NHL On Tap: Golden Knights try again for first win with Eichel

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 eight games Sunday.

Golden Knights try again for first win with Eichel

Jack Eichel will continue to shake off the rust when the Vegas Golden Knights visit the San Jose Sharks on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). Vegas lost its first two games with Eichel, who hadn't played in the NHL since March 7, 2021 with the Buffalo Sabres before debuting with the Golden Knights in a 2-0 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. The center, who was acquired in a trade with Buffalo on Nov. 4 and had artificial disk replacement surgery Nov. 12, scored his first point with Vegas, assisting on a goal scored by Max Pacioretty, in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Friday. Vegas (28-18-4) has lost three in a row (0-2-1). San Jose (22-21-5) has lost five straight games (0-2-3). -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Oilers go for sixth straight win under Woodcroft

You never know how a team is going to react to a coaching change during the season. So far, so good for the Edmonton Oilers, who have won five in a row since Jay Woodcroft was named coach after Dave Tippett was fired Feb. 10. The Oilers will go for six in a row when they host the Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; SN360, SN1, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). With their surge, the Oilers (28-18-3) are third in the Pacific Division, one point behind the second-place Golden Knights and five points behind the first-place Calgary Flames. They've regained their confidence and swagger. Now let's see if the Oilers can keep building on the momentum against the Wild (30-13-3), who are third in the Central Division and have lost two straight. -- Tracey Myers

Foundation developing in Buffalo

Though the Buffalo Sabres remain under construction, there are signs they will be poised to play a spoiler's role down the stretch and eventually enjoy long-term success. The Sabres (16-26-8) visit the Columbus Blue Jackets (6 p.m. ET; BSOH, MSG-B, ESPN+, NHL LIVE) and have apparently found their top line with Jeff Skinner, Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch each producing more than one point per game since Jan. 17. Thompson scored his first NHL hat trick in a 5-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday and has NHL career-highs in goals (19), assists (18) and points (37) in 46 games. Skinner has scored 20 goals for the first time since an NHL career-best 40 for Buffalo in 2018-19 and Tuch has scored 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 18 games since he and Peyton Krebs were acquired in the trade that sent Eichel to the Golden Knights. Forward Patrik Laine has scored 16 points (10 goals, six assists) in an eight-game point streak, including six multipoint games, for the Blue Jackets (24-23-1). -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Sunday games

Carolina Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins (1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, TVAS, ATTSN-PT, BSSO, NHL LIVE)
Carolina and Pittsburgh are tied for first in the Metropolitan Division and meet for the first time this season. Sebastian Aho has scored 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in his past 14 games since Jan. 15 for the Hurricanes (33-11-4). Carolina center Derek Stepan is one point from 500 in the NHL and forward Nino Niederreiter will play his 700th NHL game. Evgeni Malkin has scored 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 15 games for the Penguins (31-12-8). The center made his season debut Jan. 11 after recovering from knee surgery June 4.
Montreal Canadiens at New York Islanders (2 p.m. ET; MSG+, TSN2, RDS, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Goalie Andrew Hammond will start for the Canadiens (9-33-7), his first in the NHL since March 28, 2018, when he made 31 saves for the Colorado Avalanche in a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Islanders (18-20-6) have allowed the first goal in 10 of their past 11 games and could be without forwards Josh Bailey and Oliver Wahlstrom, each day to day with an upper-body injury.
Florida Panthers at Chicago Blackhawks (3 p.m. ET; SN1, SN (JIP), NBCSCH, BSFL, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Panthers (34-10-5) end a three-game road trip after a 3-2 win at the Hurricanes on Wednesday and a 6-2 victory at the Minnesota Wild on Friday. They're 6-2-0 away from FLA Live Arena since Jan. 20 while averaging 4.25 goals per game. The Blackhawks (18-25-8) are 2-5-1 in their past eight after a 1-0 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars on Friday.
New York Rangers at Ottawa Senators 5 p.m. ET; (TVAS, TSN5, MSG, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Rangers (31-13-5) have scored 12 power play goals in their past 11 games and are 20-4-4 when they score with the man-advantage. Center Mika Zibanejad has points in five of his past six games (four goals, four assists) and 13 of his past 15 (eight goals, 12 assists). The Senators (18-25-5) play the second of a back to back at Canadian Tire Centre after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. They've lost four straight at home (0-3-1).
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets (6 p.m. ET; BSOH, MSG-B, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
It's the third and final meeting between the teams this season. Columbus won 7-4 on Nov. 22 and 4-3 in overtime on Feb. 10. Blue Jackets forward Jack Roslovic has scored four points (three goals, one assist) in the season series. Columbus will start goalie J-F Berube and be without goalies Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo, each out with a lower-body injury. Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is out and being evaluated for a lower-body injury. Coach Don Granato said he doesn't expect it to be long term.
Dallas Stars at Arizona Coyotes (7 p.m. ET; BSAZ+, BSSW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Joe Pavelski has scored 17 points (six goals, 11 assists) in his past 14 games for the Stars (27-19-2). The Coyotes (12-33-4) have lost the first two games of an eight-game homestand after a 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. They acquired forward
Nick Ritchie
from the Toronto Maple Leafs for forward Ryan Dzingel and defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin on Saturday. Phil Kessel is three goals from becoming the 11th United States-born player to score 400 in the NHL.
Vegas Golden Knights at San Jose Sharks (8 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Vegas forward Max Pacioretty ended an 11-game goal drought Friday. He has five multigoal games this season and four goals in his other 18 games. Timo Meier scored three points (two goals, one assist) in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, his first after going without one in his previous four games. He leads the Sharks with 50 points (23 goals, 27 assists) in 43 games.
Minnesota Wild at Edmonton Oilers (8 p.m. ET; SN360, SN1, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Wild have allowed six goals in each of their past two games, losses to the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday and Florida Panthers on Friday. Oilers forward Connor McDavid, who leads the NHL in scoring with 71 points (26 goals, 45 assists) in 48 games, has a six-game point streak (three goals, eight assists).