NHL.com identifies key gameday matchups and players to watch throughout the 2023-24 season.
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Note: Betting lines provided by Betway (U.S., Ontario)
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1. Vegas Golden Knights at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSSUN)
VGK puckline (+1.5 goals): -250
TBL puckline (-1.5 goals): +205
The Golden Knights are coming off a 6-3 road loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday and also had a recent defeat by multiple goals, a 5-2 home loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 15. Vegas goalie Adin Hill (undisclosed) is day to day and not traveling on its current road trip, and backup Logan Thompson (upper body) is also out. Tampa Bay has alternated wins and losses over its past seven games and defeated the St. Louis Blues 6-1 on Tuesday at home. Tampa Bay is 9-3-3 at home with seven of those victories coming by multiple goals, and Vegas is 9-4-3 on the road.
Lightning forward Steven Stamkos has eight points (five goals, three assists), including the first four-goal game of his NHL career in their 7-4 road win against the Edmonton Oilers on Dec. 14, over his past three games, including a power-play point in each game. Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov leads the NHL in points (54 in 32 games). Center Jack Eichel ranks fourth in the NHL in shots on goal (139) for the defending Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights, who lead the NHL standings with 47 points (21-7-5).
2. Ottawa Senators at Colorado Avalanche (9 p.m. ET; ALT, TSN5, RDSI)
OTT moneyline: +150
COL moneyline: -185
The Senators have lost five straight games in regulation and dropped their first game under new coach Jacques Martin, who replaced D.J. Smith on Monday, by allowing four unanswered goals in a 4-3 road defeat to the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday. The Avalanche are 4-5-2 in their past 11 games after a 3-2 road loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. The Avalanche are 12-4-0 at home, while the Senators are 3-7-0 on road. Colorado ranks fourth in the NHL in goals per game (3.56) this season, but Ottawa is not far behind in tied for 11th (3.33).
Since Dec. 1, Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon leads the NHL in points (19 in 10 games), and Senators forward Drake Batherson leads them in points (11 in 10 games) over that span. Ottawa rookie Angus Crookshank scored his first NHL goal on four shots on goal against Arizona on Tuesday in what was only his second game.
3. Carolina Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, BSSO, SNE, SN1)
Over 6 total goals: -130
Under 6 total goals: +110
The Hurricanes have points in five straight games (3-0-2), and rookie goalie Pyotr Kochetkov is 3-0-1 with a .946 save percentage in his past four games. The Penguins, meanwhile, are expected to start Alex Nedeljkovic, who's 4-2-1 with a .925 save percentage and one shutout in eight games. Carolina had a 4-2 home win against Pittsburgh on Nov. 18; six players had multiple points in that game: Penguins center Sidney Crosby (two goals), Hurricanes forwards Seth Jarvis (two goals, one assist), Sebastian Aho (one goal, one assist), Teuvo Teravainen (two assists) and defensemen Brent Burns (one goal, one assist) and Jaccob Slavin (two assists).
Pittsburgh forward Jake Guentzel is tied for the third-most even-strength points (27) in the NHL behind MacKinnon (31) and Kucherov (30). Carolina forward Andrei Svechnikov returned from injury Tuesday and scored a goal on four shots on goal in its win against Vegas on Tuesday.
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