Edmonton Daily Digest — Jan. 25, 2026

Overtime drama in Calgary — Rookie Beckett Sennecke finished a three-goal night with the OT winner to give the Anaheim Ducks a 4-3 win over the Flames on Jan. 25, 2026; his 16th–18th goals capped a hat trick as the Ducks extended their win streak to seven and moved to within one point of the Edmonton Oilers in the Pacific (Anaheim has one game in hand). Lukas Dostal made 33 saves (now 19-12-2) while Calgary’s Dustin Wolf stopped 17 and the Flames fell to 0-2-2 in their last four.

Brutal winter blast across Canada — Orange cold warnings and wind chills to about -40 C (some spots down toward -50 C) hit the Prairies, with Regina, Saskatoon and Winnipeg waking to around -35 C and -42 C wind chills; drivers are urged to carry emergency kits and people told to dress in layers to avoid fast-onset frostbite. Heavy snow and storm warnings are in place for southern Quebec and the Maritimes, with Montreal and Laval expecting 15–20 cm and parts of Nova Scotia 25–35 cm plus gusts up to 80 km/h.

A Calgary mom is running out of options — Jocelyn Dennis, who lost her ability to walk in 2007 from Acute Disseminated Encephalo Myelitis, needs a two-bedroom, cat-friendly place with a zero-barrier shower but finds fewer than five listings in Calgary that truly work; provincial RAMP grants help a little but Accessible Housing Calgary says funding and supply aren’t enough, and Alberta still lacks up-to-date accessibility rules in its building code. Dennis is finishing university and says she’s close to giving up hope — her story highlights how hard accessible, affordable homes are to find.

Separatism: lots of talk, less commitment — An Ipsos poll of ~2,000 Canadians (Jan. 9–14, 2026) found about 29% of Albertans (31% in Quebec) would vote to start separation talks, but only roughly 15–16% remain committed after a “stress test” that raised real costs; Ipsos says that equals roughly 800,000 Albertans truly ready to consider independence out of ~5 million people. The Forever Canadian petition gathered ~438,000 signatures, and separatist groups now have to collect at least 177,732 valid signatures by May 2 under new Alberta rules.

Historic night for Evan Bouchard — In Edmonton, defenceman Evan Bouchard had a 3-goal, 3-assist game in his 400th regular-season contest as the Oilers beat Washington 6-5; he’s just the fourth NHL defenceman ever with a 3G–3A night (joining Bobby Orr, Tom Bladon and Doug Crossman) and now has 14 goals and 41 assists this season. Connor McDavid also starred, moving to 32 goals and 90 points and nudging ahead in the NHL points race.

Wild finish — The Oilers held on 6-5 in OT after Connor McDavid scored 46 seconds into extra time; Edmonton rode Bouchard’s hat trick + three helpers while Tristan Jarry relieved Connor Ingram (Jarry made 13 saves) and Washington’s Charlie Lindgren stopped 34 of 40. Leon Draisaitl picked up his 600th regular-season assist and the teams have quick turnarounds — Oilers host the Ducks Monday, Capitals visit Seattle Tuesday.