Stars-Avalanche, Islanders-Hurricanes highlight weekend schedule

Each Friday, NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will provide readers with three games he is looking forward to that weekend:

Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche (Saturday, 9 p.m. ET; ALT, BSSWX, ESPN+, SN NOW)

The Stars (40-20-14) have gotten a huge season out of forward Jason Robertson, their leading scorer with 91 points (41 goals, 50 assists), and I think he has a chance to hit 100. Let's not forget, he held out of camp and the preseason because of a contract dispute and clearly it hasn't affected him. Joe Pavelski (68 points; 22 goals, 46 assists) and Roope Hintz (67 points; 33 goals, 34 assists) round out the top line and captain Jamie Benn has had a resurgent season (71 points; 31 goals, 40 assists). Miro Heiskanen is having a great year on defense (62 points; 11 goals, 51 assists) and goalie Jake Oettinger could be a Vezina Trophy finalist; he's 32-10-11 with a 2.47 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and four shutouts.
The Avalanche (44-24-6) are coming off a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday. Alexandar Georgiev is tied for second in the NHL in wins (34) after leaving the New York Rangers to become a true No. 1 goalie this season. We know how good defensemen Cale Makar and Devon Toews are, but how about Bowen Byram and what he's done this season with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in 36 games and taking on a bigger role with the injuries on defense? Just imagine how good they'll be when they get forwards Gabriel Landeskog and Artturi Lehkonen and defenseman Josh Manson back from injuries. And center Nathan MacKinnon (95 points; 32 goals, 63 assists) could get 100 points for the first time in his NHL career, somehow.

Los Angeles Kings at Seattle Kraken (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, KCOP-13, ESPN+, SN NOW)

The Kings (43-22-10) have continued their rise from last season, when they surprisingly qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They lost 2-0 at the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday, playing without forward and leading scorer Kevin Fiala (70 points; 22 goals, 48 assists), who missed the game with a lower-body injury. Goalie Joonas Korpisalo has been excellent (4-2-1, 1.86 GAA, .934 save percentage) since he arrived in a trade that sent goalie Jonathan Quick to the Vegas Golden Knights via the Columbus Blue Jackets. Los Angeles could be a problem for teams in the West and also still could be the top seed in the Western Conference. The Kings have five players with at least 20 goals, something they haven't had in recent seasons.
How about what the Kraken (41-25-8) have done in their second NHL season, being on the doorstep of a postseason berth? They play a team game and don't have any game breakers, but they do have 13 players with at least 10 goals this season, led by forward Jared McCann with 35. Defenseman Vince Dunn has had his best season in the League with 61 points (13 goals, 48 assists) and is a plus-25, and center Matty Beniers is the Calder Trophy favorite as the top rookie in the League with 52 points (21 goals, 31 assists). The surprising thing for me is that Seattle is just 17-15-4 in front of those great home fans and are one of the best teams in the NHL on the road (24-10-4).

New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes (Sunday, 6 p.m. ET; BSSO, MSGSN, ESPN+, SN NOW)

The MVP for the Islanders (39-28-9) this season has without question been goalie Ilya Sorokin (28-19-7, 2.36 GAA, .924 save percentage), who's tied for the NHL lead in shutouts with five. Zach Parise has 21 goals this season, the most the 38-year-old forward has had since he scored 25 with the Minnesota Wild in 2019-20. They've also gone 11-4-2 since center Mathew Barzal went down with a lower-body injury.
The Hurricanes (47-18-9) have lost three straight and four of five (1-3-1), including a 3-2 loss at the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, when they allowed the winning goal with four seconds left. They're in a tight race with the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division and are without two of their expected top goal-scorers in forwards Max Pacioretty and Andrei Svechnikov for the season. Center Martin Necas is having a career season (68 points; 27 goals, 41 assists), Brent Burns (55 points; 14 goals, 41 assists), Brady Skjei (16 goals) and Shayne Gostisbehere (seven points in 15 games since being acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes on March 1) each has given the defense a boost in the scoring department and they have three capable goalies if needed in Frederik Andersen, Anti Raanta and Pyotr Kochetkov, who was reassigned to Chicago of the American Hockey League on Wednesday.