NHL On Tap: Matthews, Maple Leafs look to extend streaks against Penguins
Oilers try to resume winning ways against Panthers; Canadiens play final home game in 2023
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Matthews, Maple Leafs put streaks up against Penguins
Auston Matthews might have the hottest stick in the NHL right now. The Toronto Maple Leafs forward has seven goals during a four-game goal streak. He has three two-goal games in that span, including two in 30 seconds late in the third period to cap Toronto’s rally from a 5-0 third-period deficit in their 6-5 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. He'll have a chance to extend his streak, and the Maple Leafs (15-6-6) will look to extend one of their own, when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins (13-12-3) at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, SNP, SN-PIT). Toronto has points in eight straight (5-0-3), their longest since a 15-game run (12-0-3) from Nov. 12-Dec. 13, 2022. The Penguins are looking to build on their own streak; they've won back-to-back games for the first time since five in a row from Nov. 4-14. -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor
CBJ@TOR: Matthews ties it with second goal of the period
McDavid, Bouchard look to stay hot for Oilers
Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard will try to extend their point streaks for the Edmonton Oilers when they host the Florida Panthers at Rogers Place (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS2, BSFL). McDavid has 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) during an 11-game streak. Boucher has 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) in his 13-game streak, which is tied with Nathan MacKinnon of the Colorado Avalanche for longest active streak in the NHL. Edmonton (13-13-1) had an eight-game winning streak end with a 7-4 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Florida (17-10-2) has been shut out in losing each of its past two games to the Seattle Kraken (4-0) and Vancouver Canucks (4-0). -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer
MIN@EDM: McDavid ties game in 2nd period
Road beckons for Canadiens after Islanders tilt
The Montreal Canadiens play their final home game of 2023 when they host the streaking New York Islanders (7 p.m., TVAS, CITY, SNE, MSGSN2). The Canadiens (12-13-4), seventh in the competitive Atlantic Division, have had better success this season away from Bell Centre (6-4-2) than on home ice (6-9-2). They set off after the game Saturday to play seven straight on the road before returning Jan. 4 against the Buffalo Sabres. The Islanders (14-7-8), second in the Metropolitan Division, had their four-game winning streak end on Friday. But with a 5-4 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins, they’ve now recorded points in their past eight games (6-0-2). Both the Islanders and Canadiens would be wise to avoid the penalty box Saturday; New York is last in the League on the penalty kill (70.1 percent) and Montreal is 30th (72.4 percent). -- Dave Stubbs, columnist
Saturday games
Vancouver Canucks at Minnesota Wild (2 p.m. ET; BSWI, BSN, NHLN, SNP)
The Canucks (20-9-1) go for their fifth straight victory and the Wild (11-12-4) will try for their third win in a row. Vancouver forward Brock Boeser has four goals in his past two games and is one behind Matthews for the NHL lead with 22 goals this season. Minnesota forward Matt Boldy has scored a goal in three straight games and has seven goals in eight games since John Hynes replaced Dean Evason as coach on Nov. 27 after scoring one goal in 12 games before that. The Wild are 6-2-0 since the coaching change.
New York Rangers at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; NESN, MSG)
This is a matchup between the top two teams in the Eastern Conference and their second of three meetings this season. The Rangers defeated the Bruins 7-4 on Nov. 25 at Madison Square Garden. The Bruins (19-5-4) lead the Atlantic Division and conference with 42 points. The Rangers (20-7-1) trail the Bruins by one point and lead Metropolitan Division with 41 points. Each team played Friday; the Bruins defeated the Islanders 5-4 in a shootout and the Rangers won 5-1 against the Anaheim Ducks. Forward Brad Marchand, who has 888 points (384 goals, 504 assists) in 975 NHL regular-season games, needs one point to pass Bobby Orr (888 points in 631 games) for sixth in Boston history. Defenseman Adam Fox has nine assists in his past seven games for New York.
New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSOH)
Forward Jesper Bratt has eight points (four goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak for the Devils (15-11-1). Jack Hughes needs two goals to reach 100 in the NHL for New Jersey, which is 7-2-0 since a 2-1 loss to Columbus on Nov. 24. The Blue Jackets (10-16-5) will be without forward Patrik Laine for six weeks after he fractured his clavicle in a 6-5 overtime win against the Maple Leafs on Thursday. Blue Jackets forward Kent Johnson has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past four games, including his first three-point game in the NHL (two goals, one assist) on Thursday.
New York Islanders at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m., TVAS, CITY, SNE, MSGSN2)
Islanders center Bo Horvat is on a tear, having scored 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his past nine games. New York defenseman Noah Dobson has 11 assists in his past eight games. Center Matthew Barzal has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in an eight-game road point streak and leads New York with 32 points (10 goals, 22 assists) in 28 games. Samuel Montembeault is expected to start for the Canadiens, playing his second straight and 13th start as coach Martin St. Louis continues with a three-goalie rotation.
