The Bum's National Hockey League January Rated Plays - Trends - News - Etc. !!

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Canadiens (19-15) at Bruins (18-12)
Date: January 01, 2016 1:00 PM EDT

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) Since the NHL first experimented with outdoor games more than a decade ago, the Winter Classic has grown into a festival of fresh air hockey that this year included for the first time a professional women's game.

As part of the buildup to the New Year's Day game between the archrival Bruins and Canadiens, the Boston Pride played the Montreal Canadiennes at the home of the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. The two leagues that participated hope it will be a turning point in their effort to gain a footing on the professional women's sports scene.

'What great exposure,' Pride defenseman Marissa Gedman said. 'Especially to have the NHL backing us. That's huge.'

But there is still a way to go: The women's teams played two, 15-minute periods with running time and a friends-and-family crowd of a few hundred people. The game ended in a 1-1 tie.

Asked what more she could have hoped for, Pride defenseman Blake Bolden said: 'a third period.'

'I couldn't get enough,' said Gedman, who is from the suburb of Framingham and grew up rooting for the Patriots and other Boston teams. 'It was so amazing. I could do that for the rest of my life.'

The first period ended when a Pride player, Denna Laing of Marblehead, crashed into the boards and was taken off on a stretcher. The league said she was transported to Massachusetts General Hospital. No further information on her condition was immediately available.

The women's game was followed by a matchup of NHL old-timers from the Bruins and Canadiens. Outside, a free spectator plaza with live music, family-friendly games and a public skating rink completed the festival atmosphere that has come to surround the Winter Classic and make it the league's signature regular-season event.

Fans booed the Canadiens alumni, but mostly good-naturedly, and the style of play was more reminiscent of a no-defense All-Star game than one of the bone-crunching battles the teams have waged through their history.

Friday's game is not expected to be so genteel - not with the teams separated by one point in the Eastern Conference standings.

'Playing on a stage like this is something you'll remember for the rest of your life,' Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban said. 'It goes beyond just the game of hockey. We know that everybody's got their family and friends here. ... The one thing you want to stress in the dressing room ... is to enjoy it, take it in, drink it in. We want to get the win and the two points. But enjoy the experience because it is just that, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience.'

Here is a look at some of the milestones in hockey's return to its outdoor roots:

COLD WAR: It all started in college in 2001, when Michigan State decided to move its hockey game against rival Michigan to the football stadium. The game, which ended in a 3-3 tie, drew a then-record attendance of 74,554 and perhaps convinced NHL officials that an outdoor game was possible.

HERITAGE CLASSIC: Two years later, the Edmonton Oilers celebrated their 25th year in the NHL by playing the Canadiens in the first 'Heritage Classic' - the first regular-season NHL game to be played outdoors. Despite a wind-chill temperature that dipped to minus-22 (Fahrenheit), a crowd of 57,167 in Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium saw the Canadiens beat the Oilers 4-3. Montreal goalie Jose Theodore wore a winter cap over his helmet.

The regulation match was also preceded by an old-timers' game that included Wayne Gretzky and Guy Lafleur, as well as Mark Messier, who was still playing for the New York Rangers at the time.

NEW YEAR'S DAY: The current look of the Winter Classic really took shape on New Year's Day, 2008, when the Sabres hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the home of the NFL's Buffalo Bills. (Pittsburgh won 2-1 on Sidney Crosby's clincher in the shootout.) Snow flurries added to the wintry feel, and the teams switched sides midway through the third period (and again in overtime) to neutralize any advantage gained by wind or sun.

The teams wore vintage uniforms, which has also become a Winter Classic staple.

FROZEN FENWAY: The last time the Winter Classic came to Boston, the festivities ballooned into several weeks of skating- and hockey-related festivities. In addition to the Jan. 1 game between the Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers, which Boston won 2-1 in overtime, the rink was used for men's and women's college games; practice for the U.S. women's Olympic hockey team and, at Mayor Tom Menino's urging, local youth teams and city residents also had a chance to skate on the ice.

MAKING UP FOR LOST TIME: After the first Winter Classic, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said he wanted to limit the number of outdoor games so they would remain special. But when the entire 2013-14 season was canceled by the owners' lockout, the league came back the following year with a three-game 'Stadium Series' along with another Heritage Classic game - in addition to the traditional Jan. 1 Winter Classic. (Toronto beat Detroit 3-2 in a shootout at the University of Michigan's Big House with an announced attendance of more than 105,000.)

This year, the league has scheduled two Stadium Series games next month, one in Minneapolis and one in Denver.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Ducks (13-15) at Canucks (12-15)
Date: January 01, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

Scoring goals has been an ongoing issue for the Vancouver Canucks. The Anaheim Ducks have had little trouble preventing them of late.

The stingy Ducks attempt to ring in the new calendar year with a fourth consecutive win when they visit their Pacific Division rivals Friday night.

Though Anaheim's 67 goals rank last in the NHL, it's gotten just enough offense to support a stellar stretch from John Gibson. The 22-year-old goaltender posted a second consecutive shutout with 21 saves as the Ducks (15-15-6) extended their streak with Thursday's 1-0 victory over Edmonton.

Gibson has yielded two goals while starting all three games of Anaheim's current run and owns a league-leading 1.67 goals-against average in 14 appearances (12 starts) since being promoted from the AHL on Nov. 24. He recorded 14 saves to protect a 1-0 victory at Calgary on Tuesday.

The back-to-back shutouts are Anaheim's first on the road in franchise history.

