Watch Dallas Stars vs Los Angeles Kings Live Online

Watch Dallas Stars vs Los Angeles Kings Live Online

10:30 pm EDT Thu Oct 22, 2009

The Los Angeles Kings salvaged a .500 record on their recent road trip with a win over the Dallas Stars. While they won’t have much time to enjoy their return to the Staples Center, the Kings are hoping for another successful game against the Stars on Thursday night. Los Angeles (5-4-0) opened its six-game trip with wins over St. Louis and the New York Islanders to extend an overall winning streak to four games. The Kings lost their next three, though, getting outscored 13-5. They did, however, gain a split of the trip with a 4-1 victory at Dallas on Monday. “I thought we started out on a really good road trip, then we went into a little funk,” said Ryan Smyth, who is tied for the team lead with 13 points. “To end it off like this gives us some confidence going back home.”

The Kings are only home for one game before going back on the road to play three of five, but the brief reprieve is especially welcome after the team was hit by the flu last weekend. A dozen players became sick during the nine-day trip, which may have contributed to the poor play. Los Angeles got off to another slow start Monday, but outshot the Stars 18-4 while scoring three times in the second period. Justin Williams and Anze Kopitar also had goals during the period
while Jon Quick finished with 29 saves after giving up seven goals in the previous two contests.

Dallas (4-2-3) seeks a second consecutive win after bouncing back from its loss to the Kings with a 4-2 victory over Anaheim on Wednesday, improving to 3-0-2 on the road. Dallas led 3-0 after two periods on goals by Loui Eriksson, Brenden Morrow and Trevor Daley. The Stars outshot the Ducks 27-12 in the first two periods and Daley’s power-play goal snapped an 0-for-12 stretch with the man advantage in the previous three games.

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Watch Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes Live Online

Watch Detroit Red Wings vs Phoenix Coyotes Live Online

10:00 pm EDT Thu Oct 22, 2009

The Detroit Red Wings are off to a relatively slow start, but it’s not entirely surprising considering the injuries to stars Pavel Datsyuk and Johan Franzen. The Phoenix Coyotes’ excellent beginning, on the other hand, can only qualify as shocking. Phoenix looks to win a fourth straight game for the first time in nearly two years Thursday night against the visiting Red Wings, who should have Datsyuk back as they seek their first road victory.

Detroit (3-3-1) has hardly looked like the team that was a bounce or two away from winning a second consecutive Stanley Cup last spring, but a pair of injuries have played a role in their unimpressive start. Franzen tore the ACL in his left knee in an Oct. 8 win over Chicago, leaving him out four months, and Datsyuk has missed the team’s past two games due to an upper-body injury. Datsyuk is expected to return Thursday, but he may have a difficult time scoring his first goal since Game 2 of the Red Wings’ Western Conference quarterfinal series against Columbus. Phoenix (5-2-0) has been the league’s stingiest team in the early going, yielding 10 goals in seven games and holding opponents to one goal in their last 21 power-play opportunities.

Defensemen Ed Jovanovski and Keith Yandle scored with the man advantage for the Coyotes on Saturday in a 4-1 home win over Boston. A victory over the Red Wings would give Phoenix its first four-game win streak since winning five in a row from Dec. 31, 2007-Jan. 8, 2008. The Coyotes’ best start since going 6-1-0 to open the 2000-01 season has put a tumultuous offseason—featuring coach Wayne Gretzky resigning and a rumored move out of Phoenix—in the rear-view mirror.

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Watch Columbus Blue Jackets vs Edmonton Oilers Live Online

Watch Columbus Blue Jackets vs Edmonton Oilers Live Online

9:30 pm EDT Thu Oct 22, 2009

After falling in a city where they haven’t had much success, the Columbus Blue Jackets will try to bounce back in a place where they have a similar track record. The Blue Jackets continue their four-game road trip Thursday night when they try to end the Edmonton Oilers’ three-game home winning streak. Columbus (5-2-0) had its three-game win streak snapped Tuesday with a 6-3 loss at Calgary as Steve Mason had a difficult night, making 16 saves on 22 shots.

“He struggled, he really struggled,” coach Ken Hitchcock said. “The difference in the hockey game was when it was 3-3, (Flames goaltender Miikka) Kiprusoff had to make six or seven great saves and then when it was 4-3, he had to make three or four unbelievable saves and he did it, and that’s what got them the two points.” The Blue Jackets fell to 5-11-1 all-time at Calgary, and that’s slightly better than their 4-10-2 record at Rexall Place. These clubs split four meetings last season, with right wing Ales Hemsky producing three goals and five assists in the first three for Edmonton. Mason had 19 saves in a 1-0 victory Feb. 26 in the last matchup.

Hitchcock, though, is expected to give backup Mathieu Garon his second start of the season. Garon played for Edmonton from 2007-09 before he was dealt Jan. 17 to Pittsburgh. Like Columbus, Edmonton (5-2-1) is off to a hot start as it completes a season-opening stretch with seven of its first nine games at home. Coach Pat Quinn, though, is quick to downplay expectations for a club that has missed the playoffs the last three seasons. “I don’t want to say (we’re) fragile but we are a team that has that low threshold still,” Quinn said. “We need to get by it.

