NHL On Tap: Golden Knights try to start new streak against Kings

Welcome to the NHL On Tap. With the holiday break over and the 2021-22 season resuming Tuesday, three NHL.com writers will share what they are most looking forward to on the schedule each day. Today, their choices from the three games Tuesday.

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Golden Knights look to resume roll

The Vegas Golden Knights visit the Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; BSW, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, NHL LIVE) hoping to move on from a 4-3 loss to the Lightning on Dec. 21, their final game before the holiday break. The Golden Knights (20-12-0) had won five in a row and eight of nine (8-1-0) before letting a 3-1 second-period lead slip away against the Lightning. Though they are tied with the Anaheim Ducks for first in the Pacific Division, they are without coach Peter DeBoer and forward Brett Howden, who each entered NHL COVID-19 protocol Monday. Los Angeles (14-11-5) hasn't played since rallying from down two goals to defeat the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Dec. 19. Center Anze Kopitar needs one assist to pass Wayne Gretzky (672) for
second in Kings history
behind Marcel Dionne (757). -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

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Lightning will have Point back against Canadiens

The Tampa Bay Lightning (20-6-4) have won three straight and eight of nine (8-1-0), and they will have center Brayden Point back when they host the Montreal Canadiens (7-21-3) at Amalie Arena (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, TSN2, RDS, NHL LIVE). Point missed 14 games with an upper-body injury sustained Nov. 20 and the Lightning were 11-2-1 without him. Point, who has scored 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 16 games, was on the first power-play unit and was the center on the second line with Alex Killorn and Mathieu Joseph during practice Monday. The Lightning don't expect to have goalies Andrei Vasilevskiy and Brian Elliott; each is in NHL COVID-19 protocol. Tampa Bay called up goalies Maxime Lagace and Hugo Alnefelt from Syracuse of the American Hockey League to the taxi squad Monday. Lagace will start against Montreal. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

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Eyes on Coyotes, Sharks

The San Jose Sharks play for the first time since Dec. 16 when they host the Arizona Coyotes (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, NHL LIVE). A wider audience will get to gauge the progress of San Jose, which is hoping to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in three seasons but has lost five of its past seven games (2-5-0). Though the Sharks (15-14-1) continue to have issues scoring (2.60 goals per game, 27th in the NHL), forward Timo Meier leads them with 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 25 games after he scored 31 (12 goals, 19 assists) in 54 games last season, and goalie James Reimer has a 1.26 goals-against average and .961 save percentage in four games since Nov. 28. San Jose defenseman Brent Burns will play his 1,200th NHL game against Arizona (6-21-2), which ended a six-game losing streak with a 6-5 overtime win at the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 17. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

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Tuesday schedule

Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, TSN2, RDS, NHL LIVE)
Ondrej Palat's goal with 38 seconds left in the third period gave the Lightning a 3-2 victory at the Canadiens on Dec. 7, exactly five months after Tampa Bay defeated them at home in Game 5 of the 2021 Stanley Cup Final to win a second straight championship. Goalie
Jake Allen
and defensemen Ben Chiarot, Joel Edmundson, Jeff Petry and Chris Wideman were placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol Monday for Montreal, which hasn't played since Dec. 16. Forwards Laurent Dauphin, Mike Hoffman, Artturi Lehkonen and Tyler Toffoli also are in protocol.
Vegas Golden Knights at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; BSW, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Forward Mark Stone scored twice in the Golden Knights' last game, giving him 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) in 19 games this season. Kings forward prospect
Alex Turcotte
could make his NHL debut. The No. 5 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft was reassigned to the taxi squad Sunday and practiced as the center on the second line with Trevor Moore and Viktor Arvidsson. Los Angeles defenseman Drew Doughty, who hasn't played since Dec. 14, came out of COVID-19 protocol Sunday. He has scored 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in 11 games this season.
Arizona Coyotes at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, NHL LIVE)
The Coyotes scored a season-high six goals in the win against the Ducks. Sharks center Logan Couture has scored five points (two goals, three assists) in his past five games.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Chicago Blackhawks (postponed)