NHL On Tap: Wild visit Stars seeking turnaround

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 two games Wednesday.

Stars, Wild seek to build momentum

The Dallas Stars look to build momentum when they host the Minnesota Wild (8:30 p.m. ET; TNT, BSN, BSWI, SN NOW) after ending one of the more unusual skids in the NHL. The Stars (29-13-10), who are first in the Central Division, returned from the All-Star break and won 3-2 in a shootout against the Anaheim Ducks at American Airlines Center in Dallas on Monday. That ended a three-game skid, each at home in overtime. All-Star forward Jason Robertson has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past seven games, including an assist Monday. The Wild (27-18-4) are third in the Central, 10 points behind the Stars, and hope to rebound from a 3-2 loss at the Arizona Coyotes on Monday after winning two straight before the break. Forward Kirill Kaprizov, also an All-Star, has eight points (three goals, five assists) during a six-game point streak. -- William Douglas, staff writer

Chytil looks to remain hot for Rangers

Filip Chytil will attempt to extend his goal streak to five games when the New York Rangers (28-14-8) host the Vancouver Canucks at Madison Square Garden (8 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, MSG, ESPN+). On a team with offensive stars like Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad, it's been Chytil, a 23-year-old center, who has been New York's hottest player of late with 10 goals in his past 12 games, helping it go 8-2-2 in that span. With 32 regular-season games remaining, Chytil (18 goals, 13 assists) has set personal NHL bests for goals and points (31). There's been no shortage of speculation surrounding the Rangers' interest in adding scoring depth before the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline at 3 p.m. ET on March 3, but Chytil certainly has helped fill that role and is third in goals behind Zibanejad (24) and Kreider (20). The Canucks (20-26-4) are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets with the second-most goals allowed (197), so Chytil and his teammates should have a chance to create offense. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Time for Wild to get going

My esteemed colleague, William Douglas, laid out the facts of the game between Minnesota and Dallas. He gave you the details of the Wild: 10 points behind the Stars, coming off a 3-2 loss to the Coyotes. All true, all relevant, and all kind of scary. They need to be better. They have to be better if they want to be a Stanley Cup Playoff team in the Western Conference. Sure, Minnesota is in playoff position today, but that's precarious at best, especially with its recent play. The Wild have won two of their past six games, 3-2 in overtime against the Philadelphia Flyers on Jan. 26 and 3-2 in a shootout against the Buffalo Sabres on Jan. 28. They played six straight games against Eastern Conference teams before losing at Arizona. Between now and Feb. 21, they play six games against Western Conference playoff contenders: the Stars twice (Feb. 17), the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado Avalanche, Los Angeles Kings and Nashville Predators. Maybe it's too early to say this is make-or-break time for the Wild, but if they don't pick up their game, they could be on the outside of the postseason race by the time they're done with this two-week stretch. A win against the Stars will turn them back in the right direction. A loss and their belief will take another hit. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Wednesday games

Vancouver Canucks at New York Rangers (8 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, MSG, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Rangers are coming off a 5-4 overtime win against the Calgary Flames on Monday. They have points in four straight games (3-0-1), are 10-3-0 at home since Dec. 5 and 15-5-3 against Western Conference teams this season, including 6-2-2 against the Pacific Division. The Canucks lost 5-4 in overtime at the New Jersey Devils on Monday after coming back from a 4-1 deficit in the second period. Vancouver is 2-1-1 since Rick Tocchet took over as coach Jan. 22. Forward Elias Pettersson has 15 points (four goals, 11 assists) in his past 13 games. Forward J.T. Miller's next point will be the 500th of his NHL career.
Minnesota Wild at Dallas Stars (8:30 p.m. ET; TNT, BSN, BSWI, SN NOW)
The Stars have played four straight games that have gone past regulation. They defeated Minnesota 4-1 on Dec. 29. The Wild defeated the Stars 6-5 in a shootout Dec. 4. They haven't won in regulation since Jan. 17 (seven games) and have scored more than two regulation goals once in their past six, a 5-3 loss at the Florida Panthers on Jan. 21.