NHL On Tap: McDavid, Ovechkin go head-to-head when Oilers visit Capitals

There are four games on the NHL schedule for Wednesday, two of which are nationally televised in the United States and Canada. Here are five things to watch today, along with the complete game schedule.

Superstar spotlight

Connor McDavid and Alex Ovechkin will go head-to-head for the 15th time when the Edmonton Oilers (9-8-4) visit the Washington Capitals (9-8-2) at Capital One Arena (7 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT, SN, TVAS). McDavid, the Oilers captain, has 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) in the previous 14 games against Ovechkin and the Capitals. Ovechkin, who is Washington’s captain, has 15 points (eight goals, seven assists). The Capitals hold an 8-4-2 advantage in the head-to-head matchup. Remarkably, McDavid and Ovechkin have won 32 NHL awards between them ("Rocket" Richard Trophy 10 times, Ted Lindsay Award six times, Art Ross Trophy six times, Hart Trophy six times, Conn Smythe Trophy twice, Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award once, Calder Trophy once). Ovechkin, who has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 19 games this season, won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 2018, his 13th NHL season; McDavid, who has 30 points (nine goals, 21 assists) in 21 games, is pursuing his first championship in his 11th season and is coming off back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final.

Going Wild

The Minnesota Wild (9-7-4) can extend their point streak to six games when they host the Carolina Hurricanes (13-5-1) at Grand Casino Arena (9:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, TVAS). The Wild are 4-0-1 in their past five games after a 3-2 win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday when Kirill Kaprizov scored a power-play goal with 10 seconds left in overtime. The OT goal was the 11th of Kaprizov's NHL career; only Sebastian Aho (13), Leon Draisaitl (11) and Cole Caufield (11) have as many since the 2020-21 season. Kaprizov is one power-play goal shy of tying Zach Parise (69) for the most in franchise history.

Moving on up

David Pastrnak can pass Rick Middleton for the fifth-most goals in franchise history when the Boston Bruins (12-9-0) visit the Anaheim Ducks (12-6-1) at Honda Center (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, NESN, TVAS2, SN360). Pastrnak has 402 goals in 777 games; Middleton reached the mark in 881 games. Boston’s goals list is topped by Johnny Bucyk (545), Phil Esposito (459), Patrice Bergeron (427) and Brad Marchand (422). Pastrnak has points in five of his past six games (eight points; four goals, four assists) for the Bruins, who have won eight of 10. The Ducks ended a three-game losing streak with a 3-2 overtime win against the Utah Mammoth on Monday.

Staal keeps rolling

Jordan Staal is three points shy of Rod Brind'Amour for fifth on the Hurricanes’ all-time list. Staal, who is Carolina’s captain, scored in a 3-1 win at the Boston Bruins on Monday and has 470 points (183 goals, 287 assists) in 916 games with the Hurricanes. Brind'Amour, who is in his eighth season as their coach, had 473 points (174 goals, 299 assists) in 694 games. Ron Francis tops the list with 1,175 points (382 goals, 793 assists) in 1,186 games with Carolina and the Hartford Whalers. Eric Staal, Jordan's brother, is second with 775 points (322 goals, 453 assists) in 909 games.

Power-aide

Owen Power needs three assists to reach 100 in his NHL career for the Buffalo Sabres (7-8-4), who host the Calgary Flames (5-13-3) at KeyBank Center (7:30 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TVAS2, SN1). Power has 118 points (21 goals, 97 assists) in 260 games, all with Buffalo, which selected him with the No. 1 pick at the 2021 NHL Draft. Among defensemen to debut with the Sabres, Power can require the fourth-fewest games to reach the mark behind Phil Housley (160 games played), Rasmus Dahlin (219) and Hannu Virta (244). He has seven points (two goals, five assists) in 18 games this season.

The schedule

Edmonton Oilers at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, TNT, SN, TVAS)

Calgary Flames at Buffalo Sabres (7:30 p.m. ET; MSG-B, TVAS2, SN1)

Carolina Hurricanes at Minnesota Wild (9:30 p.m. ET; HBO MAX, truTV, TNT, TVAS)

Boston Bruins at Anaheim Ducks (10 p.m. ET; Victory+, NESN, TVAS2, SN360)