NHL On Tap: Maple Leafs riding 15-game point streak against Red Wings

Welcome to 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 12 games Thursday.

Maple Leafs look to stay red hot against the Red Wings

The Toronto Maple Leafs (26-9-7) will look to win their fourth consecutive game -- and 10th straight against the Detroit Red Wings -- when they visit Little Caesars Arena (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, TVAS, TSN4, SN NOW). They're coming off a dramatic 2-1 victory against the Nashville Predators at home Wednesday, when Mitchell Marner scored with 1:15 remaining in the third period to give him nine points (three goals, six assists) on a six-game point streak. Not only have the Maple Leafs won nine in a row against the Red Wings, they're on a 15-game point streak (13-0-2) against them. Toronto forward Auston Matthews is a game-time decision with an undisclosed injury after not playing Wednesday. The Red Wings (17-15-7) defeated the Jets 7-5 on Tuesday but are 1-3-0 in their past four games, including a 4-1 loss at Toronto on Jan. 7. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Kraken in Boston, face toughest test yet

The Seattle Kraken have not lost in 2023. They're 6-0-0, including 5-0-0 to start a season-long seven-game road trip. Things are good for the 32nd and newest NHL team. They're scoring in bunches; 30 goals in the six-game winning streak, at least four goals in every game. Matty Beniers is on a heater with goals in five straight games and rookie forward is up to 16 this season. Seattle (24-12-4) has had 14 goal scorers and defenseman Vince Dunn has paced them with 10 points (three goals, seven assists) during the six-game run. Even the Kraken's penalty kill has been respectable at 79.0 percent in the six games, a near 10-percent bump from their first 34 (67.9 percent). If you sensed the but coming, you were right. Here it is: The Kraken have to try to keep it up against the best team in the NHL and hardest place to win. The Boston Bruins are 32-4-4 this season, 11-0-3 since Dec. 11 and an incredible 19-0-3 at home, where they will face Seattle (7 p.m. ET; SN360, NESN, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW). The Kraken have won in some tough buildings this season -- Los Angeles, Colorado, Minnesota, Pittsburgh and Las Vegas to name a few -- but nothing will be like the test they will face at TD Garden. Win there in any fashion and it's a huge accomplishment. Win there in regulation and they will be the first team to do so since the Ottawa Senators on April 14, 2022. The Bruins are 26-0-3 at home since, including 3-0 in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs. There's no shame in losing to the Bruins if you're the Kraken, but imagine beating them in their barn. Hey, Seattle is red hot, so why not? -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Goal-spolsion coming in Buffalo

There should be no lack of offensive fireworks when the Winnipeg Jets play the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TSN3, ESPN+, SN NOW). The Sabres (20-17-2) have lost two straight, including 4-0 to the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, but they still lead the NHL in scoring at 3.87 goals per game. Tage Thompson, a contender for the Hart Trophy as most valuable player in the NHL, has 31 goals in 39 games, and won't need much time to pass the NHL-career best 38 he scored in 78 games last season. But it's not just Thompson, who's one of four Sabres to score at least 15 goals with Alex Tuch (20), Jeff Skinner (17) and Victor Olofsson (15). The Jets (26-14-1) have no problem cranking up the offense as well. They're led by Mark Scheifele with 24 goals, Kyle Connor with 20 goals and 50 points, and defenseman Josh Morrissey's 46 points (seven goals, 39 assists) in 41 games. Spare a thought for the goalies in this one. -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

