NHL On Tap: Stars, Robertson look to stay hot against Kraken
McDavid, Matthews go head-to-head in Toronto; Flyers visit Penguins, begin new era
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NHL.com @NHLdotcom
Crucial points in West on table for Stars, Kraken
Two teams very much in the Western Conference playoff picture will clash when the Dallas Stars (35-17-13) travel to play the Seattle Kraken (37-22-6) at Climate Pledge Arena (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, BSSWX, ESPN+, SN NOW). The Stars, coming off a 10-goal performance against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, sit atop the Central Division, two points ahead of the Minnesota Wild, who play the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. The Kraken, looking to qualify for the playoffs for the first time, are four points behind the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. Dallas forward Jason Robertson has been among the hottest players in the League across his past five games (10 points; three goals, seven assists). He has a career-high 83 points (38 goals, 45 assists) in 65 games, including eight three-point games this season. Jamie Benn holds the Stars record with nine in 2014-15. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial
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McDavid looks to start new streak in Toronto
Connor McDavid failed to get a point for only the sixth time this season in the Edmonton Oilers' 3-2 victory at the Boston Bruins on Thursday, ending his 11-game point streak. That means McDavid is due to start another one when the Oilers (36-22-8) play the finale of a four-game road trip against the Toronto Maple Leafs (39-17-8) at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SNO, SNP). McDavid, who is from the Richmond Hill section of Toronto, has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in eight career games there. The center has gone consecutive games without a point once this season -- against the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 22, and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 24. Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews needs one goal to reach 30 for the seventh consecutive season. The only player in their history to have more was Darryl Sittler, who scored at least 30 goals in eight straight seasons (1973-74 to 1980-81). -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer
Flyers begin new era with Briere as GM
There's no time like just before a game against your rival to fire your general manager. That was what the Philadelphia Flyers (24-30-11) did Friday,
relieving Chuck Fletcher of his duties
and naming Daniel Briere interim GM after an NHL Trade Deadline in which the Flyers remained largely quiet. The Flyers have reached the Stanley Cup Playoffs once under Fletcher, who was named GM on Dec. 3, 2018, and are 15 points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins (32-22-10), who host the Flyers on at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, SN1), are two points back of the New York Islanders for the first wild card (with three games in hand) and two points ahead of the Florida Panthers for the second after going 5-1-1 in their past seven games. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer
Saturday games
Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins (1 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, SN1)
Boston can become the first team to clinch a playoff berth this season. It had a 10-game winning streak end Thursday when it suffered a rare regulation home loss to Edmonton, its third of the season. The Bruins (49-9-5) will also have a chance to become the fastest NHL team to win 50 games in a season in their 64th game; the record is 66, held by the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning. Detroit (29-26-9) will face forward Tyler Bertuzzi, who it traded to Boston on March 2. The Red Wings are 1-5-1 in their past seven games.
Philadelphia Flyers at Pittsburgh Penguins (3:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, ABC, SN1)
The Flyers are 1-5-1 in their past seven games and have scored two or fewer goals in 11 of their past 14. Philadelphia defenseman Tony DeAngelo will serve the second of a two-game suspension for spearing. Pittsburgh center Sidney Crosby, who has 77 points (28 goals, 49 assists) in 64 games, is one assist from his 10th career season with at least 50 assists. Mario Lemieux (11) is the only Penguins player in their history to reach double digits.
New York Rangers at Buffalo Sabres (5 p.m. ET; MSG-B, MSGSN, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Patrick Kane got his first two points with the Rangers in a 4-3 shootout win at the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Artemi Panarin has 19 three-assist games with New York (36-19-9), fifth in team history behind Brian Leetch (37), Andy Bathgate (26), Rod Gilbert (25) and Mark Messier (21). Buffalo (32-28-4) has lost three straight, getting outscored 16-8, and five of six, as it tries to remain in the hunt for a wild card in the East. The Sabres are six points behind the Penguins.
Arizona Coyotes at Colorado Avalanche (6 p.m. ET; ALT, BSAZ, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Forward Nick Schmaltz has a goal in three consecutive games for the Coyotes (23-32-10) and seven goals in his past nine. Arizona has won its past two following three straight losses. Nathan MacKinnon has an eight-game home goal streak, matching the longest in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history (Michel Goulet in 1983-84; Joe Sakic in 2000-01). Colorado (35-22-6) is 1-3-1 in its past five games.
Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; BSSUNX, NBCSCH, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Chicago (22-37-6) plays the second of a back to back after they were unable to protect an early two-goal lead and then a one-goal lead late in the third period in a 4-3 overtime loss at Florida on Friday. The Lightning (38-21-6) are 1-4-2 in their past seven games. Nikita Kucherov has a 23-game home point streak, with 42 points (eight goals, 34 assists) over that stretch. Brayden Point tied his NHL career high in goals Thursday (41) and has nine in his past 10 games.
