NHL Previews

The Dallas Stars will go for their third straight victory when they visit the Minnesota Wild on Sunday evening in St. Paul, Minn. Dallas just notched road wins against the Winnipeg Jets and the Columbus Blue Jackets in the past three days. The Stars have won nine of their first 13 games and are in first place in the Western Conference’s Central Division. Stars coach Peter DeBoer likes what he is seeing from his team

Rookie defenseman Uvis Balinskis is trying to make the most of his opportunity. With veteran defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour out due to injuries, Balinskis is expected to be in the lineup once again on Sunday afternoon when his Florida Panthers host the Chicago Blackhawks. Balinskis, a 27-year-old native of Latvia, scored his first NHL goal on Friday as Florida recorded its third straight win with a 5-2 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes. “It’s

The Los Angeles Kings carry an eight-game point streak into Saturday night’s game against the visiting Philadelphia Flyers, but the hosts don’t necessarily have a home-ice advantage. It will be the third game in four nights for Los Angeles, which is a perfect 7-0-0 on the road this season but has managed just one win in six games (1-2-3) at Crypto.com Arena. That’s one fewer home win than the woeful San Jose Sharks. “I don’t

Two surging teams clash Saturday night when the Buffalo Sabres visit the Pittsburgh Penguins. Buffalo will be playing on successive nights after posting a 3-2 home win against the Minnesota Wild on Friday. The Sabres are 4-1-1 in their past six games, although they didn’t feel as though they were overly dominant in the latest contest. JJ Peterka gave Buffalo a 3-1 lead early in the third, but Minnesota’s Joel Eriksson Ek scored more than

The New York Islanders won’t have to look far Saturday night for proof that an early lull doesn’t have to define a season. Still, they are running out of time to prove their first impression isn’t the lasting one. The Islanders will look to snap out of their third-period doldrums and end a three-game losing streak Saturday night when they oppose the Washington Capitals in Elmont, N.Y. The Islanders’ latest setback was a 5-2 defeat

The Ottawa Senators have one more chance to give their fans a jolt of hope before heading across the Atlantic. After the Senators play host to the Calgary Flames on Saturday, they depart for Sweden to face the Minnesota Wild and Detroit Red Wings in the Global Series next week. The Senators, who are coming off a 5-2 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday, have just one win in their past four games and

The surging Vancouver Canucks will attempt to earn their sixth consecutive victory Saturday night when they visit the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Canucks opened a three-game road trip with a 5-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday. Toronto needed a shootout to defeat the visiting Calgary Flames 5-4 on Friday night in the opening of Hall of Fame weekend. The game had a familiar look as the Maple Leafs failed to hold a 4-1

The fact that Tampa Bay finally took a home loss in regulation on Thursday was not the issue for the Lightning. It was how it all went down. The Lightning, who host the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday, saw Chicago rookie Connor Bedard turn in his best career performance in just over one period of play as the Blackhawks stormed back from two early deficits in a 5-3 win. Bedard, 18, posted two goals and two

The Dallas Stars are considered a Stanley Cup contender and lead the Central Division, yet they don’t believe they have found their stride yet in the early portion of the season. As the Stars prepare to face the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday in the second installment of a three-game road swing, they are still looking for that top-tier game despite a strong record. “We’ve been playing some good hockey as a group, but it’s crazy