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

[StarDust Bum]

NHL
Dunkel

Wednesday, February 17


Montreal @ Colorado

Game 51-52
February 17, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Montreal
12.082
Colorado
10.518
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Montreal
by 1 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Colorado
-125
5 1/2
Dunkel Pick:
Montreal
(+105); Under

Chicago @ NY Rangers

Game 53-54
February 17, 2016 @ 8:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Chicago
12.609
NY Rangers
11.104
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Chicago
by 1 1/2
5 1/2
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
NY Rangers
-120
5
Dunkel Pick:
Chicago
(+100); Over

Minnesota @ Calgary

Game 55-56
February 17, 2016 @ 10:00 pm

Dunkel Rating:
Minnesota
11.695
Calgary
10.239
Dunkel Team:
Dunkel Line:
Dunkel Total:
Minnesota
by 1 1/2
4
Vegas Team:
Vegas Line:
Vegas Total:
Minnesota
-115
5
Dunkel Pick:
Minnesota
(-115); Under

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WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17

GAME TIME(ET) PICK UNITS


CHI at NYR 08:00 PM

CHI +107 BEST BET


MON at COL 08:00 PM

COL -123 BEST BET

O 5.5 BEST BET


MIN at CAL 10:00 PM

U 5.0 BEST BET

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Preview: Hurricanes (26-21) at Senators (26-26)
Date: February 18, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

The Carolina Hurricanes are making a serious playoff push, though they'll still need to keep collecting points to end a seven-year postseason drought.

That hasn't been an issue in recent meetings with the Ottawa Senators, who'll look to build off a needed win of their own when the teams face off Thursday night.

Near the bottom of the Eastern Conference on Jan. 7, Carolina has closed within two points of a playoff spot by going 10-3-3 since. It's earned a point in five straight following Tuesday's 2-1 win over Winnipeg, in which Jordan Staal and Riley Nash had power-play goals to support Eddie Lack's 20 saves.

Solid defense has sparked the surge, as the Hurricanes' 2.13 goals-against average over the 16-game stretch is among the league's lowest. They're allowing 26.7 shots on goal per game this season, second-fewest in the NHL.

'Defensively, we have nothing to complain about right now,' Lack said.

Carolina (26-21-10) has been less consistent on the offensive end, but it's been getting timely goals and a big lift from Staal. The veteran center has six goals and 13 assists over his last 17 games to tie injured defenseman Justin Faulk for the team lead with 34 points.

"I don't know who's playing better in the league," coach Bill Peters said. "I don't watch every game but I'll tell you what, he's playing very, very well. He's playing valuable, big minutes, and he's coming through."

The Hurricanes could have plenty of chances against a Senators team that's allowing a league-high 33.1 shots per game and ranks 29th in penalty killing. Carolina owned a 46-21 shot advantage in a 3-2 home overtime win Nov. 7 to improve to 5-0-2 in the last seven matchups. The Hurricanes won both 2014-15 meetings at Canadian Tire Centre and are 4-1-1 in their past six visits.

Ottawa (26-26-6) sits six points out of a playoff spot but gained some ground with Tuesday's 2-1 shootout win over Buffalo, its first in four games since acquiring defenseman Dion Phaneuf from Toronto on Feb. 9.

'With the position that we're in, we need to find a way every night to rally for two points and that's the start of it,' said forward Bobby Ryan, who had the first of two Senators' scores in the shootout. 'Now we need to get ready for a different test (on Thursday).'

Craig Anderson maintained his strong recent play with 38 saves. He's 3-2-0 with a 1.59 GAA and .952 save percentage over his last five starts.

Anderson continues to do his best work at Canadian Tire Centre, where Ottawa is 15-10-4 and has won three of four. He's registered a 2.17 GAA in 23 home starts compared to a 3.46 mark in 23 on the road.

Carolina could have Cam Ward back in net after he missed Tuesday's win with a lower-body injury. Ward, 6-0-1 with a 1.54 GAA in his past seven games against Ottawa, has allowed seven goals in four starts since returning from a concussion after the All-Star break.

Faulk, who had a goal and an assist in the teams' previous meeting, will miss a fourth straight game with a leg injury.

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Preview: Sharks (30-20) at Panthers (33-18)
Date: February 18, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

The top away team in the Western Conference is putting its road record on the line against one of the best teams in the East, though only one of them has lived up to those reputations lately.

The San Jose Sharks are showing no signs of slowing down entering their second stop on five-game road trip Thursday night, while the Florida Panthers' first three on a six-game homestand have been a struggle.

Tuesday's 4-2 win in Tampa Bay got the Sharks to 19-8-2 on the road a season after finishing 21-16-4, and all but one win in a 7-2-0 stretch in opponents' buildings has come by at least two goals.

"It's a good start," said Joe Thornton, who had two assists to give him three goals and six assists on a six-game point streak, as well as 34 points in his last 26 contests after opening the season with 16 in 29.

"For a passer, it's nice when the guys are finishing the way they are."

