Refreshed after the NHL’s break for the 2026 Winter Olympic Games, the Buffalo Sabres hope to pick up where they left off and continue their push for the playoffs when they visit the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday in Newark, N.J.

The Sabres were one of the hottest teams in the league before the hiatus, going 21-5-2 over a nearly two-month stretch that propelled them up the standings into a playoff spot. They sit in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with a five-point cushion on the first team out, the Columbus Blue Jackets, and just two points out of second place in the Atlantic Division.

“We’ve had some time to reflect on it, to appreciate what we’ve done, especially the last couple months, but not to rest on that and our accomplishments so far because we haven’t accomplished anything,” forward Alex Tuch said. “A couple of good months. We’re in the playoff race and we’ve got to bring it home.”

Buffalo captain Rasmus Dahlin is ready to lead that push after representing Sweden at the Olympics, a journey that ended in disappointment with a loss to Team USA — and Sabres teammate Tage Thompson — in the quarterfinals.

“Losing that game kind of switched my focus right away to Buffalo,” he said. “I’m so excited to get this thing going. We have a really good thing going on, and now we know the fun begins. Now all the most important games start.”

Dahlin has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in a seven-game point streak, and 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) over his past 16 games.

The Sabres could be without Thompson against the Devils. Coach Lindy Ruff said Monday the team wasn’t sure if the center, who had three goals and an assist en route to a gold medal, would play with the aftermath of Team USA’s travel schedule. Team USA traveled from Milan to Florida on Monday, and Thompson was one of many on the team to accept the invitation to the White House on Tuesday. After New Jersey, the Sabres head to Florida to face the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Buffalo centers Josh Norris (12 games) and Josh Dunne (13 games) and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (five games) are each expected to be available to return from injury.

The Devils, meanwhile, need to snap out of a funk in order to climb back into the playoff race. At 1-5-0 over its past six games, New Jersey sits second to last in the Eastern Conference, 11 points behind the second wild card.

“It’s a playoff game, every game,” said winger Jesper Bratt, who also represented Sweden in Milan. “I think the consistency is something that we didn’t have for a big part of the season and it’s going to be key now. If we don’t find that consistency, it’s going to be hard to go where we want to go.”

It’s unknown if center Jack Hughes, who scored Team USA’s golden goal in overtime against Canada, will be available. The team was working on his travel plans from Washington to get him back for Wednesday.

Forward Timo Meier and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler, who each represented Switzerland, are expected be at the morning skate Wednesday after travel delays impacted their returns to New Jersey.

–Field Level Media

Toronto’s captain has come home wearing gold, and the Maple Leafs are hoping he brings that championship touch with him.

The captain of both the Leafs and the victorious U.S. team at the Milan Cortina Olympics, gold medalist Auston Matthews and his squad will try to start a strong stretch run Wednesday night when they play the host Tampa Bay Lightning.

Matthews, who leads the team with 26 goals and is second to William Nylander with 48 points, assisted on Matt Boldy’s opening goal that gave the Americans a 1-0 lead in Sunday’s gold-medal game.

Even the Canada-bred members of the Maple Leafs who saw their country take home silver medals expressed happiness for their teammate amidst “bittersweet” personal disappointment.

Vancouver native and Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly watched the deciding game at the team’s practice facility.

“For the Toronto Maple Leafs, that’s best-case, in my opinion. To watch your guy be the captain of an Olympic gold-medal winning team, it’s pretty cool,” said Rielly. “If you put ‘Olympic gold medal champion’ next to your name, that adds a lot. He earned it and he’s the captain.”

Toronto coach Craig Berube, an Alberta product, agreed, saying, “We’re very happy for Auston. … Big boost for him.”

With 25 contests left, Toronto is tied with the Ottawa Senators for fifth in the Eastern Conference wild-card standings with 63 points, six behind the Boston Bruins in the final playoff spot.

Holding a three-game winning streak, the Leafs are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes for the third-longest active stretch of victories amidst Eastern Conference teams.

One of the teams with a longer streak? The Lightning.

Tampa Bay resumes the season having won five consecutive outings, including a fight-filled clash with the rival Florida Panthers, whom it beat 6-1 nearly three weeks ago.

The Lightning are atop the Atlantic Division standings by six points over the Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings despite having played at least two fewer games than both.

In Toronto on Dec. 8, Tampa Bay was blanked 2-0 as goaltender Dennis Hildeby, the Leafs’ fourth option in training camp, stopped 29 shots in the first of three matchups.

The squad just wants to restart where it left off, but two more ailments along the blue line — a recurring obstacle — may force a move before the March 6 trade deadline.

Max Crozier (core muscle surgery) is expected to miss the remainder of the regular season. Captain Victor Hedman sustained a lower-body injury while representing Sweden in the Olympics but said he expects to be available vs. Toronto.

“As is usually the case, cap space is going to be a challenge, but we’ll see,” GM Julien BriseBois said last month. “We’re always on the lookout for ways to improve our team. And just as in years past, we’re not only focused on this year, we’re focused on future years as well.”

The defensive group has been banged up since the outset of the season.

Hedman has already missed 34 games with an elbow injury, while Ryan McDonagh missed 33 but has played four times since returning. Emil Lilleberg (23 games), Erik Cernak (19) and Darren Raddysh (six) have all been sidelined as well.

An emerging offensive force in place of Hedman on the 12th-ranked power play (22.4%), Raddysh has 17 goals and 35 assists in 49 games.

The Toronto native, who turns 30 Saturday, would be a highly prized defenseman in free agency if not re-signed by Tampa Bay by July 1.

–Field Level Media

Twenty of the 25 members of the U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team visited President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday afternoon as they continued to celebrate their first gold medal since 1980.

The five players who did not attend were Winnipeg Jets forward Kyle Connor, Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel, Anaheim Ducks defenseman Jackson LaCombe, Colorado Avalanche forward Brock Nelson and Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger.

Photos and video posted by White House communications adviser Margo Martin showed the players posing wearing their medals and posing with Trump around the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

Later, they were scheduled to attend Trump’s State of the Union address to Congress. House Speaker Mike Johnson told reporters that they were finding a way to “squeeze in” the team into Trump’s speech.

The players’ NHL franchises were working to arrange travel from Washington to rejoin their teams, with many back in action Wednesday night following the three-week Olympic break.

On a phone call to congratulate the men’s victory in Milan, Trump was heard joking that he would be impeached if he didn’t also invite the women’s team, which also beat Canada in overtime to win gold, to visit the White House.

The women’s team later declined an invitation from the White House, citing the academic and professional commitments of most of their athletes.

–Field Level Media