NHL On Tap: Canucks look to end five-game skid against Jets

Welcome to the NHL On Tap. Three NHL.com writers will share what they are most looking forward to on the schedule each day. Today, their choices from the two games Friday.

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Struggling Canucks in vapor trail of Jets

The Vancouver Canucks will look to end a five-game skid (0-4-1) when they host the Winnipeg Jets (10 p.m. ET, SNP, TSN3, ESPN+, NHL LIVE). Patience is tightrope-thin in Vancouver, with the Canucks (5-10-2) off to a rough start and general manager Jim Benning hearing calls for his job by the fans. The Jets (9-3-4) lost 2-1 in a shootout at the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday but are 3-0-1 in their past four games. Discipline will be key for Vancouver, because its penalty kill ranks last in the NHL at 60.3 percent (23 goals allowed in 58 opportunities). In their past nine games, the Canucks have allowed 18 goals in the past 35 shorthanded situations. --Dave Stubbs, columnist

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Grubauer to serve as backup for Kraken against former team

Goalie Chris Driedger will start for the Kraken, meaning Philipp Grubauer won't face his former team for the first time since signing as high-profile free agent when the Kraken host the Colorado Avalanche (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, NHL LIVE). Grubauer signed a six-year contract on July 28 and things have not gone as well as the goalie or the Kraken envisioned. Seattle is 4-11-1 and last in the Pacific Division. Grubauer is 4-8-1 with an .877 save percentage, the third-lowest among the 49 goalies who have played at least five games this season, and a 3.18 goals-against average, which ranks 40th among that same group. Those numbers are a far cry from the 30-9-1 record, .922 save percentage and 1.95 GAA he had with Colorado last season. The Avalanche (7-5-1), who have won three in a row, have gotten good goaltending from Grubauer's replacement, Darcy Kuemper. Acquired in a trade with the Arizona Coyotes hours after Grubauer signed with Seattle, Kuemper is 7-4-0 with a .916 save percentage and 2.56 GAA. Driedger, selected from the Florida Panthers in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft, is making his first appearance since Nov. 9. He is 0-1-0 with a .833 save percentage and 3.43 GAA. -- Shawn P. Roarke, Senior Director of Editorial

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Kadri's point streak, Avalanche heating up

Colorado center Nazem Kadri brings a seven-game point streak into the game against Seattle, with four goals and nine assists in that span. Kadri's point streak is impressive considering the injuries Colorado has dealt with this season, including No. 1 center Nathan MacKinnon, who sustained a lower-body injury on Nov. 6 that will keep him out three weeks, and forward J.T. Compher, who sustained an upper-body injury on Nov. 13 that will keep him out four weeks. The Avalanche have a good chance to extend their winning streak on the road against the Kraken, who have lost five games in a row while being outscored 24-14. -- Rob Reese, fantasy editor

Friday schedule

Winnipeg Jets at Vancouver Canucks (10 p.m. ET, SNP, TSN3, ESPN+, NHL LIVE)
Keep an eye on Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor, who has scored 21 points (12 goals, nine assists) in 16 games. His 12 goals are tied with four other players for second in the NHL behind Leon Draisaitl (17) of the Edmonton Oilers. Connor has scored at least 26 goals in each of his first four NHL seasons, but is on pace to shatter his NHL career high of 38 in 2019-20. Defenseman Quinn Hughes has been a bright spot in a tough season for the Canucks. He has scored 14 points (two goals, 12 assists) in 16 games, and is averaging a team-leading 25:14 ice time per game and has a plus-5 rating on a team with a minus-16 goal differential.
Colorado Avalanche at Seattle Kraken (10 p.m. ET; ESPN+, HULU, NHL LIVE).
After going 3-2-0 in their first five games at Climate Pledge Arena, the Kraken have lost three straight at home, getting outscored 15-8. They have three more home games to play before a four-game road trip. One good sign: they are averaging 3.13 goals per game at home as opposed to 2.38 away from Seattle, while the Avalanche are averaging 2.83 goals per game on the road as opposed to 4.14 at home.