Marc-Edouard Vlasic added an assist to extend his point streak to eight and tie teammate Brent Burns for the longest in franchise history by a defenseman. Burns' ended last month.

Points and goals leader Joe Pavelski scored for the first time in seven games, and the penalty kill continued to thrive by improving to 19 for 21 in seven games this month. It all amounts to plenty of confidence in the San Jose dressing room with the Sharks (30-20-5) scoring 13 goals in their last three games as part of a 3-0-1 span.

"We kind of eliminated the neutral zone with the turnovers and took away a little bit of their speed," Pavelski said. "Guys made some plays at the right time. We got the saves as well."

Those came from Martin Jones, who's given up three goals with a .965 save percentage on a three-game winning streak.

He likely won't be up against Roberto Luongo, who has returned to practice after being hit in the neck by a puck but is expected to miss a second straight game. Al Montoya was in goal for Monday's 2-1 shootout win over Pittsburgh and has split his last four games with a 2.15 goals-against average and .931 save percentage.

He was also in goal as the clubs opened the season series with San Jose's 5-2 home win on Nov. 5, though the Panthers (33-18-6) have won seven of the last nine meetings.

The win over the Penguins followed losses to Nashville and St. Louis to start the homestand, which is part of a 2-3-1 span during which seven of the Atlantic Division leader's 13 goals came in one game. At home, Florida has gone 1-2-1 with six goals scored since an 11-1-0 run.

"I thought the four lines competed and battled hard against each line they played against,"â??coach Gerard Gallant told the team's official website. "Iâ??really was happy with the way our guys battled. We didn't want to get in this little streak where we're losing games and we got embarrassed in the two this weekend. It was a big two points for us."

Florida's goal came from Nick Bjugstad, his first in nine games as he tries to catch up to last season's pace. The 23-year-old also converted in the shootout but has 10 goals through 42 contests after managing 24 in 72 a season ago.

"(His performance)â??was huge,"â??Gallant said. "It's confidence. (Bjugstad)â??is one of those guys, when he gets confidence he's really good. He did some real good things tonight. He went down the wing, he was shooting pucks, he finished some checks. He keeps his game simple, he's really good."

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Preview: Jets (25-28) at Lightning (30-22)
Date: February 18, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

A weeklong rough stretch has left the Tampa Bay Lightning feeling a sense of urgency.

The Winnipeg Jets have felt that way for much longer.

Looking to avoid a fifth loss in six games, the Lightning try to get back on track against the visiting Jets on Thursday night.

One day after general manager Steve Yzerman said captain Steven Stamkos would not be moved before this month's trade deadline, Tampa Bay (30-22-4) failed to generate a spark from the news and fell 4-2 to San Jose on Tuesday. The Lightning have followed a nine-game home winning streak with back-to-back defeats at Amalie Arena, and sit just outside of playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

'When you keep losing, you're not climbing the standings,' said Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper, whose team hasn't dropped three straight since a season-high four-game slide Oct. 24-31.

'You're going the wrong way."

Though the effort appears to be there, Cooper's players know the margin for error is slim.

"We've got 26 games left and they're all going to be important," said Ben Bishop, who has a 3.33 goals-against average while losing three of four. "It's gut-check time."

Tampa Bay needs to see improvement on the offensive end where it's been held to one or two goals in the four losses over the last five games. It's 1 for 14 on the power play in those five after going 6 for 20 in the previous five.

Stamkos has been held without a point in the last four defeats.

The Lightning have dropped three straight 2-1 decisions at home to the Jets (25-28-3), but earned a 4-3 overtime victory at Winnipeg on Oct. 23.

Tampa Bay's Cedric Paquette had a goal with an assist in that contest. He's recorded three points in 28 games since, but his third goal of the season came Tuesday.

Sitting near the bottom of the Western Conference, the Jets haven't showed any real signs of being a team that can make a serious last-season playoff push. They've managed five non-shootout goals while splitting the last four and were held to eight of their 21 shots in the first two periods of Tuesday's 2-1 loss at Carolina.

"Back to the drawing board," forward Drew Stafford said after the Jets fell for the 10th time in 16 games. "It starts with our compete on pucks, the battles."

Winnipeg is 1 for 20 on the power play in four games after going 5 for 12 in the previous five. A unit that ranks near the bottom of the league in penalty-kill percentage (77.4) also allowed the Hurricanes to score both goals with the main advantage.

"Again we lost the special teams battle," said Jets forward Mathieu Perreault, who has two points in eight games. "We've got to clean it up."

Leading scorer Blake Wheeler remains a consistent offensive presence for Winnipeg with a goal in two straight games and four points in the last three. He's recorded five goals and seven assists during an eight-game point streak against the Lightning.

Stamkos, who had a 14-game point streak against the Jets end with last season's home defeat, has 25 goals and 18 assists in 31 meetings.

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Preview: Kings (33-20) at Blues (33-17)
Date: February 18, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

(AP) - Beating the Boston Bruins 9-2 in the first game of their longest road trip of the season was a statement victory for the Los Angeles Kings.

