NHL on Tap: Capitals host Canadiens with Ovechkin in search of NHL scoring record

Welcome to NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. Seven games are scheduled for Thursday, one of which will be televised nationally in the United States. Thursday also marks the fourth week of NHL Coast to Coast, a weekly studio show on Prime Video in Canada.

Games of the day

Montreal Canadiens at Washington Capitals (7 p.m. ET; MNMT, TSN2, RDS)

Alex Ovechkin, who scored two goals for the Capitals (6-2-0) in a 5-3 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday, is 38 goals away from breaking Wayne Gretzky's NHL record of 894. Washington's captain scored 38 goals against the New York Rangers Canadians. Cole Caufield has scored in three straight games for the Canadiens (4-5-1), giving him nine goals in 10 games this season.

Edmonton Oilers at Nashville Predators (8 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+, SNW)

The Oilers (4-5-1) host the Predators (3-5-1), with captain Connor McDavid out for two to three weeks with an ankle injury. The forward was injured 37 seconds into Monday's 6-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Predators forward Steven Stamkos returned to where he played for 16 seasons with a 3-2 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday at Amalie Arena that ended Nashville's three-game winning streak. Ryan O'Reilly (two goals, five assists) and Filip Forsberg (three goals, four assists) have each picked up a point in their last six home games. You are one of three teammates to achieve the feat in the season opener (Alex Pietrangelo, Mark Stone and Jack Eichel, seven games for the Vegas Golden Knights; Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, seven for the Colorado Avalanche).

Seattle Kraken at Toronto Maple Leafs (7 p.m. ET; TSN4, KONG, KING 5, KHN)

The Kraken (5-4-1) scored eight goals against the Canadiens (8-2) on Tuesday as defenseman Brandon Montour scored his first NHL hat trick. Montour will not be there as he returned home for the birth of his daughter. Seattle forward Jared McCann is on a seven-game point streak (four goals, eight assists). The Maple Leafs (5-4-1) ended a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) when they handed the Winnipeg Jets their first loss of the season, 6-4, on Monday. John Tavares had a hat trick and has a five-game point streak (three goals, four assists).