The Ottawa Senators are rolling, while the Detroit Red Wings are desperately searching for answers ahead of their Monday night showdown. Ottawa, sitting atop the Eastern Conference wild-card race, has won three of its last four games (3-0-1), including a thrilling 4-3 overtime comeback win over the New York Rangers on Saturday. Meanwhile, Detroit has dropped five straight games, including a 5-2 loss to the Washington Capitals on Friday, leaving them three points behind Ottawa and two points out of the final playoff spot. The Senators have made a habit of late-game heroics, pulling off back-to-back overtime wins after trailing in the third period. Captain Brady Tkachuk played the hero again on Saturday, scoring twice—including the game-winner just 33 seconds

The Colorado Avalanche (41-20-5) are firing on all cylinders, riding a five-game win streak as they close out a perfect homestand opportunity against the Chicago Blackhawks (20-40-6) on Monday night in Denver. Colorado has used the NHL trade deadline to bolster its roster for a deep playoff run, adding Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle, Ryan Lindgren, and Jimmy Vesey. The moves have already paid off, with Nelson, Coyle, and Lindgren each recording an assist in Saturday’s 7-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs. While the Avalanche are firmly in win-now mode, Chicago is focused on the future, recently calling up top defensive prospect Artyom Levshunov, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft. The Blackhawks will feature two 19-year-olds

The Toronto Maple Leafs (37-20-8) will try to avoid a four-game losing streak when they visit the Utah Hockey Club (30-29-6) for the first time ever in Salt Lake City on Monday night. Toronto fell 7-4 to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, despite two-goal performances from Mitch Marner and John Tavares. The Leafs have now dropped three straight games (0-2-1) and will need to regroup quickly before heading home. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz made 27 saves against the Avalanche, bringing his record to 13-6-3 with a .921 save percentage and a 2.33 GAA this season. Toronto’s trade deadline acquisitions, Scott Laughton and Brandon Carlo, debuted against Colorado with no practice time beforehand. Coach Craig Berube liked what he saw but acknowledged

At 1:00 ET, the Thunder (-303) will host the Nuggets (+249) in a Western Northwest division matchup. Oklahoma City (-8) is favored in this game and will be looking to extend their 6-game win streak. Denver (+8) has won two straight games and is currently 2nd in the Western Conference. This game will be played at Paycom Center in Oklahoma City and can be seen on ABC. The over/under line for this game is 240 points. The Nuggets improved to 41-22 on the season after a 149-141 win over the Suns on Friday. Denver was at home and entered the game as -9 point favorites, but didn’t cover the spread. The total points of 290 far exceeded the over/under line