Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are five games on the schedule for Friday, including one nationally televised in the United States and Canada.
Games of the day
Colorado Avalanche at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNW, ALT, KUSA)
Oilers center Connor McDavid and Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon go head-to-head for the final time before uniting to represent Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off. McDavid has 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) in 21 career games against MacKinnon and Edmonton (34-16-4), winner of two straight, is 12-4-5 against Colorado when its captain faces the Avalanche All-Star. MacKinnon, who has 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 21 games (9-10-2) when facing McDavid, is atop the Art Ross Trophy race with 83 points (20 goals, 63 assists). He's two ahead of Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl (38 goals, 43 assists). Colorado (32-22-2), which is 8-7-2 since a six-game winning streak ended on Jan. 4, won 4-2 at the Calgary Flames on Thursday.
Pittsburgh Penguins at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, NHLN, MSG, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS)
Sidney Crosby, who was named captain of Team Canada for the 4 Nations Face-Off, will miss his first game of the season for the Penguins (22-24-9) because of an upper-body injury he sustained in a 3-2 shootout loss against the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday. Rickard Rakell will take his spot as first-line center. Rakell, who will play for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, practiced in that spot Thursday after serving as left wing on the top line with Crosby. Rakell is second on the Penguins with 46 points and leads them with 24 goals. Mika Zibanejad, who will represent Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, has six points (one goal, five assists) in the past three games for the Rangers (26-23-4), who have won two straight. New York, which plays the final game of a three-game homestand, won 3-2 against the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
Dallas Stars at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; FDSNW, Victory+, SNP, SNO, SNE)
The line of Quinton Byfield, Kevin Fiala and Alex Laferriere will look to continue their tremendous play when the Kings host the Stars at Crypto.com Arena. The three combined for six points (two goals, four assists) in a 6-3 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. Fiala has scored two goals in two straight games and has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his past 10 for the Kings (28-17-6), who have won two straight following a four-game losing streak. Goalie Jake Oettinger, who will play for the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off, is 10-3-0 with a 2.07 goals-against average and .921 save percentage in his past 13 games for the Stars (34-18-1), who had their five-game winning streak end with a 2-1 loss at the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday.
