NHL On Tap: Forsberg, Predators look to stay hot at Maple Leafs

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 12 games Saturday.

Wild showdown in Toronto

The red-hot Nashville Predators (14-12-0), who have won three in a row and nine of their past 11, visit the Toronto Maple Leafs (13-6-4) at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET; SN, NHLN, BSSO). The Predators have been one of the NHL's best stories the past month, erasing the memory of a 5-10-0 start with a string of impressive results. Forward Filip Forsberg leads Nashville in scoring with 30 points (14 goals, 16 assists) in 26 games and center Ryan O'Reilly has 12 goals, seven on the power play. Goalie Juuse Saros has won his past three starts, allowing five goals on 96 shots. For the Maple Leafs, No. 1 goalie Joseph Woll sustained an ankle injury in a 4-3 win at the Ottawa Senators on Thursday and is week to week. Ilya Samsonov, who has missed the past two games with an illness, will start. --– Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Kings try to extend League mark at Islanders

The Los Angeles Kings can’t lose, at least on the road. With a 4-0 win at the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, the Kings (16-4-3) set an NHL record with 11 straight wins on the road to start the season. They'll have a chance to add to that mark when they visit the New York Islanders (11-7-7) at UBS Arena (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSW). Los Angeles broke the previous League record of 10 straight, set by the Buffalo Sabres in 2006-07. It isn’t only the Kings as a team, though: Center Anze Kopitar and forward Trevor Moore each has an 11-game season-opening road point streak that can be extended Saturday. Kopitar and Moore are the fourth and fifth active players to earn season-opening road point streaks of at least 11 games, alongside Filip Hronek (11 in 2022-23), Max Domi (11 in 2018-19) and Evgeni Malkin (11 in 2008-09). Kopitar, who had three points Thursday, has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in the 11 games; Moore has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists). Defenseman Robert Bortuzzo, who was acquired by the Islanders in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Friday, will be in the lineup. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Canucks look to gain traction

The Vancouver Canucks (17-9-1) will attempt to win consecutive games for the first time since Nov. 15 when they host the Carolina Hurricanes (14-11-1) at Rogers Arena (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, BSSO). Following a 2-0 win against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday, the Canucks have alternated wins and losses in their past nine games. Forward Brock Boeser has nine points (five goals, four assists) on a six-game point streak. The Hurricanes will look to avoid what would be a season-long four-game losing streak; they gave up a two-goal third-period lead in a 3-2 loss at the Calgary Flames on Thursday. That came one night after a 6-1 loss at the Edmonton Oilers. Forward Andrei Svechnikov missed the loss at Calgary with an upper-body injury; he has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists) in 16 games since returning to the lineup Oct. 27 from a knee injury sustained last March 11. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Saturday games

Arizona Coyotes at Boston Bruins (1 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NHLN, NESN, SN)

The Coyotes (13-10-2) saw their season-long five-game winning streak end with a 4-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, after they defeated each of the past five Stanley Cup champions during the run. Goalie Connor Ingram has made six straight starts for Arizona. Forward Brad Marchand has scored the past five consecutive goals for the Bruins (17-5-3), tied for the second-longest streak in Boston history with David Pastrnak (2019-20) and Dunc Fisher (1951-52) and one behind the Bruins record of six consecutive scored by Glen Murray (2003-04). Defenseman Charlie McAvoy will not play and is day to day with an upper-body injury.

New Jersey Devils at Calgary Flames (4 p.m. ET; SN, MSGSN)

The Devils (13-10-1) have won five of six games, including a 2-1 win at the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. Rookie defenseman Simon Nemec scored his first NHL goal Thursday and has three points in his first three games in the League. The Flames (11-12-3) lead the NHL with five wins when trailing after two periods, their latest coming Thursday when they scored three goals in the third to defeat the Hurricanes. Calgary has allowed the first goal in eight consecutive games but has won four of them.

Vegas Golden Knights at Dallas Stars (4 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSSW, TVAS-D)

The Golden Knights (17-5-5) have points in each of their past six games (3-0-3) and sit at the top of the Western Conference. Center Jack Eichel has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in a five-game point streak. The Stars (15-7-3) salvaged the third game of their road trip with a 5-4 shootout win at the Washington Capitals on Thursday after dropping the first two games. Forward Joe Pavelski, 39, leads Dallas in goals with 11 and could become the fifth player in NHL history to lead his team in goals at age 39 or older, joining Jaromir Jagr (age 41 in 2012-13), Johnny Bucyk (age 40 in 1975-76), Gordie Howe (age 40 in 1967-68) and Shane Doan (age 39 in 2015-16).

Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, SN360, TVAS, CBC)

The Canadiens (11-12-3) have lost three of four and have been shut out twice by the Kings in the past 13 days, including in a 4-0 loss Thursday. Cayden Primeau will start against the Sabres (11-14-2), who ended a four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win at the Bruins on Thursday, when center Tage Thompson scored in his second game back after missing nine games with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin (lower body) will return after missing a 3-1 win against the Boston Bruins on Thursday with a lower-body injury; goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (illness) will not dress.

Ottawa Senators at Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. ET; BSDET, TVAS2, CITY)

Forward Patrick Kane made his Red Wings debut Thursday, finishing with three shots on goal in 16:33 of ice time in a 6-5 overtime loss to the San Jose Sharks. Detroit (14-7-4) scored three goals in 49 seconds in that game, its fastest three goals in 15 years and tied for the ninth fastest in Red Wings history. Defenseman Thomas Chabot, who has missed the past two games with a lower-body injury, is expected to be out at least four weeks for the Senators (10-11-0), coach D.J. Smith said.

Nashville Predators at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; SN, NHLN, BSSO)

William Nylander continues his hot start to the season for the Maple Leafs. The forward scored the winning goal Thursday in a 4-3 victory at Ottawa to give him 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 23 games. He had never reached 30 points in fewer than 29 games in an NHL season. Goalie Martin Jones, who came in relief in the third period, earned his first win since April 8, 2023, playing for the Seattle Kraken against the Chicago Blackhawks. Predators captain Roman Josi had a goal and an assist in a 5-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. He has 147 multipoint games in his NHL career. Erik Karlsson (194), Brent Burns (185), Kris Letang (159) and Victor Hedman (156) are the only active defensemen with more.

New York Rangers at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, MSG)

The Rangers (18-5-1) had their three-game win streak end in a 6-2 loss at Ottawa on Tuesday. Center Mika Zibanejad has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in an eight-game point streak. Coach Peter Laviolette did not say whether forward Barclay Goodrow would make the trip after taking a puck to the face Tuesday. Alex Ovechkin scored the 1,500th point of his NHL career for the Capitals (12-8-3) in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Stars on Thursday and the forward now has 827 goals and 673 assists in 1,370 regular-season games, becoming the 16th player in League history to reach the 1,500-point mark. Washington forward T.J. Oshie will return after he missed six games with an upper-body injury.

Los Angeles Kings at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSW)

Goalie Cam Talbot became the eighth active goalie to record 30 NHL shutouts when he blanked the Canadiens on Thursday. Defenseman Drew Doughty has scored a goal in three consecutive games. Center Bo Horvat has nine points (four goals, five assists) in a five-game point streak for the Islanders. Noah Dobson has 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) in 25 games; only three other Islanders defensemen have put up as many points through 25 games in a season: Denis Potvin (nine times, including 27 in 1986-87), Tom Kurvers (29 in 1992-93) and Jeff Norton (25 in 1992-93).

St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, NBCSCH)

Connor Bedard has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past five games and the center leads the NHL rookie scoring race with 21 points (11 goals, 10 assists) in 25 games. Bedard assisted on forward Philipp Kurashev’s goal in a 1-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday. The victory ended a four-game losing streak (0-3-1) for the Blackhawks (8-16-1). The Blues (13-12-1) have lost two straight and three of their past four (1-3-0) following a 5-2 defeat at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. Center Robert Thomas scored twice for St. Louis and has four points (two goals, two assists) in a three-game point streak.

Philadelphia Flyers at Colorado Avalanche (9 p.m. ET; NBCSP, ALT)

The Flyers (14-10-2) will try to extend their winning streak to four games, which would be their longest this season. Forward Travis Konecny had two goals in a 4-1 win at Arizona on Thursday and has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games. The Avalanche (16-8-2) have lost four of their past five games (1-2-2). Center Nathan MacKinnon has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in a 10-game point streak, including a goal and assist in a a 4-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, BSSUN, TVAS2)

Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov had an 11-game point streak end Thursday in a 5-1 loss at the Predators. Kucherov, who had 21 points (six goals, 15 assists) during the streak, leads the NHL in scoring with 44 points (17 goals, 27 assists) in 27 games for the Lightning (12-11-5). The Kraken (8-13-6) are on a season-long six-game losing streak (0-5-1) following a 2-1 defeat to the Devils on Thursday.

Carolina Hurricanes at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, BSSO)

The Hurricanes have lost the first three games of a six-game road trip by a combined score of 11-4 -- 2-1 at Winnipeg, 6-1 at the Edmonton Oilers and 3-2 at Calgary. Center J.T. Miller leads the Canucks offensively with 39 points (14 goals, 25 assists) in 27 games, second in the NHL scoring race, five points behind Kucherov.