Detroit Red Wings at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; BSDETX, NBCSP)
Red Wings forward Alex DeBrincat (199 assists, 399 points in 479 games) will try again to reach the 200-assist and 400-point milestones after being held without a point the past two games. Detroit (15-10-4) has one win in its past five games (1-3-1). The Flyers (16-10-3) have points in seven straight games (5-0-2). Philadelphia goalie Carter Hart will be unavailable for the second straight game because of an illness.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, SNP, SN-PIT)
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. The Pittsburgh captain has 1,533 points (577 goals, 966 assists) in the NHL, and is one point from passing former teammate Mark Recchi for 13th all-time. Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner has seven points (three goals, four assists) during a three-game point streak, including back-to-back three-point games.
Colorado Avalanche at Winnipeg Jets (7 p.m. ET; SN360, SNW, ALT2)
MacKinnon has 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) during his 13-game point streak for the Avalanche (18-9-2). Connor Hellebuyck has a 1.76 goals-against average and .939 save percentage in winning his past four starts for the Jets (17-9-2). Winnipeg is 5-1-0 in its past six games, including a 4-2 win against Colorado on Dec. 7.
Washington Capitals at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET; MNMT, BSSO NHLN)
The Capitals (14-8-4) have points in four straight games (2-0-2). Dylan Strome has four goals in his past four games and leads Washington with 12 goals in 26 games this season. The Predators (17-13-0) have won three in a row and are 12-3-0 since going 5-10-0 in their first 15 games. Filip Forsberg has scored overtime goals in consecutive games for Nashville and is tied with Cole Caufield of the Montreal Canadiens for the NHL lead with three overtime goals this season. Roman Josi (165 goals) needs one goal to tie Shea Weber (166) for most by a defenseman in Predators’ history.
Dallas Stars at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, TXA 21)
The Blues (14-14-1) look to improve to 2-0-0 under Drew Bannister, who replaced Craig Berube as coach on an interim basis Tuesday. St. Louis defeated Ottawa 4-2 in Bannister’s debut on Thursday. The Stars (17-8-3) seek their third straight win. Dallas forward Joe Pavelski, who has 1,028 points (462 goals, 566 assists) in 1,278 NHL regular-season games, needs one point to pass Brian Leetch (1,028 points in 1,205 games) for eighth in NHL history among players born in the United States.
Buffalo Sabres at Arizona Coyotes (9 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSG-B)
The Coyotes (14-13-2) are 9-5-0 at home after ending a four-game losing streak with a 1-0 win against visiting the San Jose Sharks on Friday. Michael Carcone leads Arizona with 14 goals overall and 12 even-strength goals in 28 games despite ranking 19th among its skaters in averaging 11:04 in ice time. The Sabres (13-15-3) defeated the reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights 5-2 on Friday and will look to win consecutive games for the first time since Oct. 29 (4-0 vs. Avalanche) and Nov. 1 (5-2 vs. Flyers). Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has skated 110.45 miles in 30 games this season to lead the NHL, according to NHL EDGE.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Calgary Flames (10 p.m. ET; SN360, CITY, SNW, BSSUN)
The Lightning (14-12-5) play the finale of a five-game road trip in which they are 2-2-0 so far. Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy is 4-1-0 with a 2.19 GAA, .930 save percentage and one shutout in five starts since being pulled after two periods in an 8-1 loss to the Stars on Dec. 2. That includes a 53-save performance in the 7-4 win against Edmonton on Thursday. The Flames (11-14-5) will look to end a 0-2-2 slide.
Florida Panthers at Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS2, BSFL)
Florida is 1-2-0 through the first three games of its five-game road trip. The Panthers will try to avoid being shut out in three consecutive games for the second time in their history. They didn’t score a goal in three consecutive losses to the Atlanta Thrashers (1-0), Montreal Canadiens (1-0, shootout) and Ottawa Senators (6-0) from Nov. 26-30, 2006. Edmonton wraps up a six-game homestand in which it scored at least four goals in each of the first five games (4-1-0).
Los Angeles Kings at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, KCAL)
The Kraken (10-14-7) scored 11 goals in winning their past two games against the Panthers (4-0) and Chicago Blackhawks (7-1) following an eight-game losing streak (0-6-2). Defenseman Vince Dunn needs two assists to become the first player to reach 100 with Seattle. The Kings (16-6-4) have lost three in a row (0-2-1) for the first time this season, including their last two on the road (0-1-1) after setting an NHL record by winning their first 11 road games.
