NHL Previews

Nashville Predators coach Andrew Brunette expressed exasperation after his team absorbed a 9-2 beating from the Dallas Stars Thursday night. “It’s disappointing,” Brunette said. “It can only be addressed so many times. Either we’re not taking it seriously enough, or we’re not understanding. So, the response and the mindset is really disappointing.” Now the Predators must regroup as they open a five-game road trip with a visit to the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center

The Dallas Stars look to keep rolling when they host the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. The Stars are coming off a 9-2 thrashing of the Nashville Predators on Thursday, their third straight win and eighth in their past 10 games (8-1-1). That run has propelled them to the top of the Central Division standings, four points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche and five up on the Winnipeg Jets. The Stars were five points behind the

After a torrid stretch moved them into playoff position, the Detroit Red Wings likely were due for this step backward. The Red Wings have followed a 10-2-2 span by dropping the first two outings in a four-game road trip heading into Saturday afternoon’s tilt with the Flames in Calgary. Thursday’s 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks followed Tuesday’s 8-4 setback to the Edmonton Oilers, but Detroit has not lost confidence in its ability to generate

With their season-high, four-game winning streak now in the rearview mirror, the Ottawa Senators will aim to regroup when they visit the slumping Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday afternoon. Ottawa was admittedly lethargic during Thursday’s 5-1 home loss to the Anaheim Ducks, allowing four straight goals to open the game. That effort came in sharp contrast to consecutive victories against Nashville, Detroit, Toronto and Columbus — the first three of which are playoff contenders. “We’ve been

The Boston Bruins hope that turning the page to a new game leads to a different result when they host the Los Angeles Kings in the sixth game of a disappointing seven-game homestand on Saturday afternoon. Thursday’s 4-1 loss to Seattle marked the Bruins’ third straight setback and fourth in a five-game span (1-3-1), but it was not for a lack of effort. Though they were rare for coach Jim Montgomery’s club last winter, these

The Arizona Coyotes will try to snap a seven-game losing streak Friday when they host the Carolina Hurricanes in Tempe, Ariz. The Coyotes, who are eight points out of the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference entering play Thursday, have managed to garner just one point (0-6-1) during the losing stretch while getting outscored by a 31-16 margin. Arizona comes in off a 3-1 loss to the visiting Minnesota Wild on Wednesday in a

The Calgary Flames, coming off an impressive if not perfect road trip, have something to build upon when they begin a four-game homestand on Thursday against the San Jose Sharks. The Flames took a 2-0 loss to the New York Rangers on Monday to end their four-game trek, a result that snapped their four-game winning streak. Calgary beat the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders during the trip, with the recent surge

Winning away from home remains a struggle for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh will try to reverse that trend and end a five-game road losing streak when it visits the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday. The Penguins are hoping to split a back-to-back after suffering a 5-2 home loss to the Florida Panthers on Wednesday. Wherever they roam, the Penguins haven’t clicked on the man advantage. Pittsburgh went 0-for-4 on the power play against Florida, generating just

The Florida Panthers will try to extend their road winning streak into double digits when they visit the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday. The Panthers’ nine-game road streak has already established a club record and put Florida within range of league history. The 2014-15 Minnesota Wild and 2005-06 Detroit Red Wings share the record of 12 consecutive away victories in a season, and only 10 NHL teams have had road win streaks of 10 or more