Nashville Predators at Carolina Hurricanes (Friday, 7 p.m. ET; SN1, TVAS, BSSO, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Forward Matt Duchene is having a bounce-back season for the Predators with 23 goals and 43 points in 45 games after scoring 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in 34 games last season. Forward Filip Forsberg is continuing his surge with 24 goals and 40 points in 36 games. Roman Josi has scored 48 points (13 goals, 35 assists) while he continues his push to win another Norris Trophy, which is awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL, and forward Tanner Jeannot is sixth among all NHL rookies with 28 points (14 goals, 14 assists). Juuse Saros has been great for Nashville (24-14-3, 2.45 goals-against average, .924 save percentage) and has given them another franchise goalie after Pekka Rinne retired following last season.
The Hurricanes are 1-2-2 in their past five games, but each loss was by one goal. They're in the middle of a tough stretch against some of the NHL's top teams (Boston Bruins, Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, Predators and Pittsburgh Penguins). They are one of the deepest offensive teams with forwards Sebastian Aho (49 points), Andrei Svechnikov (44 points) and Teuvo Teravainen (37 points) and defenseman Tony DeAngelo (39 points) leading the way. And Frederik Andersen is among goalie leaders in wins (25), goals-against average (2.07) and save percentage (.928).
Florida Panthers at Minnesota Wild (Friday, 8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, NHL LIVE)
The Panthers are coming off a 3-2 come-from-behind win against the Hurricanes on Wednesday and get another tough test in the Wild. The Panthers have eight players with at least 30 points, led by forwards Jonathan Huberdeau (66), Sam Reinhart (45), Aleksander Barkov (42) and defenseman Aaron Ekblad (43). Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky has found his groove this season (24-4-3, 2.54 GAA, .919 save percentage) after struggling in his first few seasons with the Panthers. Florida is 10-7-5 on the road, compared to 23-3-0 at home, so a win here would be huge.
The Wild are 11-2-1 in their past 14 games. Forward Kirill Kaprizov is tied with Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs for seventh in the NHL in scoring with 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists). Teammate Mats Zuccarello has scored 48 points (15 goals, 33 assists). Rookie Matt Boldy scored his first NHL hat trick on Feb. 14 and has scored 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 14 games, giving the Wild another scoring option. Minnesota surprisingly ranks third in the NHL in goals per game (3.78). I know they are a bit behind the Colorado Avalanche in the Central Division standings, but I think this could be the year the Wild make some noise in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
St. Louis Blues at Toronto Maple Leafs (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET; NHLN, BSMW, SN360, CITY, SNO, SNW, SNP)
Forward Jordan Kyrou is having a breakout season for the Blues with 43 points (18 goals, 25 assists) in 43 games. The line of Vladimir Tarasenko, Pavel Buchnevich and Ivan Barbashev has clicked all season. Though goalie Ville Husso has been playing well (11-3-2, 1.91 GAA, .937 save percentage), this is a home game for Jordan Binnington (11-10-3, 3.35 GAA, .898 save percentage), who was born in Richmond Hill, Ontario, just outside of Toronto, so I wouldn't be surprised to see him get the start.
The Maple Leafs defeated the Penguins 4-1 on Thursday and avoided a scare when Matthews left the game after he hit his jaw on the crossbar in the third period. Matthews, who returned, scored two goals in the game and is tied for second in the NHL with 33. He also has a nine-game point streak (18 points; eight goals, 10 assists). Jack Campbell made 45 saves in the game and is 23-7-3 with a 2.33 GAA, .924 save percentage and four shutouts and was deservingly selected to the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Game. Toronto has won seven straight at home at is 18-4-1 at Scotiabank Arena.
