NHL On Tap: Sabres visit Senators, seek to end six-game skid

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 three games Wednesday.

Sabres need to restart with better start

The Buffalo Sabres were one of the best early season stories in the NHL. When they started 7-3-0, you had to wonder: After 11 seasons out of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the longest drought in the NHL, could this be the season they finally make it again? Well, now they have crashed back to earth, having lost six straight in regulation entering their game at the Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, MSG-B, ESPN+) and allowing 29 goals during their skid. The good news? There are only two teams below the Sabres (7-9-0) in the Eastern Conference standings, the Senators (5-9-1) and Columbus Blue Jackets (5-9-1), and they're playing one of them. In the second game of a back-to-back, Buffalo will try to get off to a better start than it did Tuesday, when it fell behind 2-0 in a 5-4 loss to the Vancouver Canucks. -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Toews seeks milestone assists mark

Jonathan Toews needs two assists for 500 in his NHL career when the Chicago Blackhawks host the St. Louis Blues in a Central Division showdown at United Center (7:30 p.m. ET; TNT, BSMW, SN NOW). The Blackhawks captain, who has 10 points (seven goals, three assists) in 15 games this season, can become the eighth player in Chicago history to reach the milestone. Toews has played 1,029 games, all with the Blackhawks (6-6-3). His teammate, forward Patrick Kane, is second on the list with 760 assists in 1,122 games, behind Hall of Famer Stan Mikita (926 assists in 1,396 games). For the Blues (6-8-0), defenseman Justin Faulk needs one point to reach 100 in his fourth season with St. Louis. Since joining the Blues in 2019-20, Faulk ranks first in goals (31) and points (99) among St. Louis defensemen in 215 games. He has 357 points (116 goals, 241 assists) in 774 career NHL games, including eight seasons (559 games) with the Carolina Hurricanes. -- Mike G. Morreale, staff writer

Kings reacquaint with Oilers following playoff loss

There's a lot to like about the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers, who face off at Rogers Place (10 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, SNW) for the first time since the Oilers defeated the Kings in Game 7 of the 2022 Western Conference First Round. Los Angeles (10-7-1) is 6-2-1 in its past nine games and earned praise from Marc Crawford this week
in the Coaches Room
for what he called the simplicity of its play. The Kings made a quantum leap last season, coming off a sixth-place Pacific Division finish in 2020-21 with 44 wins, their most since winning 45 in 2017-18. Though in second place, they're three points ahead of the fourth-place Oilers (9-7-0) and must find another level to keep pace with the 13-4-0 Vegas Golden Knights. Edmonton, as usual, has relied on centers Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl; McDavid has 22 points (10 goals, 12 assists) in a 10-game point streak and Draisaitl has 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in an 11-game run. The Oilers also may have a goalie controversy brewing; Jack Campbell, signed to a five-year, $25 million contract as an unrestricted free agent, is 6-4-0 with a 4.27 goals-against average and .873 save percentage in 10 starts. Stuart Skinner is 3-3-0 with a 2.53 GAA and .932 save percentage after making 40 saves in a 4-2 win at the Florida Panthers on Saturday. -- Jon Lane, staff writer

Wednesday games

Buffalo Sabres at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, MSG-B, ESPN+)

The Senators also have stumbled after a strong start. They were 4-2-0, but are 1-7-1 since. Forward Claude Giroux has 13 points (six goals, seven assists) in a nine-game point streak. Sabres forward Tage Thompson has seven points (four goals, three assists) in a five-game point streak and 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in his past nine games.
St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks (7:30 p.m. ET; TNT, BSMW, SN NOW)
Goalie Jordan Binnington is 3-0-0 with a 2.33 goals-against average and. 938 save percentage since Nov. 8 for the Blues, who seek a fourth straight victory. Kane has 12 points (two goals, 10 assists) in 15 games for the Blackhawks, who were shut out for the second time in four games on Monday (3-0 to the Hurricanes).
Los Angeles Kings at Edmonton Oilers (10 p.m. ET; TNT, TVAS, SNW)
ForwardArthur Kaliyev (20 goals in 98 NHL games) is the sixth Kings player in 25 years to score 20 goals in less than 100 games (Anze Kopitar, 72; Michael Cammalleri, 77; Tyler Toffoli, 83; Gabriel Vilardi, 92; Alex Frolov, 94). McDavid is the fifth Oilers skater with an assist streak of at least 10 games (Wayne Gretzky, Paul Coffey, Jari Kurri, Glenn Anderson).