NHL Previews

The Dallas Stars are sitting pretty in the Western Conference, but their penalty kill has been an issue of late. Meanwhile, the Montreal Canadiens’ power play is starting to heat up. Looking to improve on special teams, the visiting Stars also aim to avoid a sweep of the season series at the hands of the Canadiens on Saturday afternoon. Tied atop the Central Division, Dallas saw its 5-0-1 stretch halted with Wednesday’s 5-4 loss at

The Detroit Red Wings return from the All-Star break striking an unusually optimistic tone given their genuine chance to end their seven-year playoff drought. Eager to get back to work, the Red Wings will play host to the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Canucks on Saturday afternoon. Detroit currently holds the last wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference after going 9-2-2 in January. “It’s a fun time of year,” Red Wings defenseman Ben Chiarot said. “That’s what

After getting stymied by Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger on Tuesday, the Buffalo Sabres will seek an offensive breakthrough when they host the St. Louis Blues on Saturday afternoon. The Sabres fell to the Stars 2-1 despite outshooting Dallas 48-30. “I think we outplayed them the entire game,” Sabres forward Tage Thompson said. “I thought defensively we were strong. We played a pretty tight game, didn’t really give up too much. I think their goalie

The Tampa Bay Lightning will have little time to process a potentially serious injury when they return to action Thursday night against the New York Islanders in Elmont, N.Y. During the Lightning’s 3-1 road loss to the New York Rangers on Wednesday, Tampa Bay defenseman Mikhail Sergachev was stretchered off due to a left leg injury. Sergachev tried to deliver a hit to Rangers left winger Alexis Lafreniere with about 13 minutes left in the

The Calgary Flames and New Jersey Devils will look to follow up an impressive win over tough competition when they face off on Thursday in Newark, N.J. Looking to get back into the playoff picture down the stretch, Calgary and New Jersey each took a step forward on Tuesday in their first games after the All-Star break. The Flames notched a 4-1 win over the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins, while the Devils also topped a

The Washington Capitals, who have lost a season-worst five straight games, are about to play four of the top five teams in the NHL — all in a row. It starts on Thursday night, when the Capitals visit the Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. After that, Washington will visit the Boston Bruins and then play host to the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche. “This is not a great time to lose five in a row,” said

The Dallas Stars will put a four-game winning streak on the line Wednesday night when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Stars opened a three-game road trip Tuesday night with a 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger made a career-high 47 saves and Sam Steel scored what proved to be the winning goal midway through the second period. Matt Duchene also scored for Dallas, and Joe Pavelski played in his

Despite skidding into the All-Star break with consecutive one-goal defeats, the Minnesota Wild assure fans they’re operating more like the group that won four of five before the slump. “I feel like we’re all a little rejuvenated,” Wild defenseman Jake Middleton said. “We were loud and having fun (at practice) and scoring lots of goals, which is nice. I think everyone’s refreshed and ready to get back after it.” Minnesota is set to begin the

Behind red-hot Nathan MacKinnon, the Colorado Avalanche came out of the All-Star break eyeing the top spot in the Western Conference. Meanwhile, simply making the playoffs is at stake for the struggling New Jersey Devils. Amid a four-game point streak (3-0-1), the Avalanche will try to rebound from a rare defeat when they oppose the Devils on Tuesday night in Newark, N.J. Colorado, 13-3-2 since Dec. 21, is trying to catch the Vancouver Canucks atop