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THU. DEC. 4
Player to watch for goal, assist and/or shots on goal: Brock Nelson, F, COL (at NYI; 7 p.m. ET; MSGSN, KTVD, ALT)
The center will play a road game against the New York Islanders for the first time since they traded him to the Colorado Avalanche last season. Nelson has five points (three goals, two assists) and four shots on goal over his past two games playing mostly on the second line with Gabriel Landeskog (seven points during four-game point streak) and second power play with forwards Valeri Nichushkin, Ross Colton, Victor Olofsson and defenseman Brent Burns. Nelson, who's tied for third on the Avalanche in goals this season (nine), has had three seasons of at least 34 goals and seven seasons of at least 25 goals (including 26 last season) in his NHL career. Per NHL EDGE stats, Nelson is among the forward leaders in midrange goals (four; 91st percentile), midrange shots on goal (22; 88th percentile) and total skating distance (81.29 miles; 92nd percentile). Nelson had a multipoint game (one goal, one assist) with three shots on goal in 19:04 against the Islanders on Nov. 16 in his first matchup against his former team. -- Pete Jensen
Player to watch for goal, point and/or shots on goal: Zach Hyman, F, EDM (vs. SEA; 9 p.m. ET; TVAS, SNW, KONG, KHN/Prime)
The Edmonton Oilers wing has four points (one goal, three assists) and 18 shots on goal in eight games; he did not make his season debut until Nov. 15, missing the team's first 19 games due to an injury sustained on May 27 during Game 4 of the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars. Hyman, a 20-goal scorer in six of the past seven seasons, had his only goal and multipoint game this season against the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Hyman leads all active Oilers in goals (10 in 20 games) against the Kraken, and his 1.33 points per game against them are the highest against a single opponent in his career. Hyman is playing in his usual spot on the first line with elite center Connor McDavid and wing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, as well as the top power play with McDavid, Nugent-Hopkins, Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard. Per NHL EDGE stats, half of Hyman's shots on goal (9 of 18) have been from high-danger zones, and he ranks highly among forwards in offensive zone start percentage (44; 95th percentile). -- Troy Perlowitz
Player to watch for point, shots on goal and/or power play point: Darren Raddysh, D, TBL (vs. PIT; 7 p.m. ET; The Spot, SN-PIT, TVAS)
The Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) and 43 shots on goal in 20 games this season. Raddysh has 13 points (two goals, 11 assists) and four power-play points in his past nine games and has had at least one point in seven of those games, including three three-point games. Since Nov. 16, Raddysh is tied for first among defensemen in both points (13) and power play points (4) and ranks sixth in SOG (23). Raddysh, who is on the first power play with elite forward Nikita Kucherov (32 points in 24 games; leads team) and wing Jake Guentzel (27 points; tied for second on team), has 12 SOG in his past three games and at least two SOG in seven of his past 10 games. Per NHL EDGE stats, Raddysh ranks among the leaders at his position in max shot speed (100.13 mph; eighth in entire NHL), average shot speed (75.95; 98th percentile), long-range SOG (25; 88th percentile), long-range goals (two; 90th percentile), midrange SOG (nine; 80th percentile) and offensive zone time percentage (45.3; 90th percentile). -- Chris Meaney
Player to watch for goal, assists and/or shots on goal: Alex DeBrincat, F, DET (at CBJ; 7:30 p.m. ET; HULU, ESPN+)