Since that dominating performance, plenty of questions have followed.

The Kings have lost three of their past four, scoring a total of seven goals in the process. Figuring out what's wrong is the focus as they face the St. Louis Blues on Thursday night before ending the trip Saturday in Nashville.

'We've done a lot of good things,' defenseman Jake Muzzin said after a 3-1 loss to NHL-leading Washington on Tuesday. 'Maybe we scored too many goals in Boston, and now we're coming up a little short. We've just got to capitalize on some chances.'

Even though capitalizing when it counts is what the Kings are used to doing, the state of the road trip isn't so bad despite a 2-3-0 record. Aside from a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders, coach Darryl Sutter said his Kings have 'played as good as we can.'

Maybe playing so well against Boston and even scoring five in an overtime victory over the Rangers somehow altered Los Angeles' scoring touch. Norris Trophy candidate Drew Doughy wondered if the Kings 'wasted' their goals in the Bruins and Rangers games.

A seven-goal blowout can also be chalked up as an aberration.

'That nine-goal game was something I've never witnessed as an L.A. King,' Doughty said. 'Not that that was a fluke or anything like that, but that night the bounces were just going our way and we were playing good hockey. For the most part, we're going to win games 2-1 or 3-2 and we're happy with that. We'd like to be the highest-scoring team in the NHL, but we realize that it might not go that way.'

The Kings (33-20-3) are ninth in the league in scoring and have plenty of offensive talent in Doughty, centers Anze Kopitar and Jeff Carter and wingers Milan Lucic and Tyler Toffoli. They're missing potent winger Marian Gaborik, who suffered an apparent knee injury early in Friday's game against the Rangers.

Los Angeles still has many core pieces from winning the Stanley Cup in 2012 and 2014, so players won't use injuries as an excuse. And even if the Kings are playing well, their once-sizable Pacific Division lead has shrunk to three points over Anaheim and four over San Jose.

'We're in the situation where we need to find points,' captain Dustin Brown said. 'There's definitely areas we can improve on, so that's something we need to focus on in practice... They're not huge adjustments we need to make, but it's the little things this time of year that are hugely important.'

The Kings are 4-7-0 over the past several weeks, a rough patch that isn't cause for panic. But the lack of goals lately is troublesome.

'We've got to score,' Doughty said. 'Guys on our team are getting a lot of chances where we're going to the net; we're doing the right things that create chances. But the bottom line we've got just to bear down and put them in. We've been struggling to score lately, and it's been hurting us.'

It could be tough to get untracked against the stingy Blues (33-17-9), who have surrendered 10 goals in seven games this month as their penalty kill has gone 31 for 32. They're allowing a Western Conference-low 2.29 goals per game this season.

They held the West's top offense to a season-low 18 shots Tuesday in a 2-1 overtime win over Dallas.

Brian Elliott made his 15th consecutive start, a span in which he's 10-3-2 with a 1.67 goals-against average.

'I think we're taking the momentum and the good feeling and that swagger we've had in the past that when we play our game nobody can beat us,' Elliott said. 'I think having that attitude is huge for us.'

Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk netted the winner on the power play, and Jaden Schwartz scored his second goal in three games since missing nearly four months with a fractured ankle. St. Louis has won all three after losing four of six.

These teams have split two matchups this season, with each winning on the road. Elliott had 26 saves and stopped six of seven shootout attempts in a 2-1 victory Jan. 9 in the last meeting after shutting out the Kings in his previous two games against them.

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Preview: Stars (37-15) at Coyotes (26-24)
Date: February 18, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

As long as the points pile up, the Dallas Stars don't seem to mind how it gets done.

The Stars can extend their point streak to six as they close a three-game trip Thursday night in their first meeting this season with the Arizona Coyotes.

One night after winning 3-2 in overtime at Nashville, Dallas (37-15-6) mustered enough energy to force another extra session Tuesday despite going 0 for 7 on the power play in a 2-1 loss at St. Louis.

'That's a good point coming off the back-to-back," coach Lindy Ruff said. "I thought we played a smart game. If our execution was a little better we would have come out of (there) with two.'

Though its five-game road winning streak ended with a season-low 18 shots, Dallas remains confident while amid a 7-1-1 stretch.

"It didn't go our way, but we've got to keep moving on," said Kari Lehtonen, who made 20 saves.

Talented rookie forward Mattias Janmark scored the winner at Nashville and forced overtime with his goal at 13:26 of the third period Tuesday. The Swede is fifth on the team with 13 goals and has one in three straight contests.

"He's surprised us from day one and he continues to surprise us," Ruff said. "He's played very well and he put himself in the right spot and put it in (Tuesday)."

Though Antti Niemi could get the chance to win his fourth straight road start, Lehtonen is 3-0-1 with a 2.46 goals-against average as a starter this month. Lehtonen has won his last five starts against Arizona while allowing six goals, and he stopped 32 shots in the teams' last meeting as Dallas won 6-0 on New Year's Eve 2014.

Lehtonen was in net for all three matchups last season as the Stars outscored the Coyotes 13-4.

