NHL On Tap: McDavid eyes point in 21st straight for Oilers at Maple Leafs

There are 14 games on the NHL schedule for Saturday, including the 2026 NHL Global Series Finland, one broadcast nationally in the United States and three broadcast nationally in Canada. Here are five things to watch, along with the complete game schedule.

Red-hot McDavid skates into Toronto

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid will put his 20-game season-opening point streak on the line in his hometown for Hockey Night in Canada showdown against the slumping Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena (7 p.m. ET; SNO, SNW, SNP, NHLN). McDavid is the fourth different player in NHL history with at least one point in each of the first 20 games of a season. Wayne Gretzky did it three times, including his record-51-game point streak to open the 1983-84 season. Mats Sundin (30 games, 1992-93) and Dany Heatley (22 games, 2005-06) are the others. McDavid leads the League with 49 points (11 goals, 38 assists). If he extends his point streak he will also become the fifth different player in NHL history to score 50 points by the 21st game of the season, joining Gretzky (three times), Mario Lemieux (three times), Bernie Nicholls and Mike Bossy. No one has done it since Lemieux in 1995-96. The Oilers (14-3-3) have won three straight, with points in 11 of 13 (9-2-2). It's the opposite for center Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs (8-11-2), who have lost five straight games, all at home, by a combined 22-9. Salvaging a win in the finale of a six-game homestand would at least stop the bleeding. Toronto won 7-2 at Edmonton on Oct. 24, when forward William Nylander scored two goals. He has three in eight games since. This will also be Oilers coach Mike Babcock's first game in Toronto since the Maple Leafs fired him as their coach on Nov. 20, 2019.

1,600 for Burns

Brent Burns will play in his 1,600th NHL game, becoming the 14th player in the league's history to do so, when the Colorado Avalanche face the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNE, ALT2, KTVD). The 41-year-old Avalanche defenseman has played in 1,027 consecutive games, second all time behind Phil Kessel's 1,064. His ironman streak started Nov. 21, 2013. Burns' milestone aside, the Avalanche (11-6-3) face the prospect of not having center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar when they skate against the Canadiens (12-3-4), who have gone 12 consecutive games without a regulation loss (9-0-3). MacKinnon and Makar each sustained a lower-body injury in the second period of a 4-3 overtime loss at the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Forward Gavin Brindley was recalled from Colorado of the American Hockey League on Friday, and likely will play if MacKinnon can't as the only extra forward on the road with the Avalanche. Alex Gagne is the extra defenseman.

Global Finale

The Seattle Kraken will try to get even with the Carolina Hurricanes in Helsinki when the 2026 NHL Global Series Finland concludes at Veikkaus Arena (1 p.m. ET; HHN, Prime Video, CARNHL, KONG, KING, NHLN, SN1) in the 50th NHL regular season game played outside North America. Carolina took Game 1 of the Global Series, defeating Seattle 4-1 on Thursday behind two goals from Finland-born center Sebastian Aho and one from Finland-born defenseman Juuso Valimaki. The Hurricanes (15-3-2) have won three in a row and seven of eight, tying the 2020-21 Tampa Bay Lightning for the second most wins through the first 20 games of the season following a Stanley Cup championship. The only team with more is the 1929-30 Boston Bruins (18-2-0). Carolina can become the first team in NHL history to win its first four games played outside North America. The Hurricanes also won two games in Finland against the Minnesota Wild in 2010. In addition, Carolina captain Jordan Staal is expected to return to the lineup after missing 14 games with a calf injury. The Kraken (9-7-1), who are 1-3-0 in their past four, had a season-low 13 shots on goal Thursday.

Scheifele will try, try again

Mark Scheifele can become the Winnipeg Jets all-time scoring leader when they visit the the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center (3:30 p.m. ET; CHSN, SN). The forward is tied with Dale Hawerchuk, his former coach in the Ontario Hockey League, with 929 points. His 378 goals are one shy of Hawerchuk's franchise record and his 551 assists are two short of Thomas Steen's franchise mark. The NHL announced on Sept. 24 that the statistical history of the Jets now will include both iterations of the franchise; the original team that played in Winnipeg from 1979-96, and the current version established in 2011, which also includes their time as the Atlanta Thrashers (1999-2011). Scheifele broke the record for the current iteration of the Jets on Oct. 18, 2025, when he passed Blake Wheeler with his 813th career point, prior to the records being consolidated. Scheifele will look to help the Jets (9-8-3) win their season-best sixth straight game. The Blackhawks (5-13-1) are coming off a 3-2 overtime win against the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday that ended a six-game losing streak (0-5-1).

Gauthier eyeing Mario

Cutter Gauthier can match an accomplishment last reached by Mario Lemieux when the Anaheim Ducks (10-8-1) host the New York Islanders (8-6-4) at Honda Center (10 p.m. ET; FOXLA+, Prime Video, MSGSN). The 22-year-old forward has 14 goals in a seven-game goal-scoring streak, the sixth player since 1944-45 to score that many goals in a seven-game span. If he scores against the Islanders he will become the first player since Lemieux in 1993 to score as many as 15 goals in an eight-game span. Lemieux scored 16 goals in eight games from March 18-30, 1993. Gauthier, who has three hat tricks in his goal streak that began on Oct. 29, can also tie Teemu Selanne for the second longest goal streak in Ducks history. Selanne scored 10 goals in an eight-game goal streak from Feb. 17-March 5, 1999. Selanne is also the franchise record holder with an 11-game goal streak (17 goals) from Oct. 21-Nov. 10, 1997.

The schedule

Seattle Kraken vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 2026 NHL Global Series (1 p.m. ET; HHN, Prime Video, CARNHL, KONG, KING, NHLN, SN1)

Winnipeg Jets at Chicago Blackhawks (3:30 p.m. ET; CHSN, SN)

Minnesota Wild at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; Wild+, MINNHL, NESN)

Edmonton Oilers at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; SNO, SNW, SNP, NHLN)

Colorado Avalanche at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNE, ALT2, KTVD)

Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. ET; DSN, The Spot)

Ottawa Senators at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, TVAS2, SN1)

New Jersey Devils at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, MSG)

Philadelphia Flyers at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; CBJHN, CBJNHL, NBCSP)

Florida Panthers at St. Louis Blues (7 p.m. ET; BN+, STLNHL, SCRIPPS)

Buffalo Sabres at Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET; Prime Video, MSG-B)

San Jose Sharks at Utah Mammoth (9 p.m. ET; Mammoth+, Utah16, NBCSCA)

New York Islanders at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; FOXLA+, Prime Video, MSGSN)

Calgary Flames at Los Angeles Kings (10 p.m. ET; ABTV, SN, TVAS)