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 five games Wednesday.
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Matthews goes for 50th goal in Arizona
Auston Matthews returns to his home state with a chance to become the fastest United States-born player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Arizona Coyotes at Mullett Arena (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SNO). Matthews has 49 goals in 53 games, and the 26-year-old forward could surpass the current record for a U.S.-born player of 50 goals in 62 games, set by Kevin Stevens (Pittsburgh Penguins, 1992-93), which he matched in 2021-22 when he finished with an NHL career-high 60 goals. It would be the second time Matthews scored at least 50 goals in his first eight NHL seasons. He has seven goals in his past three games, including hat tricks against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday and the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday. He set a Maple Leafs record with six hat tricks this season and is four shy of the single-season NHL record of 10 by Wayne Gretzky in 1981-82 and 1983-84. Toronto (30-16-8) is going for its fifth straight victory, which would be its longest winning streak this season. Arizona (23-28-4) has lost 10 in a row (0-9-1), including its past five in regulation. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer
Flyers moving on to Chicago
It was not long after Philadelphia lost 6-3 to the New Jersey Devils in the 2024 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium on Saturday that coach John Tortorella was talking about playing the Chicago Blackhawks. Tortorella was ready to "move by it," speaking about the outdoor game loss to New Jersey, and "we think of Chicago." Well, the Flyers (29-20-7) are there to play the Blackhawks (15-38-3) at United Center (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT), and we'll see how quickly they have moved on from Saturday. It shouldn't be a hard thing to overcome. They know what went wrong and why, how to fix it, too, but Tortorella also talked about being scared of this game against Chicago. He didn't elaborate other than to say, "That's the next game," but the last thing the Flyers want or need is to cough up a chance to secure two important points against a team that is last in the NHL standings. There's pressure on Philadelphia to respond with not only a win against Chicago, but by playing the type of hard, grinding, difficult on the opponent game it has consistently played this season. The Flyers can't have that loss in the outdoor game have a lasting effect. This one at United Center is important to them for many reasons. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer
Oilers, McDavid look to extend streaks
Kris Knoblauch talked about the Edmonton Oilers getting on a roll after their 6-3 win at Arizona on Monday. “Good teams are able to put together long [winning] streaks, and good teams also don’t put long losing streaks together,” the Oilers coach said. Edmonton (33-18-1) looks for its third straight win when it hosts the Boston Bruins at Rogers Place (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, SNE, SNW, SNP, TNT, MAX). Connor McDavid has a 19-game home point streak (12 goals, 34 assists), the second-longest active run behind Colorado Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon’s 27 (22 goals, 34 assists), and can become the sixth player in NHL history to have multiple 20-game home point streaks. Leon Draisaitl has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a four-game point streak for the Oilers, including a goal and two assists Monday. Boston (33-12-11) begins a four-game road trip after going 2-3-2 on a seven-game homestand, which concluded with a 4-3 shootout win against the Dallas Stars on Monday that ended a four-game skid (0-2-2). David Pastrnak scored, giving him five points (two goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. Charlie McAvoy had two assists to extend his point streak to four games (one goal, four assists). -- William Douglas, staff writer
Wednesday games
Buffalo Sabres at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; RDS, SN, MSG-B)
Nick Suzuki has an NHL career-best 10-game point streak (16 points; eight goals, eight assists) for the Canadiens (22-25-8), who’ve lost two in a row and eight of 11 (3-7-1) after a 4-3 defeat to the Washington Capitals on Saturday. Jordan Greenway has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past four games for the Sabres (24-27-4), including a goal in a 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks on Monday.
Philadelphia Flyers at Chicago Blackhawks (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT)
Blackhawks rookie forward Connor Bedard has six points (two goals, four assists) in three games since returning from his jaw injury. Flyers forward Owen Tippett, who scored twice in the Stadium Series game, has points in three straight games (three goals, one assist) and 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in his past 13. Forward Travis Konecny has points in six consecutive games (four goals, seven assists) for Philadelphia, including three straight multipoint games.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; BSSD, BSOH, BSSC)
Frank Vatrano has a three-game goal streak for the Ducks (20-33-2), including two in a 4-3 win against the Sabres on Monday. The Blue Jackets (17-27-10) play the second of back-to-back games after a 5-1 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. They have lost three of four since the All-Star break and their bye week.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Arizona Coyotes (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SNO)
Matthews has 25 points (16 goals, nine assists) in his past 13 games, including at least one point in 12 of them. Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner has 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) during a seven-game point streak, including 10 assists in his past four. Coyotes forward Logan Cooley is tied for third in the NHL among rookies with 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in 55 games.
Boston Bruins at Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, SNE, SNW, SNP, TNT, MAX)
McDavid has 12 assists in his past four games for the Oilers but hasn’t scored in his past six. The Bruins seek their fourth straight road win since a 4-3 overtime victory at the St. Louis Blues on Jan. 13. Pastrnak needs three points to become the 10th player in Bruins history to reach 700 points.