The Detroit Red Wings forward has 28 points (13 goals, 15 assists) and leads them in shots on goal (102; fifth in NHL) in 27 games this season. DeBrincat, who is tied for third in the NHL in goals (nine) and tied for fifth in SOG (40) since Nov. 13, has 13 points (nine goals, four assists) and four power-play points in his past 11 games. DeBrincat has had at least three SOG in 23 of his 27 games this season and has had at least four SOG in 15 of those games. The Columbus Blue Jackets have allowed the third-most SOG per game (30.9) this season and the Red Wings rank third in SOG per game (30.4). DeBrincat has scored in four consecutive games against the Blue Jackets and has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) during a nine-game point streak against them. Per NHL EDGE stats, DeBrincat ranks among the leaders at forward in midrange SOG (38; seventh in entire NHL), high-danger SOG (36; 97th percentile), long-range SOG (nine; 92nd percentile), high-danger goals (eight; 96th percentile) and total skating distance (81.66 miles; 93rd percentile). -- Meaney
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Other players to watch for goal and/or shots on goal:
Seth Jarvis, F, CAR (vs. TOR)
Matt Boldy, F, MIN (at CGY)
Carter Verhaeghe, F, FLA (vs. NSH)
Mika Zibanejad, F, NYR (at OTT)
Morgan Geekie, F, BOS (vs. STL)
Other players to watch for point:
Gabriel Landeskog, F, COL (at NYI)
Sam Bennett, F, FLA (vs. NSH)
Adam Fantilli, F, CBJ (at DET)
Vincent Trocheck, F, NYR (at OTT)
Andrei Svechnikov, F, CAR (vs. TOR)
Other players to watch for multiple points:
Nikita Kucherov, F, TBL (vs. PIT)
Nathan MacKinnon, F, COL (at NYI)
Connor McDavid, F, EDM (vs. SEA)
Kirill Kaprizov, F, MIN (at CGY)
Connor Bedard, F, CHI (at LAK)
Other players to watch for assist:
Cale Makar, D, COL (at NYI)
Matthew Schaefer, D, NYI (vs. COL)
Brad Marchand, F, FLA (vs. NSH)
Jake Guentzel, F, TBL (vs. PIT)
Artemi Panarin, F, NYR (at OTT)
Other players to watch for shots on goal:
Dylan Larkin, F, DET (at CBJ)
Adrian Kempe, F, LAK (vs. CHI)
Brady Tkachuk, F, OTT (vs. NYR)
Sam Reinhart, F, FLA (vs. NSH)
Leon Draisaitl, F, EDM (vs. SEA)
Line combos/trios to consider:
CAR: Sebastian Aho -- Seth Jarvis
FLA: Brad Marchand -- Sam Reinhart
COL: Gabriel Landeskog -- Brock Nelson
NYR: Mika Zibanejad -- Artemi Panarin
DET: Alex DeBrincat -- Patrick Kane
CBJ: Adam Fantilli -- Kirill Marchenko
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FUTURES WATCH
NOTES: The below players are candidates to watch, from front-runners to sleepers, for various 2026 NHL Awards. These lists are a collaborative effort by Pete Jensen, Chris Meaney and Troy Perlowitz.
Art Ross Trophy:
- Nathan MacKinnon, F, COL
- Connor McDavid, F, EDM
- Macklin Celebrini, F, SJS
- Connor Bedard, F, CHI
- Jack Eichel, F, VGK
Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy:
- Nathan MacKinnon, F, COL
- Leon Draisaitl, F, EDM
- Jason Robertson, F, DAL
- David Pastrnak, F, BOS (INJ.)
- Cole Caufield, F, MTL
Hart Trophy:
- Nathan MacKinnon, F, COL
- Jack Eichel, F, VGK
- Leo Carlsson, F, ANA
- Macklin Celebrini, F, SJS
- David Pastrnak, F, BOS (INJ.)
Norris Trophy:
- Cale Makar, D, COL
- Quinn Hughes, D, VAN
- Miro Heiskanen, D, DAL
- Lane Hutson, D, MTL
- Matthew Schaefer, D, NYI
Vezina Trophy:
- Logan Thompson, G, WSH
- Andrei Vasilevskiy, G, TBL
- Ilya Sorokin, G, NYI
- Spencer Knight, G, CHI
- Scott Wedgewood, G, COL (INJ.)
Key injury: Connor Hellebuyck, G, WPG
Calder Trophy:
- Matthew Schaefer, D, NYI
- Ivan Demidov, F, MTL
- Beckett Sennecke, F, ANA
- Jesper Wallstedt, G, MIN
- Yaroslav Askarov, G, SJS
Jack Adams Award:
- Joel Quenneville, ANA
- Jared Bednar, COL
- Jeff Blashill, CHI
- Dan Muse, PIT
- Ryan Warsofsky, SJS
Stanley Cup:
- Colorado Avalanche
- Vegas Golden Knights
- Dallas Stars
- Tampa Bay Lightning
