Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There is one game on the schedule for Monday, which will be nationally televised in the United States and in Canada:
Game of the day
Tampa Bay Lightning at Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, Prime, NHLN, BSSUN)
The Lightning (3-1-0) and the Maple Leafs (3-2-0) have the spotlight to themselves on the second Prime Monday Night Hockey of the season. Everyone else has the day off on the eve of the “NHL Frozen Frenzy” on Tuesday, when all 32 NHL teams will be in action. This game features a showdown between Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov and Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews. Kucherov led the NHL with 144 points and tied Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers for the League lead with 100 assists last season. Matthews led the NHL with 69 goals last season. Kucherov is off to a hot start this season, leading the League with seven goals in four games. Matthews has scored in each of the past two after failing to score in Toronto’s first three games. Tampa Bay lost 5-4 to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday for its first defeat of the season after winning its first three games. Toronto is coming off a 4-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Saturday despite peppering goalie Igor Shesterkin with 35 shots.
