The Daily Goal Horn

Ottawa's Josh Norris clears hurdles and suits up Wednesday, giving the Senators a timely boost from their injury-riddled blue line. RotoWire confirms his availability, and coaches already eye lineup tweaks to maximize his two-way game. With the trade freeze behind us, his return tests whether Ottawa builds or sells before March 6.

Buffalo's breakout winger Josh Doan catches the eye of USA Hockey brass as a gritty fit for the 2028 World Cup roster, projected right into that versatile fourth-line role alongside Cutter Gauthier. With Tage Thompson locked in after his Olympic heroics and gold-medal OT winner at the Worlds, Doan needs to sustain this hot streak to crash the party. Front offices whisper that two more years of forechecking fury could seal his spot on the plane to the tournament.

Buffalo scouts lock on a pair of New York forwards as trade whispers heat up post-Olympics, with assets lining up for a splash. GMs in rebuild mode hunt upgrades without gutting the future, and these targets fit the Sabres' timeline perfectly. Deadline proximity forces hands, as Rangers brass weighs selling high or standing pat.

Connor Hellebuyck stares down Canada's supernova lineup in the gold medal game, stopping 41 of 42 shots while the likes of McDavid, MacKinnon and Marner pepper him relentlessly. An NHL insider draws a straight line from this Vezina-winning Jets netminder to Ryan Miller's heroic stand for the Sabres in the 2010 Olympics, where Miller dueled Crosby before that OT heartbreak. Hellebuyck's clinic erases playoff ghosts from Vegas and Colorado, positioning him as the heir to U.S.

Just when the Buffalo Sabres thought they'd caught a break during the Olympic pause, Zach Benson's recovery took an unexpected turn. The young winger crashed into the boards before the break and was supposed to use the extended time off to heal, but he's now dealing with a separate injury that's kept him sidelined since the team returned to practice.

The NHL shakes off the Olympic rust this week, and Buffalo leads the charge with a red-hot 21-5-2 streak that has the Sabres clinging to the East's first wild card. Tage Thompson returns fresh off U.S. gold-medal glory, while Alex Tuch brushes off trade whispers amid contract talks with new GM Jarmo Kekalainen. Front offices across the league watch closely as this pivotal 25-game sprint decides playoff fates, with Jersey up first on Wednesday.