Ducks-Penguins, Panthers-Avalanche highlight weekend schedule

Each Friday, NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will provide readers with three games he is looking forward to that weekend:

Anaheim Ducks at Pittsburgh Penguins (Saturday, 7 p.m. ET; ATTSN-PT, BSSC, BSSD, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)

It will be a homecoming for Ducks goalie John Gibson. The Pittsburgh native is 11-6-4 with a 2.60 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and one shutout in 21 starts and a big reason why Anaheim (15-8-5) has been a surprise team this season. The Ducks are on a six-game point streak (4-0-2) coming off a 2-1 shootout win at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday. We know about forward Troy Terry (26 points; 15 goals, 11 assists) and center Trevor Zegras (22 points; six goals, 16 assists), but forward Sonny Milano is almost a point per game player with 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in 23 games. The Ducks rank 10th in the NHL in scoring (3.18 goals per game), fifth in power-play percentage (26.3 percent) and third in penalty-killing percentage (86.3 percent). Dallas Eakins and the coaching staff have done an excellent job.
The Penguins (13-8-5) won their third straight, 4-2 against the Washington Capitals on Friday. Center Sidney Crosby had two assists to extend his point streak to seven games (13 points; three goals, 10 assists), but Pittsburgh is without forward Jake Guentzel, who is week to week because of an upper-body injury. Evgeni Malkin has been practicing and the center could be nearing a return, which would be a huge boost. Kris Letang never seems to slow down offensively or defensively. The defenseman has scored 17 points (one goal, 16 assists) in 22 games. Goalie Tristan Jarry is playing like a Vezina Trophy candidate. He's 12-5-4 with a 1.92 GAA, .934 save percentage and three shutouts in 21 starts.

#

Carolina Hurricanes at Edmonton Oilers (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN1, SNO, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)

The Hurricanes (18-6-1) have won three straight, including the first two of a five-game road trip. Frederik Andersen (13-5-0, 1.98 GAA, .929 save percentage, one shutout) has been strong in goal and center Sebastian Aho (29 points; 13 goals, 16 assists) and forward Andrei Svechnikov (21 points; nine goals, 12 assists) lead a team that has nine players with at least 10 points and eight with at least five goals.
I think Zach Hyman is one of the best pickups of the offseason. The forward, who signed a seven-year contract with Edmonton on July 28 after playing his first six NHL seasons with the Toronto Maple Leafs, has scored 19 points (11 goals, eight assists) in 25 games, and has complimented centers Connor McDavid (16 goals, 29 assists) and Leon Draisaitl (23 goals, 22 assists), who are tied for the NHL scoring lead with 45 points. Darnell Nurse returned after missing two weeks because of a broken finger and the defenseman hasn't missed a beat, having played more than 26 minutes in each of his three games since. Without Mike Smith (lower body), on long-term injured reserve, the goaltending has still been good thanks to Mikko Koskinen (12-4-0, 3.04 GAA, .907 save percentage). The Oilers (16-9-0) lead the NHL in power-play percentage (32.5 percent) and are tied for sixth in penalty killing (83.5 percent).

#

Florida Panthers at Colorado Avalanche (Sunday, 8 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNW, ALT, BSFL, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)

Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers on Tuesday in his first game back from a knee injury. He's their captain and leader so it's nice to see the center back and having an impact again. Florida (18-4-4) is getting offense from center Carter Verhaeghe (20 points; seven goals, 13 assists), center Sam Reinhart (18 points; seven goals, 11 assists), forward Anthony Duclair (17 points; nine goals, eight assists) and center Sam Bennett (13 points; eight goals, five assists). Aaron Ekblad should be in the conversation for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL. With 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists), he entered Friday tied for fifth in scoring among NHL defensemen. The Panthers are 10-4-4 since Andrew Brunette took over as coach after Joel Quenneville resigned Oct. 29.
The Avalanche (15-7-2) defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 7-3 on Friday. It was their third straight game with seven goals, making them the first team since the 1995 Pittsburgh Penguins to score at least seven goals in three straight games. Goalie Darcy Kuemper made 37 saves against Detroit for his second straight win since returning from an upper-body injury Wednesday. Let's see if he can get on a little bit of a run here. Cale Makar leads defensemen with 12 goals in 21, equalling his NHL career high from his rookie season of 2019-20. He could be the best at the position in the NHL right now. Nathan MacKinnon has dealt with injuries this season but the center still has scored 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 14 games. Center Nazem Kadri (34 points; 11 goals, 23 assists), who didn't play Friday because of a lower-body injury, and forwards Gabriel Landeskog (27 points; nine goals, 18 assists) and Mikko Rantanen (24 points; 12 goals, 12 assists) each has stepped up offensively.