NHL On Tap: Bruins in heated Atlantic race, host Penguins

Welcome to 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 13 games Saturday.

Bruins in tussle for first

Remember last season when the Boston Bruins won the Atlantic Division by 24 points? Well, this isn’t last season. There’s some competition at the top for the Bruins (37-13-15), who are second in the Atlantic, one point behind the Florida Panthers entering their game against the Penguins at TD Garden on Saturday (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS). The Bruins have only lost three games in regulation since Feb. 10. There are a few overtime and shootout losses between then and now, but hey, they still don’t have a problem getting points. They defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs twice in four days and are 3-1-1 in their past five games. So, it’s still all coming up Boston, for the most part. The Penguins (28-25-8), meanwhile, have lost four of their past five, including a 6-0 loss to the Capitals on Thursday. Guentzel was acquired by the Hurricanes on Thursday and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel was acquired by the New York Rangers on Friday. It’s a sign of the times for the Penguins, who are eight points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Kuznetsov to make debut with Hurricanes

Evgeny Kuznetsov will make his debut with the Carolina Hurricanes when they face the New Jersey Devils (12:30 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+). Carolina (37-19-6) acquired the 31-year-old center from the Washington Capitals on Friday prior to the NHL Trade Deadline for a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. He had been waived by Washington on March 2 and reported to Hershey of the American Hockey League. He has not played since Jan. 27 and entered the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program on Feb. 5. He was cleared on March 2 to resume practicing and entered the follow-up care phase of the program. Kuznetsov has 568 points (171 goals, 397 assists) in 723 regular-season games and 67 points (29 goals, 38 assists) in 87 Stanley Cup Playoff games, and led the postseason with 32 points (12 goals, 20 assists) to help Washington win the Stanley Cup in 2018. He adds firepower to the Hurricanes, who are four points behind the first-place New York Rangers and six points ahead of the third-place place Philadelphia Flyers in the Metropolitan Division. The Hurricanes made a bigger splash on Thursday when they acquired Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 29-year-old left winger has 466 points (219 goals, 247 assists) in 503 regular-season games and 58 points (34 goals, 24 assists) in 58 postseason games, and helped power Pittsburgh to the Cup in 2017. Carolina will have to wait for Guentzel’s debut. He hasn’t played since Feb. 14 because of an upper-body injury, but he’s eligible to come off long-term injured reserve on Sunday. The Devils (31-28-4) are six points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference and ended a three-game losing streak with a 4-1 win against the St. Louis Blues on Thursday. They traded forward Tyler Toffoli (26 goals, 18 assists in 61 games) to the Winnipeg Jets on Friday for a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft. -- William Douglas, staff writer

Jets look to stay hot against Canucks

Winnipeg will look for its eighth win in 10 games when it visits the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, TVAS2). The Jets will play the second of a back-to-back following a 3-0 win at the Seattle Kraken on Friday. They will be without their latest acquisitions; Toffoli and defenseman Colin Miller, acquired by from the Devils on Friday, will have to wait to for their chance to make their debuts with Winnipeg. The two are not expected to join the team in time to face the Canucks. The Jets sent a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and second-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to New Jersey for Toffoli and a fourth-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft for Miller. Winnipeg (40-17-5) is battling for the top spot in the Central Division with the Dallas Stars, while Vancouver (41-17-7) leads the Pacific and has been at, or near the top of the overall standings all season. Toffoli had 44 points (26 goals, 18 assists) in 61 games with New Jersey this season. He and Miller are expected to be in the lineup for Winnipeg when the Jets host the Washington Capitals on Monday. Miller had eight points (four goals, four assists) in 41 games with the Devils. Vancouver did not want to mess with a good thing and did not make a move Friday before the Trade Deadline. Its big move came Jan. 31 when it acquired forward Elias Lindholm from the Calgary Flames for forward Andrei Kuzmenko, defensemen prospects Joni Jurmo and Hunter Brzustewicz, and a first-round and conditional fourth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer

Saturday games

Edmonton Oilers at Buffalo Sabres (12:30 p.m. ET; MSG-B, SN)

Connor McDavid can extend his point and assist streaks to 14 games when the Oilers travel to face the Sabres in the third of a four-game road trip. The Edmonton captain has 29 points (two goals, 27 assists) during his 13-game streaks. He reached 100 points (23 goals, 77 assists) for the seventh time in his career with an assist in a 4-2 loss at the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday. McDavid, 27, joined Wayne Gretzky (10) and Mario Lemieux (eight) as just the third player in NHL history with at least seven career 100-point seasons before the age of 28. Leon Draisaitl will play his 700th NHL game for Edmonton (38-21-2), which is second in the Pacific Division, three points ahead of the Los Angeles Kings and 11 points behind the first-place Canucks. Buffalo (29-30-5) has lost its past three games (0-2-1) and traded three key players, forwards Casey Mittelstadt, Kyle Okposo and defenseman Erik Johnson prior to the Trade Deadline on Friday.

Nashville Predators at Columbus Blue Jackets (12:30 p.m. ET; BSSO, BBOH)

The Predators (36-25-3) look to extend a 10-game point streak (9-0-1), the NHL’s longest active run. Filip Forsberg has five goals in his past four games after he scored a hat trick in Nashville’s 4-2 win against Buffalo on Thursday. The Blue Jackets (22-31-10) have won three of four following a 4-2 win against the Oilers on Thursday. Alex Nylander scored and has five goals in seven games since he was acquired from the Penguins on Feb. 22.

