Each Friday, NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will provide readers with three games he is looking forward to that weekend:
Florida Panthers at Boston Bruins (Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN, TVAS)
The Panthers (48-24-5) defeated the Ottawa Senators 6-0 on Thursday and hopefully it ends their slump in which they were 2-7-1 in their previous 10 games. Sam Reinhart has 53 goals and 89 points, and Matthew Tkachuk has 24 goals and 83 points. But the Panthers are without forward Carter Verhaeghe and defenseman Aaron Ekblad, potentially for the rest of the regular season, but each is expected back for the start of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And don't sleep on Sergei Bobrovsky. To me, he should be in the conversation for the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL. Paul Maurice won his 865th game Thursday and moved into fourth all time among coaches, behind Scotty Bowman (1,244), Joel Quenneville (969) and Barry Trotz (914).
The Bruins (45-17-15) had a big win against the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-1 on Thursday, their third straight victory. They lead the Panthers by four points for first in the Atlantic Division. David Pastrnak has 106 points (47 goals, 59 assists), but no one is really talking about him because of what the others ahead of him in the scoring race have done. Charlie Coyle and Pavel Zacha have done a nice job at the center position after David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron retired following last season.
Nashville Predators at New York Islanders (Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSSO)
The Predators (44-28-4) have hit a slump recently but ended a three-game losing streak with a 6-3 win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. They have played very well under coach Andrew Brunette. Filip Forsberg is having a career season, with NHL highs in goals (43) and points (87), and Roman Josi (77 points) should be in the Norris Trophy and Hart Trophy conversations. And how about what they have gotten from Gustav Nyquist (71 points) and Ryan O'Reilly (63 points)? Goalie Juuse Saros has played excellent down the stretch and the Predators are a team I would not want to face in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Islanders (34-27-15) defeated the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-2 on Thursday and increased their chances to make the playoffs. They have the second wild card in the Eastern Conference and are one point behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. They should be the more desperate team in this game since they can’t afford to lose points. Bo Horvat (32) and Brock Nelson (30) each have topped 30 goals. Defenseman Noah Dobson should be in the Norris Trophy race with what he has done this season. Give the Islanders credit. They were in the race, they played themselves out of the race and now are back in it.
Dallas Stars at Colorado Avalanche (Sunday, 10 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN)
This will be a huge game and could be for first place in the Central Division. The Stars (48-19-9) have won a franchise-best eight straight games heading into their game against the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET; BSSW, NBCSCH), before they face the Avalanche on Sunday. Goalie Jake Oettinger has turned around his season. Forward Wyatt Johnston, a 20-year-old in his second NHL season, has 30 goals. Dallas has seven players with at least 20 goals and probably is the deepest team in the NHL.
Colorado (48-22-6) defeated the Minnesota Wild 5-2 on Thursday and is led by Nathan MacKinnon, who has 130 points and is competing for the scoring title as well as the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in the NHL. They also have forward Mikko Rantanen and defenseman Cale Makar, as well as versatile pieces like forwards Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen, who log significant time on the power play and penalty kill. Goalie Alexandar Georgiev has shown he's capable of playing heavy minutes and Colorado looks like a team that wants to get back to the Cup Final after losing in the first round last year.
