NHL Previews

The Minnesota Wild will try to continue their impressive turnaround under new coach John Hynes when they visit the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday night. The Wild had lost seven straight when Dean Evason was fired on Nov. 27 and replaced by Hynes. They’re 4-0-0 since, outscoring their opponents 18-5. The 4-0-0 debut ties John Torchetti (2016) for the best start by a Minnesota coach in team history. “It’s a kick in the butt when you

It is the first meeting of the year between the banged-up Colorado Avalanche and the visiting Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night. The Avalanche enter the game dealing with a rash of injuries that got worse Tuesday night in Denver during a 3-2 victory over Anaheim. Defenseman Bowen Byram left the game in the second period and did not return with an upper-body injury after being leveled by Ducks forward Max Jones. Byram is the next

The Edmonton Oilers are riding a four-game winning streak as they kick off a crucial six-game homestand with a Wednesday clash against the Carolina Hurricanes. After a horrid start to the season, the Oilers finally appear to be finding their stride, having won seven of their past 10 games. “We still have some work to do to at least get to .500,” Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl said. “This is a great chance to be home,

After thwarting the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in overtime Monday night, St. Louis Blues goaltender Jordan Binnington expects to see a big pushback from the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Golden Knights visit the Blues on Wednesday night in the back half of this unusual home-and-home sequence. “We’ll see what happens with that,” Binnington said. “They’ll be hungry to come at us, and we got to hold it down at home.” Binnington stopped 33 of

The Tampa Bay Lightning evened the season series with one opponent thanks to a quick turnaround Monday night. On Wednesday, they will try to turn the same trick. After blanking the Dallas Stars 4-0 following an 8-1 whipping in Texas on Saturday, the Lightning will try to settle the score with Pittsburgh when the Penguins come to town again. In a three-day span, the Lightning went from blowout to shutout against the Lone Star State

Matthew Tkachuk is behind schedule. Tkachuk, the Panthers’ star winger, will try to add to his modest four-goal total on Wednesday night when Florida hosts the Dallas Stars in Sunrise, Fla. Over the past two years, Tkachuk scored 82 goals, essentially one every other game. This season, Tkachuk has dropped from that 0.51 goals-per-game rate to 0.17 goals per game. And, after accumulating a career-high 109 points last season, he is on pace for just

The New York Rangers will try to stay on a roll when they open a two-game road trip against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night. The Rangers have won three in a row and six of seven to take a comfortable eight-point lead in the Metro Division entering the week. New York has yet to lose two in a row this season. “We have the depth on the team,” New York left wing Artemi Panarin

The Los Angeles Kings’ opening road success is nearing historic levels. Meanwhile, the Columbus Blue Jackets have fared pretty well at home of late. The Kings can tie the NHL record by winning their 10th consecutive road game to open a season, while also trying to keep the Blue Jackets from a fourth victory in five at home on Tuesday night. Los Angeles has outscored its opponents 42-15 while going 9-0-0 on the road. That’s

The Montreal Canadiens will try to patch together another lineup when they host the Seattle Kraken on Monday night. The Canadiens learned on Saturday that Alex Newhook would miss 10-12 weeks with a high ankle sprain sustained in a 5-1 loss at the Florida Panthers on Thursday. Newhook has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 23 games this season. The Canadiens were already without defensemen David Savard (broken hand), Arber Xhekaj (upper body) and