NHL On Tap: Fleury expected to play 900th NHL game, try for 500th win

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 10 games Tuesday.

Fleury goes for 500th win, faces surging Rangers

Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to play his 900th game in the NHL when the Chicago Blackhawks (9-13-2) host the New York Rangers (8:30 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSCH, MSG 2, ESPN+, NHL LIVE) and try to become the third goalie to win 500 (Martin Brodeur, 691; Patrick Roy, 551). Fleury has won his past two starts, including a 3-2 shootout win against the New York Islanders on Sunday, and is 7-9-0 with a 2.82 goals-against average and .913 save percentage in his first season with the Blackhawks. The Rangers (16-4-3) arrive in Chicago on a season-high six-game winning streak and 10-1-0 since Nov. 8, and at this rate are putting points in the bank they hope to cash in with their first appearance in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series since 2017. Goalie Alexandar Georgiev will start for New York and has made 34 saves on 36 shots since relieving Igor Shesterkin (lower body) on Dec. 3. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Lightning, Canadiens play Stanley Cup Final rematch

Atlantic Division teams separated by 19 points will play one another for the first time since the 2021 Stanley Cup Final when the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET, TSN2, RDS, BSSUN, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). Tampa Bay defeated Montreal in five games in the best-of-7 Final and is 15-5-4 to start this season, third in the eight-team division and 2-0-0 on a five-game road trip. The Canadiens (6-17-3) are tied with the Ottawa Senators for seventh, 0-2-1 since firing general manager Marc Bergevin on Nov. 27 and will be without forward Tyler Toffoli (upper body) for several weeks. -- Dave Stubbs, columnist

Red Wings finding their way

There have been some trying seasons for the Detroit Red Wings (13-9-3) during their rebuild, but things seem to be coming together this season. They're on a five-game winning streak entering their home game against the Nashville Predators (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, NHL LIVE). Detroit's rookies have looked good. Forward Lucas Raymond leads all first-year players with 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists); Moritz Seider leads rookie defensemen with 17 points (three goals, 14 assists); and goalie Alex Nedeljkovic is 8-3-3 with a 2.60 GAA and .920 save percentage in 16 games (14 starts). Things are looking up for the Red Wings in Motown, where the Predators (13-10-1) begin a four-game road trip Tuesday. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Tuesday schedule

Columbus Blue Jackets at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, BSOH, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Blue Jackets (13-10-0) play six of their next seven games on the road, where they are 4-7-0 this season. Auston Matthews has scored eight goals in a six-game goal streak for the Maple Leafs (17-7-2), who begin a three-game homestand.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, BSSUN, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Lightning are 7-2-2 on the road, where they have scored 3.55 goals per game, tied with the Vegas Golden Knights for first in the NHL. The Canadiens are 1-4-1 in their past six.
New York Islanders at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, MSG+, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Islanders (5-10-5) are 0-8-3 since defeating the Winnipeg Jets 2-0 on Nov. 6. The Senators (7-15-1) have won three straight and play the second of a back to back after a 3-2 shootout win against the New Jersey Devils on Monday.
Nashville Predators at Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, NHL LIVE)
Predators forward Filip Forsberg has scored 10 points (eight goals, two assists) in his past seven games. Red Wings forward Pius Suter has a five-game point streak (one goal, four assists).
Anaheim Ducks at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, NHL LIVE)
Forward Trevor Zegras has seven assists in a three-game point streak for the Ducks (13-8-5), who are playing the second of a back to back after a 4-3 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals on Monday. The Sabres (8-13-3) have lost four in a row (0-3-1), their past three by a combined score of 20-10.
Florida Panthers at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, BSFL, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Florida and St. Louis complete a home-and-home set. Ville Husso could make his third straight start for the Blues (12-8-4) coming off an NHL career-high 48 saves in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Panthers (17-4-3) on Saturday. Sam Reinhart has scored a goal in three straight games for Florida and teammate Jonathan Huberdeau has scored nine points (one goal, eight assists) in a three-game point streak.
Carolina Hurricanes at Winnipeg Jets (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Sebastian Aho has eight multipoint games this season to lead the Hurricanes (16-6-1), who ended a season-high three-game losing streak with a 6-2 win against the Sabres on Saturday. The Jets (12-8-4) seek their third straight win. Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor is tied for sixth in the NHL with 15 goals and tied for ninth with 27 points, including team highs of nine goals and 14 points on home ice.
New York Rangers at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, NBCSCH, MSG 2, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Rangers forward Artemi Panarin scored three points (one goal, two assists) in a 3-2 win against the Blackhawks on Saturday and has scored at least three points in 51 NHL games, third behind Connor McDavid (78) and Leon Draisaitl (57) of the Edmonton Oilers since Panarin's NHL debut in 2015-16. The Blackhawks are 8-4-0 since Derek King replaced Jeremy Colliton as coach Nov. 6.
Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET; SNW, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Forward Kirill Kaprizov has scored 11 points (four goals, seven assists) in a five-game point streak for the Western Conference-leading Wild (17-6-1), who have won six straight. The Oilers (16-7-0) have lost two in a row for the first time this season.
Calgary Flames at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET; SN1, NBCSCA, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Flames (15-5-5) are 2-1-0 on a four-game road trip that ends at San Jose, where the Sharks (13-11-1) begin a seven-game homestand. Calgary forward Johnny Gaudreau has been kept off the score sheet once in his past 10 games, scoring 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in that span.