NHL On Tap: Hughes carries goal streak for Devils at Hurricanes

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 10 games Tuesday.

Hughes attempts to extend goal streak for Devils at Hurricanes

A day after being named the NHL Second Star of the Week, Jack Hughes will attempt to help the New Jersey Devils (25-12-3) move to within two points of the Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina Hurricanes when they visit PNC Arena (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, SN NOW). The 21-year-old forward had seven points (five goals, two assists) and three multipoint games to earn the honor and can extend his goal streak to six games in this divisional showdown. Hughes has eight goals in his past five games and 19 in his past 20 dating to Nov. 25. Devils forward Miles Wood had to leave practice with an injury early Monday, but he made the trip and coach Lindy Ruff said he should play. The Hurricanes (25-8-7) enter the game with 57 points. Keep an eye on forward Max Pacioretty, who scored his first two goals with Carolina in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday. Pacioretty, who was acquired in a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights on July 13, was playing his second game this season after having surgery to repair a torn Achilles tendon Aug. 10. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Avalanche looking for success again

The Colorado Avalanche are a good team working through injuries. Playing without forwards Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and Valeri Nichushkin (ankle), defenseman Josh Manson (lower body) and goalie Pavel Francouz (lower body) would hurt any team, let alone the defending Stanley Cup champions. Still, the Avalanche are trying to claw their way back into the Central Division race. Colorado (20-15-3) defeated the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in overtime Saturday to end a five-game slide (0-4-1) and want to get on a roll when they host the Florida Panthers (18-19-4) at Ball Arena (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, SN1, SN NOW). The Avalanche still have a lot of talent, including forward Mikko Rantanen (48 points; 26 goals, 22 assists), their leading scorer; center Nathan MacKinnon (38 points; 10 goals, 28 assists), who returned from injury Dec. 31; and defenseman Cale Makar (37 points; 10 goals, 27 assists). They're 11 points behind the Dallas Stars for first in the division and two behind the Oilers for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Blues, Flames in first of two in 'The Lou'

Talk about a big week for the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames. These are two teams that want people to believe they're for real, that they're legit playoff contenders. Though they're also wildly inconsistent, the facts matter now and here it is: They're in separate divisions in the Western Conference and competing for postseason position, and it's certainly possible the next two games end up going a long way toward determining if one or both end up making it three months from now. The Blues (20-18-3) and Flames (19-14-8) face off for the first of two games in three days at Enterprise Center (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, SNW, ESPN+, SN NOW). The Blues are starting a seven-game homestand after going 3-1-0 on a four-game road trip, all without forwards Vladimir Tarasenko (hand) and Ryan O'Reilly (broken foot), who remain on long-term injured reserve. Brandon Saad has five goals in a four-game goal streak for St. Louis, which is fifth in the Central Division but four points behind the third-place Minnesota Wild. The Flames are coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday. They got one point in a game that should have yielded them two but are 6-2-2 in their past 10. Calgary holds the first wild card the West and is three points ahead of St. Louis. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Tuesday games

Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; BSSUNX, BSOH, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Lightning (24-13-1) play at home after three days off following back-to-back road losses, 5-1 at the Wild and 4-2 at the Winnipeg Jets. Tampa Bay has won seven straight home games and should have Victor Hedman available after the defenseman missed the game against Winnipeg because of the expected birth of his second child. The Blue Jackets (12-25-2) have lost nine in a row on the road since Dec. 6, all in regulation.
Minnesota Wild at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, MSG, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury will start for the Wild (22-14-3). The goalie missed a 3-0 loss to the Blues on Sunday because he left the team for personal reasons following a 6-5 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres the night before. Forward Mats Zuccarello also returns after missing two games with an upper-body injury. The Rangers (22-12-7) have points in five straight games (3-0-2) but blew leads of 2-0 and 3-1 before losing 4-3 in overtime at the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. New York is 6-1-0 at home since Dec. 5. Wild forward Ryan Reaves returns to Madison Square Garden for the first time since the Rangers traded him to Minnesota on Nov. 23.
New Jersey Devils at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, SN NOW)
Hughes (49 points; 26 goals, 23 assists) is one point from tying John MacLean (41 games in 1988-89) for the fewest games in Devils/Colorado Rockies/Kansas City Scouts history to reach 50 points in one season. New Jersey is 14-1-1 on the road since a 5-2 loss at the Philadelphia Flyers on Oct. 13. The Hurricanes have lost three in a row (0-2-1) since a Carolina/Hartford Whalers-record 11-game winning streak.
Seattle Kraken at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; MSG-B, ROOT-NW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Kraken (23-12-4) and Sabres (20-16-2) each played Monday. Seattle extended its winning streak to five games to start 2023 with a 4-0 win at the Montreal Canadiens, its fourth straight on the road. It is the Kraken's third winning streak of at least five this season and second to consist of all regulation wins. They have outscored the opposition 26-8 in the winning streak. Buffalo lost for the second time in 10 games (8-2-0) Monday, 4-0 to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Vancouver Canucks at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Penguins (20-13-6) will try to start a winning streak after ending a six-game skid (0-4-2) with a 4-1 victory at the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday. Pittsburgh has been streaky this season with two separate winning streaks of at least five games and two of at least six. Goalie Casey DeSmith will start for the Penguins with Tristan Jarry day to day with a lower-body injury, though coach Mike Sullivan said he skated for the first time since leaving the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic on Jan. 2 in the first period. The Canucks (17-19-3) lost 7-4 at the Jets on Sunday, the first of five straight road games, and are 1-4-0 in their past five overall. Vancouver center Bo Horvat's next goal will be his 30th of the season and 200th of his NHL career.
Winnipeg Jets at Detroit Red Wings (7 p.m. ET; BSDET, TSN3, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Jets (26-13-1) have won five in a row. Kyle Connor (five goals, six assists) and Pierre-Luc Dubois (four goals, six assists) each has points in six straight games for Winnipeg. Connor (49 points; 20 goals, 29 assists) can become the fourth player in Jets/Atlanta Thrashers history with six consecutive seasons of at least 50 points, joining Ilya Kovalchuk (eight), Blake Wheeler (seven) and Mark Scheifele (seven). The Red Wings (16-15-7) are 0-3-0 in 2023 and 2-6-1 at home since Nov. 28. Detroit forward Tyler Bertuzzi will play after missing 16 games with an upper-body injury.
Dallas Stars at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, BSSWX, ESPN+, SN NOW)
Jason Robertson has four goals in his past four games and 29 in 41 this season, and can become the fastest player to score 30 since the Stars (24-11-6) relocated to Dallas in 1993-94, when Mike Modano set the franchise record of 48 games. Roope Hintz is not with the Stars on their two-game road trip. The forward played 5:35 of a 5-1 win against the Panthers on Sunday before leaving with an upper-body injury. Dallas forward Tyler Seguin is two assists from 400 in the NHL. The Islanders (22-17-2), who went 1-3-0 on a four-game West Coast trip, have won three in a row at home.
Calgary Flames at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, SNW, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Blues are 3-1-0 since losing Tarasenko and O'Reilly. Saad (five goals, two assists) has seven points in his past four games, forward Brayden Schenn has six (three goals, three assists) in his past four, and forward Pavel Buchnevich has six (one goal, six assists) in his past five. Flames forward Nazem Kadri has goals in back-to-back games and five points (three goals, two assists) in his past five. Calgary forward Elias Lindholm needs two points for 300 with the Flames.
San Jose Sharks at Arizona Coyotes (9 p.m. ET; BSAZ, NBCSCA, ESPN+, SN NOW)
The Sharks (12-21-8) are 0-for-13 on the power play in their past four games and 2-5-2 in their past nine; goalie James Reimer's next win will be No. 200 in the NHL. The Coyotes (13-21-5) have lost five straight games, all in regulation, including 4-1 to the Penguins at home Sunday, and are 7-4-2 at at Mullett Arena this season. Clayton Keller will play his 400th NHL game, all for the Coyotes.
Florida Panthers at Colorado Avalanche (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, SN1, SN NOW)
Consistency continues to be an issue for the Panthers, who are 4-6-0 in their past 10 games. Forward Matthew Tkachuk has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past three and 49 points (20 goals, 29 assists) in 38 games this season. He can reach 50 points in the fewest games of his NHL career to break his record of 44 set with the Calgary Flames in 2018-19. MacKinnon's 252 goals are tied with Anton Stastny for fifth in Colorado/Quebec Nordiques history.