Carolina Hurricanes at New Jersey Devils (12:30 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+)

Timo Meier has six goals during a four-game goal streak, including a hat trick in New Jersey’s 4-1 win against the Blues on Thursday, and nine points (six goals, three assists) during a five-game point streak. The Hurricanes look to sweep the three-game season series from the Devils, having won 1-0 in overtime on Feb. 10 and 3-2 on Jan. 25. Defenseman Brady Skjei has three goals in his past three games, including two in Carolina’s 4-1 win against the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. The Devils, 26th in the NHL in goals-against (3.48), acquired goaltenders Jake Allen from Montreal and Kaapo Kahkonen from the San Jose Sharks on Friday.

Pittsburgh Penguins at Boston Bruins (3 p.m. ET; ABC, ESPN+, TVAS)

The Penguins have been outscored 16-4 in their past three losses. Captain Sidney Crosby, who leads them with 63 points (32 goals, 31 assists) in 61 games, has one point, an assist, in his past five games. Bruins forward David Pastrnak is one goal away from 40 for the third straight season and fourth time in his career. Boston acquired forward Patrick Maroon from the Minnesota Wild and defenseman Andrew Peeke from the Blue Jackets on Friday.

Calgary Flames at Florida Panthers (4 p.m. ET; BSFL, SN)

The Flames (31-26-5) have won six of their past seven games and are six points behind the Vegas Golden Knights for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Western Conference. Yegor Sharangovich, who had a career-high four points (two goals, two assists) in a 6-3 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, has five goals in his past four games. The Panthers (43-17-4) had their six-game winning streak end in a 2-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday. Vladimir Tarasenko, acquired by the Panthers from the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday, had two shots on goal in 15:09 of ice time in his Florida debut Thursday.

Toronto Maple Leafs at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; CBC, TVAS, SN, NHLN)

The Maple Leafs (36-19-8) have lost two of their past three and are nine points behind the Bruins for second in the Atlantic Division. Defenseman Joel Edmundson, acquired in a trade with the Washington Capitals on Thursday for a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft and a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL Draft, could make his Toronto debut. The Canadiens (24-29-10) have lost eight of their past 10 games (2-6-2) after a 4-1 defeat at Carolina on Thursday. Nick Suzuki has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games for Montreal.

Ottawa Senators at San Jose Sharks (7 p.m. ET; NBCSCA, TVAS2, CITY, SN1)

The Senators (25-32-4) have lost six in a row. Brady Tkachuk has 152 career NHL goals, tied with Radek Bonk for seventh in Senators history. The Sharks (15-40-7) have lost nine in a row (0-7-2) and traded three players prior to the Deadline: forward Tomas Hertl to the Vegas Golden Knights, goaltender Kaapo Kahkonen to the Devils for goalie Vitek Vanecek on Friday and forward Anthony Duclair to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.

Philadelphia Flyers at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; BSSUN, NBCSP)

The Flyers (33-23-8), 2-0-1 in their past three games, are third in the Metropolitan Division, six points behind the second-place Hurricanes. Goalie Samuel Ersson is 18-12-5 with a 2.52 goals-against average, .901 save percentage and three shutouts in 36 games (34 starts). The Lightning (33-25-6), who are tied with the Detroit Red Wings for the first wild card from the East, are 3-2-1 in their past six games. Nikita Kucherov has a seven-game point streak (two goals, 10 assists).

Chicago Blackhawks at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, NBCSCH+, NBCSCH)

The Capitals (29-23-9) are within five points of the Lightning and Red Wings in the East wild card race after a 6-0 win at Pittsburgh on Thursday. Dylan Strome has seven points (one goal, six assists) during a three-game point streak, including three assists Thursday. The Blackhawks (16-42-5) ended a seven-game losing streak with a 5-2 victory at the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday and are looking for two straight road wins for the first time this season. Connor Bedard has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 10 games since returning from a broken jaw Feb. 15.

St. Louis Blues at New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. ET; BSMW, MSG)

The Rangers (40-18-4) have lost two straight and are 1-2-1 in their past four games after a 4-2 loss to the Panthers on Monday. They will try to end their recent struggles without defenseman Jacob Trouba, who will miss 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury. Artemi Panarin has seven points (three goals, four assists) on a four-game point streak. New York added three players before the Trade Deadline: right wing Jack Roslovic from the Blue Jackets, center Alexander Wennberg from the Seattle Kraken and defenseman Chad Ruhwedel from the Penguins. The Blues (32-28-3) have lost two straight and five of their past seven (2-4-1). Robert Thomas leads St. Louis with 69 points (20 goals, 49 assists) in 63 games, but hasn’t scored in his past four.

Winnipeg Jets at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; CBC, SN, CITY, TVAS2)

The Canucks are looking to extend their winning streak to four games when they host the Jets at Rogers Arena. Vancouver (41-17-7) is 4-1-1 coming out of a season-long four-game losing streak. The current four-game streak coincides with the signing of forward Elias Pettersson to an eight-year, $92.8 million contract ($11.6 million average annual value) on March 3. He has a goal and an assist in four games since then.

Detroit Red Wings at Vegas Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSDET)

The Golden Knights added two more big pieces to their lineup in defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames on Thursday and Hertl from the Sharks on Friday. The two could be in the lineup when Vegas hosts Detroi (33-24-6), which moved forward Klim Kostin to San Jose for defenseman prospect Radim Simek. The Golden Knights (33-23-7) hold the second wild card in the West.

Dallas Stars at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; BSSWX, KCAL)

Anze Kopitar has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his past eight games and is a reason Los Angeles (32-19-11) is third in the Pacific Division, three points behind Edmonton. Kopitar has 53 points (18 goals, 35 assists) in 62 games and is second in team scoring behind forward Kevin Fiala, who has 56 points (20 goals, 36 assists) in 62 games. Dallas (39-17-9) did not make any significant moves Friday, but did trade for defenseman Chris Tanev from Calgary on Feb. 28 in a deal that also involved New Jersey.