NHL Previews

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

The New York Islanders didn’t like suffering another loss Saturday in which they squandered a multi-goal lead. The Minnesota Wild, on the other hand, found out they liked life on the other side of that equation. A pair of teams coming off eventful games are slated to meet for the first time this season Tuesday night, when the Islanders host the Wild in Elmont, N.Y. Both teams have been off since Saturday. The Islanders frittered

A few weeks into the season, the Carolina Hurricanes might be getting closer to the level at which they were expected to play. They’ll search for more signs of that when the Buffalo Sabres, who also have reasons to be encouraged, visit for Tuesday night’s game in Raleigh, N.C. The Hurricanes completed a three-game road stretch by collecting four of a possible six points. “We obviously wanted to get all six, but coming out with

The Dallas Stars host the Boston Bruins in a Monday night clash of early-season NHL heavyweights who are looking to shake off tough weekend losses. Boston let an early 2-0 lead slip away for the second straight game and later surrendered three third-period goals in Saturday’s 5-4 loss at Detroit, its first regulation setback of the season. “If you want to be a playoff team, you have to be good down the stretch and find

The Toronto Maple Leafs will be out to improve their defense and end a four-game losing streak when they meet the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning Monday night. The Maple Leafs opened a five-game homestand with a 6-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres Saturday despite a hat trick by Auston Matthews. Mitchell Marner added a goal and three assists. The Lightning, meanwhile, did not waste a hat trick by Brayden Point Saturday when they defeated the

When the Columbus Blue Jackets visit the Florida Panthers on Monday night in Sunrise, Fla., it will be a battle of teams looking for an offensive boost. Columbus has lost five of its past six games, including a 2-1 defeat at the Washington Capitals on Saturday. In that game, Columbus went 0-for-4 with the man advantage. For the season, the Blue Jackets rank 26th in power-play percentage (12.8). First-year head coach Pascal Vincent is optimistic,

Revived under new head coach Greg Cronin, the Anaheim Ducks will be put to the test Sunday night when they host the reigning Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights. Cronin was begging for some selfishness from his forwards early in the season, saying they seemed more interested in making the perfect pass. While imploring for more shots, he was really interested in his scorers taking shots as soon as those shots presented themselves. After a

Sunday night’s game between the Chicago Blackhawks and visiting New Jersey Devils initially shaped up as a matchup of two of the past five top overall picks in the NHL draft. An upper-body injury to New Jersey star forward Jack Hughes, however, figures to shine more of the spotlight on Chicago’s Connor Bedard, the No. 1 selection in 2023. Hughes’ status remained uncertain after he left during the first period of Friday’s 4-1 loss at