NHL On Tap: Crosby looks to hit 20-goal mark against Senators 

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 the 14 games Saturday.

Crosby goes for 20th goal of season

Sidney Crosby has scored 20 goals in a season 15 times in his 19-season NHL career, missing the mark only in 2011-12 (when he played 22 games), 2012-13 (36 games) and 2019-20 (the COVID-shortened season). With 19 goals this season, he has a chance to chance to reach the mark Saturday when the Pittsburgh Penguins (15-13-3) meet the Ottawa Senators (11-17-0) at Canadian Tire Centre (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN360, CITY, NHLN, SN-PIT). It’s a feat only 21 players in NHL history have achieved and would make him the second active player to do so, joining Alex Ovechkin (18 seasons). Crosby, who has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past four games, is also three points from tying Joe Thornton for 12th on the NHL’s all-time list. But Crosby will be up against the Senators in their first game at home since firing coach D.J. Smith and installing longtime coach Jacques Martin as his replacement, along with franchise great Daniel Alfredsson as an assistant. The Senators have lost their first two games of the new regime, but you can bet that Martin and Alfredsson will get a warm welcome in their returns to the Ottawa bench. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Vegas, Florida meet in Cup Final rematch

The Vegas Golden Knights visit the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena (3 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSFL, SN) for their first game against each other since Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final. Vegas won that best-of-7 series to capture its first championship in its sixth season. Forward Jonathan Marchessault won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after tying for the NHL lead in goals (13) and finishing second in points (25) in the postseason, including eight points (four points, four assists) in the Cup Final. It was a disappointing end for the Panthers in their second trip to the Cup Final and first since 1996, but still a memorable run. Neither team is showing any signs of a hangover; the Golden Knights (21-8-5) are tied for first in the Pacific Division, and the Panthers (18-12-2) are tied for second in the Atlantic Division. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

MacKinnon gone streaking

Nathan MacKinnon can extend his point streak to 18 games when the Colorado Avalanche (20-11-2) host the Arizona Coyotes (17-13-2) at Ball Arena (9 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, ALT2). MacKinnon extended his streak to 17 games Thursday with four goals and an assist in a 6-4 win against the Senators. It was MacKinnon’s first four-goal game in his NHL career and gave him 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) on the longest point streak of his career. MacKinnon has 53 points (18 goals, 35 assists) in 33 games and is four points behind Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov (23 goals, 34 assists) for the lead in the NHL scoring race. The Avalanche are 4-2-0 in their past six games. Clayton Keller has five points (three goals, two assists) on a three-game point streak for the Coyotes. He leads Arizona with 30 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 32 games. The Coyotes extended their winning streak to four games with a 5-2 victory at the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Saturday games

Dallas Stars at Nashville Predators (2 p.m. ET; BSSO, BSSW, NHLN)

Stars forward Matt Duchene, who played 249 games for the Predators over the past four seasons before having his contract bought out, returns to Nashville for the first time. The Predators (19-14-0) lead the NHL with 28 points (14-4-0) since Nov. 18. Filip Forsberg has 20 points (nine goals, 11 assists) for Nashville during that span, including four game-winning goals, three in overtime. The Stars (19-8-4) have points in five straight games (4-0-1) and are 3-0-1 since No. 1 goalie Jake Oettinger sustained a lower-body injury in the first period of a 5-4 win against the Senators on Dec. 15. Since replacing Oettinger, Scott Wedgewood is 3-0-1 with a 3.02 goals-against average and .899 save percentage.

Vegas Golden Knights at Florida Panthers (3 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSFL, SN)

Jack Eichel will look to extend his Golden Knights-record 12-game point streak, during which he has 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists). Vegas lost the first two games of its four-game road trip. Florida has lost four of its past five games (1-4-0), scoring two total goals in the four defeats.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, SN, CBC)

Toronto center Auston Matthews has 10 goals during a six-game goal streak. In that span, he has 13 points. Forward William Nylander has a 10-game point streak (three goals, 12 assists) for the Maple Leafs (16-8-6). Columbus forward Yegor Chinakhov has six goals in his past six games and has a six-game point streak (six goals, four assists). The Blue Jackets (11-17-6), who are averaging 3.15 goals per game (tied for 15th) have scored 20 goals in their past four games but went 1-1-2 in that stretch.

Boston Bruins at Minnesota Wild (7 p.m. ET; BSWI, BSN, NESN)

The Bruins (19-6-6) have lost three straight games (0-1-2) and five of seven (2-2-3). David Pastrnak has 106 points (55 goals, 51 assists) since Jan. 1 and needs one point to surpass his highest total in a calendar year. He also had 106 in 2022. The Wild (14-13-4) defeated the Bruins 4-3 in overtime Tuesday at TD Garden and then topped the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 in overtime on Thursday. Kirill Kaprizov scored the overtime winner in each game. The Wild have gone past regulation in four of their past five games (4-1-0), winning twice in the shootout.

