NHL On Tap: Ovechkin continues chase when Capitals visit Flyers

Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are nine games on the schedule for Thursday, including two nationally televised in the United States. Thursday also marks the 17th week of "NHL Coast to Coast," a weekly whip-around studio show on Prime Video in Canada.

Games of the day

Washington Capitals at Philadelphia Flyers (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, NBCSP, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS)

Alex Ovechkin's chase for the all-time goals record takes the veteran forward and his Washington Capitals (35-11-7) to Philadelphia where they'll meet the rival Flyers (23-25-7) at Wells Fargo Center. The 39-year-old scored his 878th NHL goal in a 6-3 win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday, an empty net goal with one second remaining, and is now within 17 goals of passing Wayne Gretzky's record of 894. He now has 25 goals on the season and will attempt to extend his goal streak to four games. Washington has one regulation loss in its past 17 games (11-1-5). The Flyers, meanwhile, have trended in the opposite direction and will attempt to end a four-game losing streak (0-3-1), which included three straight shutouts prior to a 3-2 overtime loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Tuesday.

Carolina Hurricanes at Minnesota Wild (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+)

The Hurricanes (32-18-4) and Wild (31-19-4) will both be trying to get out of offensive funks when they meet in St. Paul. Each team comes off a 3-0 shutout loss on Tuesday; the Hurricanes against the host Winnipeg Jets, and the Wild against the host Boston Bruins. Minnesota has been shut out in its past two games; the Wild have gone 121:27 without a goal dating to Frederick Gaudreau's empty netter at 18:33 of the third period in a 4-0 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Jan. 30. Minnesota has lost four straight at home, and claimed forward Vinnie Hinostroza off waivers Wednesday after forward Ryan Hartman was suspended 10 games for roughing Tim Stutzle of the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. The Hurricanes saw their seven-game point streak end (6-0-1) with back-to-back losses against the Los Angeles Kings (4-2 on Saturday) and Jets. Carolina has only had one three-game losing streak this season and will be looking to avoid a second.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, TSN4, TVAS)

The Maple Leafs (32-19-2) will welcome back forward Mitch Marner and goalie Anthony Stolarz to the lineup when they meet the Kraken (23-28-4) at Climate Pledge Arena. Marner will play after missing Toronto's 6-3 win against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday with a lower-body injury. Solarz has been out of action since injuring his knee against the Anaheim Ducks on Dec. 12. Toronto will attempt to extend its winning streak to three games and William Nylander will attempt to extend his goal-scoring streak to four after accruing five goals in the past three games. Kraken forward Shane Wright will attempt to extend his career-high point streak to seven games; he has three goals and four assists in his past six. Seattle is 1-3-1 in its past five games.

Other Thursday games

Ottawa Senators at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, TSN5, RDS)

The Senators (29-21-4) had their five-game winning streak snapped in a 4-3 loss at the Lightning (28-20-2) on Tuesday and will attempt to get back on track in their second game at Tampa Bay in three days. Goalie Linus Ullmark, who will play for Team Sweden in the 4 Nations Face-Off, made 34 saves for Ottawa in the loss after missing the previous 18 games with a back injury. Lightning forward Brandon Hagel, who will play for Team Canada in the 4 Nations Face-Off, has four points (three goals, one assist) in his past three games.

Vegas Golden Knights at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSGSN)

Forward Jack Hughes, who will play for Team USA in the 4 Nations Face-Off, will try to extend his goal-scoring streak to four games and his points streak to seven (five goals, three assists) for the Devils (30-19-6). The Golden Knights (31-17-6) are 0-2-2 in their past four games, including two straight in regulation, and are 3-8-3 in their past 14.

Utah Hockey Club at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET, FDSNOH, Utah16)

The Blue Jackets (26-21-7) will look to snap a two-game losing streak but will be without forward Kirill Marchenko (broken jaw). Defenseman Zach Werenski, who was day to day with an upper-body injury, is likely to return. Utah (22-22-9) snapped a five-game losing streak with a 3-2 overtime win against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday.

Florida Panthers at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; FDSNMW, SCRIPPS)

The Panthers (32-20-3) have won three of four and could welcome rookie forward Mackie Samoskevich (seven goals, nine assists) back into the lineup after missing three games with an illness. A 1-4-1 slide has put the Blues (24-25-5) under .500, meaning they could be sellers before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline on March 7.

Colorado Avalanche at Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET; SN1, SNW, ALT)

The Avalanche (31-22-2) are 3-4-1 in their past eight and defenseman Cale Makar spoke out after a 3-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday. "The consistency right now is just not there, and that's been our fault," he said. The Flames (26-20-7) could make the same statement, going 2-4-0 in their past six including a 6-3 loss to the Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Vancouver Canucks at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, SNP)

Four days after acquiring defenseman Marcus Pettersson in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Canucks (24-18-11) signed him to a six-year, $33 million contract ($5.5 million average annual value). The 28-year-old is averaging 24:30 of ice time in two games with Vancouver. Rookie forward Macklin Celebrini will attempt to extend his point streak to four games for the Sharks (15-34-6). He has four points (two goals, two assists) during the three-game run and seven (four goals, three assists) in his past six.