NHL On Tap: Penguins, Letang look to stay hot against Golden Knights

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 eight games Monday.

Letang looks to extend point streak for Penguins

Kris Letang will try to keep his point streak going when the Pittsburgh Penguins visit the Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). Letang has scored 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) during a seven-game streak and could tie Seth Jones of the Chicago Blackhawks (eight games from Nov. 1-20) for the longest point streak among NHL defensemen this season. The Penguins (22-10-5) have won 12 of 14 (12-2-0) after a 2-1 overtime victory at the San Jose Sharks on Saturday and are 2-1-0 since the return of center Evgeni Malkin from offseason knee surgery. Malkin has scored three points (two goals, one assist) in three games. The Golden Knights (23-14-2) lead the Pacific Division but are 1-2-2 in their past five games. -- Pete Jensen, senior fantasy editor

Predators like it, love it, want some more of it

A little homage to their goal song there (Tim McGraw's "I Like It, I Love It"), but the Nashville Predators (24-12-3) are probably very happy with their recent results. They're 5-1-1 in their past seven games and 12-2-2 in 16 entering their game against the St. Louis Blues (22-11-5) at Enterprise Center (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE), and tied with the Colorado Avalanche for first in the Central Division. Nashville has been strong on the road (13-6-3), where its power play has been outstanding (29.3 percent, third in the NHL). Goalie Juuse Saros has been great no matter where he's played, 20-10-2 with a 2.35 goals-against average, .926 save percentage and two shutouts in 32 games. The Predators will need another strong game to stave off the Blues, who are third in the division and two points behind them. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

It's late early for Flyers, Islanders

The Philadelphia Flyers and New York Islanders begin a home-and-home set at UBS Arena (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, MSG+, NBCSP, ESPN+, NHL LIVE), the first of three games in nine days between teams close to desperation in the Eastern Conference standings. The Flyers (13-17-7) have lost seven in a row (0-5-2) and are 13 points behind the Boston Bruins for the second Stanley Cup Playoff wild card berth in the Eastern Conference with 45 games to play. They're 2-15-2 when the opposition scores first and have lost three consecutive games by one goal (0-2-1), part of a stretch that coach Mike Yeo called, "challenging when you're dealing with the stress and the emotion of going through a losing streak like this." Though the Islanders (11-13-6) are 6-3-1 in their past 10 games, they're 18 points behind the Bruins and must maximize the five games they have in hand. "We're in a hole," New York defenseman Scott Mayfield said after a 2-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday. "We've got to dig ourselves out." -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Monday schedule

Detroit Red Wings at Buffalo Sabres (1 p.m. ET; SN, MSG-B, BSDET, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Red Wings and Sabres complete a home-and-home set. Lucas Raymond leads NHL rookies with 32 points (11 goals, 21 assists) for the Red Wings (17-17-5), despite a 14-game goal drought the forward ended during a 4-0 win against the Sabres on Saturday. Buffalo (11-20-6) is 1-5-2 in its past eight games and will have Peyton Krebs back after the forward missed four games in NHL COVID-19 protocol.
Minnesota Wild at Colorado Avalanche (3 p.m. ET; SN, SN1, ALT, BSN, BSWI, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
The Wild (22-10-2), who have won three in a row, have been powered by forwards Kirill Kaprizov (four goals, six assists during a five-game personal point streak), Mats Zuccarello (three goals, five assists during a five-game point streak) and Ryan Hartman (Wild-high 16 goals and tied with Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews with an NHL-best plus-29). Forward Gabriel Landeskog is on a 15-game personal point streak (eight goals, 14 assists) since Nov. 22 for the Avalanche (24-8-3), who are 7-0-1 in January and 12-1-1 in their past 14 games.
Los Angeles Kings at San Jose Sharks (4 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, BSW, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Trevor Moore has scored seven points (one goal, six assists) during a four-game point streak for the Kings (20-13-5), who have won four in a row and eight of 11 (8-3-0). Timo Meier has scored nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past seven games for the Sharks (20-17-2) and leads San Jose with 40 points (15 goals, 25 assists).
Montreal Canadiens at Arizona Coyotes (4 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, TSN2, RDS, NHL LIVE)
Goalies Sam Montembeault and Cayden Primeau will each start for the Canadiens (7-24-5) in back-to-back games against the Coyotes and Stars with Jake Allen out because of an injury sustained during a 5-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Jan. 12. Canadiens forward Josh Anderson is expected to return after missing 11 games with an upper-body injury. Arizona (8-24-4) has lost 13 of 17 (4-11-2) and is 4-13-1 at home.
Chicago Blackhawks at Seattle Kraken (5 p.m. ET; ROOT-NW, NBCSCH, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Chicago (15-18-5) has won four in a row and forward Patrick Kane has scored nine points (two goals, seven assists) during a seven-game point streak. Seattle (10-23-4) has lost nine straight (0-8-1) while being outscored 37-19.
Philadelphia Flyers at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, MSG+, NBCSP, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Mike Yeo is 5-7-3 since replacing Alain Vigneault as Flyers coach Dec. 6. Zdeno Chara of the Islanders will play his 1,636th game to pass Scott Stevens for second among defensemen in NHL history, behind Chris Chelios (1,651).
Nashville Predators at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; BSMW, BSSO, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
It's the end of a five-game homestand for the Blues, who will retire former defenseman Chris Pronger's No. 44 before the game. Forwards Vladimir Tarasenko and Brayden Schenn and defenseman Colton Parayko return to the lineup after each was removed from NHL COVID-19 protocol. Tarasenko missed four games, and Schenn and Parayko each missed two. The Predators are 8-1-2 in their past 11 road games since Dec. 7, best in the NHL during that span.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, ATTSN-PT, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Kris Letang had a goal and an assist against the Sharks on Saturday to give him 614 points and pass Ron Francis for sixth in Penguins history. The Golden Knights play for the first time since a 4-3 shootout loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 11. They've gone 23 games without being outshot by an opponent, the third-longest run since the NHL started tracking shots on goal in 1959-60, behind the 1999-00 Blues (29 games) and 1972-73 New York Rangers (26).
New Jersey Devils at Toronto Maple Leafs, postponed