NHL On Tap: Ekblad, Montour could make season debut for Panthers

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 three games Friday.

Welcome back Ekblad and Montour?

Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour could make their season debuts for the Florida Panthers against the Anaheim Ducks (9-7-0) at Honda Center (10 p.m. ET; BSW, BSFL, TVAS). The defensemen each have been recovering from offseason shoulder surgery following Florida's run to the Stanley Cup Final last season. "We might get a couple of players back [Friday] who will excite the group," coach Paul Maurice said following a 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday. Florida (10-5-1) has thrived despite missing two of its top four defensemen for its first 16 games, winning five in a row and eight of 10 (8-1-1) before the loss to Los Angeles. Sam Reinhart has been driving the offense; the forward has 13 points (five goals, eight assists) during a six-game point streak and is tied for the NHL lead with 13 goals. -- Tom Gulitti, staff writer

Red Wings, Maple Leafs meet in Stockholm

Of the four games in the 2023 NHL Global Series Sweden presented by Fastenal at Avicii Arena in Stockholm, the hottest ticket is for the game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs (2 p.m. ET; BSDET, NHLN, TSN4). These might be the two most popular NHL teams in Sweden because of their histories with Swedish players. Nicklas Lidstrom and Henrik Zetterberg headline the list for Detroit, Borje Salming and Mats Sundin for Toronto. The Red Wings (8-5-3) have one player from Sweden on this trip, forward Lucas Raymond, and his second-period goal sparked Detroit's rally from a 4-0 deficit in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. The Maple Leafs (8-5-2) are expected to have three Swedish players in their lineup, led by forward William Nylander, who has a point in all 15 games this season (10 goals, 12 assists). -- Nicholas J. Cotsonika, columnist

Sabres play first game without Thompson

The Buffalo Sabres will play their first game this season without forward Tage Thompson when they face the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, MSG-B, NHLN). The 26-year-old is out week to week after he sustained an upper-body injury while blocking a shot during the second period of a 5-2 loss to the Boston Bruins on Tuesday. He is third on the Sabres (7-8-1) with 12 points (six goals, six assists) in 16 games. Buffalo has lost two games in a row and is 5-4-1 in its past 10. Kyle Connor has 11 points (seven goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak for the Jets (8-5-2), who have won four of their past five games (4-1-0). He's tied with Reinhart, Auston Matthews of the Maple Leafs and Brock Boeser of the Vancouver Canucks for the NHL lead in goals with 13. -- William Douglas, staff writer

Friday games

Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Detroit Red Wings (2 p.m. ET; BSDET, NHLN, TSN4)

Nylander's 15-game point streak is the longest to open a season in Maple Leafs history. This will be Toronto's first game outside North America. The Red Wings have lost three of their past four games (1-1-2) and still are looking for their first win overseas. In their only other time playing outside North America, they lost two games to the St. Louis Blues, 4-3 and 5-3, on Oct. 2-3, 2009, at the same arena in Stockholm in the NHL Premiere Series.

Buffalo Sabres at Winnipeg Jets (8 p.m. ET; TSN3, MSG-B, NHLN)

Cole Perfetti has scored in four straight games and has nine points (four goals, five assists) during a seven-game point streak for the Jets, who play the first of back-to-back games. Mark Scheifele has a four-game point streak (one goal, eight assists) for Winnipeg. Casey Mittelstadt (three goals, 10 assists) and Jeff Skinner (seven goals, six assists) are tied for the Sabres lead with 13 points in 16 games.

Florida Panthers at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; BSW, BSFL, TVAS)

The Ducks open a four-game homestand looking to rebound from an 8-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday. Anaheim's Pavel Mintyukov is tied with Luke Hughes of the New Jersey Devils for the NHL lead among rookie defensemen with 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 16 games. The Panthers are 4-4-1 on the road this season, including 1-1-0 through the first two games of their three-game California trip.