While Dallas is battling for first place in the Western Conference, Arizona (26-24-6) is four points off the final playoff spot. The Coyotes beat Montreal 6-2 on Monday but haven't earned back-to-back wins since Jan. 23 and 25.

"These are games we have to have now," forward Martin Hanzal said. "Everybody knows where we are in the standings."

Hanzal and Oliver Ekman-Larsson each had a goal with two assists in Arizona's highest-scoring game of the season.

"We were talking before the game about going hard to the net and making it hard on the goalie," said Hanzal, who has one-third of his nine goals in the last four games. "We were ready from the beginning."

With two more power-play goals against the Canadiens, Arizona is 9 for 27 in the past six games with Ekman-Larsson scoring three of those goals and assisting on five others.

The talented defenseman, however, has failed to register a point in six straight against Dallas.

The Coyotes announced that backup goalie and ex-Star Anders Lindback is likely to miss the remainder of the season after suffering a freak Achilles injury prior to Monday's contest. Lindback, who last played Feb. 5, is 5-7-1 with a 3.11 GAA in 19 games this season.

With Mike Smith still recovering from core muscle surgery, Niklas Treutle was recalled from the AHL. He will back up Louis Domingue, who has a 1.68 GAA in the last three at home.

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Preview: Ducks (29-19) at Canucks (22-22)
Date: February 18, 2016 10:00 PM EDT

Consistent road success has helped the Anaheim Ducks continue their surge toward the top of the Pacific Division.

More poor play at home hasn't helped the Vancouver Canucks' push for the playoffs.

The Ducks can conclude a winning trip with a season-high fourth straight road victory that would give the Canucks their first six-game home losing streak in seven seasons Thursday night.

Anaheim's six-game winning streak ended with a 6-2 loss to Pittsburgh on Feb. 8 in the opener of this season-high seven-game trek. The Ducks (29-19-8), though, are 4-0-1 since and moved within three points of division-leading Los Angeles with Tuesday's 5-3 win over Edmonton.

"We've been putting some good wins together," said Frederik Andersen, who made 24 saves to help Anaheim improve to 9-1-3 in the last 13 away from home. "We've been taking good strides toward being a top team in this division."

In the midst of a 17-4-2 stretch, the Ducks have scored 11 goals in their last two games and are averaging 4.1 during a 7-1-1 road run. Anaheim is 5 for 10 on the power play in the last three games, in which it also owns a 6-2 goal advantage in the third period. Half of those goals broke open a 2-2 game against Edmonton.

'I think the last couple of times we've been tied in the second, they've been able to step it up a little bit and get enough for the win,' Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "When you can do that, that's a real positive sign going forward."

That productive offense has helped Anaheim pile up the points despite its last five opponents going 7 for 22 on the power play. Andersen has a 3.25 goals-against average in his last three starts but that's part of an 8-0-1 starting stretch.

He made 24 saves in each 2-1 shootout loss this season to the Canucks (22-22-12), most recently at Vancouver on New Year's Day. The Ducks sandwiched a 4-0 home win Nov. 30 between those defeats.

Vancouver has totaled seven goals during an 0-4-1 home slide, its second of that length this season. It hasn't lost six consecutive home games since an 0-6-3 skid in 2008-09. That was also the last time it dropped four straight there in regulation.

"At home, there are too many guys trying to push for offense," star Daniel Sedin told the NHL's official website about the Canucks, who have recorded a league-low 58 goals at Rogers Arena.

Outside of playoff position with two teams in front of them, the Canucks followed road wins over Colorado and Arizona with a pair of 5-2 home defeats to Toronto and Minnesota.

"It's tough right now," backup Jacob Markstrom said after making 29 saves against the Wild. "It's frustrating the way things are going right now. We've got to stick together as a team."

Vancouver can perhaps take solace in recording two power-play goals after going 1 for 20 over the previous 11 games. Twice over that stretch it never went on the man advantage.

Henrik Sedin has a goal and three assists in three games since going without a point in five straight. Both Sedins have been blanked in the last six against the Ducks.

Anaheim's Corey Perry has a goal in two straight contests, and six with seven assists in the last 12.

Ex-Canuck Ryan Kesler scored at Vancouver last month.

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Preview: Red Wings (29-19) at Penguins (28-19)
Date: February 18, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to overcome a slew of injuries. Another scoring slump from Sidney Crosby isn't helping, either.

With Evgeni Malkin likely out again, Crosby will try to shake out of his funk and lead the Penguins to a seventh win in eight home games Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings.

Pittsburgh (28-19-8) went 6-1-0 with 29 goals before scoring just three during a 1-1-1 stretch after Monday's 2-1 shootout loss at Florida.

Injuries continue to be a problem for the Penguins, who are without Malkin (lower body), Eric Fehr (lower body), Nick Bonino (hand), Beau Bennett (upper body) and David Warsofsky (concussion), while Pascal Dupuis prematurely retired in December with medical issues.

Malkin's absence is by far the most significant since he's second on the team with 23 goals and 49 points.

