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 four games Friday.
Reinhart hopes to continue scoring surge
Sam Reinhart is on a heater and looks to extend his goal streak to nine straight games when the Florida Panthers host to the Minnesota Wild at Amerant Bank Arena (7 p.m. ET; BSWI, BSN, BSFL). Reinhart has 33 goals this season, equaling a career high set in 2021-22 (78 games). The 28-year-old, who will represent the Panthers (27-13-4) at the 2024 Honda (U.S.)/ Rogers (Canada) NHL All-Star Game at Scotiabank Arena in Toronto on Feb. 3, has also scored either a power-play goal or short-handed goal in eight straight games, setting an NHL record, and needs four special-teams goals for the rest of the season to match the Panthers single-season record held by Pavel Bure (24 in 2000-01). Joel Eriksson Ek has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past five games for the Wild (18-21-5), who have lost five of their past six (1-4-1), including 7-3 at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. -- Mike G. Morreale, senior draft writer
Red Wings look to extend points streak
The winged wheel is rolling. The Detroit Red Wings have a three-game winning streak and points in seven games (6-0-1), their longest streak from the start of a calendar year since 2009 when they had a 7-0-1 record. The seven-game point streak is also their longest since a 13-game run in 2015-16 (8-0-5 from Nov. 16-Dec. 11, 2015). Detroit (23-16-5) looks to keep motoring when it faces the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena (7 p.m. ET; BSDET, BSSO, SN, TVAS). Goalie Alex Lyon is 5-0-1 with a .927 save percentage in his past six starts after the Red Wings' 3-2 overtime win at the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. Dylan Larkin has eight points (five goals, three assists) during a six-game point streak, including the game-winner on Wednesday. Carolina (24-14-5) looks to regroup after having its eight-game point streak (7-0-1) end in a 5-2 home loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday. Jordan Martinook has a three-game goal streak for the Hurricanes. -- William Douglas, staff writer
Devils need to find their way again
The New Jersey Devils are 3-6-1 without Jack Hughes in the lineup this season, including 1-3-1 in the past five games that the center has missed with an upper-body injury. Hughes won't be back when the Devils play against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, MSG). The Devils (22-17-3) also won't have defensemen Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler and Brendan Smith, who has been seeing time at forward too but was placed on injured reserve Thursday with a sprained right knee. Forward Ondrej Palat is also still out. That's a lot missing and a lot to overcome, but somehow the Devils have to find away against the Blue Jackets (14-21-9). The worse it gets for them now, the harder it's going to be to make up the ground in the Stanley Cup Playoff race later, when ideally Hughes, Hamilton, Siegenthaler, Smith and Palat are back. The Blue Jackets haven't played since Monday, when they caught the Vancouver Canucks at the end of a road trip and won 4-3 in a shootout. They haven't won in regulation in a month (Dec. 19). They haven't won two in a row since Nov. 22-24. They are a team the Devils should defeat, but this will still be a heavy lift considering the Devils injuries. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer
Friday games
Detroit Red Wings at Carolina Hurricanes (7 p.m. ET; BSDET, BSSO, SN, TVAS)
The Red Wings play the last game of a three-game road trip and enter PNC Arena with a five-game road winning streak. Seth Jarvis has five points (one goal, four assists) during a four-game point streak for Carolina.
New Jersey Devils at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; BSOH, MSG)
The Devils are coming off a 3-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. They have defeated the Blue Jackets twice in three games this season, including 6-3 at Columbus on Dec. 16. The Blue Jackets have gone to overtime in seven of their past 11 games, winning three and losing four.
Minnesota Wild at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; BSWI, BSN, BSFL)
Kirill Kaprizov has two assists in three games since being activated off injured reserve on Jan. 13 after missing six games for the Wild, who play the second of a three-game road trip. Reinhart has scored 10 goals during his eight-game streak and 15 goals in his past 12 games overall for the Panthers, who have lost three straight (0-1-2) following a nine-game winning streak.
New York Islanders at Chicago Blackhawks (8:30 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NBCSCH, TVAS)
The Islanders (19-15-10) have scored three goals in a three-game losing streak. They're averaging 1.83 goals per game in their past six games, going 1-5-0. Chicago (13-30-2) lost 3-0 in Buffalo on Thursday. The Blackhawks have scored eight goals in six games (2-4-0), including four in the past five, without rookie center Connor Bedard, who is out with a broken jaw.
