Ducks showing their pluck
It's been a tough go in recent seasons for the Anaheim Ducks, who haven't qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2017-18, but things are looking up early this season with the Ducks (7-4-0) trying for their seventh consecutive win when they play the Pittsburgh Penguins (4-6-0) at Honda Center (10 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, BSSD, BSSC, TVAS). The Ducks have made things interesting during their run, coming back from a third-period deficit in five of those games. Are they playing with fire? Probably, but let's see if they start getting more leads entering the third. Anaheim is scoring 3.36 goals per game (12th in the NHL), a big improvement from a 2.51 average that was 31st last season. The Penguins are coming off a 10-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Pittsburgh defenseman Erik Karlsson had two assists against his former team. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer
Tuesday games
Buffalo Sabres at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; BSSO, MSG-B)
The Sabres (6-6-0) are 3-1-0 in their past four games and expect Dylan Cozens to return after the center missed a 6-4 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday because of an undisclosed injury. Buffalo forward Tage Thompson has a goal in four consecutive road games since Oct. 24 (five goals, eight points), tied for the longest such run in his NHL career set last season. Another goal will give him the longest road goal streak by a Sabres skater since Jason Pominville (seven) in 2006-07. The Hurricanes (7-5-0) are without goalie Frederik Andersen, who is out indefinitely because of a blood clotting issue. Jaroslav Halak was brought in on a free agent tryout.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, BSSUN)
This is the second of a back to back for the Lightning (5-3-4), who lost 6-5 in overtime to the Maple Leafs on Monday. Nikita Kucherov has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past two games. The Canadiens (5-4-2) are home after going 0-2-1 on a three-game road trip. Cole Caufield leads Montreal with 11 points (four goals, seven assists).
Minnesota Wild at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSWI, BSN)
The Wild (4-5-2) ended a four-game losing streak with a 5-4 shootout win against the Rangers on Saturday. The Islanders (5-2-3) are on a five-game point streak (3-0-2) and have received strong goaltending. Ilya Sorokin is 3-1-0 with a 3.12 GAA, .911 save percentage and one shutout and backup Semyon Varlamov is 2-1-0 with a 1.00 GAA, .972 save percentage and two shutouts.
Detroit Red Wings at New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, SNP, SNO, SNE, SN1)
Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin (upper body) will be a game-time decision, coach Derek Lalonde said Monday. Detroit will welcome back forward Robby Fabbri (lower body), whose lone game this season was Oct. 12. The Rangers have scored 12 power-play goals in their first 11 games, tied for fifth in the NHL with the Hurricanes, who have played one more game.
Winnipeg Jets at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, TSN3)
This is the end of a three-game road trip for the Jets (5-4-2), who are coming off a 5-3 win against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday after losing three in a row (0-2-1). Winnipeg is struggling on special teams: 14.3 percent on the power play (tied for 23rd in the NHL) and 69.2 percent on the penalty kill (28th). The Blues (5-4-1) have scored 10 goals in two consecutive wins after getting 14 in their first eight.
Seattle Kraken at Arizona Coyotes (9 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, ROOT-NW)
The Kraken (4-6-2) have won two of their past three and forward Jaden Schwartz is on a six-game point streak (three goals, five assists). Matias Maccelli is on an NHL career-high eight-game point streak (one goal, eight assists) for the Coyotes (5-5-1), who are 3-2-0 at home this season. The forward can become the third player age 23 or younger with points in nine straight since the Coyotes relocated to Arizona in 1996-97 (Barrett Hayton, nine last season; Clayton Keller, 10 in 2017-18).
Nashville Predators at Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET; SNW, BSSO)
The Predators (5-6-0) play the fourth of a five-game road trip (1-2-0). Ryan O'Reilly's hat trick in Nashville's 5-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday was the fifth of his NHL career. The Flames (3-7-1) ended a six-game losing streak with a 6-3 victory against the Kraken on Saturday. Mikael Backlund has 20 multigoal games with Calgary. Only four players have more: Johnny Gaudreau (33), Jarome Iginla (29), Sean Monahan (24) and Matthew Tkachuk (23).
Pittsburgh Penguins at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, BSSD, BSSC, TVAS)
It's the 1,201st NHL game for Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, who had an assist in his milestone game. Evgeni Malkin (seven goals, six assists) and Jake Guentzel (four goals, nine assists) lead Pittsburgh with 13 points each. This is the third of a five-game homestand for the Ducks. Forward Mason McTavish leads Anaheim with 13 points (six goals, seven assists) and has factored on each of its past three game-winning goals (two goals, one assist). He can become third player in Ducks history to have a point on a game-winning goal in four straight games, joining Ryan Getzlaf (2015-16) and Teemu Selanne (2010-11).
New Jersey Devils at Colorado Avalanche (10 p.m. ET; MAX, TNT, SNP, SNO, SNE, SN1)
Colorado is 15-2-0, including 11 straight wins, when Mikko Rantanen, Nathan MacKinnon and Makar each get two points in the same game. Goalie Vitek Vanecek is expected to get his second straight start for the Devils. He's 3-0-0 with a .914 save percentage in his past three starts after making 32 saves in a 4-2 victory at the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday.
Philadelphia Flyers at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET; NBSP, NBCSCA)
The Flyers (5-6-1) start a four-game road trip and are 0-for-14 on the power play in their past four games. Travis Konecny leads them with 12 points (nine goals, three assists). The Sharks (0-10-1) are off to the second-worst start in NHL history after the 1943-44 Rangers (0-14 with one tie). They have given up 20 goals (10 apiece) in their past two losses, to the Vancouver Canucks and Penguins.
