticipated, enters the game at 21-21-8. They are now ranked sixth in the Central Division as a result. They recently played the Pittsburgh Penguins at home. In the first period, Mikhail Sergachev scored the first goal on a power play. In the second period, the Penguins would level the score, but less than two minutes later, Michael Carcone would give Utah the lead again. However, Pittsburgh would force overtime after tying the game again in the third quarter. Sidney Crosby's goal in overtime gave the Penguins a 3-2 victory.
It is Kirill Marchenko who leads the team in goals and is second on the team in points, leading the top line for the Blue Jackets. He comes in with 20 goals and 33 assists, good for 53 points. He also has two goals and 14 assists on the power play. Marchenko is joined on the top line by Adam Fantilli. Fantilli is sixth on the team in points with 14 goals and 14 assists. The line is rounded out by Dmitri Voronkov, who has 18 goals and 15 assists this year.
Zach Werenski, the blue liner, leads the team in points and assists this year. He comes in with 16 goals and 38 assists this year.
On the power play, he has five goals and fourteen assists. Kent Johnson will be in the lead in the second line since Sean Monahan is no longer in the lineup and Cole Sillinger is playing day-to-day. With 14 goals and 17 assists, Johnson ranks sixth on the team in terms of points. With ten goals and eleven assists this season, James van Riemsdyk will also be on the line.
Playing on the top line, Clayton Keller leads the Utah Hockey Club in goals, assists, and points this season. He had 18 goals and 36 assists going into the match, for a total of 54 points. In addition, he has 16 assists and four goals on the power play. Logan Cooley, meanwhile, has 15 goals and is second on the club in terms of points.
Mikhail Sergachev, meanwhile, has been reliable since the blue line. With nine goals and 22 assists this season, he is currently seventh on the squad in terms of points. Playing on the second line, Barrett Hayton is also enjoying a strong season. He has 12 goals and 14 assists going into the match.
Utah's goalie for this game is anticipated to be Karel Vejmelka, who has excelled this season. His season record is 11-14-3, with a.912 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average. This season, Vejmelka ranks in the top 15 in the NHL in terms of both save % and goals-against average.
