NHL Games of the Week: Saturday, December 18th – Thursday, December 23rd

Mick Kern
December 17, 2021

Saturday, December 18^th – 2:00 pm Eastern SiriusXM 91

Florida Panthers at Minnesota Wild

Could this be an early preview of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final? If it is, it’ll be an absolutely entertaining matchup. Long way to go before the playoffs, so enjoy this game this evening between two of the top teams in the NHL.

Sunday, December 19^th – 9:00 pm Eastern SiriusXM 91

Toronto Maple Leafs at Seattle Kraken

The Maple Leafs take their high-powered offence on the road, and visit Seattle to tangle with the expansion Kraken. So far Seattle have performed more like a prototypical expansion team that the Vegas Golden Knights did four years ago.

Monday, December 20^th – 7:00 pm Eastern SiriusXM 91

Montreal Canadiens at New York Islanders

This came close to being the 2021 Stanley Cup Final. A lot has changed since July. Both of these teams have performed well below expectations. While the Canadiens look to be in a rebuilding mode, the Islanders still hold out some hope to make the playoffs this season. That’ll be a tough task to accomplish.

Tuesday, December 21^st – 10:00 pm Eastern SiriusXM 91

Tampa Bay Lightning at Vegas Golden Knights

Another possible 2022 Stanley Cup Final preview, both of these teams started this season relatively slow (for their standards), but will be playoff teams when the calendar turns to May.

Wednesday, December 22^nd – 10:00 pm Eastern SiriusXM 91

Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings

Speaking of the Pacific Division, here’s another battle from that bracket. The Oilers were hot out of the gate, but have cooled off considerably since then. Goaltending remains a concern, and scoring depth, as superstar forwards Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl continue to light the lamp on a seemingly nightly basis. The Kings aren’t expected to qualify for the post-season, but are looking for their young players to improve.

Thursday, December 23^rd – 7:00 pm Eastern SiriusXM 91

Carolina Hurricanes at Ottawa Senators

As expected, so far the Hurricanes are a force in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division. Not as expected, so far the Senators are not playing at a level that most hockey observers believed them capable of reaching.