Edmonton Oilers at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, CBC, SNO, SNP, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Toronto returns home after going 3-2-0 on a five-game road trip. Edmonton is 2-1-0 thus far on its road trip, including becoming the third team to win in regulation at Boston this season to pull into a tie with Seattle for third in the Pacific Division. Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has a League-leading 26 power-play goals and can surpass Chris Kreider of the Rangers (26 in 2021-22) for most in a single season among active players.
New Jersey Devils at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, CITY, SNE, MSGSN, MSGSN2, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Devils forward Dawson Mercer has an 11-game point streak (11 goals, eight assists) after getting a goal and an assist in a 3-2 shootout win against the Washington Capitals on Thursday. New Jersey (42-16-6) has a League-leading 24 wins on the road this season, and second-most in single season in team history (28 in 1998-99). Forward Alex Belzile has scored in three straight games for Montreal (26-33-6), which has lost five in a row (0-3-2).
St. Louis Blues at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, BSMW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Forward Pavel Buchnevich has 13 points (four goals, nine assists) during a seven-game point streak for the Blues (28-31-5), who are 2-6-2 in their past 10 games. The Blue Jackets (20-37-7) have lost three in a row (0-2-1). They recalled goalie
Daniil Tarasov
from Cleveland of the American Hockey League on an emergency basis Friday to fill in for Elvis Merzlikins, whose grandmother is seriously ill. He has returned to his native Latvia to be with his family.
Vegas Golden Knights at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; BSSO, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Golden Knights (39-20-6) have won four of five, and goalie Jonathan Quick is 2-0-0 after being acquired from the Blue Jackets on March 3. The Hurricanes (43-12-8) have outscored opponents 16-4 during a four-game winning streak. Pyotr Kochetkov is coming off a shutout of the Flyers on Thursday, his first win since Dec. 20, after going 0-3-1 and being returned to the American Hockey League on Jan. 16. He was recalled on an emergency basis Wednesday after an injury to Antti Raanta.
Winnipeg Jets at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; SN360, CITY, SNW, BSFLX, ESPN+)
The Winnipeg Jets (36-26-3) have lost seven of eight games (1-5-2). After Pierre-Luc Dubois missed a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Wednesday, the Jets announced he would not travel to Florida for the game. Dubois was injured in a 3-2 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks on Monday. The Panthers (33-27-6) moved within two points of the Penguins for the second wild card in the East with a 4-3 overtime win against Blackhawks on Friday. Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk had three assists in the third period before defenseman Brandon Montour won it in overtime.
Washington Capitals at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; MSG, NBCSWA, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Dylan Strome has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past six games. The Capitals (31-28-7) have lost two straight and are 3-8-1 in their past 12 games. The Islanders (34-25-8) are 4-0-1 in their past five and have outscored opponents 17-1 in the third period in their past 10. General manager Lou Lamoriello is three wins away from becoming the second GM to 1,400 after David Poile of the Nashville Predators (1,522).
Dallas Stars at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, BSSWX, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Seattle forward Matty Beniers leads rookies with 47 points (19 goals, 28 assists) in 63 games and can become the first rookie to score 20 goals this season. Vince Dunn became the first defenseman in Kraken history to reach 50 points on Thursday; he has 51 points (12 goals, 39 assists) in 65 games. Stars forward Wyatt Johnson has 16 goals this season, tied for third among rookies with Kirill Marchenko of the Blue Jackets, three behind Beniers.
Ottawa Senators at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, TVAS2, ESPN+)
The Senators (33-27-4) have won six of their past seven games and trail the Penguins by four points for the second wild card in the East. Jakob Chychrun has two goals in four games since being acquired from the Arizona Coyotes on March 1. The Canucks (27-32-5) are 6-2-1 in their past nine games. Vancouver forward Elias Pettersson leads the NHL with eight short-handed points (four goals, four assists). He has 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in his past 16 games.
Minnesota Wild at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Wild (37-21-7) are on an 11-game point streak (9-0-2). They will be without forward Kirill Kaprizov (lower body) for 3-4 weeks after he was injured against the Jets on Wednesday. Marc-Andre Fleury is 4-0-0 with a 1.23 goals-against average and .960 save percentage in his past four starts. Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson has 20 goals, the most at the position this season. It is his third season with at least 20; he scored 21 in 2014-15, and 20 in 2013-14. The Sharks (19-35-12) have lost 10 of 12 (2-9-1).
Nashville Predators at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; BSW, BSSO, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Predators (31-24-7) had their five-game road point streak (4-0-1) end Thursday in a 4-1 loss at the Arizona Coyotes. Roman Josi is two points away from 600 in his NHL career. He has 598 points (157 goals, 441 assists) in 822 games and could become the second-fastest defenseman to reach the mark after Karlsson (730 games). The Kings (38-20-8) have won five straight and six of seven. Kings forward Quinton Byfield has a five-game assist streak.