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Watch San Jose Sharks vs Tampa Bay Lightning Live Online

Watch San Jose Sharks vs Tampa Bay Lightning Live Online

7:30 pm EDT Thu Oct 22, 2009

The San Jose Sharks have rebounded from early deficits twice already on this road trip, but they’re hoping a win will come a little easier Thursday. The high-powered Sharks will try to get off to a good start and beat the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning for the fifth straight time as they continue their six-game trip. San Jose’s opponent has scored first in each of the last six games, but the Sharks are still 4-1-1 in that stretch, posting back-to-back victories in New York over the Islanders and Rangers.

They trailed the Rangers 2-0 midway through the first period Monday night but bounced back with an offensive outburst in a 7-3 victory. Devin Setoguchi had two goals and an assist, while Patrick Marleau also chipped in with three points. “We don’t want to put ourselves in that situation very often, but when we do we know we’ve got the firepower that can come back and put the puck in the net,” defenseman Dan Boyle said.Buoyed by NHL assist leader Joe Thornton and the fast start of newcomer Dany Heatley, San Jose (5-3-1) has averaged 3.5 goals per
game. The Sharks, though, haven’t needed that many in recent matchups with the Lightning.

In four meetings between the clubs since the 2004-05 lockout, the Sharks have gone 4-0-0 and outscored Tampa Bay 17-4, including a 7-1 home win Jan. 13. They also won 3-0 at Tampa last Oct. 25, with Boyle assisting on the first goal in his initial return to Tampa after the Lightning traded him to San Jose on July 4, 2008. Boyle spent five-plus seasons as one of the team’s top blueliners, notching 10 postseason points during the Lightning’s run to the Stanley Cup in 2004.

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Watch Nashville Predators vs Ottawa Senators Live Online

Watch Nashville Predators vs Ottawa Senators Live Online

7:30 pm EDT Thu Oct 22, 2009

With back-to-back wins to start the season, prospects were looking up for the Nashville Predators. Very little has gone right since, though. The Predators try to avoid matching a franchise record with their seventh straight loss Thursday night when they visit an Ottawa Senators team seeking its sixth victory in seven games. After missing the playoffs last season for the first time since 2003, Nashville (2-5-1) got off to a fast start to the 2009-10 season by scoring six goals in winning its first two games. It has been unable to build on those victories, though, totaling six goals during an 0-5-1 drought.

A big reason for the Predators’ struggles has been a nonexistent power play. Nashville went 0 for 3 with the man advantage in Wednesday’s 3-2 loss at Boston and is 1 for 27 in such situations this season. The Predators’ lone power-play goal came in the season opener Oct. 3, and the team’s seven-game stretch without a score with the man advantage matches a franchise record set in the final seven games of the 2002-03 season. Nashville was 0-5-1 with one tie in that stretch. Nashville, in the midst of its longest losing streak since Oct. 10-23, 2007, is also in danger of matching the franchise record of seven consecutive losses set from Nov. 20-Dec. 2, 1999.

Ottawa (5-2-0) beat Montreal 3-1 on Saturday for its fifth victory in six games. Alex Kovalev had a goal and an assist in his first game against the Canadiens since leaving Montreal to sign a two-year, $10 million contract with Ottawa on July 6. Kovalev’s 397th goal of his 17-season NHL career put the Senators up by two with 8:32 remaining and was loudly applauded by the Bell Centre crowd.

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Watch Washington Capitals vs Atlanta Thrashers Live Online

Watch Washington Capitals vs Atlanta Thrashers Live Online

7:00 pm EDT Thu Oct 22, 2009

While Alex Ovechkin provided the offense, the goaltending of Semyon Varlamov may be an even bigger reason why the Washington Capitals have bounced back following a four-game losing streak. The Capitals visit the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday night for the first of two meetings between the Southeast Division rivals over the next week. Washington (4-2-2) has recorded back-to-back wins over San Jose and Nashville after an 0-2-2 stretch. The Capitals beat the Predators 3-2 in a shootout Saturday, with Ovechkin scoring twice in regulation before adding the shootout winner. It was his second consecutive multi-goal game and his fourth of the season. Ovechkin has a league-leading nine goals and 16 points this season.

Atlanta (4-1-1) returns home after going 3-1-1 on a five-game road trip that finished with a 2-1 shootout loss to Montreal on Tuesday. Colby Armstrong tied the game early in the third period, but Ilya Kovalchuk and Rich Peverley failed to convert in the tiebreaker. Ondrej Pavelec made 34 saves in regulation and overtime. “He played really, really well,” coach John Anderson said of Pavelec. “I was very, very happy with it and I wish we could have won at the end, but that’s the way it goes.”

