NHL On Tap: Lightning, Panthers resume Battle of Florida

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 six games Monday.

Battle of Florida back in business

The fun and games of the
2023 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend
in South Florida are complete and now it's back to business. The Battle of Florida resumes when the Tampa Bay Lightning visit the Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, BSFL, BSSUN, ESPN+). The Lightning (32-15-1) have won three straight and eight of 10, so they look to keep rolling out of the break. The Panthers, however, will need to come out of the chute with some urgency. Though they won their final game before the All-Star break, 4-3 in overtime against the Boston Bruins on Jan. 28, the Panthers (24-22-6) are 1-2-1 in their past four, fifth in the Atlantic Division and 11th in the Eastern Conference. They've struggled all season, never winning more than two games in a row. That must change if they're going to make a push for the Stanley Cup Playoffs over the next two months, so what better way to start a run than against Tampa Bay? The Panthers' chief rivals are third in the Atlantic and have their sights set on the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs, whom they trail by five points but with four games in hand, and not looking behind them at the Panthers. But no matter if the teams are up or down, the Battle of Florida tends to bring out the best in each team. -- Jim Cerny, managing editor

Horvat's new beginning

The New York Islanders needed a shakeup and got one ahead of the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline on March 3. They acquired Bo Horvat from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 30 for forwards Anthony Beauvillier and
Aatu Raty
and a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and
agreed to an eight-year contract
with the 27-year-old forward Sunday. The former Canucks captain debuts for New York at the Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, MSGSN2, ESPN+, SN NOW) having the best offensive season of his NHL career (31 goals, 11 power-play goals and 54 points). The hope is Horvat will spark an offense that's scored 22 goals since a 6-2 win at Vancouver on Jan. 3, an average of 1.69 per game that's last in the NHL during that span. The Islanders (25-22-6) scored no more than three goals in 12 of the 13 games (3-7-3) and ranks 31st (15.5 percent) on a power play that's 0-for-25 in its past 10 and 3-for-64 in its past 23. They're sixth in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. Four points behind them are the Flyers (21-21-9), who return from the NHL All-Star break 15-0-1 when leading after two periods. A big game with potential postseason implications and time running short. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Heavy lifting ahead for Flames

The Calgary Flames (24-17-9), tied with the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild card from the Western Conference with Colorado holding two games in hand, have some heavy lifting to do in the second half. That begins with a date at the New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. ET; SNE, SNW, MSG, ESPN+, SN NOW). Nazem Kadri heads north from All-Star Weekend as the Flames' leading scorer, his 19 goals one better than Tyler Toffoli, his 38 points trailing the latter's 42 and Elias Lindholm's team-leading 45. The Rangers (27-14-8) are third in the Metropolitan Division and formidable at Madison Square Garden, having won nine of their past 12 at home. Their penalty kill has been strong of late, 14-for-15 in their past five games. Chris Kreider scored his 20th goal of the season in a 4-1 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Jan. 27, his eighth with at least 20 on Broadway. He's in elite company in Rangers history, joining Rod Gilbert (12 times), Jean Ratelle (nine), and Adam Graves, Andy Bathgate and Camille Henry (eight each). -- Dave Stubbs, columnist

Monday games

New York Islanders at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, MSGSN2, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Horvat had an NHL career-high four assists in his final game with the Canucks, a 5-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Jan. 27. The Islanders are 9-2-0 in their past 11 games against the Flyers and winners of consecutive games for the first time since Dec. 27-29. Philadelphia rookie forward Noah Cates has five points (three goals, two assists) in five games since Jan. 21 and six multipoint games this season.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, BSFL, BSSUN, ESPN+, SN NOW)
This is the third of four games in the season series; the Lightning won the first two, 3-2 in overtime on the road Oct. 21 and 4-1 at home Dec. 10. Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos has an 11-game point streak (seven goals, eight assists) and teammate Nikita Kucherov has points in six straight (two goals, eight assists). Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk was named MVP of the 2023 Honda NHL All-Star Game in Sunrise, Florida. He had a combined seven points for the Atlantic Division and is the 10th player to claim All-Star MVP honors in his home venue and first since Ryan Johansen represented the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2015.
Calgary Flames at New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. ET; SNE, SNW, MSG, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Flames defenseman Chris Tanev returns after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The Rangers are 16-4-3 since Dec. 5, a .761 points percentage second in the NHL behind the Carolina Hurricanes (.827).
Vancouver Canucks at New Jersey Devils (7:30 p.m. ET; SNO, SNP, MSGSN, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes and his brother, Devils center Jack Hughes, go head-to-head for the sixth time in the NHL. Quinn's 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) are tied for the fourth most at his position since Jan. 1. Jack is on an eight-game point streak (seven goals, eight assists) with multiple points in each of his past four since Jan. 22 (four goals, four assists). His 13 goals and 23 points are tied with Matthew Tkachuk and Boston Bruins forward David Pastrnak for most in the NHL since Jan. 1. Vancouver (20-26-3) is sixth in the Pacific Division. Goalie Vitek Vanecek has won nine consecutive games for the Devils (32-13-4), tied with Martin Brodeur (at least nine in a row six times) for the longest in New Jersey/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history.
Anaheim Ducks at Dallas Stars (8:30 p.m. ET; BSSWX, BSW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Ducks (16-29-5) have won three in a row for the first time this season. Forward Trevor Zegras has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his past eight games. Captain Jamie Benn will play his 1,000th NHL game for the Stars (28-13-10) and become the second skater in Dallas/Minnesota North Stars history to reach the milestone (Mike Modano: 1,459).
Minnesota Wild at Arizona Coyotes (9 p.m. ET; BSAZ, BSN, BSWIX, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Kirill Kaprizov is on a five-game point streak (two goals, five assists) for Minnesota (27-17-4). Captain Jared Spurgeon has 369 points in the NHL, tied with Ryan Suter for fourth in Wild history behind Mikko Koivu (709), Marian Gaborik (437) and Zach Parise (400). The Coyotes (16-28-6) are 3-12-1 since Dec. 31.