NHL On Tap: MacKinnon looks to pad scoring lead for Avalanche against Islanders

Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are eight games on the schedule for Tuesday, including two nationally televised in the United States.

Games of the day

Colorado Avalanche at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+)

Nathan MacKinnon, the NHL’s leading scorer (77 points; 19 goals, 58 assists), will look to become the first to reach 60 assists and 80 points this season when the Avalanche (29-20-2) face the Islanders (21-20-7) at UBS Arena. MacKinnon can become the sixth player in the past 30 years to have 60 assists in 52 or fewer games, joining Mario Lemieux (37 games, 1995-96), Ron Francis (46 games, 1995-96), Connor McDavid (49 games, 2023-24; 50 games, 2020-21), Sidney Crosby (50 games, 2006-07) and Wayne Gretzky 51 games, 1995-96). New York will try for its fifth straight win and could have Scott Perunovich in the lineup after the defenseman was acquired from the St. Louis Blues on Monday for a fifth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The 26-year-old had six points (two goals, four assists) in 24 games for the Blues.

Washington Capitals at Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNW MNMT)

Alex Ovechkin continues his chase of Wayne Gretzky’s NHL goals record for the Capitals (33-11-5). Washington’s captain has 875 goals, 20 away from passing “The Great One.” It’s the fourth of a five-game road trip for the Capitals; they won the first two at the Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken before a 2-1 loss at the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday. Nazem Kadri has five points (two goals, three assists) during a three-game point streak for the Flames (24-17-7), who had a three-game winning streak end in a 5-2 loss at the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday.

Dallas Stars at Vegas Golden Knights 10 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SNP, SNO, SNE, SN360)

Jack Eichel, who will represent the United States at the 4 Nations Face-Off, leads the Golden Knights (31-15-4) with 62 points (15 goals, 47 assists) in 49 games, the most by one of their players through 50 games in a season since Mark Stone (59 points; 21 goals, 38 assists in 2020-21). Eichel has eight points (four goals, four assists) during a six-game point streak, and Tomas Hertl has a nine-game point streak (13 points; seven goals, six assists) for the Golden Knights. The Stars (31-17-1) have won three of their past four after a 2-0 victory at St. Louis on Saturday. Jason Robertson has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his past eight games.

Other Tuesday games

Boston Bruins at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; NESN, MSG-B, SNP, SNO, SNE)

The Bruins (25-20-6) are 5-1-1 in their past seven games and powered by David Pastrnak, who was named NHL First Star of the Week on Monday after he had eight points (three goals, five assists) in four games as part of a seven-game point streak (17 points; seven goals, 10 assists). The Sabres (18-26-5) have lost four of five.

Winnipeg Jets at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, TSN3)

Gabriel Vilardi has six points (three goals, three assists) during a three-game point streak for the Jets (34-13-3), who are tied with the Capitals atop the NHL standings. The Canadiens (24-20-5) look to rebound from a 4-3 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday and avoid a three-game skid (0-1-1).

Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, CHSN)

Seth Jones has seven points (two goals, five assists) during a five-game point streak for the Blackhawks (15-29-5), who have lost seven of eight but have points in four of five (1-1-3). The Lightning (26-19-3) will try to rebound from a 2-0 loss at the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, which ended the NHL’s longest active streak of 113 games (since Nov. 14, 2023) without being shut out.

Carolina Hurricanes at New York Rangers (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, MSG)

Mikko Rantanen and Taylor Hall look for their first points for the Hurricanes (30-16-4) since they were acquired Friday in a three-team trade that involved the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks. Artemi Panarin has five points (two goals, three assists) on a four-game point streak for the Rangers (24-21-4), who had their 10-game point streak (7-0-3) end with a 5-4 loss to the Avalanche on Sunday.

Anaheim Ducks at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; KHN, Victory+, KONG, KCOP-13)

Mason McTavish has scored five times during a three-game goal streak for the Ducks (20-23-6), including two in a 5-2 win against the Nashville Predators on Saturday. The Kraken (22-26-3) look to rebound from a 4-2 loss at Edmonton on Monday after winning three of four.