NHL On Tap: Schaefer can stretch home point streak for Islanders vs. Kings

There are 12 games on the NHL schedule Thursday, including two televised nationally in the United States. Here are five things to watch today, along with the complete game schedule.

Schaefer hot at home

Matthew Schaefer will try to extend his season-opening home point streak to six games when the New York Islanders host the Los Angeles Kings in the first game of an ESPN+ doubleheader (7:30 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN+). Schaefer has seven assists through his first five games at UBS Arena, where the Islanders are 4-1-0 this season. New York (5-3-1) is 3-0-1 in its past four games overall. Los Angeles (1-4-2) continues a five-game road trip after defeating the Washington Capitals 5-2 in the opener Tuesday to earn its first win of the season. Kings coach Peter Laviolette, who had his first NHL coaching job with the Islanders (2001-03), can move within one of Ken Hitchcock (849) for sixth in League history with his 848th career win.

Mammoth start

The Utah Mammoth will try to at least maintain their hold of first in the Central Division when they visit the Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN+). Utah (7-3-0) has won four of its past five games and is tied with the Minnesota Wild atop the Central. The Mammoth have had 18 different players score at least one goal this season, which is most in the NHL. The Kraken (6-3-1) are also off to a strong start and play the second game of a four-game homestand they opened with a 4-3 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday. The Kraken are tied with the Vegas Golden Knights with 12 multigoal-scorers.

Heavyweight matchup

The reigning Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes visit the Edmonton Oilers for a showdown between two of the NHL’s top teams (9 p.m. ET: TVAS, SNW, CARNHL, HHN). Carolina (8-2-1) leads NHL with 17 points and has won eight of its past nine games. Edmonton (7-1-1) is second in the Western Conference and Pacific Division with 15 points, one behind Vegas (8-3-0) with two fewer games played. Captain Connor McDavid, who leads the NHL with 26 points (6 goals, 20 assists) and has three four-point games this season, can join Mario Lemieux (three times), Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky as the only players in League history to reach 30 points in 10 games or fewer. Seth Jarvis is expected to make his season debut for the Hurricanes after recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. The forward, who led Carolina with 32 goals in each of the past two seasons, was activated from the injured non-roster list Tuesday.

Shipping back to Boston

The Atlantic Division-leading Boston Bruins return home from a 3-0-1 road trip to host the Nashville Predators (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NESN). The Bruins (7-2-1) are 5-0-1 in their past six games, sparked by forward James Hagens, who's tied with forwards Trevor Connelly of the Golden Knights and Ivar Stenberg of the San Jose Sharks for the NHL rookie scoring lead with seven points (three goals, four assists) in 10 games. Nashville (3-2-3) will try to win consecutive games for the first time this season following a 5-2 win against the St. Louis Blues on Saturday. Steven Stamkos has points in seven of the Predators’ first eight games and the forward leads them with 10 (four goals, six assists). He is two away from joining Alex Ovechkin (476) and Sidney Crosby (306) as the only active NHL players with 300 road goals.

Last stop before Jetting outdoors

The Winnipeg Jets will play their final game before hosting the 2026 Tim Hortons NHL Heritage Classic when they visit the Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET; KDFW 4, Prime Video, TSN3). Forward Kyle Connor, who is tied for second in the League with eight goals, will try to help Winnipeg (4-3-2) end a 0-2-1 slide. Dallas (5-3-1) will seek its fourth straight win. Stars forward Jason Robertson (216 goals, 283 assists in 465 games) needs one point to reach 500 for his NHL career. The Jets will head home afterward to take on the Montreal Canadiens outdoors at Princess Auto Stadium on Sunday. Winnipeg will become the second Canadian city to host two NHL outdoor games; Edmonton hosted the Heritage Classic in 2003 and 2023).

The schedule

Nashville Predators at Boston Bruins (7 p.m. ET; SCRIPPS, NESN)

New York Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, MSG)

San Jose Sharks at Ottawa Senators (7 p.m. ET; RDS, TSN5, NBCSCA)

Anaheim Ducks at New Jersey Devils (7 p.m. ET; FOXLA+, Prime Video, MSGSN)

Florida Panthers at Pittsburgh Penguins (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, SCRIPPS, SNP, SNO, SNE, TVAS)

Los Angeles Kings at New York Islanders (7:30 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN+)

Vegas Golden Knights at St. Louis Blues (8 p.m. ET; ABC32, BN+, STLNHL, SCRIPPS)

Winnipeg Jets at Dallas Stars (8 p.m. ET; KDFW 4, Prime Video, TSN3)

Minnesota Wild at Calgary Flames (9 p.m. ET; SN1, MINNHL, Wild+)

Carolina Hurricanes at Edmonton Oilers (9 p.m. ET: TVAS, SNW, CARNHL, HHN)

Utah Mammoth at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; Disney+, HULU, ESPN+, SN+)

Detroit Red Wings at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET; SNE, SNO, SNP, DSN)