Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are 11 games on the schedule for Thursday, including one nationally televised in the United States. Thursday also marks the second week of "NHL Coast to Coast," a weekly whiparound studio show on Prime Video in Canada.
NHL On Tap: Rangers visit Red Wings seeking 4-game point streak
Stars vie for 5-0-0 start; Predators host Oilers looking for 1st win
Related: How to watch and stream NHL games
Games of the day
New York Rangers at Detroit Red Wings (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+)
The Rangers (2-0-1) look to extend a season-opening point streak to at least four games for the first time since starting 5-0-0 in 2008-09. They face the Red Wings (1-2-0) for the second time in four days after a 4-1 win at Madison Square Garden on Monday and have defeated Detroit in four straight games since Nov. 7, 2023. Artemi Panarin, who had three assists Monday, will look to match or surpass his Rangers record for points though four games of a season (two goals, eight assists in 2022-23). Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat have two goals each for Detroit, which hopes to improve a power play that was 0-for-4 on Monday and is 1-for-11 through three games.
Dallas Stars at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; Victory+, MNMT)
The Stars (4-0-0) can open a season 5-0-0 for the third time in Dallas/Minnesota North Stars history and the first since 2006-07. Logan Stankoven, projected to contend for the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year, leads Dallas with five assists in four games. Alex Ovechkin had two assists for the Capitals (1-1-0) in their 4-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday to become the sixth player in NHL history to have at least 700 goals and 700 assists, joining Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe, Jaromir Jagr, Phil Esposito and Marcel Dionne.
Edmonton Oilers at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET; BSSO, SNW)
The Predators (0-3-0) seek their first win of the season since making a splash with the free agent signings of forwards Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault, and defenseman Brady Skjei on July 1. Stamkos has been held without a point, Marchessault has two assists and Skjei has scored one goal. The Oilers (1-3-0) will try to build on their first win, 4-3 in overtime against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday. Connor McDavid, who had two assists in the game, seeks his first goal. He has a point in each of his past 13 games against the Predators dating to Oct. 27, 2018 (eight goals, 25 assists), tied with Stamkos (13 games from Oct. 26, 2019, to Oct. 10, 2023, for the Tampa Bay Lightning) for the longest point streak by any player against Nashville.
Other Thursday games
Los Angeles Kings at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, BSW)
Cole Caufield leads the Canadiens (2-2-0) with four goals in four games. Juraj Slafkovsky scored his first goal of the season in a 6-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday, giving him 64 points (25 goals, 39 assists) in his three NHL seasons and tying him with Guy Lafleur for sixth-most by a Canadiens player before the age of 21. The Kings (1-1-2) have allowed 14 goals in their past two games: a 6-2 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday and an 8-7 overtime loss at the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
New Jersey Devils at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; MSG, TSN5, RDS2)
Jesper Bratt has a five-game point streak (one goal, five assists) and Nico Hischier a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists) for the Devils (4-2-0). The Senators (2-1-0) are coming off that wild win against the Kings on Monday, when they rallied from three two-goal deficits. Tim Stutzle leads Ottawa with six points (three goals, three assists) in three games.
Vegas Golden Knights at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSSUN)
Mark Stone has a four-game point streak (two goals, six assists) for the Golden Knights (3-1-0), whose three-game, season-opening winning streak ended with a 4-2 loss at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. The Lightning (2-0-0) look for their third consecutive win after defeating the Vancouver Canucks 4-1 in their home opener at Amalie Arena on Tuesday, which was scheduled for last Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes but postponed because of Hurricane Milton.
Vancouver Canucks at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, SNP)
Sam Reinhart has eight points (four goals, four assists) in five games for the Panthers (3-2-0), who will be without forwards Matthew Tkachuk (illness) for about a week and Aleksander Barkov (lower body) for 2-3 weeks. Conor Garland has a three-game point streak (two goals, one assist) for Vancouver (0-1-2).
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, MSG-B)
Yegor Chinakhov leads Columbus (1-2-0) with five points (one goal, four assists) in three games. Tage Thompson's three goals lead the Sabres (1-3-1). He has 16 points in 11 games against the Blue Jackets (11 goals, five assists), highlighted by a five-goal, six-point night Dec. 7, 2022.
New York Islanders at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSMW)
Philip Broberg has a four-game point streak with the Blues (2-2-0) and can become the first defenseman in their history to extend it to five. Anthony Duclair has goals in two of his first three games for the Islanders (1-1-1). The forward signed a four-year contract July 1.
San Jose Sharks at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. ET; CHSN, NBCSCA)
The anticipated matchup between Chicago's Connor Bedard, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, and San Jose's Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, will have to wait. The Sharks (0-1-2) placed Celebrini (lower body) on injured reserve Oct. 12. Seth Jones has five points (one goal, four assists) through four games for Chicago (1-2-1). The only Blackhawks defenseman to have more points through four games was Chris Chelios (two goals, five assists) in 1993-94.
Philadelphia Flyers at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; NBCSP, KHN, KING 5, KONG)
The Flyers (1-1-1) conclude a season-opening, four-game road trip highlighted by rookie Matvei Michkov getting his first two NHL goals in Edmonton on Tuesday, becoming the seventh teenager in team history with a multigoal game. Jordan Eberle leads the Kraken (2-2-0) with three goals and his four points are tied with Jared McCann for the team high.
