NHL On Tap: McDavid, fresh off milestone, leads Oilers against Maple Leafs
Panthers, Maurice host Jets; Bedard playing in Vancouver for 1st time
© Michael Chisholm/NHLI via Getty Images
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Games of the day
Edmonton Oilers at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; CBC, SNO, SNP, NHLN)
Fresh off becoming the fourth-fastest player to reach 1,000 NHL points, Oilers forward Connor McDavid comes home to face the Maple Leafs on Hockey Night in Canada. McDavid, who is from the Toronto suburb of Richmond Hill, Ontario, got his 1,000th and 1,001st points in a 3-2 overtime victory against the Nashville Predators on Thursday, achieving the milestone in his 659th NHL game. Only Wayne Gretzky (424 games), Mario Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656) did it in fewer games. McDavid has nine points (three goals, six assists) during a three-game winning streak for Edmonton (9-7-1). The 27-year-old has 35 points (11 goals, 24 assists) in 23 games against Toronto. Forward Auston Matthews will miss his sixth straight game for the Maple Leafs because of an upper-body injury. Toronto (10-6-2) has gone 4-1-0 without Matthews. Mitch Marner leads the Maple Leafs with eight points (three goals, five assists) during Matthews’ absence.
Winnipeg Jets at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SNW)
This highly anticipated matchup pits the Jets, the top team in the NHL standings this season, against the Panthers, the defending Stanley Cup champions. Each team will be looking to rebound after recent slipups, though. Winnipeg (15-2-0) was the first team in NHL history to win 15 of its first 16 games before losing 4-1 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, which was also its first road loss of the season (7-1-0). Florida (11-5-1) had won seven in a row before losing two in a row against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday (4-1) and Thursday (6-2). Coming off winning the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goalie for the second time last season, Connor Hellebuyck has won six straight starts and is 12-1-0 with a 1.92 goals-against average, .934 save percentage and three shutouts for the season. Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, also a two-time Vezina winner and a finalist last season, is 8-3-1 with a 3.14 GAA and .889 save percentage. Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey is expected to play in his 600th NHL game.
Chicago Blackhawks at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, TVAS2, CHSN)
Connor Bedard, a native of North Vancouver, will play an NHL game in Vancouver for the first time when the Blackhawks (6-10-1) visit the Canucks (8-4-3). The 19-year-old center, who was the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, missed Chicago’s lone visit to Vancouver last season on Jan. 22 because of a fractured jaw. After winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year last season, Bedard is off to a solid start to his second NHL season with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 17 games. Chicago has lost three of its last four. Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes had a five-game point streak (one goal, seven assists) snapped in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Thursday.
Other Saturday games
St. Louis Blues at Boston Bruins, (1 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, NHLN, NESN, SN)
The Bruins (8-8-2) and Blues (7-9-1) meet for the second time in five days after Boston rallied from a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2 at St. Louis on Tuesday. Bruins forward David Pastrnak has scored goals in each of the past two games, including the winner against the Blues on Tuesday, after going seven games without a goal. St. Louis will look to snap a four-game losing streak (0-3-1). Blues forward Brandon Saad is coming off his second two-goal game of the season in a 4-3 overtime loss at the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.
New York Islanders at Seattle Kraken (4 p.m. ET; KHN, MSGSN, KONG, SN)
The Kraken (8-8-1) will seek their first four-game winning streak since they won nine straight from Dec. 20-Jan. 13 last season. Seattle forward Jared McCann has six points (three goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. The Islanders (7-6-4) are 1-0-1 so far on this five-game road trip, including a 5-2 win against the Canucks on Thursday. New York forward Anders Lee has four goals in his past four games.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, CITY, SNE, FDSNOH)
The Canadiens (5-10-2) return home after going 1-3-0 on a four-game road trip. Montreal forward Cole Caufield is one behind Florida’s Sam Reinhart for the NHL lead with 12 goals in 17 games. The Blue Jackets (6-8-2) snapped a six-game losing streak (0-5-1) with Friday night's 6-2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Columbus forward Sean Monahan had two assists, giving him 301 for his career.
Ottawa Senators at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, TVAS, SN1)
The Hurricanes (11-4-0) return home after going 1-2-0 on a three-game road trip. Spencer Martin is expected to start for Carolina with Frederik Andersen (lower body) and Pyotr Kochetkov (unspecified) sidelined with injuries. The Senators (8-7-1) are 2-0-1 in their past three games. Ottawa forward Josh Norris has scored goals in three straight games.
New Jersey Devils at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, MSG)
The Devils (12-6-2) are 5-1-0 in their past six games, including sweeping consecutive games from the Panthers in Florida on Tuesday and Thursday. New Jersey forward Jack Hughes has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past five games, including three three-point games to reach 30 for his career. The Lightning (8-6-1) ended a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) with a 4-1 win against the Jets on Thursday. Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) during a six-game point streak.
Buffalo Sabres at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, MSG-B)
Flyers defenseman Erik Johnsoncould play in his 1,000th NHL game. The 36-year-old veteran of 17 NHL seasons has played in 12 of 17 games this season for Philadelphia (7-8-2), which is 3-0-1 in its past four games. Buffalo (8-8-1) is 4-1-0 in its past five. After scoring his 70th NHL goal against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday, Rasmus Dahlin is three behind Mike Ramsey (73) for second most goals by a defenseman in Sabres history.
San Jose Sharks at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, NBCSCA)
Sharks forward Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, faces Penguins forward Sidney Crosby, the No. 1 pick in the 2005 NHL Draft, for the first time. Celebrini, who missed 12 games with a hip injury, has four points (three goals, one assist) in six games this season. San Jose (5-10-3) is 5-3-1 since starting its season 0-7-2, including 1-1-1 so far on its four-game road trip. Crosby has not scored a goal in the past five games and still needs two to become the 21st player in NHL history to reach 600. The Penguins (6-10-3) have one win in their past six games.
Dallas Stars at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, Victory+)
The Stars (10-5-0) have scored seven goals in winning each of their past two games: a 7-1 win against the Penguins on Monday and a 7-2 win against the Bruins on Thursday. Dallas forward Mason Marchment has seven points (two goals, five assists) in the past two games. The Wild (11-2-3) are 3-0-1 in their past four games, but will be without forward Mats Zuccarello, who was placed on injured reserve Friday and is week to week following surgery for a lower-body injury sustained during a 3-0 win against the Canadiens on Thursday.
Detroit Red Wings at Los Angeles Kings (8 p.m. ET; FDSNW, FDSNDET)
The Kings (9-6-3) play seven of their next nine games at home, where they are 4-1-1 this season. Los Angeles will be without goalie Darcy Kuemper, who was placed on injured reserve Friday with a lower-body injury he sustained in the third period of a 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. The Red Wings (7-8-1) play the third game of a four-game road trip after a 6-4 loss against the Anaheim Ducks on Friday.
