NHL Previews

Both the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild are off to middling starts, with each team looking for something positive to build on. Each tries to rebound from its latest setback when they meet on Friday night in Buffalo. Buffalo went 3-5-0 before finally winning back-to-back games on Oct. 29 and Nov. 1. That began the Sabres’ current 3-1-1 stretch, which most recently featured a 3-2 overtime loss at Carolina on Tuesday. Twice the Sabres erased

The Calgary Flames will be going for their third consecutive victory when they visit the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs on Friday night. The Flames have won two in a row for the first time this season after their comeback 4-2 victory over the visiting Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. The Flames ended a six-game losing streak Saturday in a 6-3 road win over the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. “You can see the confidence growing in

The Carolina Hurricanes are the kings of overtime — in the regular season, at least. On Friday night, the Hurricanes are set to visit the Florida Panthers in Sunrise, Fla. Both teams have won two straight games. But Carolina is working on a much more impressive streak, winning 10 straight regular-season games over the past year that have been settled in overtime. It’s tied for the second-longest streak in NHL history. On Tuesday, Carolina beat

While the Vancouver Canucks are off to the best start in franchise history, the struggling Ottawa Senators aim to build on a much-needed victory. The Canucks try to extend their winning streak to five games while looking to hand the Senators a fifth consecutive home defeat on Thursday night. After firing a coach each of the last two seasons and making just one playoff appearance in the previous eight seasons, Vancouver might finally be headed

The two teams with the fewest points in the NHL square off on Thursday night when the Edmonton Oilers visit the San Jose Sharks. It’s no surprise the rebuilding Sharks have started slowly, tying an NHL record with an 11-game winless streak to start the season before grinding out a 2-1 victory over the visiting Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. But the fact that Edmonton, led by arguably the two best players on the planet

The last time the Seattle Kraken were in Denver, they skated off the ice after winning Game 7 to upset the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs last season. It was a significant achievement for a team in its second year of existence, but Seattle has sputtered to start the 2023-24 campaign and has dropped its past two games. The Kraken will try to stop their slide when they visit

The New York Rangers sustained their worst showing of the early season when they blew a three-goal last weekend on the road against the Minnesota Wild. Five days later, the Rangers are coming off another win and attempting to continue one of the best starts in team history Thursday night when they host the Wild. At 9-2-1, the Rangers are off to a start that has seen them accumulate 19 points through their first 12

Even as line combinations change, things have continued to go well for the Boston Bruins. The Eastern Conference’s best team at 10-1-1, Boston bounced back from its first regulation loss with a Monday win at Dallas. The Bruins now await Thursday night’s visit from the New York Islanders. The 3-2 win over the Stars was memorable, featuring first career goals from forward John Beecher and defenseman Mason Lohrei before captain Brad Marchand netted the eventual

The Montreal Canadiens will open a stretch of five of their next six games at home when they host coach Martin St. Louis’ former club, the Tampa Bay Lightning, in the first of four meetings between the Atlantic Division foes. The Canadiens, who went 0-2-1 on their recent road trip, are off to a similar start as last season, but some bright spots in the lineup have stood out. Juraj Slafkovsky is one of those