NHL On Tap: Devils face Blues, look to extend 5-game point streak

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 eight games Thursday.

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Devils hope to continue road dominance

The New Jersey Devils look to extend their point streak to six games and also keep pace with the Hurricanes for the top seed in the Metropolitan Division when they visit the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center (9 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN NOW). New Jersey (35-13-5), three points behind first-place Carolina, is 4-0-1 in its past five games. The Devils won 3-2 at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday to become the first team in NHL history to 20 road wins in 26 games; the Washington Capitals reached 20 road wins in 27 games twice (2015-16, 2019-20). Jordan Kyrou has nine points (four goals, five assists) in his past eight games for St. Louis (25-25-3), which plays the third of a four-game homestand and has won two straight after losing five in a row before the All-Star break. -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

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Golden Knights continue without Thompson

The Vegas Golden Knights (32-18-4) have quite the quandary on their hands: finding a way to win without goalie Logan Thompson, who is out week to week because of a lower-body injury sustained against the Minnesota Wild on Feb. 9. They've won three in a row, including their first without Thompson, a 7-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday. They'll look for their fourth straight victory when they play the San Jose Sharks (17-27-11) at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday (10 p.m. ET; SN1, TVAS, ATTSN-RM, NBCSCA, ESPN+, SN NOW). This is not new territory for Vegas, which has worked through goaltending injuries seemingly every season since joining the NHL in 2017-18. Remember when the Golden Knights were winning games with goalie
Maxime Lagace
in their inaugural season? They lead the Pacific Division but have others on their tail; the Los Angeles Kings are one point behind in second place, the Seattle Kraken two points back in third. They'll need their best, from goalie on out, to keep pace. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Ward to be honored before Stadium Series tune-up

The Carolina Hurricanes (35-10-8) will honor
Cam Ward
before they play the Montreal Canadiens (23-27-4) at PNC Arena (7 p.m. ET; BSSO, TSN2, RDS, ESPN+, SN NOW). Ward, the first player elected to the Hurricanes Hall of Fame, went 318-244-84 with a 2.70 goals-against average, .909 save percentage and 27 shutouts in 668 regular-season games for Carolina from 2005-18. He also went 23-18 with a 2.38 GAA, .917 save percentage and four shutouts in 41 Stanley Cup Playoff games, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player of the playoffs when the Hurricanes won the Cup in 2006. This will be their final game before they play outdoors for the first time, hosting the Capitals in the 2023 Navy Federal Credit Union NHL Stadium Series at Carter-Finley Stadium in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Saturday. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Thursday games

Florida Panthers at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; NBCSWA, BSFL, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Washington (28-22-6) has lost two in a row and will be without forward Alex Ovechkin for the second straight game. The Capitals captain is expected to be away from the team for at least the remainder of the week to be with his family
following the death of his father Wednesday
. Washington is 23-22-4 in 49 regular-season games without Ovechkin since his NHL debut in 2005-06. Matthew Tkachuk has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in his past 11 games for the Panthers (27-24-6), who are 4-2-0 in their past six.
Montreal Canadiens at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; BSSO, TSN2, RDS, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Hurricanes are 10-1-1 in their past 12 games. Center Sebastian Aho leads them with 13 points (10 goals, three assists) during this stretch, followed by defenseman Brent Burns (six goals, four assists) and forward Teuvo Teravainen (three goals, seven assists), each of whom has 10 points. The Canadiens have won three in a row. Jonathan Drouin has five assists in his past two games.
Winnipeg Jets at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, TSN3, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Blake Wheeler has five points (three goals, two assists) during a three-game point streak for the Jets (34-19-1), who have won three straight. Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck is probable after missing a 3-2 shootout win against the Kraken on Tuesday because of to a non-COVID-19-related illness. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov could be scratched for the second straight game because of "trade-related reasons" for Columbus (16-34-4), which has lost five of six (1-4-1).
Boston Bruins at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, BSSO, NESN, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Pavel Zacha has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past four games for the Bruins (40-8-5), who equaled the 2015-16 Capitals for the fewest games to 40 wins in a single season in NHL history. Forward Matt Duchene has six points (three goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak for the Predators (25-20-6), who have lost two of three (1-2-0) since the All-Star break.
Detroit Red Wings at Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET; SNW, BSDET, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Forward Lucas Raymond (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday and will miss his fourth straight game for the Red Wings (25-20-8), who have won four straight. Detroit recalled forward Jakub Vrana from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, and he should be in the lineup. Forward Dillon Dube has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past two games for the Flames (25-18-11), who have lost three of four (1-1-2).
New Jersey Devils at St. Louis Blues (9 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN NOW)
Devils goalie Vitek Vanecek is 11-0-1 in his past 12 games and is tied with Martin Brodeur for the second-longest point streak in Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history. The record is 14 games set by Brodeur three times, most recently in 2000-01. Defenseman Torey Krug (lower body) is questionable, and forward Brandon Saad (upper body) is out for St. Louis. Each player left in the second period of a 6-2 win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday.
Philadelphia Flyers at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, NBCSP, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Philadelphia (22-23-10), which is playing Seattle for the second time in five days, is 2-3-3 in its past eight. The Kraken (30-18-6) play the first of two straight at home after going 1-3-1 on a five-game road trip.
San Jose Sharks at Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; SN1, TVAS, ATTSN-RM, NBCSCA, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Sharks' top two scorers, defenseman Erik Karlsson with 73 points (18 goals, 55 assists) and forward Timo Meier with 52 points (31 goals, 21 assists) have been the subject of much speculation ahead of the NHL Trade Deadline on March 3. The Sharks are 4-4-2 in their past 10 games. The Golden Knights play four of their next five games at home, where they are 15-13-0 this season. Chandler Stephenson leads them with 47 points (12 goals, 35 assists) in 54 games.