NHL On Tap: U.S. gold medalists Hughes, Tkachuk face off when Devils host Panthers

There are 11 games on the NHL schedule for Tuesday, including two nationally televised in the United States. Here are the five things to watch today, along with the complete game schedule.

Once teammates 

Jack Hughes and Matthew Tkachuk will face each other for the first time since winning gold with Team USA at the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 when the New Jersey Devils host the Florida Panthers at Prudential Center (7 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, SCRIPPS, TNT). Hughes scored in overtime for a 2-1 victory against Team Canada in the gold medal game Feb. 22, has an assist in each of the three games New Jersey (29-29-2) has played following the break, and 39 points (12 goals, 27 assists) in 39 games. Tkachuk has two goals and three assists in three games since the Olympics and 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 13 games. The Panthers (30-27-3) trail the Boston Bruins by eight points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with 22 games to play. They were five points out with 15 games left in 2022-23 before rallying to clinch a playoff berth and advancing to the Stanley Cup Final, a five-game loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Wild chase

Kirill Kaprizov can become the top goal-scorer in Minnesota Wild history when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning at Grand Casino Arena (9:30 p.m. ET; The Spot, HBO MAX, truTV, TNT). The forward has 219 goals in 380 games, tied with Marian Gaborik's 219 goals in 502 games Karprizov has 74 points (34 goals, 40 assists) in 61 games this season and tied Gaborik in a 3-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday. Minnesota (35-16-10) is third in the Central Division, three points behind the Dallas Stars and nine back of the Colorado Avalanche. Tampa Bay (38-16-4) is first in the Atlantic, four points ahead of the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings. Andrei Vasilevskiy is 7-0-1 in his past eight road games for the Lightning and is two wins from joining Martin Brodeur as the only goalies in NHL history with nine consecutive 30-win seasons.

Hanging 10

The Stars can extend their winning streak to 10 games when they visit the Calgary Flames at Scotiabank Saddledome (9 p.m. ET; SN1, Victory+) in the second of a back-to-back. They set a Dallas/Minnesota North Stars record with a 6-1 win at the Vancouver Canucks on Monday, when Miro Heiskanen had two assists to extend his point streak to six games (nine assists) and Jason Robertson clinched his fifth consecutive season of at least 70 points to tie Red Wings forward Patrick Kane for the most among active United States-born players. The Stars (37-14-9) are second in the Central Division and the NHL with 83 points, six behind the Avalanche. The Flames (24-28-7) trail the Edmonton Oilers by 11 points for the second wild card from the Western Conference.

Streaking Sabre

Tage Thompson can extend his point streak to eight games when the Sabres host the Vegas Golden Knights at KeyBank Center (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSG-B). The Olympic gold medalist with Team USA has eight points (four goals, four assists) on his seven-game run, 63 points (32 goals, 31 assists) in 60 games and is looking to help the Sabres (35-19-6) qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2010-11. The Golden Knights (28-18-14) lead the Pacific Division, one point ahead of the Anaheim Ducks.

Still leading the way

Alex Ovechkin will look for his 25th goal of the season when the Washington Capitals (31-24-7) host the Utah Mammoth at Capital One Arena (7 p.m. ET; Utah16, MNMT2). The 40-year-old forward leads Washington with 50 points (24 goals, 26 assists) in 62 games, is first in NHL history with 921 goals and has never scored fewer than 24 in a season. The Capitals (31-24-7) are two points out of the second wild card from the East. The Mammoth (31-25-4) hold the first wild card from the West and trying for their first playoff berth since the NHL Board of Governors voted to establish a team in Utah beginning with the 2024-25 season. The franchise relocated from Arizona and its last postseason appearance was 2020, a five-game loss to the Avalanche in the Western Conference First Round.

The schedule 

Pittsburgh Penguins at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, NESN, SNP, TVAS)

Vegas Golden Knights at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSG-B)

Florida Panthers at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, SCRIPPS, TNT)

Utah Mammoth at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; Utah16, MNMT2) 

Nashville Predators at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, FDSNSO) 

Chicago Blackhawks at Winnipeg Jets (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, CHSN) 

Dallas Stars at Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET; SN1, Victory+)

Ottawa Senators at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET; RDS2, SNW, TSN5) 

Tampa Bay Lightning at Minnesota Wild (9:30 p.m. ET; The Spot, HBO MAX, truTV, TNT) 

Colorado Avalanche at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, ALT) 

Montreal Canadiens at San Jose Sharks (10 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, TSN2, RDS)