On Tap: Blues look to stay hot, visit Canadiens on Super Sunday

Welcome to 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 two games Sunday.

Blues looking to move up

The St. Louis Blues (27-21-2) got off to a rocky start this season, but they’re flirting with the Stanley Cup Playoffs just a few months following a coaching change. Currently holding the second wild card from the Western Conference entering their game against the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre on Sunday (1 p.m. ET; TDS, TSN2, BSMW), the Blues are looking for their seventh win in eight games. Forward Robert Thomas, who was selected to his first NHL All-Star Game this year, leads St. Louis with 53 points (17 goals, 36 assists) in 50 games. Forward Jake Neighbours has also been a big part of the offense, getting 21 points, including 17 goals, in 50 games. For Montreal (21-22-8), Cole Caufield is on an 11-game point streak (six goals, eight assists), joining Max Domi (11 games in 2018-19) and Pierre Turgeon (13 games in 1994-95) as the only Canadiens players with a point streak of at least 11 games in the past 30 years. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Enjoy the ride, Canucks fans

Maybe if you're loyal to the Vancouver Canucks you remain skeptical. You fear that a team that leads the NHL with 74 points, that has moved like a tremendous machine from the start of the season, will eventually regress. Having lost two in a row (0-1-1) following a 12-game point streak (10-0-2), the Canucks will try to rebound against the Washington Capitals (1:30 p.m. ET; MNMT, SN) in the second game of a back-to-back following a 4-3 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. Vancouver (34-12-6) is on track for its second playoff berth since 2014-15, so please allow yourself to enjoy the joy of today. The Canucks are better after the trades for forward Elias Lindholm and defenseman Nikita Zadorov. They're guided by Rick Tocchet, whose go-with-the-flow philosophy has them winning with either style or grit, while at the same time making them understand they haven't accomplished a thing. Yes, time will tell if Vancouver flames out, but it's OK to enjoy what's happening now and have optimism it'll go further than any fan's wildest expectations. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Ovechkin, Capitals seek Super sweep

The Capitals will try to complete a sweep of a challenging back-to-back against the top two teams in the NHL when they host the Canucks in their traditional Super Bowl Sunday game (1:30 p.m. ET; MNMT, SN). Washington (23-20-7) ended a six-game slide (0-5-1) with a 3-0 victory on Saturday against the Boston Bruins, who are second in the NHL with 73 points. Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin will look to extend his four-game goal streak and five-game point streak (four goals, three assists). The 38-year-old moved within 60 of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record of 894 goals by scoring his 834th on Saturday. It was also his 57th empty-net goal, passing Gretzky for the most in NHL history. Ovechkin has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in his past 14 games. Washington is 17-14-0 with two ties on Super Bowl Sunday but has lost the past six. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Sunday games

St. Louis Blues at Montreal Canadiens (1 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, BSMW)

The Blues are getting solid outings from both of their goalies. Jordan Binnington is 17-13-2 with a 2.92 goals-against average, .908 save percentage and two shutouts in 35 games (33 starts), and Joel Hofer is 10-8-0 with a 2.77 GAA, .915 save percentage and one shutout in 19 games (17 starts). Mike Matheson has 71 points (15 goals, 56 assists) in 91 career games with the Canadiens. The only defensemen to have more points prior to their 100th game with Montreal are Chris Chelios(77 points; 12 goals, 65 assists) and Sprague Cleghorn (73 points; 42 goals, 31 assists). The Canadiens are 21-13-1 with two ties in their history on Super Bowl Sunday, including a 6-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers last season.

Vancouver Canucks at Washington Capitals s (1:30 p.m. ET; MNMT, SN)

The Canucks have lost two in a row (0-1-1) for the first time since Nov. 16-18. Vancouver forward Elias Lindholm, who was acquired in a trade with Calgary on Jan. 31, has no points in his past two games after scoring two goals in his debut, a 3-2 win against the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday. Washington forward T.J. Oshie needs one goal to reach 300 for his NHL career. He has 12 points (eight goals, four assists) in his past 14 games.