NHL On Tap: Oilers, Stars meet with potential for plenty of offense
Panthers, Lightning put streaks on line; Devils face Metropolitan rival Flyers in Stadium Series
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Stars, Oilers provide plenty of dazzle
Need an afternoon pick-me-up? If so, the Dallas Stars and Edmonton Oilers should provide plenty of excitement, and possibly offense, when they play at Dallas on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN). Sure, the Oilers (31-18-1) have cooled recently, losing three of their past five. But they won 16 in a row prior to that, so they’re fine -- third in the Pacific Division, five points behind the second-place Vegas Golden Knights. The Stars (34-14-6), meanwhile, have won three in a row and are 8-1-1 in their past 10 games. They’re first in the Central Division, four points ahead of the second-place Colorado Avalanche. Both teams have sizzled on offense this season. The Stars lead the NHL with an average of 3.76 goals per game, and the Oilers are fourth with 3.50 per game. A high-scoring affair between these two? Don’t be surprised if it happens. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer
Panthers, Lightning in a clash of winning streaks
The road has been kind to the Florida Panthers of late. On Thursday, the Panthers (35-15-4) extended their franchise-record road winning streak to 10 games with a 4-0 victory at the Buffalo Sabres, and they’ll have a chance to make it 11 on Saturday against their cross-state rivals, visiting the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena (5 p.m. ET; BSSUN, BSFL). The Panthers’ run, combined with a downturn from the Boston Bruins, has resulted in them taking over the top spot in the Atlantic Division. But it won’t be quite that easy for the Panthers. Tampa Bay (30-20-5) has eight straight wins at home, ensuring that one of the two streaks will have to give Saturday. If the Lightning prevail, they will have the NHL’s longest home winning streak this season; the Oilers have had two eight-game runs, from Nov. 13-Dec. 12 and Jan. 2 to the present. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
High stakes in Devils-Flyers Stadium Series game
Jack Hughes laid it out in his post-practice press conference Friday when discussing the importance of the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series game between the New Jersey Devils and Philadelphia Flyers at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS-D, SN1). "It's a four-point game against a division rival," said Hughes, the Devils center. "We get this one it's a big win. No matter if it's played in front of zero people, 60,000, wherever it's played, this is an important game and we need to be a really focused group." It'll be played in front of the biggest crowd in the NHL this season. The League expects about 140,000 people to witness outdoor hockey at MetLife Stadium between the game Saturday and the one between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders on Sunday. But Hughes is right about the meaning of the game between New Jersey (27-22-4) and Philadelphia (29-19-7), and the impact it could have. The Devils are fourth in the Metropolitan Division, seven points behind the third-place Flyers with two games in hand. They are two points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. A win would be, as Hughes said, big. It would be for the Flyers, too, as they try to solidify their playoff position in advance of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8. The event is huge, and the stakes are high. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer
Flyers take on Devils in Stadium Series matchup
Saturday games
Los Angeles Kings at Boston Bruins (12:30 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SNP, SNO, SNE, SN1, TVAS)
The Kings (25-16-10) have started to turn things around, going 3-1-1 in their past five games. Center Anze Kopitar has 200 road goals, the third player in Kings history to reach the mark, along with Marcel Dionne (262) and Luc Robitaille (235). The Bruins (32-12-10) have struggled since the NHL All-Star break, going 1-3-1. Forward David Pastrnak scored the game-opening goal for Boston on Thursday in a 4-1 loss to the Seattle Kraken, the ninth time he has done so this season, tops in the NHL.
Edmonton Oilers at Dallas Stars (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN)
Oilers center Connor McDavid has nine assists in his past two games and 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in his past eight. Evan Bouchard has 48 points (12 goals, 36 assists) in 50 games this season, most by an Oilers defenseman in that many games since Paul Coffey (57 in 50 games in 1986-87). The Stars defeated the Nashville Predators 9-2 on Thursday, the fourth time this season they’ve scored eight or more goals in a game. Dallas forward Tyler Seguin has 20 goals and reached the mark for the ninth time, fourth-most in Stars/Minnesota North Stars history, behind Mike Modano (16), Brian Bellows (10) and Jamie Benn (10).
Ottawa Senators at Chicago Blackhawks (3 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, TSN5, TVAS)
This is Connor Bedard’s second game back for the Blackhawks (14-37-3) since the center fractured his jaw against the New Jersey Devils on Jan. 5. Bedard had an assist in a 4-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. The Senators (22-26-2) had won four straight games prior to their 5-1 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. Forward Claude Giroux scored Thursday and has 47 points (18 goals, 29 assists) in 50 games, tied for the Ottawa lead with center Tim Stutzle (11 goals, 36 assists).
