NHL On Tap: Jets' Hellebuyck, Connor resume Olympic auditions against Senators

There are five games on the NHL schedule for Monday, including one nationally televised in the United States and one in Canada. Here are five things to watch today, along with the complete game schedule.

Jets' Olympic hopefuls lead way

Winnipeg Jets teammates Connor Hellebuyck and Kyle Connor will continue their auditions for Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 when the Ottawa Senators visit Canada Life Centre (7:30 p.m. ET; RDS, Prime). Hellebuyck, the No. 1 goalie for the runner-up United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, is vying to have that role and appears to be healthy again. The Jets (15-15-1) are glad to have him back after he had arthroscopic knee surgery Nov. 22. The initial estimated recovery time was 4-6 weeks, but the 32-year-old made a triumphant return with a 24-save performance in a 5-1 victory against the Washington Capitals Saturday. As for Connor, who had one assist in three games at 4 Nations, the 29-year-old forward enters the game with the longest active point streak in the NHL (four goals, eight assists in eight games). He'll play his 645th game in the League and with one goal can become the second-fastest active U.S.-born skater to score 300 goals behind Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (482 games) and ahead of Detroit Red Wings forward Patrick Kane (775). The Senators (14-13-4) will attempt to get back on track after going 3-7-0 in their past 10.

Panthers on the prowl

The Florida Panthers have won four of five and can pull to within three points of the Atlantic Division-leading Tampa Bay Lightning with a victory against their cross-state rival at Benchmark International Arena (7 p.m. ET; The Spot, SCRIPPS, NHLN, TVAS). Since Nov. 18, the Panthers (16-13-2) are third in the NHL on the penalty kill (90.6 percent) and their three short-handed goals this season are tied for seventh, with forward Anton Lundell's three short-handed points (one goal, two assists) tied for fourth. Tampa Bay (18-11-3) is 2-0-1 in its past three games thanks in part to forward Nikita Kucherov, who has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in the run. Coach Jon Cooper said he hopes goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy (undisclosed) can play before Christmas, so Jonas Johansson is likely to start after being the first goalie off the ice at the morning skate.

Kreider, Trouba return to MSG

Chris Kreider was a New York Rangers mainstay for 13 seasons and ranks third in team history with 326 goals. So, it will be an emotional night for the veteran forward and Anaheim Ducks teammate Jacob Trouba when they face the Rangers for the first time at Madison Square Garden (7 p.m. ET; Victory+, KCOP-13, MSG) since each were traded to the Ducks. Kreider, who was sent to Anaheim on June 12 with a fourth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft for forward prospect Carey Terrance and a third-round pick in 2025, is third on the Ducks in goals (13) and on pace for the fourth 30-goal season of his NHL career. Trouba, who was dealt to the Ducks on Dec. 6, 2024, for defenseman Urho Vaakanainen and a fourth-round pick in the 2025 draft, has 14 points (five goals, nine assists) and is plus-14 in 32 games. The Ducks (19-12-1) were outscored 9-3 in consecutive road losses to the New York Islanders and New Jersey Devils. The Rangers (16-13-4) have points in eight of their past 10 games (6-2-2) and four straight home games (2-0-2), their longest run since going 5-0-1 between Jan. 2-23.

Stamkos an issue for Blues

The St. Louis Blues will face Steven Stamkos and the Nashville Predators (12-15-4) for the second time in four days, this one at Enterprise Center in St. Louis (8 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, FDSNSO). The Blues better hope they've found a more ideal way to silence the Predators forward than they did last week. The 35-year-old tied his NHL career high with four goals in Nashville's 7-2 win against St. Louis at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday, equaling the Predators record for most goals in a game (Filip Forsberg, Rocco Grimaldi, Joel Nystrom), and is six from 600 in the NHL. Keeping pucks out of their own net has been an issue all season for the Blues (12-14-7), who have allowed an NHL-high 116 goals through 33 games.

Slumping Stars seek win

Is two straight losses really reason for concern? It is when you're the Dallas Stars, who hadn't had back-to-back defeats in more than a month (Oct. 30-Nov. 1) until losing 5-2 to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and 4-0 to the Panthers on Saturday. There were previously on a nine-game point streak (8-0-1) and will look to get back on track against the Los Angeles Kings at American Airlines Center (8 p.m. ET; FDSNW, Victory+). The loss to the Panthers was the first time Dallas (21-7-5) was shut out all season. The Kings (14-8-9) have had their own issues scoring goals. Only the Seattle Kraken (74) have scored less than Los Angeles (82) this season.

The schedule

Florida Panthers at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; The Spot, SCRIPPS, NHLN, TVAS)

Anaheim Ducks at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET: Victory+, KCOP-13, MSG)

Ottawa Senators at Winnipeg Jets (7:30 p.m. ET: RDS, Prime)

Nashville Predators at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET: FDSNMW, FDSNSO)

Los Angeles Kings at Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET: FDSNW, Victory+)