NHL On Tap: Bedard on scoring surge for Blackhawks, host Lightning

Welcome to the 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 nine games Thursday.

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Bedard looks to stay hot, Lightning try to end drought

Connor Bedard looks to keep rolling for the Chicago Blackhawks (5-8-0) and the Tampa Bay Lightning (6-6-4) hope to end a goal-scoring drought at United Center (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN360, TVAS). Bedard is coming off two multigoal games last week, scoring twice in a 4-3 loss at the Florida Panthers and two more goals in a 5-3 win at the Lightning. He's scored seven in his past six games and leads NHL rookies with 13 points (nine goals, four assists) in 13 games. Tampa Bay has lost three in a row and been shut out in back-to-back games, 5-0 at the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday and 4-0 against the Carolina Hurricanes last Saturday. Nikita Kucherov has 12 points (five goals, seven assists) in his past five games. -- William Douglas, staff writer

Penguins look to continue streak against reeling Devils

Can the Pittsburgh Penguins extend their winning streak to six games? Will the New Jersey Devils stop their losing streak at three? I'm watching to find out because games don't get much bigger in November than what is in store at PPG Paints Arena (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, MSG, SNO, SNE). Sidney Crosby has helped carry the Penguins (8-6-0) up the standings in the Metropolitan Division, one point ahead of the Devils (7-6-1). The Pittsburgh captain has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) during a nine-game point streak since Oct. 24 and had a hat trick plus an assist in a 5-3 victory against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, Pittsburgh's fifth win in a row. The Devils are 1-4-0 in their past five games. It's been rough without centers Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, each of whom is out because of an upper-body injury. Hughes may rejoin the team in Pittsburgh. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Red Wings return 'home' to Sweden

When the Detroit Red Wings (8-5-2) play the Ottawa Senators (6-7-0) at Avicii Arena in Stockholm in the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden presented by Fastenal (2 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5, NHLN, BSDET), they'll be in their second home. This is only their second trip overseas and first since they played in the same arena in 2009. But they're one of the most popular teams in Sweden, if not the most popular, because of the great players they've had from there through the years, like Nicklas Lidstrom, Henrik Zetterberg, Tomas Holmstrom, Niklas Kronwall and Johan Franzen. Even Borje Salming, who played most of his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and Daniel Alfredsson, who played the majority of his for Ottawa, each finished their time in the League with a season in Detroit. This will be a big game for forward Lucas Raymond, the only player from Sweden on the current Red Wings roster. The 21-year-old has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 15 games this season. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Thursday games

Detroit Red Wings vs Ottawa Senators (2 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5, NHLN, BSDET)

The Senators ended a five-game losing streak before they headed to Stockholm with a 4-1 win against the Calgary Flames on Saturday. Tim Stutzle has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past five games. Red Wings forward J.T. Compher has five points (one goal, four assists) during a four-game point streak.

Arizona Coyotes at Columbus Blue Jackets (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, BSOH)

Clayton Keller has points in four straight games (three goals, four assists) and Lawson Crouse has six goals in his past seven for the Coyotes (7-6-2). Arizona is 4-2-2 in its past eight games and has scored at least one power-play goal in six straight. The Blue Jackets (4-8-2) have one win in 11 games since Oct. 24 (1-6-4).

Vegas Golden Knights at Montreal Canadiens (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN2, SCRIPPS)

Vegas (12-3-1) has lost three of four, including 3-0 at the Washington Capitals on Tuesday, to fall into a tie with the Vancouver Canucks for first place in the Pacific Division. The Canadiens (7-7-2) are 2-5-1 in their past eight after a 2-1 loss to the Calgary Flames on Tuesday. Montreal forward Rafael Harvey-Pinard is day to day because of a lower-body injury.

New Jersey Devils at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, MSG, SNO, SNE)

Crosby can compile the 11th double-digit point streak of his NHL career. He, Jake Guentzel and Erik Karlsson each have nine points during Pittsburgh's five-game run with the Penguins, during which they have outscored opponents 25-8. Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang is one point from 700 in the NHL. New Jersey has been outscored 16-8 during its three-game slide.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Chicago Blackhawks (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SN360, TVAS)

Bedard (18 years, 122 days) could become the youngest player in NHL history with three straight multigoal games. Tampa Bay has been outscored 14-3 during its skid.

Vancouver Canucks at Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET; SNW, SNP)

The Canucks (12-3-2) play the second of back-to-back games and are 10-1-1 in their past 12. Quinn Hughes (26 points; six goals, 20 assists) became the first player in the NHL with five three-point games and set a Canucks record for fewest games (16) to 20 assists during a 4-3 win against the New York Islanders on Wednesday. Vancouver's captain broke the mark of 17 he shared with Henrik Sedin (2010-11) and is tied with teammate Elias Pettersson (seven goals, 19 assists) for the NHL scoring lead. Hughes, Pettersson and J.T. Miller (10 goals, 16 assists) each are on pace for 133 points, which would break Sedin's record of 112 set in 2009-10 and allow Hughes to become the third defenseman in NHL history with at least that many (Bobby Orr, Paul Coffey). The Flames (5-8-2) are 3-1-1 since ending a six-game losing streak.

New York Islanders at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; MSGSN, ROOT-NW)

Each team plays the second of a back to back looking to end losing skids. The Islanders (5-6-4) have lost six straight. The Kraken (5-8-4) have lost three in a row (0-1-2) and five of six (1-3-2) coming off a 4-3 overtime loss at the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday. Kraken defenseman Vince Dunn has five points, all assists, during a four-game point streak.

Florida Panthers at Los Angeles Kings (10:30 p.m. ET; BSW, BSFL)

The Kings (8-3-3) haven't played since Saturday, when they lost 4-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers. Quinton Byfield has nine assists during a six-game point streak. The Panthers (10-4-1) have won five in a row. Sam Reinhart has four goals and eight assists, Matthew Tkachuk has one goal and seven assists and captain Aleksander Barkov has seven points (four goals, three assists) during Florida's run.

St. Louis Blues at San Jose Sharks (10:30 p.m. ET; BSMW, NBCSCA)

The Blues (8-5-1) have outscored opponents 15-3 during a three-game winning streak. Captain Brayden Schenn had an assist against the Lightning on Tuesday and is one point shy of 600 in the NHL. The Sharks (2-13-1) will try to end a three-game losing streak. They're led by Tomas Hertl's 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 16 games.