Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are 10 games on the schedule for Thursday, one nationally in the United States and two in Canada. Thursday also marks the fifth week of "NHL Coast to Coast," a weekly whip-around studio show on Prime Video in Canada:
NHL On Tap: Jets visit Lightning looking to continue best start in history
Oilers host Predators with McDavid 1 point from 1,000; Sabres home against Blues
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Games of the day
Winnipeg Jets at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, TSN3)
No team in the NHL is hotter than the Winnipeg Jets, who have started 15-1-0 and face a Lightning team (7-6-1) that has not played for a week and has lost four in a row (0-3-1). Andrei Vasilevskiy is looking for the 300th win of his NHL career after going 0-2-1 in his past three games. Nikita Kucherov has nine points (three goals, six assists) during a five-game point streak. The Jets are coming off a 6-3 win against the New York Rangers on Tuesday that made them the fastest team to 15 wins in NHL history. They are 6-0-0 in November and lead the League with 73 goals, a Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers record through the first 16 games.
Nashville Predators at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET; SNW, FDSNSO)
It could be a big night for Connor McDavid and the Oilers (8-7-1). Edmonton's captain is one point from 1,000 in the NHL and could be the fourth-fastest and fourth-youngest player in NHL history to hit the mark. McDavid is 27 years, 306 days old, younger than only Wayne Gretzky (23, 328), Mario Lemieux (26, 171) and Steve Yzerman (27, 291) and it would be in his 659th game, behind Gretzky (424), Lemieux (513) and Mike Bossy (656). McDavid has points in 14 straight games (nine goals, 25 assists) against the Predators (5-9-2), who have lost four of five (1-3-1).
St. Louis Blues at Buffalo Sabres (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+)
The Sabres (7-8-1) will be without forward Tage Thompson (lower body) and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (undisclosed). Thompson left a 7-5 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday that ended Buffalo's three-game winning streak. The Blues (7-9-0) have lost three in a row, but forward Jordan Kyrou is on a five-game point streak (three goals, two assists).
Other Thursday games
Philadelphia Flyers at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, NBCSP)
The Flyers (6-8-2) have points in each of their past three games (2-0-1) for the first time this season. Matvei Michkov has four multipoint games this season, including a goal and an assist in a 4-3 shootout win against the San Jose Sharks on Monday. Goalie Linus Ullmark made 27 saves for the Senators (8-7-0) in a 3-0 victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
New Jersey Devils at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSGSN, SNP, SNO, SNE, SN1)
If the Panthers (11-4-1) weren't happy about the Devils (11-6-2) ending their seven-game winning streak, which they did with a 4-1 victory at Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday, they have a chance to quickly get revenge. The Devils have won six of eight (6-2-0), while the Panthers (11-4-1) had not lost since Oct. 22. New Jersey forward Jack Hughes became the fastest player in franchise history to reach 300 points, doing so in 325 games. Florida forward Sam Bennett is a game-time decision after missing the game Tuesday because of an upper-body injury.
San Jose Sharks at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, MSG)
Macklin Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, makes his debut on Broadway for the Sharks (5-9-3) against Alexis Lafreniere, chosen No. 1 by the Rangers (9-4-1) in the 2020 NHL Draft. San Jose is led by Mikael Granlund's 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 17 games. Artemi Panarin is on an eight-game home point streak (five goals, seven assists), his fifth such run with the Rangers. The only others with as many for New York are Brian Leetch (seven), Mark Messier (six), Gretzky (five) and Andy Bathgate (five).
Boston Bruins at Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET; Victory+, NESN)
Every game right now remains big for the Bruins (8-7-2), a team that has underperformed expectations but got five of a possible six points in their past three games (2-0-1) and is 4-1-1 in their past six. They visit the Stars (9-5-0) two nights after rallying with three third-period goals in a 3-2 win against the Blues on Tuesday. David Pastrnak has five points (one goal, four assists) in his past three games. The Stars are coming off a 7-1 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday. Mason Marchment had four points (one goal, three assists) in the first period, the second time in Dallas/Minnesota North Stars history that has happened (Barry Gibbs had one goal and three assists in the first against the Penguins on Dec. 21, 1974).
Montreal Canadiens at Minnesota Wild (8 p.m. ET; FDSNWI, FDSNNO, TSN2, RDS)
The Canadiens (5-9-2) are led by Cole Caufield's 12 goals, which are tied with Sam Reinhart, Leon Draisaitl, William Nylander and Mikko Rantanen for the NHL lead. Caufield scored twice against the Sabres on Monday. The Wild (10-2-3) took five out of six points (2-0-1) on their recent road trip.
New York Islanders at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; SNP, MSGSN, MSGSN2)
The Islanders (6-6-4) continue a season-long five-game road trip and have points in five of six (3-1-2); captain Anders Lee has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his past six games. The Canucks (8-3-3) have won four of five (4-1-0). Their captain, Quinn Hughes, is on a five-game point streak (one goal, seven assists).
Chicago Blackhawks at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; KHN, CHSN, KONG, SNO, SNE, SN1)
The Blackhawks (6-9-1) are led by Connor Bedard with 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 16 games. The Kraken (7-8-1) have scored four goals in a period four times this season to lead the NHL, most recently in the second of a 5-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