"The door is open for us to show what we can do," right wing Bryan Rust told the team's official website. "A few of the young guys can step in and make our mark. Hopefully, we'll become regulars here one day."

Rust, 23, has two goals in 15 games and no points in the past eight since being recalled from Wilkes-Barre of the AHL last month.

The scoring onus continues to fall on Crosby, the team leader with 24 goals and 53 points. The superstar center, though, doesn't have a point in three games after collecting 22 over the previous 12.

He had a goal while Malkin, Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist had three points apiece in a 5-2 win at Detroit on New Year's Eve.

Crosby's mini-slump isn't making Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill feel any better.

"Crosby's playing at a high level right now," he told the team's official website. "They're playing as a five-man unit for sure. We know they're a really good hockey team. If you turn pucks over against them you're going to be in trouble.

"We turned over way too many pucks over against them on New Year's Eve and put ourselves in a tough spot. ... We can't give them any free offense."

That's especially true at CONSOL Energy Center, where Pittsburgh averages 2.89 goals compared to 2.19 on the road. The Penguins scored 42 goals during an 8-0-2 stretch at home before losing 3-0 to the New York Rangers on Feb. 10.

Crosby failed to register a shot after tallying 14 goals and nine assists over his previous 11 home games.

The Red Wings (29-19-9) will be trying to avoid a season-high four-game road skid after opening this four-game trip with Monday's 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders.

"We had too many unforced errors, too many times where we turned pucks over," Blashill said.

Pavel Datsyuk remained red hot with his 12th goal. He has six goals and four assists during a six-game point streak, but has been limited to two assists in his past six meeting with the Penguins.

Petr Mrazek will be back in net after Jimmy Howard made 28 saves against the Islanders. Mrazek is 11-2-2 with a 1.59 goals-against average and three shutouts in 15 starts since making 32 stops against Pittsburgh on Dec. 31.

The Red Wings are expected to have defenseman Niklas Kronwall (knee) back during this trip, but he's already been ruled out for Thursday.

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Preview: Capitals (41-10) at Islanders (30-19)
Date: February 18, 2016 7:00 PM EDT

The NHL-best Washington Capitals don't want to disrupt that chemistry ahead of next week's trade deadline.

The first change the New York Islanders would like to make is reversing their luck against Braden Holtby and Alex Ovechkin.

The Capitals' stars look to lead them to another win over the Islanders on Thursday night in Brooklyn.

Washington (41-10-4) leads the league with 86 points and has won six of its last seven games following Tuesday's 3-1 victory over Los Angeles. Scoring a league-best 3.29 goals per game and ranking second by allowing 2.27, the Capitals seem poised to stand pat at Monday's trade deadline.

"There's obviously a lot of really good players in the league, but I feel like from top to bottom we've got a really good close core," right wing T.J. Oshie said. "We battle well together. We play hard together. We mesh well on and off the ice."

Washington has had few issues lately against the Islanders (30-19-6), going 8-1-2 in the last 11 regular-season meetings and eliminating them in seven games of their first-round playoff series in April.

Ovechkin has 30 goals and 18 assists in 46 overall meetings with New York, while Holtby is 12-4-2 with a 1.94 goals-against average - winning five of his last six with a 1.30 GAA.

Those two were vital in a 3-2 home win over the Islanders on Feb. 4. Ovechkin netted the decisive tally with 2:40 left to play, while Holtby had 24 saves.

He stopped 34 shots in Brooklyn on Jan. 7 and Ovechkin had a goal in a 4-1 victory.

Ovechkin, the league-leader with 35 goals, scored six times during a four-game streak that ended in Tuesday's 3-1 win over Los Angeles. Holtby was rested in favor of backup Philipp Grubauer, who stopped 39 shots.

Holtby has a 2.96 GAA over his last seven games, but he's 5-1-1 thanks to Washington's scoring.

"I don't know if that's him or us. I want to put that on us because when we weren't so sharp, he was very sharp. I wouldn't put it on him," coach Barry Trotz said.

Before opening a season-high seven-game road trip Friday in New Jersey, the Islanders are trying to match their longest home winning streak of 2015-16 at five. They scored three goals in the second period to beat Detroit 4-1 on Monday, winning for the fourth time in five tries overall.

"I thought we played three solid periods," coach Jack Capuano said.

John Tavares has 15 points in 10 games, getting at least one in nine after setting up Ryan Strome's tally against the Red Wings. That stretch also includes a five-game home point streak for the Islanders captain, scoring three goals with six assists.

Tavares doesn't have a point in three straight meetings with the Capitals, including a 2-1 defeat in Game 7.

Brock Nelson has three goals and three assists in 15 career matchups, but he has one point in each of the two this season.

Nelson and Tavares are tied for the team lead with 21 goals.

It's unknown if Jaroslav Halak will be back in net after Thomas Greiss made 28 saves Monday. Halak has lost four of his last five starts with a 4.26 GAA while being pulled twice.

Greiss has won all five decisions over his last six games with a 2.07 GAA.

