Monday night hockey: Four games, one homecoming
Vegas visits Boston for a high-profile matchup, while Detroit, Colorado, and Calgary face off in other Monday evening contests.
By Lauren Foster ·
Four NHL teams take the ice on Monday night, with the Vegas Golden Knights heading to Boston to face the Bruins in the evening's main event. The other three games feature the Panthers hosting Detroit, the Blackhawks welcoming Colorado, and the Sharks playing the Flames. These matchups offer a snapshot of where the league stands as the season progresses.
Vegas and Boston represent a clash between the defending Western Conference champions and the current Atlantic Division leaders. DraftKings lists Vegas as a slight favorite at minus 112, with the over under set at 6.5 goals. For the Golden Knights, this is a personal night. Center Jack Eichel, a native of North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, and defenseman Noah Hanifin, from Boston, both return to a region they call home. Eichel has tallied nine goals and 15 assists in 22 career games against Boston, while Hanifin has five goals and 12 assists in the same number of appearances.
The Bruins have been tough at home, allowing 2.40 goals per game, which is the fourth fewest in the league. Much of that defensive stability is attributed to goaltender Jeremy Swayman. Boston has won all nine of its games in which it has scored at least three goals. The matchup carries future weight, as Stathletes calculates a 0.76 percent chance of these two teams meeting in the 2027 Stanley Cup Final.
In Sunrise, Florida, the Panthers host the Detroit Red Wings at 7 p.m. ET. The Panthers are on a three-game winning streak but have yet to beat an Atlantic Division opponent this season, sitting with a 0-2-0 record against those rivals. Matthew Tkachuk and Seth Jones lead Florida in scoring, with 20 and 18 points respectively through 14 games. Detroit's Alex DeBrincat trails them with 15 points in the same span. The Red Wings have a 3-1-0 record in games where they draw fewer penalties than their opponents, a stat that matters because Florida has the league's ninth-ranked power play at a 24.2 percent rate.
In Chicago, the Blackhawks host the Avalanche at 8 p.m. ET. Colorado is favored by 230 cents on DraftKings odds. This is the first of four meetings between these teams this season, with the next scheduled for February 28. Nathan MacKinnon leads Colorado offensively with 24 points in 14 games, followed by Martin Necas with 18 and Artturi Lehkonen with 17. Chicago's scoring sheet is tied between Connor Bedard and Patrick Kane, both with nine points, though Bedard has played only eight games.
The final game of the night tips off at 9 p.m. ET in San Jose, where the Sharks host the Calgary Flames. The Sharks are favored by 135 cents. San Jose has struggled against lower-ranked opponents this season, slipping past expectations for a playoff return. The Flames pose a specific threat with the NHL's second-ranked power play, operating at a 33.3 percent rate. Matvei Gridin and Morgan Frost each have three power-play goals so far. For San Jose, Macklin Celebrini leads the team with 16 points in 13 games, while Will Smith has 10 in 15 games.
