NHL On Tap: Panthers, Avalanche set for showdown of top teams

Welcome to the NHL On Tap. Three NHL.com writers will share what they are most looking forward to on the schedule each day. Today, their choices from the five games Sunday.

Top teams face off in Colorado

The Florida Panthers (18-4-4) have been at or near the top of the NHL standings all season and were the first team to 40 points. The Colorado Avalanche (15-7-2) have been one of the best teams for the past month, going 11-2-1 since Nov. 11. They'll see which team is better when they play at Ball Arena (8 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNW, ALT, BSFL, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). The Avalanche have scored seven goals in each of their past three games, the first team to do so since the Pittsburgh Penguins from Nov. 4-10, 1995, and have won six straight at home. Colorado forward Gabriel Landeskog (lower body) will be out two weeks and forward Nazem Kadri (lower body) will not play. Each team also features a top contender for the Norris Trophy, voted to the best defenseman in the NHL: Aaron Ekblad of the Panthers (24 points in 26 games) and Cale Makar of the Avalanche (25 points in 21 games). This will be a game full of star power, a true heavyweight interconference showdown featuring plenty of scoring chances and more than a few goals. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Ducks are flying together

What was projected to be another rebuilding season for the Anaheim Ducks (15-9-5) instead has them second in the Pacific Division, one point behind the Calgary Flames, and 4-1-2 in their past seven heading into Enterprise Center to play the St. Louis Blues (7 p.m. ET; BSMW, BSSC, BSSD, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). Ducks hockey has been must-see TV thanks to Troy Terry's breakout season (26 points; 15 goals, 11 assists), impressive rookie Trevor Zegras (22 points; six goals, 16 assists) and an eventful week that saw Zegras and Sonny Milano go viral with their lacrosse-style lob pass and goal in a 2-0 win at the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 7. "We're playing for each other," goalie John Gibson said two days later. "We're playing together. We're having fun." They hope the fun continues in St. Louis, where the Blues (15-8-4) will try to win their eighth consecutive home game for the third time in their history (nine straight, Jan. 26-Feb. 26, 1991 and Dec. 12, 2019 to Jan. 13, 2020). -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Wild cream of crop in Central Division

Though the Minnesota Wild's eight-game winning streak ended with a 2-1 loss at the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, they're still first in the Central Division, five points ahead of the second-place Blues. The Wild (19-7-1) will look to start another winning streak when they play the Vegas Golden Knights (15-11-0) at T-Mobile Arena (9 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). The Wild are averaging 3.67 goals per game, third in the NHL behind the Avalanche (4.38) and the Panthers (3.77). They're also third with 66 goals at 5-on-5, behind the Washington Capitals (72) and the Panthers (67). In other words, scoring isn't a problem for them. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are looking for consistency. They're 3-2-0 in their past five games and 6-4-0 in their past 10. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Sunday schedule

Anaheim Ducks at St. Louis Blues (7 p.m. ET; BSMW, BSSC, BSSD, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Zegras is second in rookie scoring behind Detroit Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond (24 points; 10 goals, 14 assists). The Blues are 7-3-2 in their past 12 games, led by Pavel Buchnevich with 14 points (seven goals, seven assists).
Nashville Predators at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, MSG, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Predators (16-10-1) look to sweep a road trip of at least four games for the third time in their history (4-0-0 from Jan. 21-27, 2016 and Feb. 27-March 4, 2018). Nashville forward Filip Forsberg has scored 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in nine games since returning from an upper-body injury Nov. 24. The Rangers (18-5-3) have won eight of nine (8-1-0), and forward Artemi Panarin has scored nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past four games.
Florida Panthers at Colorado Avalanche (8 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNW, ALT, BSFL, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Avalanche lead the NHL with 76 goals in 14 games since Nov. 11, 18 more than the second-place Minnesota Wild. Defenseman Devon Toews has scored 20 points (four goals, 16 assists) and is plus-18 in that span. The Panthers are 8-2-3 since Nov. 11 and have been led by forward Jonathan Huberdeau (18 points; six goals, 12 assists) and defenseman Aaron Ekblad (14 points; four goals, 10 assists).
Minnesota Wild at Vegas Golden Knights (9 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Wild's eight-game winning streak was their third longest (12, Dec. 4-29, 2016; nine, March 8-24, 2007). Golden Knights leading scorer Chandler Stephenson (22 points; nine goals, 13 assists) is expected to be available after he didn't play against the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday because of personal reasons.
Carolina Hurricanes at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; SNP, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Sebastian Aho can become the third player in Hurricanes/Hartford Whalers history with a multipoint streak of six games (Kevin Dineen, 1988-89; Mike Rogers, 1979-80). The forward had two goals and an assist in a 3-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday to give him a Hurricanes-best 32 points (15 goals, 17 assists). Aho needed 26 games to reach 30 points, the fewest for a Carolina (19-6-1) player since Eric Staal reached 30 points in 24 games in 2012-13. Bruce Boudreau can be the first coach to win each of his first four games with the Canucks (11-15-2). The only Vancouver coach with a point in his first four games with the team was Roger Neilson, who was 3-0 with one tie in 1981-82; his point streak ended at seven (5-0, two ties).