NHL On Tap: MacKinnon of Avalanche tries to regain scoring lead against Devils 

Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are seven games on the schedule for Sunday, including two nationally televised in the United States and three in Canada:

Games of the day

Colorado Avalanche at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; NHLN, ALT2, MSG, TVAS)

The Avalanche (15-13-0) are in the second game of a back-to-back after a 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Forward Nathan MacKinnon is third in the NHL in points with 41 points (nine goals, 32 assists) in 27 games, one behind Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov and Carolina Hurricanes forward Martin Necas. The Devils (18-9-2) have won three of their past four games and six of eight. Center Jack Hughes has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) during a four-game point streak, including two assists Friday against the Kraken.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Vancouver Canucks (4 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, FDSNSUN)

Nikita Kucherov returned for the Lightning (13-9-2) after missing two games with an undisclosed injury. The forward leads Tampa Bay with 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists) in 22 games this season. The Lightning scored five times in the first period in their previous game, an 8-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, their second time scoring eight goals in their past five games. Forward Brandon Hagel has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists) in his past seven games. Kevin Lankinen will start in goal again for the Canucks (14-7-4), who are 5-1-1 in their past seven.

Seattle Kraken at New York Rangers (1 p.m. ET; KHN, KONG, NHLN, MSG, SN, TVAS)

Igor Shesterkin is not at Madison Square Garden on Sunday after his wife went into labor, one day after the Rangers' No. 1 goalie signed an eight-year, $92 million contract ($11.5 million average annual value). Among goalies to play at least 100 games since the start of the 2021-22 season, the 28-year-old is second in the NHL with 118 wins and a .920 save percentage, and third in GAA (2.45). Artemi Panarin is coming off a two-goal game for New York (14-10-1), which has lost six of eight but won 4-2 against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. Shane Wright has scored in each of his past two games for Seattle (13-14-1); he has seven points (five goals, two assists) in his past seven games since Nov. 25 after having two points in his first 18 games this season. The Kraken lost 3-2 at the New Jersey Devils on Friday.

Other Sunday games

New York Islanders at Ottawa Senators (5 p.m. ET; RDS2, TSN5, MSGSN)

Maxim Tsyplakov has goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his NHL career for the Islanders (10-11-7) after scoring in a 4-3 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday. The Senators (12-12-2) are 4-1-1 in their past six games.

Columbus Blue Jackets at Winnipeg Jets (6 p.m. ET; TSN3, FDSNOH)

The Blue Jackets (11-12-3) have lost three straight games and could be without defenseman Ivan Provorov, who left the 5-2 loss to the Canucks on Friday after getting tripped into the boards by center Elias Pettersson. The Jets (20-8-0) became the first NHL team this season to win 20 games with a 4-2 victory at the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday.

Utah Hockey Club at Philadelphia Flyers (7:30 p.m. ET; Utah16, NBCSP)

Utah (11-11-4) has won three straight road games by a 14-4 margin. Matvei Michkov has three consecutive multipoint games for the Flyers (12-11-4); he scored twice in a 4-3 overtime loss at the Boston Bruins on Saturday.

Calgary Flames at Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET; Victory+, SN)

It’s the start of a two-game trip for the Flames (13-9-5), who are 3-6-4 on the road this season. The Stars (16-10-0) open a six-game homestand after losing the last two of a three-game road trip (1-2-0).