NHL On Tap: McDavid, Oilers vs. Pastrnak, Bruins is must-see TV

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 five games Monday.

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Bruins-Oilers is can't-miss viewing

If there's must-see TV on a Monday night in the NHL, it's the Boston Bruins playing the Edmonton Oilers at Rogers Place (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SNE, SNO, SNW, TVAS, NESN, SN NOW). It's a potential Stanley Cup Final preview between the Bruins (45-8-5), owners of the best record in the NHL, and the Oilers (32-20-8), a team led Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid leads the NHL with 113 points, has six goals and 10 assists during a six-game point streak, and is two goals from scoring 50 for the first time in his NHL career. Draisaitl, who is second to McDavid with 88 points (36 goas, 52 assists), has a seven-game goal streak that is tied with McDavid and Minnesota Wild forward Kirill Kaprizov for the longest this season. It's reasonable to believe McDavid is the odds-on favorite for the Hart Trophy voted to the most valuable player in the NHL, but Boston forward David Pastrnak is playing like an MVP; his 42 goals are second behind McDavid's 48, and on pace for 59 goals (behind McDavid's 66) and 112 points that would be his first 100-point season since joining the League in 2014-15. The Oilers are chasing the Vegas Golden Knights and Los Angeles Kings in the Pacific Division. The Bruins have won six in a row. Tune in, this will be fun. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Avalanche surging toward top of Central

The Colorado Avalanche have won five games in a row, have points in seven straight (6-0-1) and are 13-2-2 in their past 17 games. They're trending toward first place in the Central Division after being nowhere near it more than six weeks ago. The Avalanche (33-19-5) are three points behind the first-place Dallas Stars with two games in hand heading into their game against the Vegas Golden Knights at Ball Arena on Monday (9 p.m. ET; ALT, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, SN NOW). None of this should come as a surprise either. We all knew the Avalanche, the defending Stanley Cup champions, were a team to watch even when they were struggling. They were sixth in the Central Division and 14 points out of first place after losing to the Chicago Blackhawks on Jan. 12. Injuries were a main culprit, and inconsistent play had something to do with it too. Maybe motivation as well. But in 17 games since, they have a plus-25 goal differential, are averaging 3.71 goals per game and allowing 2.24 goals. Injuries remain an issue, but they're playing inspired hockey despite not having defensemen Cale Makar (head) and Erik Johnson (ankle) or forwards Gabriel Landeskog (knee, hasn't played this season) and Darren Helm (lower body, played five games this season). A win against the Golden Knights would lift the Avalanche past the Minnesota Wild and into second place because Minnesota is idle Monday. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights (35-18-6) are feeling good too, with points in nine straight games (6-0-3). They're back in first in the Pacific Division. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Red Wings, Senators battle in playoff race

The Detroit Red Wings and the Ottawa Senators will try to gain ground in their bids to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Red Wings visit for the first of two consecutive games between the Atlantic Division rivals at Canadian Tire Centre (7 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, BSDETX, ESPN+, SN NOW). The Red Wings (28-22-8) are three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Senators (28-26-4) are four points behind the Red Wings and need a win to keep from losing touch in the race. Detroit has been surging, going 7-2-0 in its past nine games, led by forward Dylan Larkin, who has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in his past 10 games. Ottawa is 8-3-1 in its past 12 games. Forward
Tim Stutzle
had 16 points (six goals, 10 assists) in eight games prior to being held without a point in his past three for the Senators. The Red Wings and Senators will play again in Ottawa on Tuesday. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Monday games

Detroit Red Wings at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS2, BSDETX, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Forward Lucas Raymond will return for the Red Wings after missing eight games because of a lower-body injury. Forward Alex DeBrincat needs one goal to reach 20 and one point to reach 50 in his first season with the Senators. This game originally was scheduled for Dec. 23 and postponed because of severe winter weather in Ottawa.
Boston Bruins at Edmonton Oilers (8:30 p.m. ET; NHLN, SNE, SNO, SNW, TVAS, NESN, SN NOW)
Bruins forward Brad Marchand has six points (three goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak. McDavid is on pace for 154 points, which would be the most in the NHL since Mario Lemieux had 161 points (69 goals, 92 assists) in 70 games for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1995-96. McDavid has 10 four-point games and 32 multipoint games this season.
Vancouver Canucks at Dallas Stars (8:30 p.m. ET; SN1, SNP, BSSW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Stars (31-16-12) and Canucks (23-31-5) each will welcome new players. Dallas acquired forward Evgenii Dadonov in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens on Sunday for forward Denis Gurianov. Vancouver acquired forward Vitali Kravtsov from the New York Rangers in a trade with the New York Rangers on Saturday for forward
William Lockwood
and a seventh-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The Stars ended a five-game slide (0-3-2) with a 3-2 shootout victory at the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes is one away from his second consecutive 50-assist season.
Vegas Golden Knights at Colorado Avalanche (9 p.m. ET; ALT, ATTSN-RM, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Vegas forward Jack Eichel has a goal in three straight games. Shea Theodore needs one point to extend his point streak to seven games, which would be the longest ever by a Golden Knights defenseman. Vegas has a plus-15 goal differential (33-18) in its past nine games despite going 1-for-21 on the power play (4.8 percent). Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon has 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) during a seven-game point streak. Colorado forward Mikko Rantanen has a goal in four straight games.
Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; BSSC, NBCSCH, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Ducks (19-34-7) return home after going 2-1-1 during a four-game road trip, including wins against the Washington Capitals (4-2) and the Carolina Hurricanes (3-2) in the final two games. The Blackhawks (21-32-5) have won five in a row, but again will be without forward Patrick Kane, who has returned to Chicago. He was scratched due to roster management for their 4-3 shootout win at the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.