Welcome to NHL On Tap, a daily look at the games on the NHL schedule. There are two games on the schedule Wednesday, one nationally televised in the United States and one in Canada:
Games of the day
New York Rangers at Buffalo Sabres (7 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT)
The Sabres (11-13-4) will try to end a seven-game skid (0-4-3) after a 6-5 shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Monday. They have been without captain Rasmus Dahlin since Dec. 3 because of back spasms, but there is hope he could return this weekend. Dahlin, a defenseman, has 19 points (six goals, 13 assists) in 25 games this season while averaging a team-high 24:42 of ice time. Buffalo forward Jason Zucker has six points (two goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak, including two goals and an assist Monday. Mika Zibanejad could reach multiple milestones for the Rangers (14-12-1); the center, who will represent Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, is two points shy of 700 for his NHL career and needs one assist for 400 and a goal for 300. The 31-year-old, who has 698 points (299 goals, 399 assists) in 875 games, had a four-game point streak (five points; one goal, four assists) end in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday, which was New York’s eighth defeat in 10 games (2-8-0). Rangers forward Artemi Panarin is set to play his 700th NHL game.
Anaheim Ducks at Ottawa Senators (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, SN, KCOP-13, Victory+)
It’s the second of a four-game road trip for the Ducks (10-12-4), who have lost three in a row (0-2-1), including 3-2 in a shootout at the Montreal Canadiens on Monday. Forward Troy Terry scored twice for Anaheim; he has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past seven games and a team-leading 21 points (eight goals, 13 assists) this season. The Ducks have a six-game road point streak (4-0-2); their longest in franchise history is nine (7-0-2), set during the 2008-09 season (Feb. 28-April 11). The Senators (12-13-2) are concluding a four-game homestand (2-1-0); they won the first two before a 4-2 loss to the New York Islanders on Sunday. Forward Tim Stutzle has at least one point in all but two of 15 home games (23 points; seven goals, 16 assists), including two assists Sunday. Ottawa goalie Linus Ullmark is 3-0-1 with a 1.96 goals-against average and .938 save percentage in his past four starts.
Belgium
