NHL On Tap: Capitals without Ovechkin host McDavid, Oilers

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 five games Wednesday.

Ovechkin out for Capitals in game against McDavid, Oilers

Alex Ovechkin will not play for the Washington Capitals when they host the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS, NHL LIVE) after the forward was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol. It would have been the first time Ovechkin and Oilers center Connor McDavid played against one another since Oct. 24, 2019, a 4-3 win by Edmonton. This should still be a good matchup in the final game before the All-Star break for each team. The Capitals (25-12-9) have won two in a row after a 4-3 overtime victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. McDavid has scored three goals in his past four games for the Oilers (22-16-3), who are 4-0-1 in their past five after a seven-game skid (0-5-2). Edmonton's captain is fourth in the NHL with 59 points (22 goals, 37 assists) and teammate Leon Draisaitl is second with 61 points (31 goals, 30 assists). Tyson Barrie will return for Edmonton after the defenseman missed five games with an upper- and lower-body injury. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief

Fiala hopes to extend point streak to 12

Kevin Fiala looks to extend his point streak to 12 games when the Minnesota Wild visit the Chicago Blackhawks (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, NHL LIVE). Fiala has scored 14 points (eight goals, six assists) in his run, which is the longest active point streak in the NHL and the second-longest in Wild history behind Mikael Granlund (12 games, 2016-17). Minnesota (27-10-3), coming off a 4-3 win at the New York Islanders on Jan. 30, has won five straight games and is 8-0-1 in its past nine. Forward Patrick Kane has scored five points (two goals, three assists) in the past two games for the Blackhawks (16-22-7), who have lost six of their past seven. -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

State of the Kraken

Let's review the Seattle Kraken 45 games into their inaugural NHL season before they visit the Islanders (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE): At times they've been a tough out, the latest example a 4-3 loss at the Boston Bruins on Monday when they tied the game 3-3 with two third-period goals, and forward Jared McCann is enjoying his best NHL season with 18 goals, one from his NHL career high set with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2018-19. Alas, Seattle is 14-27-4, 15th in the 16-team Western Conference and could face roster changes before the NHL Trade Deadline on March 21. They visit the Islanders in a game rescheduled from Jan. 29 because of inclement weather, with New York (16-16-6) allowing 20 goals in its past 10 games (2.00 per game) but averaging 2.42 goals per game that's tied for 29th in the NHL with the Blackhawks. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Wednesday games

Seattle Kraken at New York Islanders (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Kraken forward Jordan Eberle faces the Islanders for the first time since he was selected in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft. His 169 points in four seasons (2017-21) were fifth among Islanders skaters during his tenure. The Islanders play the last of seven consecutive home games (3-3-0 so far) and will likely start goalie Semyon Varlamov after Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves in a 4-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday. Center Brock Nelson looks to extend his point streak to five games for New York.
Edmonton Oilers at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; TNT, SN, TVAS, NHL LIVE)
Goalie Ilya Samsonov is expected to start for the Capitals after Vitek Vanacek left a 4-3 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins with an upper-body injury in the first period Tuesday. Evander Kane leads Edmonton in points (26) and games (34) against Washington. The forward has scored one goal in two games since agreeing to a one-year contract Jan. 27.
Los Angeles Kings at Detroit Red Wings (7:30 p.m. ET; BSDET, BSW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Kings (23-16-7) are 3-0-2 in the first five games of a six-game road trip. Los Angeles defenseman Olli Maatta is expected to play his 500th game in the NHL. Dylan Larkin heads to the 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend the first player to score 40 points in 40 games or less (41 in 40) for the Red Wings (20-20-6) since Henrik Zetterberg in 2013-14 (44 in 40).
Calgary Flames at Arizona Coyotes (9:30 p.m. ET; SN360, SNW, BSAZ, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Flames (22-13-6) and Coyotes (11-29-4) play for the first time since March 2, 2020, when Calgary won 3-2 at Scotiabank Saddledome and the first in Arizona since Dec. 10, 2019, a 5-2 Flames victory. Coyotes forward Clayton Keller has scored six points (two goals, four assists) in a five-game point streak. The Flames have won four of their past five.
Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks (9:30 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, NHL LIVE)
Patrick Kane has two hat tricks for the Blackhawks in his past six games against the Wild, whose nine-game point streak (8-0-1) since Jan. 6 is tied for their season high (8-0-1) from Nov. 21 to Dec. 9. It's the first time in their history the Wild have had multiple point streaks of at least eight games in one season.