NHL On Tap: MacKinnon, Avalanche host Matthews, Maple Leafs 

Welcome to the NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are 10 games on the schedule for Saturday, including three nationally televised in the United States and two in Canada.

Games of the day

Toronto Maple Leafs at Colorado Avalanche (7 p.m. ET; KTVD, NHLN, ALT, SNP, SNO, CBC)

A whole lot of scoring talent highlights this one. Auston Matthews, who reached 100 power-play goals for his career against the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday, is nine goals away from 400 for the Maple Leafs (38-21-3), who had points in six straight games (5-0-1) before a 5-2 loss to Vegas. Meanwhile, Nathan MacKinnon continues to lead the NHL with 98 points (25 goals, 73 assists) for the Avalanche (37-24-2), who have won four in a row. Brock Nelson, acquired from the New York Islanders on Thursday, is expected to make his Colorado debut.

Dallas Stars at Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, Victory+)

It's the start of the Mikko Rantanen era in Dallas after the Stars (41-19-2) acquired the forward from the Carolina Hurricanes and then signed him to an eight-year, $96 million contract ($12 million average annual value) on Friday. Leon Draisaitl is second in the NHL with 94 points (46 goals, 48 assists) in 62 games and Connor McDavid is fifth with 79 points (23 goals, 56 assists) in 56 games for the Oilers (36-22-4), who have won two of three since a five-game losing streak.

Boston Bruins at Tampa Bay Lightning (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN1, TVAS)

In the second game of the national doubleheader, it’s a tilt between teams each looking to extend long streaks of reaching the playoffs, with the Bruins going the past eight years and the Lightning the past seven. Boston (28-28-8), however, made a few changes prior to the NHL Trade Deadline on Friday after losing three straight; the Bruins traded captain Brad Marchand to the Florida Panthers, defenseman Brandon Carlo to the Maple Leafs and center Charlie Coyle to the Avalanche. Nikita Kucherov is third in the League with 92 points (28 goals, 64 assists) for Tampa Bay (37-21-4). which has won 10 of its past 11 games.

Other Saturday games

Seattle Kraken at Philadelphia Flyers (12:30 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, SN1)

The first half of the U.S. national doubleheader features Flyers forward Matvei Michkov, who has 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists), tied for second among NHL rookies. The Flyers (27-28-8) have lost their past two games and trail the Ottawa Senators by five points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. For the Kraken, assistant coach Jessica Campbell will be behind the bench on International Women’s Day. Seattle (26-33-4) is one of five teams to have a woman as an assistant general manager (Alexandra Mandrycky).

New York Rangers at Ottawa Senators (12:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, TSN5, MSG)

The Rangers (31-26-5) made two acquisitions before the Deadline, getting defenseman Carson Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday and forward Nicolas Aube-Kubel from the Buffalo Sabres on Friday. The Senators (31-25-5), who hold the second wild card in the East, acquired forward Dylan Cozens and defenseman Dennis Gilbert from the Sabres for forward Josh Norris and defenseman Jacob Bernard-Docker, and forward Fabian Zetterlund from the San Jose Sharks on Friday.

Buffalo Sabres at Florida Panthers (6 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, MSG-B)

The Panthers (39-21-3) made a splash before the Deadline with the acquisition of Marchand, though the forward is week to week with an upper-body injury. The Sabres (24-31-6) have lost five in a row (0-4-1).

Montreal Canadiens at Calgary Flames (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, CITY, SNE, SNW)

The Canadiens (30-26-6) won five straight before a 3-2 overtime loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday; they trail the Senators by one point for the second wild card in the East. The Flames (29-23-10) are one point back of the Canucks for the second wild card in the West.

Chicago Blackhawks at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET; FDSNSO, CHSN)

It’s the second half of a back-to-back for the Blackhawks (20-35-8), who defeated the Utah Hockey Club 4-3 in overtime Friday on a goal by Connor Bedard. Filip Forsberg has 57 points (24 goals, 33 assists) in 62 games for the Predators (23-32-7), who have won their past two.

St. Louis Blues at Los Angeles Kings (8 p.m. ET; KMOV-TV, Matrix-MW, FDSNW, Victory+)

This is the second half of a back-to-back for the Blues (31-27-6), who defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 on Friday. The Kings (31-20-9), who are third in the Pacific Division, have lost a season-high five straight games (0-3-2).

New York Islanders at San Jose Sharks (10 p.m. ET; MSGSN, NBCSCA)

It’s the start of a back-to-back for the Islanders (28-26-7), who will play for the first time without Nelson since trading the center to the Avalanche on Thursday. Macklin Celebrini is tied with Michkov for second among NHL rookies with 46 points (20 goals, 26 assists) in 52 games for the Sharks (17-38-9).