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Preview: Rangers (32-18) at Maple Leafs (20-26)
Date: February 18, 2016 7:30 PM EDT

Though there's no shame in falling to the defending champions, the way the New York Rangers had their home point streak end was particularly tough to swallow.

Of course, losing to the NHL-worst Toronto Maple Leafs would be another story.

As Mats Zuccarello seeks another big game in the series, visiting New York will try bounce back quickly Thursday night with its fourth consecutive victory over Toronto.

The Rangers had gone 5-0-1 in their previous six games overall and outscored opponents 36-23 during an 8-0-2 stretch at home before Wednesday's 5-3 loss to Chicago.

Derick Brassard and Dan Boyle scored in a two-minute span early in the third period to put New York ahead before the Blackhawks rallied for three goals in the final 11.

The Rangers weren't happy with a penalty on Keith Yandle behind the net with 3:30 to play. Thirty seconds later, Chicago took the lead before adding an empty netter.

Boyle had been dealing with the flu, while fellow defenseman Marc Staal remains uncertain after his wife Lindsay gave birth to their second child on Wednesday.

Kevin Hayes stepped up with his third goal in four games for the Rangers, who welcomed back captain Ryan McDonagh after he missed the last four with a concussion.

The Rangers (32-19-6) scored on both their power-play chances and are 4 for 7 in their last three games, but they also allowed the Blackhawks to go 3 for 4 in those spots.

'You've got to find a way to get the job done, killing the penalty,' coach Alain Vigneault said.

The Rangers now hope to avoid their first back-to-back losses since a three-game slide from Dec. 17-20 as they embark on a stretch with 11 of the next 15 on the road.

The Leafs are struggling at both ends, allowing 24 goals over a 1-4-0 road trip and scoring only 30 while going 4-11-2 over their last 17. They gave up four power-play goals in Monday's 7-2 loss to Chicago, one more than they've scored with the man advantage in 53 opportunities over the past 16 games.

"You can't just lie down and quit," center Nazem Kadri said. "It seems like we'll have a few good games then we'll kind of just lay an egg in that third or fourth game."

Mark Arcobello has three goals in his last two games, but netminder James Reimer has a 4.19 goals-against average over his past seven starts. He also has a 3.46 mark in six meetings with the Rangers, though he didn't play in the first two this season.

Zuccarello came up big with a hat trick in a 3-1 home win in the first meeting Oct. 30 before adding a goal and two assists in a 4-3 win at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 15.

He's totaled seven goals while New York has scored 16 in the past four matchups. Brassard has two goals and six assists over a five-game point streak against the Leafs.

Antti Raanta is expected to get an opportunity to keep Toronto (20-26-9) scuffling as it opens a four-game homestand. Raanta has allowed at least four goals in three of his last four starts, but he's won his last two against the Leafs.

New York is 7-2-1 over its past 10 games at the Air Canada Centre.

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Preview: Bruins (31-20) at Predators (26-21)
Date: February 18, 2016 8:00 PM EDT

A mediocre performance earlier this week couldn't keep the Boston Bruins from continuing their road success, and the stumbling Nashville Predators don't figure to either.

While the Bruins look to keep rolling through a season-long road trip Thursday night, the Predators hope to put the brakes on their struggles at home.

Boston (31-20-6) has pulled within four points of Atlantic Division-leading Florida with a 10-4-1 stretch since Jan. 15, thanks in large part to strong play on the road.

Tuesday's 2-1 overtime win at Columbus moved Boston to 3-1 on its six-game trip and was the team's seventh victory in the last eight away from home. Boston is 19-6-3 on the road and can join Washington as the only Eastern Conference teams with 20 road victories - three more than the Bruins had all of last season.

After scoring 15 goals on the first three stops of their road trip, the Bruins had to come from behind for Tuesday's win. Tuukka Rask surrendered an early goal but finished with 28 saves, and Loui Eriksson scored 33 seconds into overtime.

Boston overcame its fourth straight scoreless game on the power play, going 0 for 4 to extend a disappointing stretch for one of the league's top units. The Bruins hold a season power-play percentage of 22.1, but they have just one goal in their last 32 opportunities spanning nine games.

'I felt like it wasn't the best game ... we made so many mistakes, even on the power play,' Eriksson said. 'We made some mistakes. They got some breakaways. At the end of the day we got the win, so it was nice.'

Eriksson scored a goal in his fourth straight game and has five in his last six following a nine-game drought.

Patrice Bergeron also scored Tuesday for his third goal in the last two games, though Brad Marchand finished without one for just the second time in the last 14.

Eriksson scored in this season's first meeting against Nashville, but Viktor Arvidsson's third-period goal lifted the Predators to a 3-2 road win. Boston had been 6-0-3 in the previous nine matchups.

Nashville (26-21-10) has opened February 2-3-2, including a 1-3-1 mark at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators lost for the fifth time in six home games with Monday's 3-2 overtime defeat to Dallas.

A bad change led to Nashville's ninth overtime loss in 10 tries in this season's new 3-on-3 format.

