NHL On Tap: Islanders visit Stars looking to gain in wild card race

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 four games Monday.

Islanders visit Stars facing long road to playoff berth

The New York Islanders were looking for a spark when they fired coach Lane Lambert on Jan. 20 and replaced him with Patrick Roy. New York was two points out of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference at the time, and though Roy has brought swagger, the mojo remains missing with the Islanders (23-20-14) now nine points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning with 25 games remaining. They hit the road for the first of two games beginning against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center (8 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSSW, NHLN) on Monday after a damaging 4-2 home loss to the Lightning on Saturday that's left them 1-2-2 in their past five. The challenge gets harder against the first-place team in the Central Division followed by a visit to face the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday to end February. The Stars (35-16-8) ended an 0-2-2 slide with a 2-1 win at the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday and remain the best in their division despite injuries to defensemen Jani Hakanpaa (upper body) and Nils Lundkvist (upper body), and forwards Evgenii Dadonov (lower-body fracture) and Tyler Seguin (lower body). The road ahead of the 2024 NHL Trade Deadline on March 8 is also difficult for the Stars with subsequent games at the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday and the Winnipeg Jets back in Dallas on Thursday. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Capitals seek to extend point streak, move up in standings

The Washington Capitals look to extend a four-game point streak and move closer to playoff contention when they host the Ottawa Senators at Capital One Arena (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, SN, TVAS). The Capitals (26-21-9) had their three-game winning streak end in a 3-2 overtime loss at the Florida Panthers on Saturday and are eight points behind the Lightning in the Eastern Conference. Alex Ovechkin hopes to pick up where he left off after his 10-game point streak (eight goals, six assists) ended Saturday. Dylan Strome has seven points (one goal, six assists) during a four-game point streak for Washington. The Senators (25-27-3) seek their third win in a row and are 3-0-1 in their past four games after their 4-3 shootout win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Claude Giroux had an assist in the game to extend his point streak to eight games (three goals, seven assists). -- William Douglas, staff writer

Evan Bouchard shining for Oilers

While Connor McDavid, who leads the team in points with 89 (21 goals, 68 assists), and Zach Hyman, who leads it in goals (37), are rightfully gaining many of the headlines for the Edmonton Oilers (33-20-2), keep an eye out for defenseman Evan Bouchard when they host the Los Angeles Kings (29-17-10) on Monday (9:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, SNW, BSW). Bouchard has 40 assists in 55 games. Paul Coffey, who coaches the Oilers defense now, is the only player in franchise history to reach 40 assists in fewer games. He did it in 46 games in 1986-87 when he finished the season with 67 points (17 goals, 50 assists in 59 games). McDavid had two assists in a 6-3 loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday. He has multiple assists in four straight games and can tie his personal record against the Kings. Wayne Gretzky has an NHL record eight straight multiassist games. -- Shawn P. Roarke, senior director of editorial

Monday games

Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, SN, TVAS)

The Senators look to tie the season series against the Capitals, who won 6-1 on Oct. 18. The final regular-season meeting is April 7 in Washington. John Carlson is one assist shy of becoming the fourth player in Capitals history to have at least 30 assists in nine-plus seasons. He would join Nicklas Backstrom (14), Alex Ovechkin (11) and Mike Gartner (9).

New York Islanders at Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSSW, NHLN)

Defenseman Scott Mayfield is day to day with a lower-body injury and will not be with the Islanders for the games in Dallas and Detroit. Noah Dobson (seven goals, 53 assists) is New York's first defenseman with at least 60 points since Denis Potvin had 68 in 1984-85. He's on pace for 76 assists, which would break Potvin's team record of 70 set in 1978-79. The Stars have won an NHL-high 19 games by one goal (19-6-8). Miro Heiskanen had his 55th multipoint game in the NHL on Saturday, tying Darryl Sydor for fifth in Stars/Minnesota North Stars history among defensemen.

Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers (9:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN1, SNW, BSW)

Drew Doughty has at least 20 assists in 11 straight seasons, all with the Kings. The only active defenseman with a longer run is Ryan Suter of the Dallas Stars (13). Doughty has 33 points (13 goals, 20 assists) in 56 games. Oilers forward Zach Hyman scored two goals against the Flames on Saturday and has five during a four-game streak.

Boston Bruins at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, NESN)

Bruins forward David Pastrnak (337 goals, 362 assists) needs one point for 700 in his NHL career and Brad Marchand is two goals shy of 400. Boston (34-12-3) has earned a point in five straight games (2-0-3) but hasn’t won in regulation since defeating the Vancouver Canucks 4-0 on Feb. 8. The Kraken (24-22-11) are 3-1-1 in their past five games after a 5-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday. Forward Jared McCann has 11 points (five goals, six assists) during a seven-game point streak, the longest of his NHL career.