Detroit Red Wings at Calgary Flames (4 p.m. ET; SN1, BSDET)
The Red Wings (27-20-6) have lost three of their past four games. Forward Robby Fabbri, who missed the past two games after the birth of his first child, is expected to rejoin Detroit for this game. The Flames (25-24-5) have lost two in a row. Calgary center Jonathan Huberdeau has 700 NHL points (221 goals, 479 assists) in 803 games and is the third player from the 2011 NHL Draft class to score that many (Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov, 822; Columbus Blue Jackets forward Johnny Gaudreau, 718).
Buffalo Sabres at Minnesota Wild (5 p.m. ET; BSWI, BSN, MSG-B)
The Sabres (23-26-4) have lost three of their past four games. Coach Don Granato said goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, scratched with a lower-body injury Thursday, will be ready to play against the Wild. Minnesota (25-23-5) has won four in a row. Left wing Kirill Kaprizov has 50 points (20 goals, 30 assists) in 46 games and is the first player in Wild history with four consecutive 50-point seasons.
Nashville Predators at St. Louis Blues (5 p.m. ET; BSSO, BSMW)
The Predators (27-25-2) have lost five of their past six games (1-4-1). The Blues (29-22-2) are 16-8-1 since Drew Bannister became interim coach Dec. 14 and have won eight of 10 games, including a 6-3 victory against the Oilers on Thursday.
Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning (5 p.m. ET; BSSUN, BSFL)
Center Aleksander Barkov has the most 40-assist seasons in Panthers history (six), having passed Huberdeau on Thursday. Kucherov had three more points (two goals, one assist) on Thursday in a 6-3 win against the Colorado Avalanche to give him 93 (36 goals, 57 assists) and extend his lead in the NHL scoring race on Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (89). Kucherov’s home multipoint game streak is at six games (16 points; three goals, 13 assists), matching Tampa Bay forward Steven Stamkos for the longest in franchise history.
Washington Capitals at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, CITY, SNE, MNMT)
Forward Alex Ovechkin has a six-game goal streak (six goals) for the Capitals (23-21-8), who are 1-6-2 in their past nine. The streak is his fifth of that length in his NHL career and his first since Dec. 4-15, 2018. Ovechkin also has nine points (six goals, three assists) in a seven-game point streak. Forward Juraj Slafkovsky has a seven-game point streak (11 points; six goals, five assists) for the Canadiens (22-24-8), who have lost three of four.
Anaheim Ducks at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, SNW, SNP, BSSC, BSSD)
Forward Frank Vatrano has tied his NHL career high with 41 points (23 goals, 18 assists) this season in 53 games for the Ducks (19-32-2). He set his career high last season in 81 games. Anaheim goalie John Gibson left the game Thursday after the second period with an upper-body injury. Center Auston Matthews is coming off his fifth hat trick of the season for the Maple Leafs (28-16-8) on Thursday in a 4-3 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers, tying Darryl Sittler (1980-81), Babe Dye (1924-25) and Reg Noble (1917-18) for the most in a season in franchise history. Toronto is 6-2-0 in its past eight games. Maple Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly will serve the third of his five-game suspension for cross-checking Senators forward Ridly Greig last Saturday.
Philadelphia Flyers at New Jersey Devils (MetLife Stadium; 8 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS-D, SN1)
The Devils had won two straight before having a three-game point streak end in a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. That night, the Flyers extended their point streak to five games but had a four-game winning streak end in the overtime loss to the Maple Leafs. The Devils will be playing their second outdoor game. They lost 7-3 to the New York Rangers at Yankee Stadium in the 2014 Stadium Series. The Flyers will be playing their sixth outdoor game, tying the Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins for the most in the NHL. They are 1-3-1.
Winnipeg Jets at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY)
The Jets (32-14-5) have won two in a row after losing their previous five but have scored four goals in four games since the All-Star break. The Canucks (37-12-6) have reached the 80-point mark in 55 games this season, one fewer than in 2010-11, when they made it to the Stanley Cup Final. Vancouver has won three straight and is 13-1-3 in its past 17. Forward Dakota Joshua will miss a second straight game after sustaining an upper-body injury Tuesday against the Blackhawks. He is week to week.
Columbus Blue Jackets at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET; BSOH, NBCSCA)
The Blue Jackets (16-26-10) have lost four of their past five games. Columbus forward Dmitri Voronkov has 13 goals this season, third among NHL rookies behind Bedard (15) and Minnesota forward Marco Rossi (14). The Sharks (15-33-5) have won five of their past eight games and are 17-for-17 on the penalty kill in their past six.
Carolina Hurricanes at Vegas Golden Knights (10:30 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSSO)
The Hurricanes (31-17-5) have won six of eight, including a 5-1 victory at the Arizona Coyotes on Friday. The Golden Knights (31-16-6) have not played since a 5-3 loss to the Wild at home Monday. Forward Mark Stone had a goal in that game to extend his home point streak to 11 games (16 points; four goals, 12 assists).