Kovalchuk was held without a point Tuesday but still leads the Thrashers with seven goals and is tied with Peverley for the team lead with eight points. Kovalchuk had two goals and four assists in five games against the Capitals last season. Atlanta will host Washington twice during this homestand, including again next Thursday. While the Capitals were 4-2-0 against the Thrashers last season, they lost two of three in Atlanta. Ovechkin was held to two assists in those road contests but had three goals and four points in three home games. Ovechkin’s 23 goals and 49 points against the Thrashers are his highest totals against any opponent.

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Watch Boston Bruins vs Philadelphia Flyers Live Online

Watch Boston Bruins vs Philadelphia Flyers Live Online

7:00 pm EDT Thu Oct 22, 2009

The Boston Bruins’ first game without Marc Savard and Milan Lucic was a success. Now, they’ll try to win consecutive games for the first time this season. Boston goes for its fifth straight victory in Philadelphia on Thursday night, when the Flyers look to snap a three-game losing streak. With Savard placed on the injured list earlier in the day with a broken left foot and Lucic also sidelined four to six weeks after breaking his right index finger in last Friday’s 3-0 win at Dallas, the Bruins (4-4-0) responded with a 3-2 win over Nashville on Wednesday.

Steve Begin, who signed in the offseason after spending 2008-09 with Montreal and Dallas, scored the game-winner in the third period off an assist from Daniel Paille(notes), who was acquired from Buffalo on Tuesday. Bruins coach Claude Julien would feel better if his team could sustain this level of play. “We’re standing here with another win and also standing here knowing we haven’t won two in a row,” he said. “We need to put together two good games in a row.” Beginning with its 4-1 season-opening defeat to Washington, Boston has alternated wins and losses for eight games.

Boston has won all four of its visits to Philadelphia since the beginning of the 2007-08 season. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Tim Thomas, who stopped 28 shots to earn Wednesday’s win, is 4-0-0 with a 2.25 goals-against average in four career starts in Philadelphia. The Flyers (3-2-1) open a three-game homestand and take the ice for the first time since last Friday’s 4-2 loss at Florida. Philadelphia went 0 for 2 on the power play and yielded a short-handed goal in the third period, when it was outscored 2-0.

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Watch New York Islanders vs Montreal Canadiens Live Online

Watch New York Islanders vs Montreal Canadiens Live Online

7:00 pm EDT Thu Oct 22, 2009

The Montreal Canadiens avoided their worst start in 68 years, but they haven’t won in regulation in their last 12 games. Montreal continues its six-game homestand Thursday night, when it hosts a New York Islanders club looking to build off its first victory of the season. The Canadiens (3-5-0) snapped their five-game losing streak with Tuesday’s 2-1 shootout victory over Atlanta. Michael Cammalleri missed, but first-year Canadiens Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta found the back of the net in the shootout as Montreal avoided its worst start since beginning 1-10-0 with a tie in 1941-42.

Montreal, though, has scored 10 goals in its last six games. The Canadiens posted overtime victories in Toronto and Buffalo to open the season, but they have not won in regulation since a 6-2 victory over the Maple Leafs on April 4. Montreal will get an opportunity to change that as it faces the Islanders for the first time this season. The teams split four matchups in 2008-09, with the visiting team winning each contest.

The Islanders (1-3-3) go for their third straight victory at the Bell Centre following Wednesday’s 4-3 shootout win over Carolina. John Tavares, this year’s No. 1 overall draft pick, scored the clinching goal and the Islanders avoided the franchise’s worst-ever start. The 1973-74 team was winless in its first seven games. “I just tried to think back to when I was a kid and there was no pressure,” said the 19-year-old Tavares. “I got to my forehand and I knew I had to get it up and once I saw it go in, it was a great feeling to secure the win.

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Watch New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers Live Online

Watch New Jersey Devils vs New York Rangers Live Online

7:00 pm EDT Thu Oct 22, 2009

With their backup goaltender having a poor game, the New York Rangers were unable to extend a lengthy winning streak. Getting No. 1 netminder Henrik Lundqvist back between the pipes against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden could help them get back in the win column. Lundqvist, expected to be back in goal, looks to win his seventh straight start and continue his home dominance of the Devils on Thursday night, while New Jersey goalie Martin Brodeur tries to tie the all-time shutout record.

The Rangers (7-2-0) entered Monday’s game against San Jose riding a seven-game winning streak - their longest since the 2005-06 season - but allowed more than three goals for the first time this season in a 7-3 loss. New York jumped out to a 2-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game, but the Sharks responded with six straight scores. “We have some things to work on,” Rangers coach John Tortorella said. “The first two periods, we weren’t as bad as what the score was at that point. I don’t think we were terrible.”

Tortorella opted to give the red-hot Lundqvist a night off, but the strategy didn’t work. Backup Steve Valiquette allowed five goals on 18 shots, including three on 10 shots in the second period. Lundqvist, who posted a 2.00 goals-against average while winning his previous six games, replaced Valiquette at the start of the third and stopped 10 of 12 shots. Prior to Monday, the Rangers had given up a total of five goals in their previous four games.

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