Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are six games on the schedule for Monday, including one nationally televised in the United States and one in Canada.
Games of the day
Ottawa Senators at Washington Capitals (6:30 p.m. ET; MNMT2, TSN5, TVAS)
Alex Ovechkin’s chase to become the NHL’s all-time goals leader continues when the Capitals (38-14-8) host the Senators (30-25-4) hoping to end their first three-game losing streak of the season. Ovechkin needs 11 goals to pass Wayne Gretzky (894); he has 31 in 44 games this season. The 39-year-old forward needs two points to become the 11th player in NHL history to reach 1,600 points (884 goals, 714 assists in 1,470 games) and join Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby as the only other active player on that list. Ottawa forward Tim Stutzle looks to extend his 11-game point streak (16 points; four goals, 12 assists) after he had a goal and an assist in a 5-3 win against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday that ended a five-game losing streak.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers (7 p.m. ET; FDSNSUN, SCRIPPS)
The Lightning (35-20-4), the hottest team in the League, seek their ninth consecutive victory against the Panthers (37-21-3), who are expected to have Seth Jones in the lineup after acquiring the defenseman from the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday for goalie Spencer Knight, a conditional first-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a fourth-round pick in 2026. Jones, 30, would face an early test; Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov is third in the NHL with 87 points (27 goals, 60 assists) in 56 games, and forward Brandon Hagel has 14 points (eight goals, six assists) during an eight-game point streak. Florida has won three straight and eight of 10 after a 3-0 victory against the Calgary Flames on Saturday, when Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves. Matthew Tkachuk, the Panthers’ second-leading scorer (57 points; 22 goals, 35 assists in 52 games), will be out for "an extended period of time" with a lower-body injury, Panthers general manager Bill Zito said Monday.
San Jose Sharks at Toronto Maple Leafs (7:30 p.m. ET; Prime, NBCSCA)
Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs (38-20-2) look to extend a five-game winning streak when they return from a four-game road trip to host Macklin Celebrini and the Sharks (15-37-9). Matthews became the fastest in franchise history to reach 700 points with a goal and an assist in a 6-5 overtime win at the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday that moved Toronto into first place in the Atlantic Division. Celebrini, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, had two assists in a 5-3 loss at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday and is tied with Philadelphia Flyers forward Matvei Michkov for second in rookie scoring with 44 points (18 goals, 26 assists) in 49 games. San Jose has lost eight in a row (0-5-3).
