NHL On Tap: Flames, Oilers each in need of victory at Heritage Classic

Welcome to the NHL On Tap. Three NHL.com writers will share what they are most looking forward to on the schedule each day. Today, their choices from the four games on Sunday.

Tradition, splendor and urgency on display at Heritage Classic

No matter the time, place or where the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers reside in the NHL standings, the "Battle of Alberta" is a spectacle that energizes an entire province. The latest setting doesn't get any bigger than Commonwealth Stadium, where the Flames and Oilers play the 2023 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TBS, MAX), and it comes at a time when the two teams are reeling to begin the new season. The Oilers (1-5-1) have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and hope forward Connor McDavid can play after their captain missed two games with an upper-body injury sustained Oct. 21 and initially projected to keep him out 1-2 weeks. It hasn't been any fun in Edmonton with the Oilers seventh in the Pacific Division and allowing an NHL-worst 4.29 goals per game, and not much better in Calgary with the Flames (2-5-1) on a four-game losing streak while being outscored 15-4 and sixth in the Pacific. The situation is already dire for each team. Yes, it's late October, but not too soon to lose any legit chance at a Stanley Cup Playoff berth. If there's a right time and place for a turnaround, it's a setting with a maximum capacity of 56,306 fans who will witness the latest and biggest chapter of the fabled rivalry. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Jack Hughes looks to extend streak 

No player has been hotter to begin the NHL season than Jack Hughes. The New Jersey Devils center leads the NHL with 18 points (five goals, 13 assists) and carries a season-opening seven-game point streak into a home date with the Minnesota Wild at Prudential Center (5 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSWIX, BSN). Only two players in Devils’ history had a longer run to start a season: Jesper Bratt, who had an 11-game point streak to begin last season, and Tim Higgins, who had a 10-game streak to begin 1984-85. New Jersey (4-2-1) split the first two games of this three-game homestand. The Devils came from behind in all four of their victories and have yet to score first in a game. Minnesota (3-3-2) is 0-1-1 through the first two games of its three-game road trip. The Wild and Devils each will have three days off before facing each other again at Minnesota on Thursday. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Sharks staying positive, searching for first win

To say the San Jose Sharks have gotten off to a rough start would be an understatement. They’re 0-7-1 and been shut out in their past two games heading into the finale of  their five-game road trip, when they visit the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Sunday (5 p.m. ET; MNMT, NBCSCA). But Sharks coach David Quinn liked a lot of what the Sharks did in their 3-0 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. He liked their response after a 6-0 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday and their scoring opportunities. Now they must cash in on them and get some positive results in the standings. Meanwhile, the Capitals (3-3-1) have won two in a row for the first time this season and are looking to build more consistency moving forward. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

SUNDAY GAMES

Colorado Avalanche at Buffalo Sabres (1 p.m. ET; ALT2, MSG-B, SN)

The Avalanche (6-1-0) will look to start a new streak after their NHL-record 15-game road winning streak ended with a 4-0 loss at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. It was their first road loss since March 4 against the Dallas Stars. The Sabres (3-5-0) will be without defenseman Connor Clifton, who was suspended two games by the NHL Department of Player Safety for an illegal check to the head of New Jersey Devils center Nico Hischier on Friday. Goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will start for Buffalo after Eric Comrie sustained a lower-body injury against the Devils. Comrie is out at least a few weeks.

Minnesota Wild at New Jersey Devils (5 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSWIX, BSN)

Wild forward Marcus Johansson has six points (one goal, five assists) in a five-game point streak. Nico Hischier will not play for the Devils after the forward sustained an upper-body injury in a 5-4 win against the Sabres on Friday. 

San Jose Sharks at Washington Capitals (5 p.m. ET; MNMT, NBCSCA)

The Sharks have scored one or fewer goals in seven of their eight games this season. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has two goals and four assists in a five-game point streak. Dylan Strome leads Washington with five goals in seven games. 

Calgary Flames at Edmonton Oilers (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, TBS, MAX)

Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom is 1-4-1 through six starts but has played well (2.67 goals-against average and .906 save percentage). He has not, however, had the goal support; the Flames are averaging 2.13 goals per game (29th in the NHL). Oilers forward Leon Draisaitl has 53 points (10 goals, 43 assists) in 41 games against the Flames. His Edmonton teammate Evander Kane has 23 points (13 goals, 10 assists) in 22 games against Calgary.