NHL On Tap: McDavid, Oilers look to stay hot at Flyers

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 seven games Thursday.

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Oilers making their move

Led by forward Connor McDavid, as always, the Edmonton Oilers (29-18-4) are positioning themselves for a post-All-Star break run. They enter their game at the Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, SNW, ESPN+, SN NOW) 8-0-1 in their past nine, with the Oilers captain on a 13-game point streak (21 points; nine goals, 12 assists) and an NHL career-high 15-game road point streak (29 points; 11 goals, 18 assists). Edmonton holds the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference and is fourth in the Pacific Division but two points behind the first-place Vegas Golden Knights. It's a good sign that the Oilers came out of the break with a 5-2 win at the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Horvat sparking Islanders, plays Canucks for first time

It's a sample size of two games, but Bo Horvat has provided an immediate spark to the New York Islanders, and they hope to bring that swagger when they host the Vancouver Canucks (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, SNP, ESPN+, SN NOW). It will be Horvat's first game against his former team since he was traded to New York on Jan. 30 and agreed to an eight-year contract Feb. 5. He scored his first Islanders goal to set an NHL career high with 32 when New York defeated the Seattle Kraken 4-0 on Tuesday for its first four-game winning streak since Nov. 21-26. It will be a homecoming for forward Anthony Beauvillier, who was traded with forward prospect Aatu Raty in the Horvat deal. The Canucks (20-27-4) are 4-12-1 in their past 17 games, including a 4-3 loss at the New York Rangers on Wednesday, and are rebuilding; the Islanders (27-22-5) are in the thick of the wild-card race in the Eastern Conference. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Avalanche, Lightning face off in Cup Final rematch

The 2022 Stanley Cup Final was memorable, with the Colorado Avalanche winning their first championship since 2001 while ending the Tampa Bay Lightning's bid to win their third in a row. This game obviously won't be on that level but it's still important to the Avalanche (27-18-4) and Lightning (32-16-2) when they play in Tampa (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, SNE, SNO, TVAS, ESPN+, SN NOW), facing off for the first time this season. The Lightning are third in the Atlantic Division, four points behind the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs. The Avalanche are tied with the Calgary Flames for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference but have two games in hand. The Stanley Cup isn't on the line, but the stakes remain high. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Thursday games

Colorado Avalanche at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, SNE, SNO, TVAS, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Avalanche have lost two of three and are 7-1-1 in their past nine games. Forward Valeri Nichushkin (upper body) and defenseman Bowen Byram (lower body) returned from injury in Colorado's 2-1 overtime loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. The Lightning's home winning streak ended at 12 games when they lost 4-3 in overtime to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday. Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov has a 16-game home point streak (30 points; five goals, 25 assists).
Edmonton Oilers at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, SNW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Oilers goalie Jack Campbell is on a seven-game winning streak with a 2.30 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. The Flyers (21-22-9) are 1-2-2 in their past five games and coming off a 2-1 loss to the Islanders on Monday.
San Jose Sharks at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; BSFLX, NBCSCA, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Forward Timo Meier had two goals and an assist for the Sharks (16-25-11) in a 4-3 overtime win at the Lightning on Tuesday; his 18 road goals are tied with Tage Thompson of the Buffalo Sabres and McDavid for third in the NHL, behind Jack Hughes of the New Jersey Devils and David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins (19 each). Center Aleksander Barkov is expected to be a game-time decision for Florida (25-22-6); he left a 7-1 victory against Tampa Bay on Monday in the second period after blocking a shot. Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk has 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in a seven-game point streak.
Seattle Kraken at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; MSG, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Kraken (29-16-5) are 3-4-1 since an eight-game winning streak from Jan. 1-14. Hughes is questionable after the forward left practice early Wednesday with an upper-body injury. Goalie Vitek Vanecek has won 10 in a row for New Jersey (33-13-4), which is 9-1-1 in its past 11 games.
Calgary Flames at Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. ET; SN1, BSDET, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Forward Blake Coleman has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past two games for the Flames (24-17-10). The Red Wings (21-20-8) do not have a regulation victory in their past five games (2-3-0), winning twice in overtime.
Vancouver Canucks at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, SNP, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Canucks have received offense of late from forward Elias Pettersson (16 points; five goals, 11 assists in his past 15 games) and defenseman Quinn Hughes (16 points; four goals, 12 assists in his past 13). Ilya Sorokin's 15 shutouts are fourth in Islanders history, trailing Glenn Resch (25), Billy Smith (22) and Rick DiPietro (16).
Vegas Golden Knights at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; BSN, BSWI, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Golden Knights defeated the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Tuesday after scoring five goals in their previous four games (0-2-2). Wild defenseman Jonas Brodin is questionable after missing their 4-1 loss at the Dallas Stars on Wednesday with a lower-body injury. Marc-Andre Fleury will likely start for Minnesota and play his 972nd game to pass Terry Sawchuk for fourth in NHL history.