'We realize that sometimes the goals aren't going to come in bunches and we're playing well defensively right now and we don't need that many goals,' Gibson said. 'We kind of adapted that and hopefully we can keep it going.'

Gibson may be rested in favor of Frederik Andersen for the finale of Anaheim's three-game Western Canada trip. Either could be headed for a light workload with the Ducks' defense yielding few chances and Vancouver (14-15-9) struggling to generate scoring opportunities.

The Canucks have just 13 goals over their last eight games and were shut out for the fourth time in 11 outings during Monday's 5-0 home loss to Los Angeles. They're averaging a meager 23.3 shots over a three-game span that began with 2-1 wins over Tampa Bay and Edmonton.

"(The Kings) were stronger than us in front of both nets, so that was the difference," said captain Henrik Sedin, scoreless over a seven-game stretch while playing through a lower-body injury. "System-wise we were OK, but we didn't get those Grade-A chances where we could get any sustained pressure on them."

Gibson has been aided by a defense that's permitted only 20.8 shots over the past four games.

That unit includes former Canuck Kevin Bieksa, who returns to Rogers Arena for the first time since being traded to Anaheim on June 30.

Bieksa spent his first 10 seasons with Vancouver, appearing in 633 regular-season games and 71 postseason contests. He's faced his ex-team twice this season and was on the ice for all three even-strength goals during the Ducks' 4-0 win on Nov. 30, in which Gibson registered 25 saves for the first of his four shutouts.

Andersen has had success against Vancouver as well, owning a 6-1-2 record and a 1.19 GAA in nine starts. He made 24 saves in a 2-1 shootout loss on Oct. 12.

The Canucks remain without Ryan Miller due to a lower-body injury that's sidelined him for three games. Jacob Markstrom stopped 58 of 60 shots in the Tampa Bay and Edmonton wins before compiling 33 saves against the Kings.

Vancouver is expected to get defenseman Christopher Tanev back from a two-game absence caused by taking a shot off his lower leg against the Lightning on Dec. 22.

The Ducks look to continue their recent success in Vancouver, where they won six straight prior to a 2-1 defeat on March 9. Anaheim has scored 38 goals while going 8-1-1 in its last 10 visits.

[StarDust Bum]

Armadillo: Friday's six-pack

Some more NFL trends to ponder with Week 17 upon us..........

-- Baltimore is 3-13-2 vs spread in its last 18 games.

-- Buffalo is 12-5-1 vs spread in its last 18 AFC East games.

-- Steelers are 14-7-1 vs spread in last 22 AFC North games.

-- Denver is 17-6 vs spread in its last 23 AFC West games.

-- Miami covered once in its last nine games.

-- Arizona is 18-9 vs spread in its last 27 games.

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Armadillo: Friday's List of 13: Happy New Year, everyone.........

13) TCU QB Trevone Boykin cemented his status in the Nitwit Hall of Fame by getting arrested after a fracas outside a San Antonio bar, two days before the Frogs' bowl game with Oregon. Boykin had a bit of a rap sheet before this; he makes Johnny Manziel look like a choir boy. Good luck getting drafted in April.

12) After last night's dreadful playoff semifinal games, Alabama opens at -7 against Clemson in the national title game January 11. Odd Fact of the Day: Dabo Swinney is the fifth Clemson head football coach who went to college at Alabama.

11) Flipping channels between games last night, I stumbled upon CNN's New Year's Eve special from New York City. Anderson Cooper seems like a good guy, but how on God's green earth does Kathy Griffin keep getting jobs? She isn't funny. Amazing how many people come to Times Square every year to see the ball drop.

10) When Wisconsin upset USC in the Holiday Bowl Wednesday night, it snapped the Trojans' 14-game winning streak against Big 14 teams.

9) Golden State dropped from -8.5 to -3.5 after Steph Curry was declared out for the Dallas game Wednesday; Warriors got hammered by the Mavericks, but beat Rockets in Houston last night without Curry.

8) Why did Buffalo Bills announce that Rex Ryan was coming back next year? Was there doubt about this? Ryan finishes his first year as Buffalo's coach Sunday; would have been quite a statement had they fired him after one mediocre season.

7) There are a lot of horrificly sad commercials on latenight TV; please donate $$$ for homeless pets, terminally ill children, children in Africa, etc......only 50 cents a day to save an abused chicken. Seriously, who abuses chickens? I sense fowl play.

6) Ravens' WR Steve Smith tore his achilles in November, ending what was going to be his last year in the NFL. Now Smith says he is coming back next year, not wanting his career to end with such a bad injury. Wouldn't mind if he played for the Rams.

5) Bill Parcells never liked to draft a QB unless the kid had started for 3+ years in college; makes you wonder if USC's Cody Kessler has helped his case to make an NFL roster by playing his senior year for the Trojans. Too many kids leave school so early; they need game experience in order to improve.

4) Joe Buck did an hour interview show with Troy Aikman the other night; Aikman was saying if the Mets had given him a $200K bonus, he never would've gone to play college football at Oklahoma and would've played baseball instead. Pretty good show if you find it on TV-- I don't remember what station it was on.

3) San Diego is the 8th largest city in America? I had no idea. Why don't the Padres spend more money if they're a big market team?

2) Have you seen the GEICO commercial where the people at the 50th high school reunion are annoyed by the Peter Pan-type character who calls the one lady old? I'd love to see one of the guys choke-slam the little jerk the way The Undertaker used to do on pro wrestling, just slam him thru a table, then laugh- that would be excellent.

1) Hope y'all have a happy and healthy New Year. Life is short; have fun.

