The Vancouver Canucks head into a pivotal six-game road trip with their playoff hopes hanging in the balance, starting with a matchup against the surging St. Louis Blues on Thursday night. Vancouver (32-25-11, 75 points) currently holds the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but with teams like the Calgary Flames (73 points) and Utah Hockey Club (71 points) still in the hunt, every game carries major playoff implications. The Canucks have been inconsistent since returning from the 4 Nations Face-Off break, going 6-7-0. However, they enter this road trip with momentum after a dominant 6-2 win over the Central Division-leading Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday. Brock Boeser led the charge with two goals and an assist, helping Vancouver break

With the season winding down, the Nashville Predators hope to end their recent struggles and gain some momentum when they host the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. Nashville (25-34-8, 58 points) has lost three straight games, managing just two total goals during the skid. Their latest defeat, a 4-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday, highlighted their offensive woes. The losing streak began with a frustrating 2-1 loss to the Ducks in Anaheim last Friday, followed by a 1-0 overtime loss to the Los Angeles Kings the next night. Nashville’s struggles this season come despite offseason acquisitions of Jonathan Marchessault and Steven Stamkos. However, both have seen their production dip. Marchessault, who averaged over 33 goals per season

Two impressive streaks will collide Thursday night as the Tampa Bay Lightning aim for a third straight win against the Dallas Stars, who are riding an eight-game home winning streak. Tampa Bay (39-23-5, 83 points) is in a tight race for home-ice advantage in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs while still holding an outside shot at claiming the Atlantic Division’s top spot. Since Jan. 30, the Lightning have posted a 13-3-2 record, with their recent surge putting them in strong position for the stretch run. The Lightning are coming off a 2-0 shutout victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday, led by goals from Nikita Kucherov and Jake Guentzel. Vasilevskiy made 22 saves for his fifth shutout

UCLA’s signature defense will be tested as the No. 7-seed Bruins face No. 10-seed Utah State in a Midwest Region first-round matchup on Thursday in Lexington, Ky. The Bruins (22-10) boast college basketball’s most storied history with 11 national championships and return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out last season. Their success this year has been fueled by a defensive-first mentality under head coach Mick Cronin. Bilodeau, a transfer from Oregon State, leads UCLA with 13.6 points per game but has struggled with inconsistency down the stretch. He is joined by fellow transfers Eric Dailey Jr. (11.6 ppg, 4.1 rpg), Skyy Clark (8.0 ppg, 2.8 apg), and Kobe Johnson (8.1 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.0 apg) in a revamped lineup