Thursday games

Carolina Hurricanes at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, BSSO, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Blue Jackets (12-26-2) defeated the Hurricanes 4-3 in a shootout at Nationwide Arena on Jan. 7, their lone win in their past five games. The Hurricanes (25-9-7) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) after an 11-game winning streak. Max Pacioretty has scored three goals in three games since returning from an Achilles injury.
Dallas Stars at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; MSG, BSSW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Jason Robertson sits one goal from 30 for the Stars (25-11-6). Robertson, who scored 41 goals last season, can become the sixth active player born in the United States with multiple 30-goal seasons at age 23 or younger, following Matthews (five), Connor (three), Phil Kessel (three), Alex DeBrincat (two) and Zach Parise (two). The Rangers (23-12-7) are 4-0-2 in their past six and 12-2-2 since Dec. 5.
Nashville Predators at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; TSN2, RDS, BSSO, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Predators (19-15-6) were on a 5-0-1 run before the loss in Toronto on Tuesday. Filip Forsberg leads them with 37 points (17 goals, 20 assists) in 40 games. The Canadiens (16-22-3) are 1-7-1 in their past nine. Captain Nick Suzuki leads them with 34 points (15 goals, 19 assists) in 41 games, but forward Brendan Gallagher is out at least six weeks with a lower-body injury.
Seattle Kraken at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; SN360, NESN, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Kraken become the seventh team in NHL history to win each of its first six or more games of a road trip. The last one to do so was the San Jose Sharks from Nov. 13-22, 2015. Seattle is 33.3 percent on the power play (5-for-15) in its six-game winning streak. The Bruins are on pace for 139 points, which would break the NHL single-season record held by the 1976-77 Canadiens (60-8-12, 132 points). They're also on pace for 65 wins, three more than the NHL record shared by the 1995-96 Red Wings (62-13-7, 131 points) and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning (62-16-4, 128 points). Boston forward David Pastrnak has scored seven goals in his past three games, including a hat trick in a 7-1 win at the Anaheim Ducks on Jan. 8.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. ET; ESPN, TVAS, TSN4, SN NOW)
The Maple Leafs are 5-0-1 in the second of a back-to-back set this season. Red Wings forward Robby Fabbri has two goals in three games since returning from knee surgery.
Vancouver Canucks at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; BSSUNX, SNP, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Lightning (25-13-1) will try to win their ninth straight game at Amalie Arena. Brayden Point has scored in each of those games, the longest home goal streak in team history, and has 13 points (11 goals, two assists) on this run at home. Bo Horvat is one goal from his second 30-goal season for the Canucks (17-20-3). The captain can become the first player with back-to-back 30-goal seasons for Vancouver since Daniel Sedin in 2010-11 and 2011-12.
Winnipeg Jets at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TSN3, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Jets forward Pierre-Luc Dubois has 11 points (four goals, seven assists) during a seven-game point streak. Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past four, including an NHL-high five points (two goals, three assists) in a 6-5 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild on Jan. 7.
Minnesota Wild at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSN, BSWIX, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Each team has lost three in a row, including two overtime losses for the Wild (22-14-4) and one for the Islanders (22-17-3). Minnesota swept a two-game set last season and is 8-5-1 in its past 14 games against New York. Ilya Sorokin has started each of the Islanders' past four home games, allowing one goal in each and going 3-0-1.
Calgary Flames at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, SNW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
St. Louis defeated Calgary 4-3 in overtime in the same arena Tuesday. The Blues came back from a 3-1 deficit in the third period, and Robert Thomas scored 28 seconds into overtime at Enterprise Center. The Blues (21-18-3) are 4-1-0 in their past five games. Jordan Kyrou has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past six. The Flames (19-14-9) have lost two straight in overtime to begin a five-game road trip. Eight of their past nine games have been decided by one goal.
Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, ALT, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Avalanche (20-16-3) are 1-5-1 in their past seven games. The Blackhawks (10-25-4) have won two in a row after going 1-13-0 in their previous 14. Colorado has won five straight and is 10-1-1 in its past 12 games against Chicago.
Ottawa Senators at Arizona Coyotes (9 p.m. ET; BSAZ, TSN5, RDS2, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Senators (18-19-3) have scored four shorthanded goals this season, two by Austin Watson. They had nine last season. The Coyotes (13-22-5) have lost six in a row. The last time they lost seven consecutive games in regulation was last season from April 4-18. Arizona is 5-0-1 in its past six against Ottawa at home, including four straight wins. This will be the Senators' first visit to Mullett Arena.
Florida Panthers at Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, BSFL, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Matthew Tkachuk has eight points (five goals, three assists) on a four-game point streak for the Panthers (19-19-4). With 50 points (22 goals, 29 assists) in 39 games, he is the third player in team history to reach 50 points in 39 games or fewer, joining Pavel Bure (34 in 1999-00) and Jonathan Huberdeau (37 in 2021-22 and 38 in 2019-20). This will be the first game in five days for the Golden Knights (27-13-2), who had won three in a row before a 5-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday that coach Bruce Cassidy called the most disappointing game of the season.