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Dunkel

Friday, January 1


Montreal @ Boston

Game 1-2
January 1, 2016 @ 1:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Montreal
12.404
Boston
11.213
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Montreal
by 1
5
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Boston
-135
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Montreal
(+115); Under

Anaheim @ Vancouver

Game 3-4
January 1, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Anaheim
12.845
Vancouver
9.641
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Anaheim
by 3
5 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Vancouver
-115
5
Dunkel Pick:
Anaheim
(-105); Over




NHL
Long Sheet

Friday, January 1

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MONTREAL (21-15-0-3, 45 pts.) at BOSTON (20-12-0-4, 44 pts.) - 1/1/2016, 1:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
BOSTON is 159-140 ATS (+307.1 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record in the first half of the season since 1996.
MONTREAL is 32-17 ATS (+14.4 Units) in road games vs. division opponents over the last 3 seasons.
MONTREAL is 65-51 ATS (+13.9 Units) when playing against a team with a winning record over the last 3 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
MONTREAL is 13-5 (+11.3 Units) against the spread versus BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
MONTREAL is 13-5-0 straight up against BOSTON over the last 3 seasons
8 of 16 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.5 Units, Under=-1.3 Units)

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ANAHEIM (15-15-0-6, 36 pts.) at VANCOUVER (14-15-0-9, 37 pts.) - 1/1/2016, 10:05 PM
Top Trends for this game.
ANAHEIM is 15-21 ATS (-10.7 Units) in all games this season.
ANAHEIM is 2-9 ATS (-12.0 Units) after a division game this season.
ANAHEIM is 459-383 ATS (+27.8 Units) second half of the season since 1996.
ANAHEIM is 32-15 ATS (+12.4 Units) in road games when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 3 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 14-24 ATS (-21.2 Units) in all games this season.
VANCOUVER is 217-205 ATS (-123.1 Units) in home games second half of the season since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 118-113 ATS (-59.9 Units) in home games vs. division opponents since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 12-14 ATS (-9.6 Units) in home games when playing against a team with a losing record over the last 2 seasons.

Head-to-Head Series History
ANAHEIM is 9-3 (+4.6 Units) against the spread versus VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
ANAHEIM is 9-3-0 straight up against VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
8 of 12 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+3.5 Units)

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Friday, January 1

Montreal-Boston game is outdoors at Foxboro Stadium, where the Patriots play

Hot teams
-- Ducks, Canucks both won three of their last five games.

Cold teams
-- Montreal lost seven of its last eight games. Boston lost three of last four.

Series records
-- Canadiens won eight of last nine games with Boston.
-- Ducks won seven of last ten games with Vancouver.

Totals
-- Seven of last ten Montreal games stayed under total.
-- Seven of last eight Anaheim-Vancouver games stayed under.

Back-to-backs
-- Anaheim is 1-4 if it played the night before; teams are 2-4 night after playing Edmonton.




NHL

Friday, January 1

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Trend Report
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1:00 PM
MONTREAL vs. BOSTON
Montreal is 1-7 SU in its last 8 games on the road
Montreal is 8-1 SU in its last 9 games when playing Boston
Boston is 1-8 SU in its last 9 games when playing Montreal
The total has gone UNDER in 9 of Boston's last 12 games

10:00 PM
ANAHEIM vs. VANCOUVER
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Anaheim's last 6 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Anaheim is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Vancouver's last 6 games when playing at home against Anaheim
Vancouver is 1-6 SU in its last 7 games when playing at home against Anaheim

[StarDust Bum]

FRIDAY, JANUARY 1

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


MON at BOS 01:00 PM

BOS -130 TRIPLE PLAY

O 5.5



ANA at VAN 10:00 PM

VAN +100 DOUBLE PLAY

U 5.0

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Red Wings (17-13) at Sabres (14-19)
Date: January 02, 2016 1:00 PM EDT

Dylan Larkin and Jack Eichel are among the NHL's top rookies in points and goals, but neither has been able to register any in two head-to-head meetings.

These budding stars meet for the third time Saturday when Larkin and the visiting Red Wings take on Eichel and the Sabres in a matchup of teams on three-game losing streaks.

Larkin tops all rookies with 13 goals and Eichel is tied for second with 11, with Larkin third in the league among first-year players with 25 points and Eichel fourth at 23.

Both have failed to produce a point in two matchups. Detroit (18-13-7) won 5-4 in a shootout on Dec. 1 and Buffalo bounced back with a 2-1 victory 13 days later.

The Sabres (15-19-4) have totaled three goals in their three-game slide while the Red Wings have four in theirs.

Buffalo didn't score in a first period in which it held a 17-5 edge in shots Thursday and went on to lose 2-1 at home to the New York Islanders.

"We're not happy with where we are right now I think as a team," Eichel said. "I think we have a lot more to give."

Eichel assisted on Ryan O'Reilly's power-play goal to give him nine points in his last six games.

He's been moved onto a power-play unit with O'Reilly. Buffalo is 1 for 25 with the man advantage in its last eight games.

"We just feed off each other and move the puck, obviously we would have liked to do better in the first period and that comes with practice," Eichel said. "It's nice to get one and hopefully we'll be able to build off that."

The Red Wings are also scuffling on the power play, going 4 for 27 in their last eight games after finishing 0 for 3 in Thursday's 5-2 home defeat to Pittsburgh. Even more disturbing is a penalty kill that has allowed four goals in seven chances in this losing streak.

'I don't think it should just be talk about the power play,' coach Jeff Blashill said. 'It's specialty teams. We've given up too many goals when we're on the penalty kill. Our specialty teams combined have to be better.'