'That's something that's easily fixable," captain Shea Weber said. "We've been better, we've improved since, we've done some work on it, but still, those points make the difference.'

While Rask snapped a three-game span in which he held an .870 save percentage this week, Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne's struggles continued last week before taking two games off in favor of backup Carter Hutton, who made 15 saves against the Bruins in December.

Rinne dropped to 1-3-1 with a 3.41 goals-against average in his last five starts following Friday's 4-3 overtime loss at Tampa Bay. He is 3-0-1 with a 2.32 GAA lifetime against Boston.

"Confidence is a huge thing and it's a skill to keep it at an even level," Rinne told the team's official website. "It's going to go up and down throughout the season."

Rask is 2-0-2 with a 2.66 GAA in four career starts against Nashville.

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Preview: Wild (25-22) at Oilers (22-30)
Date: February 18, 2016 9:00 PM EDT

In the 55 games this season leading to his dismissal, former Minnesota coach Mike Yeo strung together four winning streaks of three games but never went beyond.

John Torchetti is set to match that in the minimum number of games on the job.

The opportunity comes Thursday night in Edmonton with the Wild concluding a three-game road trip, while Edmonton is playing the fourth of a six-game homestand.

Wednesday's 5-3 win in Calgary followed a 5-2 victory in Vancouver two nights before for Torchetti's debut, and the Wild (25-22-10) aren't just winning following a 1-11-2 span that cost Yeo his job. They're doing so with some impressive offense.

Prior to Monday, Minnesota hadn't scored more than three goals in a game since Jan. 5 - a 2-11-3 drought on which it averaged 1.87 goals per game with a 14.9 percent power play. With 10 goals and a power-play conversion in each, things are looking up under the interim coach.

Charlie Coyle has scored in both games under his new boss and three of his last four. Jason Pominville had a goal and an assist Wednesday after managing just the same in his previous 23 games.

"I think the message is, 'Let's start to work, let's start to compete, and let's start to get the puck back,'" Zach Parise told the league's official website. "We've responded well the first two games. Now we'd love to finish the road trip with another win. So far we've done pretty well, I think."

The Wild opened the season series with a 4-3 home win on Oct. 27 as part of a 9-2-1 stretch against the Oilers, which includes five wins in as many tries in Edmonton with a 17-5 scoring advantage.

After Tuesday's 5-3 home loss to Anaheim, the Oilers (22-30-6) have given up an average of 3.54 goals per game over a 3-7-1 span. Some of that falls on spending so much time in the penalty box. The Oilers have faced 36 short-handed situations in eight games since the All-Star break, which is fewer than only Philadelphia.

"It's a little bit of lack of discipline and a little bit of frustration creeping into our game," Matt Hendricks told the team's official website. "â?¦ We're getting a lot of penalties in the offensive zone or the neutral zone where we're trying to go on the offensive at those times.

"Obviously, you're going to get the defensive zone ones to try and stay in position. A guy beats you to the net and you take a hook, a trip or something to try to negate a scoring chance. But it's the ones in the offensive zone, when they're not necessary, that are the ones that really seem to sting."

Any positives in the latest letdown came from Taylor Hall and Leon Draisaitl ending their offensive droughts. The team's two points leaders had gone five games without a point, and for Draisaitl it was the first time doing so this season.

"I think we played really well," Draisaitl said. "I think we played a very competitive, strong game for 60 minutes. Obviously, it's frustrating to leave the rink with no points."

Cam Talbot gave up three goals before two empty netters, and fell to 1-3-0 with a 3.62 goals-against average over his last five games.

Minnesota's Devin Dubnyk faced the Flames and has won consecutive contests after an 0-8-1 span.

Backup Darcy Kuemper is 0-2-1 with a 3.66 GAA in his last three starts, but he's 2-0-1 with a 1.30 GAA in his career against the Oilers.

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Armadillo: Thursday's six-pack

Six of the best minor league prospects of the Detroit Tigers......

1) Michael Fulmer, P-- Acquired from Mets in the Cespedes trade.

4) Christin Stewart, OF-- Chosen with pick they got when Max Scherzer bolted.

5) JaCoby Jones, SS-- LSU alum acquired from Pirates for Joakim Soria.

7) Joe Jimenez, P-- 126 strikeouts in 88 innings in relief in three seasons.

8) Dixon Machado, SS-- Got 68 ABs with the big club last season.

12) Buck Farmer, P-- 0-5, 8.15 in 50 major league innings so far.

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Armadillo: Thursday's List of 13: Nobody asked me, but......

13) Albany 82, Stony Brook 70-- Had a fun time watching my alma mater end Stony Brook's 18-game winning streak; highlight of night was when a kid dressed as a banana came out of the stands during a timeout and made a layup, foul shot and 3-pointer in 0:30 to win a prize, I'm not sure what, but he banked in his 3-pointer at the buzzer to win his prize. First conference losss for Stony Brook in front of a large, loud crowd-- rare night out for me during hoop season and a fun one.

