NHL On Tap: Devils host Jets, looking to continue playoff push

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 the six games Sunday.

Hughes has Devils on fast track to playoffs

For the past few years, I've gone on record to say the New Jersey Devils are on the verge of a breakthrough. After proving me wrong every time, the Devils are full speed ahead toward their first Stanley Cup Playoff appearance since 2018. There are plenty of reasons why the Devils (36-14-5) have the most wins after 55 games in their history since joining the NHL as the Kansas City Scouts in 1974-75. It starts with Jack Hughes, a center I'd consider the favorite for the Hart Trophy given to the most valuable player in the NHL if not for Connor McDavid's amazing season with the Edmonton Oilers. Hughes takes a personal 10-game point streak (nine goals, 10 assists) into Prudential Center and had two assists in a 5-2 win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday, his first game back after missing four with an upper-body injury. The last time the Devils were in the playoffs, Taylor Hall won the Hart, and even with McDavid the consensus favorite this season, Hughes is playing like an MVP. The Devils begin a four-game homestand when they host the the Winnipeg Jets (34-20-1) on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, TSN3, ESPN+, SN NOW). Winnipeg has won three of its past four games (3-1-0) and is second in the Central Division, three points behind the first-place Dallas Stars. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Tight times in the West

Things are going in the right direction for the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche (30-19-5) after a season of stops, starts and injuries. They're 3-0-1 in their past four games and 10-2-2 in their past 14. They've gotten healthier of late, with Cale Makar returning for a 4-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday after the defenseman missed four games with a head injury. There's even more hope on the horizon, with captain Gabriel Landeskog about to start skating soon. He's missed the entire season after knee surgery. Next for the Avalanche at Ball Arena are the Edmonton Oilers (3 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, SN), a team also looking to capture every single point possible. Edmonton (30-19-7) has lost three in a row (0-1-2), the past two via the shootout, and is fourth in the Pacific Division, so you can be sure it will be firing on all cylinders. -- Amalie Benjamin, staff writer

Maple Leafs battling for position in Atlantic

The Toronto Maple Leafs look to pick up ground in the Atlantic Division when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks (6 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, TVAS, SNO). The Maple Leafs (34-14-8) are second in the division, three points ahead of the idle Tampa Bay Lightning. Ryan O'Reilly will play his second game with Toronto after getting one assist and taking one shot in 16:12 of ice time in his Maple Leafs debut, a 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. The 32-year-old forward was acquired Friday from the St. Louis Blues in a three-team trade that also included the Minnesota Wild. Forward Max Domi has three assists in his past two games for Chicago (17-32-5), which lost 5-2 at Toronto on Wednesday but is coming off a 4-3 win against the Ottawa Senators on Friday. -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

Sunday games

Nashville Predators at Minnesota Wild (2 p.m. ET; BSN, BSWI, BSSO, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Predators (26-21-6) play their second game in two days, coming off a 7-3 win at the Florida Panthers that pulled them within five points of the Wild (29-21-5) and Calgary Flames for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Minnesota is 2-4-1 in its past seven games and has scored two goals or fewer six times in that span.
St. Louis Blues at Ottawa Senators (2 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN5, BSMW, ESPN+)
Life without Ryan O'Reilly for the Blues (26-26-3) began with a loss to the Colorado Avalanche that ended a three-game winning streak Saturday. St. Louis forward Pavel Buchnevich did not travel to Ottawa after he left in the second period Saturday with a lower-body injury. Captain Brady Tkachuk has scored in three consecutive games and Drake Batherson has an NHL career-high 45 points for the Senators (26-24-4), who are 6-1-1 in their past eight.
Edmonton Oilers at Colorado Avalanche (3 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, SN)
Connor McDavid is the first NHL player to 100 points this season, reaching 101 with two assists in a 5-4 shootout loss to the New York Rangers on Friday, the sixth 100-point season for the Oilers captain. Colorado forward Nathan MacKinnon has four straight multipoint games (nine points; four goals, five assists). Teammate Mikko Rantanen reached 200 goals Saturday in his 462nd game, the fourth-fastest Finland-born player to reach the mark in NHL history.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Chicago Blackhawks (6 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, TVAS, SNO)
Goalie Ilya Samsonov is expected to start for the Maple Leafs after missing a 5-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday with an illness. Toronto forward William Nylander has a three-game goal streak and six points in that span. Forward Sam Lafferty has scored in consecutive games for Chicago, which is 3-6-1 in its past 10.
Winnipeg Jets at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, TSN3, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Jets forwards Kyle Connor (one goal, four assists) and Blake Wheeler (three goals, three assists) are each on a four-game point streak. The Devils are 12-2-2 in 16 games since Jan. 7 and 28-4-4 when captain Nico Hischier gets at least one point. He had two goals and two assists Saturday for his first four-point game in the NHL.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Arizona Coyotes (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN SN1, SNE, SNW, SNP, BSAZ, BSOH, SN NOW)
The Blue Jackets (18-34-4) defeated the Dallas Stars 4-1 on Saturday, when forward Johnny Gaudreau sat out with a lower-body injury that ended his 349-game ironman streak, which was the third-longest run in the NHL among active players (Phil Kessel 1,038; Brent Burns, 734). Clayton Keller continues to surge for the Coyotes (19-28-8) with 11 points (five goals, six assists) in six games since the NHL All-Star break, including two goals in a 6-5 shootout loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Among Keller's three seasons with at least 50 points, he needed the fewest games (54) to do so this season.