Henrik Zetterberg, who has a team-high 28 points, has also come up empty against Buffalo this season. He pointed to turnovers as a glaring issue and is hoping for better results in that department as Detroit opens a six-game road stretch.

"The good thing is now we go on the road and maybe it's easier to play a little simpler on the road than at home," Zetterberg said. "We've really got to take care of that."

It's not clear if Detroit will start Petr Mrazek or the struggling Jimmy Howard, who has yielded 13 goals in his last four games. Buffalo will turn to Chad Johnson or Linus Ullmark.

Detroit winger Tomas Jurco played just five shifts in the first period Thursday before leaving with an upper-body injury.

Sabres center Tyler Ennis sat out against New York with an upper-body injury suffered Wednesday on a hit by Washington's Alex Ovechkin.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Coyotes (18-16) at Oilers (13-21)
Date: January 02, 2016 4:00 PM EDT

Shane Doan's pursuit of becoming the Arizona Coyotes' all-time leading scorer is complete with a hot stretch that has him inching closer to the team record for points, too.

He'll look to keep rolling as the Coyotes began a three-game trip through Canada on Saturday night against a slumping Edmonton Oilers team that hasn't had much success against Arizona in recent years.

Doan notched a hat trick in Tuesday's loss to Chicago, and his first-period goal Thursday was the 380th of his career to pass Dale Hawerchuk's franchise record. He added an empty netter in the 4-2 win over Winnipeg to give him seven goals in his last five.

"Obviously, the symbolism is pretty cool," Doan said. "It was nice to get it quickly, get it at home and to get it in a win. And right now it's going in, so maybe I should shoot a few more."

Hawerchuk's 929 points for the first edition of the Winnipeg Jets pace the franchise, which moved to Arizona in 1996 following Doan's rookie season. Doan is 13 points away from passing that mark.

'He wants to be the leader, and to see him succeed at it is really gratifying,' coach Dave Tippett said. 'You see how much work the guy puts into it and you see how much work he's put into this franchise.'

The Coyotes (18-16-3) are in second place in the Pacific and trying to make up ground on division-leading Los Angeles, which holds an 11-point edge. They've gone 5-2-2 following a five-game losing streak and snapped a six-game road skid with a win at Colorado on Sunday.

Doan scored and rookie Max Domi had a goal and an assist in a 4-1 home win over Edmonton on Nov. 12, Arizona's sixth straight victory in the series. It has gone nearly five years earning at least a point in 19 meetings with the Oilers, going 16-0-3 against them since 2011.

The Coyotes are 11-0-1 in Edmonton since 2010 and have won six straight there. They'll look to extend that streak after the Oilers (15-21-3) dropped the first two of a six-game homestand.

Edmonton has been outscored 27-12 during a 1-6-1 overall stretch and managed only 21 shots in Thursday's 1-0 loss to Anaheim in a game Taylor Hall called "boring." Cam Talbot made 34 saves, allowing only a first-period power-play goal.

"Cam gave us a chance to win and we couldn't find a way to get one," forward Jordan Eberle said. "Ultimately you need a goal to win. You can't win a hockey game if you don't score.'

The Oilers are having trouble staying healthy, too. Rookie Connor McDavid and Nail Yakupov were back skating in Friday's practice, though, and Rob Klinkhammer is expecting to play in this contest after dealing with an ankle injury.

"It hasn't gone our way so far, but we still got time, we can turn it around here with a couple on the homestand," said Klinkhammer, who has missed a total of 27 games. "I think if we stick with it, maybe get a little grittier, bear down a bit, we'll be fine."

Talbot is 1-2-1 over his last four starts despite having a 2.02 goals-against average. He's stopped 71 of 75 shots while winning both of his career starts against the Coyotes and could be in net for this contest.

It's unclear if Anders Lindback or Louis Domingue will be in goal for Arizona.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Flyers (14-14) at Kings (22-11)
Date: January 02, 2016 4:00 PM EDT

The Los Angeles Kings are beginning the new year with a sizable Pacific Division lead because of a balanced effort on both ends of the ice.

Little is going right for the low-scoring Philadelphia Flyers.

They have won four straight meetings in Los Angeles, though, and they'll look to snap the Kings' four-game winning streak Saturday night.

Los Angeles (24-11-2) holds an 11-point lead atop the Pacific and has allowed the second-fewest goals in the league. It outscored opponents 18-6 during a perfect four-game road trip that concluded with Thursday's 4-1 victory over Calgary.

Milan Lucic scored while Marian Gaborik and Tanner Pearson finished with a goal and an assist apiece for the Kings, who got 23 saves from Jonathan Quick.

'That's what we need for success. We need everyone to contribute,' Quick said after winning each game on the trip. 'You've got to win in different ways. I think we were able to do that this trip.'

Quick appeared to be beaten by TJ Brodie in the second period, but Lucic slid across and saved a goal.

'Obviously he bails us out all the time, so it was nice to bail him out there," Lucic said. "If it's 3-1 going into the third period, it could be a completely different game. I was joking (it was) my first save of my career."

Lucic also bailed out the Kings in the first meeting with the Flyers on Nov. 17, scoring the tying goal with 56 seconds left in regulation before Anze Kopitar scored the lone shootout goal in a 3-2 victory.

That's one of 22 times Philadelphia (15-14-7) has scored fewer than three goals, and it has the second-fewest in the league. The Flyers have lost four in a row on the road after 4-2 defeats at Anaheim on Sunday and San Jose on Wednesday.

They gave up three power-play goals to the Sharks and now face a Kings team which was 5 for 12 with the man advantage during its trip. Philadelphia has allowed at least one power-play goal in four straight games after holding opponents to 5 for 43 in its previous 14.

"The last few games we've given up one or two (power-play goals). We've done an outstanding job before that," coach Dave Hakstol said. "We've been on a good run killing very, very well. The last couple games here, it's little things. It's little things that end up beating you on the PK."

Steve Mason wasn't at his best in net after finding out late he'd be getting the start for the ill Michal Neuvirth. He's given up at least three goals in three straight starts.

'The PK didn't do the job,' Mason said. '... The goalie is part of the PK and I have to come up with some big saves on the PK.'

Mason made 38 saves in the first matchup with the Kings after winning his previous two games against them, allowing one goal. Both of those victories were at Staples Center, where the Flyers have won all four meetings since 2009.

Quick, though, is 10-3-0 with a 1.98 GAA at home since Oct. 16. He has a 1.88 GAA in 10 career meetings with Philadelphia after making 36 saves in November's win.

Claude Giroux had a goal and an assist that day and scored Wednesday to snap a six-game goal drought.

Kings leading scorer Tyler Toffoli has a five-game point streak during which he has six goals and two assists.

Former Flyer Jeff Carter, who turned 31 on Friday, is likely to miss a fourth straight game with a lower-body injury.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Rangers (20-13) at Panthers (16-12)
Date: January 02, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

(AP) - Usually around this time, the Florida Panthers are more than 10 points out of first place and languishing somewhere toward the bottom of the Eastern Conference with playoff hopes already in jeopardy.

Not this season.

The Panthers went into New Year's Day as a first-place team for just the third time in franchise history, their seven-game winning streak pushing them atop the Atlantic Division. They'll host the New York Rangers on Saturday night looking to snap series losing streaks of seven games overall and four at home.

No one is ordering banners yet, but it's a sign of major progress for a team that hasn't won a playoff series since 1996 and has been to the postseason once in 14 seasons.

Florida (21-12-4) awoke on Jan. 1, 2000, in first, did the same to start 2012 and did it again in 2016.

'It's just fun,' goaltender Roberto Luongo said. 'When I came back here (traded from Vancouver in March 2014), obviously it was to try to take this team to the next level. I'm not saying it's because of me, but there's a lot of skill in this room that's come a long way in the last year. We want to make the playoffs, we want to try to make a run and right now we're putting some points in the bank.'

Florida went 11-3 in December, the second-best record of any team during the final month of 2015. Only Washington was better, and the Panthers' .786 December winning percentage was the third-best month in the history of the franchise - topped only by what they did in October 1996 (8-0-4, .833) and November 1995 (10-2-1, .808).

The hold on first was tenuous and didn't last a full day into the new year, as Montreal defeated Boston 5-1 in the Winter Classic on Friday to jump a point ahead of Florida. The Panthers, though, are no longer hockey's pushovers.

'We're not lying to anybody,' coach Gerard Gallant said.

The momentum of Gallant's first season of 2014-15, in which the Panthers got to 91 points and were in the playoff chase until the season's final days, has carried over.

Florida's young talent has been complemented and led by the NHL's oldest player. At 43, Jaromir Jagr tops the Panthers with 26 points. He's scored in nine games; the Panthers are 7-1-1 in those. Teammates rave about his work ethic, and the line he's on with Jonathan Huberdeau, 22, and Aleksander Barkov, 20, is one of the league's best.

'The thing is, no matter how talented the guys you get are or how much you tell yourself that you should win, it doesn't work like that,' Jagr said. 'You have to experience that. You have to go through it. You have to learn how to win.

"It's no accident that Chicago won three Cups in six years. They learned how to win and they believe in their game. They believe in their identity. We've had to build our identity.'

The Panthers lost 12 of 17 games during one stretch earlier this season, and were looking up at the pack in the East playoff chase. They're 13-3 since.

'It's a long season,' Luongo said. 'Things can change quickly. Every game is hard work, and we have that mentality. When you have that mentality coming into every game, you can be good.'

New York (21-13-4) earned a much-needed 5-2 victory over Tampa Bay on Wednesday and will be looking for a sweep of its Florida trip. Dominic Moore put New York ahead early in the third and defenseman Dan Boyle had a goal and an assist as the Rangers ended an eight-game road losing streak.

Viktor Stalberg and Rick Nash had empty net goals for New York, 5-10-2 in its last 17 overall but winner of two of three.

'We had a lot of good talks the last 24 hours about coming back to the team we really are,' goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. 'Play to our strengths and it starts really with hard work. We played really well tonight. We showed ourselves what we need to do to have success.'

Boyle has five goals and four assists in his last 10 games, while Mats Zuccarello also scored to give him five and four in the past nine. Nash recorded a goal for the second consecutive game.

Zuccarello had a goal and two assists and Nash completed a hat trick in overtime of a 5-4 victory at Sunrise in the last meeting Nov. 21. Zuccarello has 14 points in 12 career games against the Panthers, while Nash has five goals in his last three meetings.

[StarDust Bum]

Preview: Stars (27-8) at Devils (17-14)
Date: January 02, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

After flipping the calendar to 2015 well immersed in the bottom half of the league, Dallas is beginning 2016 as the NHL's front-runner.

New Jersey was down there with the Stars, and while the Devils haven't had quite the esteemed turnaround, they enter Saturday night's visit from Dallas looking every bit the part of a playoff team.

The Stars (28-8-3) beat Nashville 5-1 on Thursday to open a nine-point lead in the Western Conference and move one ahead of East-leading Washington. A season after chasing a playoff spot and failing to get there, coach Lindy Ruff is facing new challenges.

"My biggest challenge right now is to keep this team fresh, excited to get on the ice. You want to keep the legs jumping," Ruff told the team's official website. "When we are playing this number of games, and you are having success, it is just trying to remind them shift in and shift out to do the little things right. When we do, we have a lot of success."

Tyler Seguin, who has four goals in as many games, scored twice against the Predators to move into a tie with Patrick Kane for second in the league with 23 goals. That's one behind teammate Jamie Benn, who also scored Thursday and is riding a seven-game point streak.

The focus now shifts to a three-game road trip, and the Stars went 2-2-3 away from home in December after a 10-2-0 start. They play the New York Islanders on Sunday and Rangers on Tuesday.

"We know each team has played well, and they've all had different runs at different times of the season," Ruff said. "We are going to play those first two games in less than 24 hours, and that will be three games in less than four days. In the big picture, with the way the ice time was spread out (Thursday) night, we are looking to keep utilizing four lines and have everybody involved."

Dallas won both meetings last season, though the teams have split four since the start of 2014-15 and they've all been one-goal games.

New Jersey (19-14-5) ended the year with back-to-back wins, including a 3-0 victory in Ottawa on Wednesday with Mike Cammalleri scoring twice.

The Devils have moved into the East's top eight despite not winning more than two consecutive games since late October.

"We'd like to get on a roll here. It was big for us to win two in a row. Three would feel a lot better than two," Cammalleri told the team's official website. "We've been kind of flirting in and out of that (playoff spot) all year, so I don't know what that does or doesn't do. We'd like to really be proud of the way we can play our game, and hopefully that means some results for us on a consistent basis."

Cory Schneider hasn't won two straight starts since mid-November but had 36 saves Wednesday in his second shutout in six games, over which he's gone 3-2-1 with a 1.82 goals-against average.

"It seems like every team that makes the (playoffs) goes on a run at some point, an extended four-, five- or six-game winning streak or multiple three-, four-game winning streaks down the stretch here," said Schneider, who will start. "If we want to put ourselves in a position to be in the playoffs towards the end of the year here, we have to start stringing these together."

That'll require some home success. The Devils play three of their next four in New Jersey, but they've scored 19 goals on a 3-4-2 home span.

Dallas' Antti Niemi has been even better than Schneider lately, posting a 1.44 GAA over a 4-1-1 span. He's 4-1-0 with a 1.76 GAA against New Jersey.

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Preview: Wild (20-10) at Lightning (17-16)
Date: January 02, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The Minnesota Wild started this four-game trip in strong fashion even without star winger Zach Parise.

The Wild hope to have Parise back in the lineup Saturday night against a Tampa Bay Lightning team unhappy with its play at home.

Minnesota (20-10-6) won 3-1 at St. Louis on Thursday, with Erik Haula ending a 17-game goal drought by putting the Wild ahead for good in the third period.

Parise, second on the team with 11 goals, sat out with a knee injury. He returned to practice Friday and could be back on the ice for Saturday's game.

"I'm not sure, I don't know yet," Parise said. "I'll see how it feels tonight and the rest of the day, and tomorrow in the morning, and I guess judge from there."

The Wild split the eight games Parise missed earlier this season with a sprained MCL, and they want to make sure he is healthy for the stretch run.

Coach Mike Yeo said Friday he has laid out different line combinations depending on whether Parise plays.

"We bounced a bunch of different scenarios around today, and until we know if he's going to play or not, then I think it's just best that we kind of put it off until tomorrow," Yeo said.

Concern is growing for Tampa Bay (18-16-4) after Wednesday's 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers, who outscored the Lightning 3-0 in the third period. The Lightning are 2-2-1 entering the finale of a six-game homestand.

Tampa Bay owns the NHL's 10th-worst home record at 9-8-2.

"This has been really a tough place for teams to play," coach Jon Cooper said. "We've kind of had a mandate for us to make it tough for teams to play and come in here and win games and this year, it hasn't been that tough."

Steven Stamkos, who has a team-high 16 goals, failed to produce a point for the second straight game and his frustration is growing with the Lightning out of playoff position.

"We've gotta be a little more (ticked) off with the situation that we're in," Stamkos said.

Stamkos has been overtaken for the team lead in points by Nikita Kucherov, who has 29 with 11 in a seven-game streak. Kucherov assisted on power-play goals by Jonathan Marchessault and Anton Stralman versus New York.

Tampa Bay improved to 9 for 29 on the power play in this homestand. Minnesota owns the league's fourth-worst penalty kill at 77.3 percent.

That's one of the matchups that concerns the Wild, who are 4-1-0 against Atlantic Division foes.

"Obviously they didn't stumble their way to the Stanley Cup Finals by accident, so this will be a good challenge," Yeo said. "I know that things haven't been exactly the way they've designed them to be but that's still a very, very dangerous team over there and we gotta make sure that we're ready for their best."

Ben Bishop is expected to start in goal for Tampa Bay despite leaving Friday's practice early. Winger Ondrej Palat may return from an eight-game absence due to an ankle injury.

The home team has captured the last six meetings, with Minnesota winning 1-0 on Nov. 7 behind Devan Dubnyk's 31 saves.

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Preview: Islanders (18-12) at Penguins (17-15)
Date: January 02, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

For anyone making a list of the best free agent signings of the offseason, it would be very difficult not to put Thomas Greiss near the top.

Greiss could face his former team Saturday night when the New York Islanders take on the Pittsburgh Penguins for the first time this season.

The Islanders struggled to find a capable backup for Jaroslav Halak last season, using both Chad Johnson and Michal Neuvirth with disappointing results. After trading Johnson and choosing not to bring back Neuvirth, New York signed Greiss to a two-year contact on the first day of free agency.

That decision looks like a brilliant one so far.

While Halak has played very well with a 2.09 goals-against average, he has been prone to injury and is currently sidelined by an upper-body injury - the same ailment that forced him to miss the season's first four games.

Greiss has been more than just a fill-in, however. He's 11-4-2 with a .936 save percentage that ranks just behind Philadelphia's Neuvirth (.937) for the league lead. Greiss has allowed two goals or fewer in 11 of his 17 starts and is coming off perhaps the best performance of his career.

He made 17 of his 42 saves in a scoreless first period and allowed only a power-play goal in the third of Thursday's 2-1 victory at Buffalo. Frans Nielsen and Nikolay Kulemin scored for the Islanders (21-12-5), who have won three of four following a three-game skid.

'Just battle, try your best and try everything you can to keep the puck out there,' Greiss said. 'I just go in the net and see what happens.'

Greiss helped his teammates kill three power plays in the first period, including a 5-on-3 for 54 seconds.

'Our goalies give us a chance to win every night and that's all you can ask for,' Nielsen said. 'And tonight he gave us a little more than that. It's good to see.'

New York had killed of 43 consecutive power plays spanning 16 games before the Sabres ended that run.

Unless Halak returns, Greiss will likely oppose the team he went 9-6-3 with a .908 save percentage for last season.

His former team also appears to be on the upswing with a 3-1-1 mark after a five-game losing streak. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin scored goals 34 seconds apart in the third period to lift the Penguins (18-15-4) to a 5-2 win at Detroit on Thursday.

'We've been on the other side of these a couple of times,' Crosby said. 'So to bounce back and get some points to end the year is great.'

Kris Letang had two goals and an assist for Pittsburgh, which has scored two goals or fewer six times during a 1-3-3 slide at home.

On pace for his least productive season, Crosby has shown signs of breaking out with three goals and five assists in his last six games. He has seven goals and 23 points during a 14-game stretch against the Islanders.

Slowing Crosby will be tougher for New York if defenseman Johnny Boychuk can't play. He injured his left shoulder after crashing hard into the end boards in the third period Thursday and is day to day.

"Fortunate that it wasn't his head or his neck, and that's the most important thing," coach Jack Capuano said.

The Islanders won the final four meetings with the Penguins last season after losing eight of the previous nine matchups.

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Preview: Blues (21-13) at Maple Leafs (10-15)
Date: January 02, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The St. Louis Blues ended 2015 with some offensive shortcomings, but trips to Toronto tend to fix that.

Ken Hitchcock's team heads north to face the Maple Leafs on Saturday night, looking to extend a run of success in Canada's largest city that dates back 18 years.

The Blues (23-13-4) last lost in regulation in Toronto on Feb. 4, 1998, going 9-0-1 with one tie since while scoring an average of 4.36 goals, but Thursday's 3-1 home loss to Minnesota and this season's scoring issues are what's fresh in their minds.

St. Louis has five goals in a 1-2-0 span - four coming in the win - and it sounded like Hitchcock was considering line changes after his forwards failed to score for the second time in those three games. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk scored for a second straight contest.

"I think that's something we've got to have an honest look here in the next 24 hours and what we're doing offensively and see if we can get some more juice by possibly blowing some of this up," Hitchcock told the team's official website. "We're not scoring, we're not scoring five-on-five."

It's not just a recent trend. The Blues averaged 2.91 goals last season, fifth in the NHL, but they're down to 22nd at 2.45 this season and have scored more than two five-on-five goals once in the last five games.

"We're living on the fine line of scoring one goal, and it wasn't five-on-five either," Hitchcock said. "We just can't keep living on the fine line that we're living on right now scoring one and two goals and still getting points. Today was a game where we had a great start, probably from five minutes left in the first period, the balance of the game was probably even.

"We were better the first 15 minutes, but if you're playing even or a little bit better, you've got to get points. But it's hard living with one goal."

The scoring could get a boost with Patrik Berglund expected to make his season debut after being shelved by offseason shoulder surgery.

The season series started with the Maple Leafs' 4-1 road win Dec. 5 that ended a four-game skid against the Blues. Nazem Kadri had two goals.

St. Louis' Vladimir Tarasenko scored for the second straight game against the Maple Leafs, but he's in danger of going goalless in four straight contests for the first time this season. Despite that, Tarasenko is two off the league lead with 22.

Toronto (14-15-7) returns home after Wednesday's 3-2 shootout win at Pittsburgh. Since the victory over the Blues, the Maple Leafs have gone 6-2-2 and averaging 3.60 goals per game.

Team points leader James van Riemsdyk has three goals and four assists in a five-game point streak.

James Reimer won't dress because of a groin injury, so Jonathan Bernier will again be in goal after making 39 saves against the Penguins.

"I thought Bernier was real good," coach Mike Babcock told the team's official website. "He was mentally strong and he came out and played real well."

Bernier, though, has gone 3-2-0 with a 3.40 goals-against average since shutting out Los Angeles on Dec. 19. He's 1-4-2 with a 3.71 GAA at home, and 2-5-0 with a 3.46 GAA in eight games against the Blues.

Jake Allen saw his three-game winning streak come to an end against the Wild, but he's posted a 1.70 GAA in a four-game span. The loss to the Maple Leafs was his first game against them.

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Preview: Capitals (26-7) at Blue Jackets (13-22)
Date: January 02, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The Washington Capitals are already looking forward to starting a new win streak after having their longest in five seasons snapped.

The league-worst Columbus Blue Jackets just proved they could knock off an NHL heavyweight and may finally have their top goaltender back.

The Blue Jackets hope to have Sergei Bobrovsky in goal Saturday night as they try to hand the visiting Capitals their first set of consecutive defeats.

Washington (28-7-2) had its first nine-game win streak since 2010-11 snapped with Thursday's 4-2 defeat at Carolina in the second game of a back-to-back. The Capitals allowed their second-most shots as they were outshot 37-32.

The club has built a comfortable advantage atop the Eastern Conference thanks to never losing twice in a row. That's the streak Washington is hoping to keep alive now.

"I think we want to win every night, obviously it ended tonight with the winning streak," center Nicklas Backstrom said. "But I think it's important for hockey teams to really come back the next game so you don't end up on a losing streak."

The Caps probably won't overlook the Blue Jackets, who responded to criticism from coach John Tortorella by stunning West-leading Dallas 6-3 on Tuesday to end a three-game slide. Tortorella said the club lacked veteran leadership and was mentally weak.

Columbus responded with its second-highest scoring effort against a club that had not allowed more than three goals in its previous nine games.

"Obviously, he wants to make sure we are all understanding what's going on here," winger Nick Foligno said. "But I know first and foremost I'm not happy where we are. I take huge responsibility on that. I know we need to get better. I think it's just focusing on what you bring."

Foligno and Brandon Dubinsky each tied a career high with three assists and six different players scored for the Blue Jackets.

Columbus (14-22-3) played its 10th straight without Bobrovsky and moved to 3-6-1 without him as he recovers from a groin injury, but he's been activated and may start.

One player who didn't score Tuesday is the disappointing Ryan Johansen, whose 13-game goal drought has matched a season high. He hasn't endured a longer one since going without a goal for the final 25 games in 2011-12.

Caps star Alex Ovechkin has four goals in his last three games and 21 overall to rank fifth in the NHL. Washington is 7-0-0 when he scores against Columbus and 4-5-2 when he doesn't.

Washington is without some important skaters. Center Jay Beagle needs surgery for an upper-body injury and defenseman John Carlson has missed three straight games with a lower-body injury.

"I think we have a lot of good young players in the organization," Backstrom said. "I feel like even if we've got some key players out, it always gets someone else to step up and gives someone else the chance."

The Caps figure to start Braden Holtby, who is second in the league with a 1.86 goals-against average. Holtby has a 4.00 GAA in four starts at Columbus.

He made 29 saves and Justin Williams and T.J. Oshie scored in a 2-1 home victory over Columbus on Oct. 30.

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Preview: Jets (17-18) at Sharks (17-16)
Date: January 02, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

With Logan Couture back on the ice, the San Jose Sharks moved a little closer to shedding the label of league's worst home team.

The Sharks will next try to earn back-to-back wins on their own ice for the first time all season by adding to the Winnipeg Jets' road woes Saturday night.

Couture had two assists in just his sixth game of the season Wednesday, and the second led to Brent Burns' tying goal in the third period of a 4-2 win over Philadelphia. Joe Pavelski tallied the go-ahead goal with 6:15 remaining and scored on a late power play.

"Obviously, now that's the template that we need to copy and play with," said Pavelski, who has seven goals in the last seven games along with five assists. "... We need to bring that energy again."

Couture, a 20-goal scorer in each of the last five seasons, returned after missing seven games with a lower-body injury and sat out 23 earlier this season with a fractured right tibia. His two points were part of a 3-for-6 night by the Sharks' power play.

"It's nice to have (Couture) out there," coach Peter DeBoer said. "Obviously, he's still getting the rust off. He's a very good player and helped us a lot tonight."

San Jose (18-16-2) ended a season-high, four-game home losing streak. The Sharks are 5-10-0 on home ice, five points shy of the league's next-worst home team.

'We've been playing good, we just haven't been winning at home,' said center Joe Thornton, who has a seven-game point streak. 'It's nice to finally see all this hard work paying off at home."

In the third of five straight home games, San Jose will face a team that's 1-11-1 in its last 13 road games and has lost the last six. The Jets franchise hasn't had a longer road losing streak since an 0-6-2 stretch Dec. 16, 2009-Jan. 5, 2010.

Winnipeg (17-18-2) opened a five-game trip with a 4-2 loss in Arizona on Thursday. Rookie Connor Hellebuyck allowed three goals on 20 shots after giving up one on a combined 64 shots in back-to-back wins.

The Jets outshot the Coyotes 37-21 but gave up two power-play goals in the third period that made the difference, though coach Paul Maurice didn't like the penalty calls.

'You can't take the penalties that we took. You just can't," Maurice said. "You can complain about the calls all you want. But if you expect consistency and quality, you aren't coming to the game we play.'

Winnipeg has been short-handed a league-high 141 times and has the NHL's worst penalty kill since Nov. 12 at 71.8 percent, letting opponents go 9 of 30 in the last eight games. The Jets are 1 for 23 on the power play in that span and 3 for 45 in their past 15 road games.

The Sharks' special teams, meanwhile, have shined of late. They're 9 for 23 with a man advantage in their last six games and have not allowed a power-play goal in eight of nine.

San Jose went 1 for 18 on the power play against Winnipeg last season but won two of three meetings. The Jets were 4 for 8.

Pavelski has three goals and five assists in a six-game point streak against the Jets.

Winnipeg captain Andrew Ladd has six goals and three assists in his last nine games in the series. Blake Wheeler has three goals and four assists in his past four.