12) Duke 74, North Carolina 73-- Got home in time to see most of this; Duke lost Matt Jones early, played only two subs anyway-- how does Duke only have seven players they trust? Now two of those seven are hurt, so freshman Chase Jeter will have to play some. Carolina was 1-13 behind the arc-- there is no great team right now, they all have major flaws, which will make March a fascinating month.

11) Alabama 76, LSU 69-- You could make a case for Avery Johnson as national coach of the year; right now they're an NCAA tourney team and no one, I mean no one had them as that back in the fall. No one. Tough loss for LSU and CBS, which has to want Ben Simmons in the NCAAs pretty badly, but their resume is borderline at best.

10) Texas Tech 65, Oklahoma 63-- Sooners lost three of last four games after a 19-2 start; they were 6-23 on arc, are 22-79 on arc in last three losses. Tubby Smith has his Red Raiders headed towards the NCAA bubble.

9) St John's 80, DePaul 65-- First Big East win for coach Chris Mullin.

8) St Peter's 70, Manhattan 69-- This was a makeup game; Peacocks play another game tonight, at Quinnipiac, very unuusal for a college team.

7) Get well soon Chris Bosh, who has trouble with blood clots-- he does an ad on TV with Arnold Palmer and Kevin Nealon for Xarelto, a blood thinner. We hope he is feeling well enough to play again soon.

6) State Senate in Tennessee passed a bill making it OK for people to have a skunk as a pet-- the Tennessee house hasn't voted on the bill yet. I think the whole thing stinks, and no, I am not making any of that up.

5) University of Cincinnati is campaigning to join the Big X; if they do, another team has to go to too, to give the Big X an even number of teams. Memphis?

4) Carolina Panthers signed JJ Jansen to a 5-year, $5.5M contract; who is he, you ask? JJ Jansen is the Carolina long snapper, a critical yet obscure position. There are guys we've rarely heard of who play a long time in the NFL as long snappers.

3) Daytime TV is awful, just putrid. ESPN should be ashamed of themselves for the garbage they put on the air. I'm listening to more music now during the day, but when preseason baseball starts in 13 days, that will make afternoons a lot more fun.

2) NFL Combine is next week; not sure if that is interesting TV or not, but it is very important for NFL teams to learn about players they may or may not draft. Stuff like Geno Smith playing with his cellphone during team interviews- thats a red flag that the guy isn't the person you want playing the most important position on the field.

1) Jim Brown/Michael Jordan share a birthday- February 17. Very strong pairing of sports birthdays right there. I know a couple guys who would try to have sex with their wife on May 17 to heighten their chance of their kid sharing a birthday with those two legends. Seriously, they would. I feel bad for their wives.

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NHL
Armadillo's Write-Up

Thursday, February 18

Hot teams
-- Pittsburgh won five of its last six at home. Red Wings won four of their last six.
-- Washington won six of its last seven games. Islanders won four of their last five.
-- Carolina is 5-3 in its last eight games.
-- Rangers won five of their last seven games.
-- Jets won three of their last four road games.
-- Sharks won three of their last four games.
-- St Louis won its last three games, allowing five goals.
-- Bruins won five of their last seven games.
-- Minnesota won 5-2/5-3 in two games since changing coaches.
-- Dallas Stars won seven of their last nine games.
-- Anaheim won eight of its last ten games.

Cold teams
-- Senators lost six of their last nine games.
-- Toronto lost four of its last five games.
-- Tampa Bay lost four of its last five games.
-- Florida lost four of its last six games.
-- Los Angeles lost three of its last four games.
-- Nashvlle lost five of its last seven games.
-- Edmonton lost five of its last six games.
-- Arizona lost six of its last eight games.
-- Vancouver lost six of its last eight games.

Series records
-- Detroit-Pittsburgh split their last eight games.
-- Islanders lost five of last six games with Washington.
-- Hurricanes won five of last seven games with Ottawa.
-- Rangers won their last three games with Toronto.
-- Lightning won three of last four games with Winnipeg.
-- Florida won seven of last nine games with San Jose.
-- Kings won seven of last ten games with St Louis.
-- Bruins won four of last six games with Nashville.
-- Minnesota won five of last seven games with Edmonton
-- Dallas won five of last six games with Arizona.
-- Canucks won three of last four games with Anaheim.

Totals
-- Five of last six Detroit-Pittsburgh games went over.
-- Under is 5-1-1 in last seven Islander-Washington games.
-- Under is 7-2-1 in last ten Carolina-Ottawa games.
-- Four of last five Ranger-Toronto games went over.
-- Five of last six Tampa Bay games went over the total.
-- Over is 6-2-2 in last ten Florida games.
-- Six of last eight Los Angeles games went over total.
-- Four of last five Boston games went over the total.
-- Five of last seven Minnesota-Edmonton games stayed under.
-- Six of last eight Dallas-Arizona games stayed under.
-- Eight of last nine Vancouver-Anaheim games stayed under.

Back-to-backs
-- Rangers lost five of last six if they played the night before.
-- Minnesota is 3-7 if it played the night before.