NHL On Tap: Ovechkin four from 800 goals, Capitals visit Jets

Welcome to the NHL On Tap. Three NHL.com writers will share what they are most looking forward to on the schedule each day. Today, their choices from six games Sunday.

Surprising Jets welcome Ovechkin's chase for 800

Arriving to Canada Life Centre with the Washington Capitals to play the Winnipeg Jets (7 p.m. ET; TSN3, NBCSWA, ESPN+, SN NOW) is Alex Ovechkin with the captain four goals from 800 in the NHL. Ovechkin has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists) in his past 11 games, is five goals from Gordie Howe (801) for second in NHL history behind Wayne Gretzky (894) and has helped Washington (13-12-4) win three consecutive games for the first time this season. Lost in the shuffle of in-season storylines has been the success of the Jets. Time to start paying more attention. Winnipeg (18-7-1) has won four in a row and lead the Western Conference with a .712 points percentage. Josh Morrissey is the fastest Jets/Atlanta Thrashers defenseman to reach 30 points in one season and owns the franchise record for fewest games (26) to get 25 assists. There's also Kyle Connor's 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in nine games, Blake Wheeler's 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 10 and the Jets scoring on the power play in seven straight. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Goal streaks on the line

The Boston Bruins and Vegas Golden Knights will play for the second time in seven days when they face off at T-Mobile Arena (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, ATTSN-RM, NESN, SN NOW). Vegas (20-8-1) won 4-3 in a five-round shootout to end Boston's NHL-record 14-game home winning streak on Dec. 5. Jonathan Marchessault has scored a goal in four straight games for the Golden Knights, including 3:21 into overtime of a 2-1 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. David Pastrnak also has scored at least one goal in four straight games for the Bruins (21-4-1), who are 4-1-1 in their past six after losing 4-3 at the Arizona Coyotes on Friday. -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

Let's get Kraken

The fantastic start to the 2022-23 regular season has hit a speed bump for the Seattle Kraken (15-8-3), who have lost three straight games. They will try to get back in form when they visit the also reeling Florida Panthers (13-11-4) at FLA Live Arena (6 p.m. ET; BSFLX, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW). The Panthers have won four of their past 10 games (4-4-2). The Kraken took points from 18 of their first 23 games but have been outscored 13-4 during the skid, including a 5-1 home loss to the Panthers eight days ago. Forward Jared McCann has been one of the recent bright spots for Seattle. He has four goals in his past five games but will need some help for the Kraken to get back to their winning ways. The goaltending remains an issue. Martin Jones will start for the Kraken. He has a dozen wins (12-5-2) but an .888 save percentage, which is better than Philipp Grubauer's .882. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Sunday games

Colorado Avalanche at St. Louis Blues (3 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS, SN NOW)
Colorado (13-10-2) has lost four in a row (0-3-1) while being outscored 16-5. St. Louis (12-15-0) has lost seven of nine after winning seven in a row and has allowed at least four goals in nine straight games. The Blues are 4-2-0 in their past six against the Avalanche, including a 3-2 win at Colorado on Nov. 14. Torey Krug will play for St. Louis after the defenseman missed two games with an upper-body injury. Forward Pavel Buchnevich will miss his third game with a lower-body injury. Coach Craig Berube said he's 50-50 for the second of a back to back against the Nashville Predators on Monday.
Los Angeles Kings at Columbus Blue Jackets (6 p.m. ET; BSOH, BSW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Anze Kopitar has eight points (four goals, four assists) in his past six games for the Kings (15-11-4). Blue Jackets goalie Joonas Korpisalo is on injured reserve after leaving a 3-1 win against the Calgary Flames after the first period with a lower-body injury. The victory ended a three-game losing streak for Columbus (9-15-2).
Seattle Kraken at Florida Panthers (6 p.m. ET; BSFLX, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Matthew Tkachuk remains red hot for the Panthers with eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past five games. Tkachuk has 37 points (13 goals, 34 assists) in 26 games. Aleksander Barkov returned from an illness Dec. 8 and has one assist in two games. Seattle forward Matty Beniers is an early frontrunner for the Calder Trophy given to the NHL rookie of the year. He leads first-year players with 21 points (10 goals, 11 assists).
Philadelphia Flyers at Arizona Coyotes (7 p.m. ET; BSAZ, NBCSP+, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Lawson Crouse scored with 14 seconds remaining in the third period Friday and the Coyotes (8-13-4) ended a six-game losing streak (0-4-2). It was Arizona's first win against Boston since Oct. 9, 2010 (0-18-1). Goalie Carter Hart is 2-3-1 with a 2.51 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in his past six games (all starts) for Philadelphia (9-13-6), which has lost four of its past five.
Washington Capitals at Winnipeg Jets (7 p.m. ET; TSN3, NBCSWA, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Ovechkin has three empty-net goals in his past two games and 52 in his NHL career, trailing only Gretzky (56). Jets defenseman Logan Stanley (lower body) and forward Saku Maenalanen (upper body) will not play. Each was evaluated Saturday.
Boston Bruins at Vegas Golden Knights (8 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, ATTSN-RM, NESN, SN NOW)
David Krejci has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past 10 games for Boston, which concludes a three-game road swing before playing its next five on home ice. Vegas seeks its fourth win in five games after ending a three-game home losing streak Friday.