Detroit Red Wings at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSDET)

Patrick Kane had two goals and assist before scoring the deciding goal in the shootout for the Red Wings (16-13-4) against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. Detroit had lost four in a row and were 1-6-1 before Friday. The Devils (16-13-2) are 0-2-1 in their past three games. Center Jack Hughes is one assist shy of joining Kirk Muller as the second Devils/Kansas City Scouts/Colorado Rockies player to get 60 assists in a calendar year. Hughes has 59 assists in 68 games this year (along with 37 goals). Muller had 23 goals and 61 assists in 1990.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN360, CITY, NHLN, SN-PIT)

The Penguins have won three of five games. Crosby scored the opening goal in the Penguins 2-1 shootout loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday, which saw him pass Maurice Richard (109) and tie Mark Messier for the ninth-most game-opening goals in NHL history with 110. The Senators have lost six straight games. In a loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday, Ottawa scored twice in a span of 15 seconds, the first time they have done so since scoring twice in nine seconds on Feb. 7, 2022.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, BSSUN)

The Lightning (16-13-5) have won three of their past four games. Forward Brayden Point got his 500th career point on Thursday against the Golden Knights. He has eight points (four goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak and has 501 points (234 goals, 267 assists) in 533 NHL games. Alex Ovechkin scored on Thursday, ending a 14-game goal drought, the longest of his career. He hadn't scored since Nov. 18. The Capitals (17-9-4) have won three straight games.

New York Islanders at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN2, BSSO)

The Hurricanes (17-12-4) have points in six consecutive games (3-0-3) following a four-game losing streak. In his past five starts, Carolina goalie Pyotr Kochetkov is 3-0-2 with a 1.36 goals-against average and .949 save percentage. The Islanders (15-8-9) have points in 10 of their past 11 games (7-1-3). New York’s Noah Dobson is third in the NHL among defensemen with 33 points (five goals, 28 assists) in 32 games and third in the League among all skaters in averaging 25:41 of ice time.

Buffalo Sabres at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, MSG)

The Sabres (14-17-3) had lost three of four games before putting up nine goals against the Blue Jackets on Thursday after getting Jeff Skinner back from injury. Skinner had two goals and an assist. Buffalo scored nine after allowing nine goals their previous game, the first time that had happened since the Red Wings did it on Dec. 21 and 23, 1983. The Rangers (22-8-1) had won three in a row before a 4-3 loss to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday. New York has a streak of power play goals in six games, having scored at least once on the power play in 11 of its past 13 games.

Seattle Kraken at Anaheim Ducks (8 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, BSSD, BSSC)

The Kraken (11-14-9) have a five-game point streak (3-0-2). Defenseman Vince Dunn is one assist from becoming the first player to reach 100 regular season assists for the Kraken. It would be the third time in NHL history a defenseman reached the mark first, after Eddie Shore with the Bruins and Denis Potvin with the Islanders. Rookie Leo Carlsson, the No. 2 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft by the Ducks (12-20-0), left their game Thursday at 9:24 of the third period when Flames defenseman MacKenzie Weegar fell on his leg. There is no word yet on his status.

Chicago Blackhawks at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, NBCSCH+)

Connor Bedard has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in his past six games for the Blackhawks (10-21-1) and leads rookie scoring with 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 32 games. He had an assist in a 5-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Friday. Jordan Kyrou has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past four games for the Blues (16-15-1). He had a goal and assist in a 4-1 win at Florida on Thursday.

Arizona Coyotes at Colorado Avalanche (9 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, ALT2)

Alex Kerfoot has five points (one goal, four assists) on a three-game point streak for the Coyotes (17-13-2), who can extend their winning streak to five games, which would matching a season high. Kerfoot had a goal and two assists in a 5-2 win at the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. MacKinnon can extend his point streak to an NHL-high 18 games. He has 33 points (12 goals, 21 assists) on his 17-game streak for Colorado (20-11-2). Toronto Maple Leafs forward William Nylander had 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) on a 17-game point streak from the start of the season.

Calgary Flames at Los Angeles Kings (10 p.m. ET; BSW, SNW, CBC)

Nazem Kadri has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past nine games for the Flames (14-14-5) who are on a three-game winning streak and have points in their past five games (3-0-2). Igor Sharangovich has nine points (six goals, three assists) in his past eight games for Calgary. Kevin Fiala has nine assists in his past eight games for the Kings (18-7-4), but has not scored in 11 games. The Kings lost 2-1 to the Kraken on Wednesday. Los Angeles is 2-3-1 in its past six games.

San Jose Sharks at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CITY, SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSCA)

The Canucks (22-9-3) are 6-0-2 in their past eight games. They have not lost in regulation since a 6-5 defeat at home to the Devils on Dec. 5. Vancouver forward Brock Boeser has 16 points (11 goals, five assists) in his past 13 games. San Jose (9-21-3) has lost four straight and is coming off a 5-2 loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday.