SAN JOSE vs LOS ANGELES
When: 2/9/2021 10:08 PM
Where:

TV: 10:08 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: LOS ANGELES , SAN JOSE

Oddsmakers currently have the Los Angeles listed as -120-moneyline favorites versus the San Jose, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

The Los Angeles Kings will try to end a four-game losing streak Tuesday night when they host the San Jose Sharks.

The Kings are coming off two straight losses at the Vegas Golden Knights last weekend.

Injuries to defenseman Matt Roy (undisclosed) and Sean Walker (face), and forwards Matt Luff (undisclosed) and Martin Frk (lower body), as well as the absences of forwards Andreas Athanasiou and Blake Lizotte to COVID-19 protocol, have forced the Kings to look deeper into their organization for replacements.

“We’re a young team,” Kings coach Todd McLellan said after a 4-3 loss to Vegas on Sunday. “We’re a team that’s working its way through a lot of adversity with bodies missing and that type of stuff.”

Rookie forward Arthur Kaliyev, playing in his NHL debut, scored his first goal in a 3-1 loss to the visiting Anaheim Ducks last Tuesday. And Sunday, Jaret Anderson-Dolan — playing in just his 11th career game in his third NHL season, and second game this season — scored his first NHL goal.

“Obviously, it’s good to get that first one out of the way,” Anderson-Dolan said. “Now I can just play my game and not have to worry about that.”

San Jose has yet to play a home game this season because Santa Clara County had a contact sports ban in place, which recently expired.

With two more games at Los Angeles remaining before the Sharks come home, they’re looking for improvement after going 1-2-1 in their past four games. San Jose coach Bob Boughner just can’t pinpoint any particular area.

“It’s about doing the simple things, making simple plays instead of trying to overcomplicate things,” Boughner said. “Generally, making the first easy play and opening up your options.”

San Jose has received solid starts to the season from forwards Logan Couture and Evander Kane, each with eight points in 10 games, but the Sharks could use a boost from forward Timo Meier and defenseman Erik Karlsson, who have just eight points between them (including just one goal).

Meier led the Sharks with 49 points (22 goals, 27 assists) in 70 games last season, but has been held to five points (one goal, four assists) through 10 games, with three of those points coming in the second game.

Karlsson, fourth on the Sharks last season with 40 points (six goals, 34 assists) in 56 games, has no goals and three assists in 10 games this season.

“Physically and mentally, I’m feeling way better than I expected,” Karlsson said. “I haven’t found a way to be as creative as I’d like. I should be able to do more. Why I haven’t, I don’t know.”

Karlsson is also a key component on the power play, but the Sharks have converted just one of 26 man-advantage situations in the past seven games.

“If we can find ways to create momentum on the power play, it will help our 5-on-5,” Karlsson said.

McLellan said he is not overly concerned with his team’s power play, saying he wants to see more productivity at even strength. The Sharks, after all, have balanced their dearth of power-play goals by killing off 86.5 percent, third-best in the league.

“I think it’s in a good spot right now,” McLellan said of the power play. “There’s going to be nights where we’re going to execute well, there’s going to be nights where the opponent we play does a good job to stop it. Sometimes, the goalie’s going to get in the way, and some nights we’ll get a lucky one where it sneaks in. I’m more concerned about our 5-on-5 play.”

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COLUMBUS vs CHICAGO
When: 1/31/2021 7:00 PM
Where:

TV: 7:00 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: CHICAGO , COLUMBUS

Oddsmakers currently have the COLUMBUS listed as -145-moneyline favorites versus the CHICAGO, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

The Columbus Blue Jackets will go for their third win in a row when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night.

The game will mark the second time in three days that the teams have played each other. In the opener of a two-game set Friday night, Columbus held on for a 2-1 win behind goals from Oliver Bjorkstrand and Eric Robinson.

The Blackhawks planned to practice Saturday between games, but they called off the practice session because of possible exposure to COVID-19. The team later announced that forward Ryan Carpenter and defenseman Nicolas Beaudin had been added to the NHL’s COVID-19 protocol list, increasing the tally to five Chicago players on the list.

Carpenter and Beaudin played Friday against the Blue Jackets. Blackhawks forward Alex DeBrincat, defenseman Adam Boqvist and forward Lucas Wallmark remain on the list.

Players can be placed on the list if they test positive for the coronavirus, have shown symptoms or had close contact with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19.

“The Chicago Blackhawks organization has, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines to protect the health and safety of players and staff as set by the NHL as well as local and state agencies,” the Blackhawks said in a statement. “The Blackhawks will not comment further at this time and information on Sunday’s schedule will be announced at a later time.”

If the game goes on as scheduled, Chicago will have to find a way to solve Columbus’ goaltending. Joonas Korpisalo shined in Friday’s opener, stopping 31 of 32 shots to improve to 2-1-2 with a 2.17 goals-against average and a .936 save percentage.

The Blue Jackets’ other option in net, Elvis Merzlikins, is 2-1-1 with a 2.94 GAA and .906 save percentage on the season.

“I like the way it’s worked out,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “The schedule, I think, forces it this way, and we’re very fortunate to have the two goalies that we do have.”

The Blackhawks have not enjoyed the same level of success in net, but rookie Kevin Lankinen has emerged recently to grab control of the No. 1 role. The 25-year-old is 2-1-2 with a 2.16 GAA and .930 save percentage on the season, which is notably better than teammates Collin Delia (0-2-0, 5.00, .863) and Malcolm Subban (0-1-1, 3.95, .889).

Lankinen’s solid play has been squandered by a quiet Blackhawks offense, which has four goals in the last three games.

“We want to score more, for sure,” Blackhawks coach Jeremy Colliton said. “We’re creating chances. We’re generating more in the offensive zone than we have in the past. (The) transition chances I feel will be there with the group we have.

“(But we’re) missing a little bit of execution when we have the opportunity off the rush. Just not quite finishing, not quite making that last pass. But I believe that will come, too.”

The Blue Jackets, who have eight goals in their past three games, are led by Bjorkstrand with eight points (three goals, five assists) in his first nine games. Alexandre Texier is second on the scoring list with six points (four goals, two assists).

Patrick Kane leads the Blackhawks with eight points (three goals, five assists) in nine contests.

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PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs NY ISLANDERS
When: 7:00 PM  ET, Thursday, November 1, 2018
Where: Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York

TV: 7:05 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: NY ISLANDERS , PITTSBURGH

Oddsmakers currently have the PITTSBURGH listed as -165-moneyline favorites versus the NY ISLANDERS, while the game’s total is sitting at 6.5.

The Pittsburgh Penguins answered a sweep of their four-game road trip with getting doubled up in the opener of a home-and-home series against the New York Islanders. The Penguins aim to regain their good fortune on the road Thursday when they vie for a split versus the Islanders, who have won three in a row overall and six straight versus Metropolitan Division rivals dating to last season.

“Mentally you know what to expect, knowing how they play, what the game looked like, tendencies,” captain Sidney Crosby said after scoring in his fourth straight contest in Tuesday’s 6-3 setback. “That’s probably the biggest thing just being able to envision what the game will look like and what to expect, and preparing for that.” Fellow former Hart Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin scored a goal to extend his point streak to eight games overall (five goals, 11 assists) and give him at least one point in 14 of his last 18 encounters versus the Islanders. Jordan Eberle tallied twice in the second period and Brock Nelson netted his fifth goal in five contests for New York, which scored five goals on its first 10 shots Tuesday. The Islanders have collected at least one point in seven of their last eight meetings (4-1-3) with the Penguins and are 5-1-1 in their last seven home games versus the division rival.

TV: 7 p.m. ET, AT&T SportsNet-Pittsburgh, Sportsnet360, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Pacific, MSG (New York)

ABOUT THE PENGUINS (6-2-2): A lower-body injury prevented Kris Letang from playing in the opener of the home-and-home set, but the offensive-minded defenseman was able to practice on Wednesday and will determine his availability for the finale based on how he feels Thursday morning. “I felt pretty good,” the 31-year-old said. “I tested it a little bit earlier to see if I was able to skate with the guys. It went pretty well after that. I was going hard.” Center Derick Brassard has been ruled out versus the Islanders after he failed to skate in Wednesday’s practice due to a lower-body injury.

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (6-4-1): Thomas Greiss has turned aside 55 of 57 shots during his stints in the last three games, including 12 of 13 in the third period on Tuesday in relief of an injured Robin Lehner. The 32-year-old Greiss likely will get the nod on Thursday with coach Barry Trotz deeming Lehner as day-to-day with “a strain.” Fellow goaltender Christopher Gibson was brought up on emergency recall from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League while forward Tom Kuhnhackl was loaned to the Sound Tigers, one day after scoring his first goal of the season versus his former team.

OVERTIME

1. New York LW Josh Bailey set up a goal Tuesday, pushing his point and assist streaks to six and five games, respectively.

2. Pittsburgh D Jamie Oleksiak and Dominik Simon are both riding career-high four-game point streaks, with the former notching two assists on Tuesday while the latter scored his second goal of the season.

3. Islanders RW Cal Clutterbuck could draw back in the lineup on Thursday, Trotz announced.

PREDICTION: Penguins 4, Islanders 3

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BOSTON vs NY RANGERS
When: 2/10/2021 7:08 PM
Where:

TV: 7:08 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: NY RANGERS , BOSTON

Oddsmakers currently have Boston Bruins listed as -150-moneyline favorites versus the New York Rangers, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

The New York Rangers won’t have to wait long to try and apply the lessons they learned Monday about the razor-thin difference between winning and losing in an NHL season consisting entirely of intra-divisional games.

The Rangers will look to make up ground in the East Division on Wednesday night against the visiting Boston Bruins in the opener of a two-game series at Madison Square Garden.

The Rangers suffered their first regulation loss of a season-long, eight-game homestand Monday night when they allowed two third-period goals in a 2-0 loss to the New York Islanders. The Bruins haven’t played since Friday, when they ran their winning streak to three games by edging the host Philadelphia Flyers 2-1.

The loss was disheartening for the Rangers, who outshot the Islanders 25-24 before allowing the game’s only goals on consecutive shots by Casey Cizikas, who scored with 8:45 left, and Matt Martin, who added an insurance goal 2:05 later.

“We’ve got to play a full 60; doesn’t matter who we’re playing in our division,” Rangers left winger Chris Kreider said. “There’s a lot of good teams that stick to their structure and know-how to win hockey games.”

The Rangers also had a pair of empty power plays in the first two periods and two prime chances to break the tie within the first four minutes of the third period when Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov stopped Artemi Panarin on a breakaway and turned back a two-on-one opportunity by Mika Zibanejad.

“We’ve got to find a way to generate more offense,” Kreider said.

The Rangers enter Wednesday 1-3-2 in one-goal games — the five one-goal losses were tied for the most in the NHL before Tuesday’s action.

The Bruins, meanwhile, have thrived in close games and in the third period in particular. Boston entered Tuesday with eight wins, tied for the most in the Eastern Conference, including five victories in one-goal games, tied for the most in the NHL.

The win over the Flyers represented the third straight third-period comeback for the Bruins, who fell behind 27 seconds into the third before Brad Marchand and Sean Kuraly scored the tying and winning goals, respectively, in a 27-second span shortly beyond the midway point.

The Bruins’ most recent multi-goal victory was a 5-3 win over the Washington Capitals on Feb. 1, during which Boston scored five unanswered goals in the final 28 minutes, including an empty-netter by Marchand with 1:26 left. And two days before that, Boston mounted a comeback from a three-goal deficit in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Capitals.

“You can’t trail every game and expect to come back,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said following Friday’s win. “But it’s how you end up trailing, I think, that’s important. Tonight we didn’t have our best, but we hung around, found a way to stay in the game.”

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TORONTO vs MONTREAL
When: 2/10/2021 7:38 PM
Where:

TV: 7:38 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: MONTREAL , TORONTO

Oddsmakers currently have the Montreal listed as -105-moneyline favorites versus the Toronto, while the game’s total is sitting at 6.5.

One of the NHL’s oldest rivalries will be renewed atop the North Division when the Toronto Maple Leafs visit the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night.

Toronto recorded a 5-4 overtime victory over Montreal in the season opener on Jan. 13. Since that meeting, the teams have risen to the top two spots in the division, with the Leafs three points ahead.

On paper, the two clubs are among the league’s elite — with the odd scheduling caveat that they have barely played each other. Nine games remain between the Leafs and Habs over the final three months of the regular season.

As good as the two Original Six rivals have looked for much of the season, they each enter Wednesday’s matchup looking to improve on subpar performances.

The Maple Leafs recorded their lowest shot total (19) of the season Monday against the Vancouver Canucks but still emerged with a 3-1 victory. Toronto has gone eight games (7-0-1) without a regulation loss.

“We really didn’t have any business being in that game,” said Auston Matthews, who scored the game-winning goal 9:22 into the third period.

“You’ve got to … as a team, learn to fight through these kinds of games where maybe the puck’s not bouncing your way or you don’t have your good legs that particular night,” Matthews said. “Just fight through and find a way, and that’s what we did tonight.”

Matthews has scored in eight consecutive games as part of a 10-game points streak. The star forward has 14 points (11 goals, three assists) over those 10 games.

The Canadiens return to action after a pair of difficult games against the last-place Ottawa Senators. Montreal suffered a 3-2 loss on home ice on Feb. 4 before defeating the Senators 2-1 on Feb. 6 in Ottawa.

Despite the victory, Habs coach Claude Julien described his team as “a very ordinary group” in its most recent outing.

“I didn’t think we played our best games against Ottawa,” Julien said. “I’d even say that our second game was worse (than the first game). We have talent and depth, but if our work ethic and our combativeness aren’t at a maximum, we’re just like any other team.”

Montreal is 3-1-0 in its past four games.

The Habs also play Thursday against the Edmonton Oilers, so goalies Carey Price and Jake Allen are likely to split the two starts. Price likely will face Toronto because Allen started the most recent game, though Allen has played well enough (4-1-0 record, .940 save percentage) that it wouldn’t be surprising if he got the nod on Wednesday.

Price is off to a slow start by his normal standards, with a 4-1-2 record and an .899 save percentage through seven games.

Frederik Andersen also has been inconsistent over the season’s first month, but the Toronto goaltender has stopped 58 of 60 shots (.967 save percentage) over his past two games.

Maple Leafs forward Mitch Marner has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) over an eight-game points streak.

Montreal’s Jeff Petry and Josh Anderson have four goals apiece over their past four games. Anderson is riding a three-game scoring streak.

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EDMONTON vs OTTAWA
When: 2/8/2021 7:00 PM
Where:

TV: 7:00 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: OTTAWA , EDMONTON

Oddsmakers currently have the EDMONTON listed as -180-moneyline favorites versus the OTTAWA, while the game’s total is sitting at 6.5.

Ottawa is counting on a goaltending turnaround against the high-powered Edmonton offense when the Senators host the Oilers on Monday.

The two teams are meeting for the third time in nine days, with the Oilers winning both previous contests. The first of those two victories was an 8-5 rout that marked the most goals Ottawa has conceded in a game this season.

Senators goalie Matt Murray was removed from that game after just 7:20 of play and three goals allowed on nine shots. It was the low point of a nightmarish start to the season that saw Murray post a .849 save percentage and 4.82 goals against average over his first seven outings.

Since that game against Edmonton, however, Murray seems to have righted the ship. The goaltender has a .943 save percentage over the Senators’ past two games — a 3-2 upset victory over the Canadiens on Thursday, and 2-1 loss in a rematch with Montreal on Saturday.

Ottawa forward Derek Stepan said he takes these performances against Montreal, one of the league’s better teams, as a positive sign.

“As a younger group and a group that is learning along the way here and gaining experience, I think a big thing is establishing an identity,” Stepan said. “Our last six periods, we’re starting to trend to the direction that we want, the way we want to play.”

The Oilers are looking to put their past two periods behind them. Edmonton held a 2-1 lead and a 17-3 shots advantage over the Calgary Flames through 20 minutes on Saturday yet ended up suffering a 6-4 loss.

“(The Flames) pushed back there in the second and our response wasn’t good enough,” defenseman Darnell Nurse said. “Then they got the upper hand, and we were chasing a little bit the rest of the game. We got a good start, but you’ve got to carry that into the second and third and find a way to put the nail in it.”

Connor McDavid (nine goals, 17 assists) and Leon Draisaitl (seven goals, 16 assists) are each on nine-game points streaks. McDavid is also on a run of seven consecutive games with at least two points.

Edmonton also has been getting offense from the blue line, as Nurse and Tyson Barrie each have 10 points in 13 games.

Oilers forward Gaetan Haas is questionable for Monday after missing Saturday’s game due to an undisclosed injury.

Considering Murray’s hot streak, he is the probable candidate to start on Monday. The Senators and Oilers play again on Tuesday, so backup Marcus Hogberg likely will be saved for the second game of the back-to-back.

Mike Smith could make his season debut during the two games in Ottawa, as the goalie has been at practice working his way back from injury. Mikko Koskinen has played in 12 of Edmonton’s 13 games with Smith absent, and the heavy workload is surely a factor in Koskinen struggling to a 3.55 GAA and .889 save percentage.

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TAMPA BAY vs NASHVILLE
When: 2/8/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: NASHVILLE , TAMPA BAY

Oddsmakers currently have the TAMPA BAY listed as -150-moneyline favorites versus the NASHVILLE, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

As the Tampa Bay Lightning departed for Tennessee on Sunday, their thoughts were back home in what may become the next “City of Champions.”

The Lightning face the Nashville Predators for the first time on the road and third time overall Monday, starting a back-to-back series between the Central Division opponents.

With the Bolts as the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Tampa Bay Rays claiming last season’s American League pennant and the Tom Brady-led Tampa Bay Buccaneers winning the NFC for the second time, the team’s mind was on Super Bowl LV– also in Tampa.

Watching the big game hoped to provide some relaxation before renewing their physical battle with the Predators, who lost twice last week in Tampa — one being a fight-filled bout last weekend.

“Any time a team can go on a run — whether it’s the Lightning, Rays or Bucs — you were definitely following,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “It seems here in the community we’re all in this together.

“I feel sick for the fans that they haven’t been able to watch in person the three teams rise to the top, but there’s a sense of pride being from Tampa.”

Lightning captain Steven Stamkos has seen it before.

“I got a taste of it in my rookie year when the Rays went to the World Series (in 2008) and the Super Bowl was hosted by Tampa, so it’s come full cycle now and been cool to be a part of,” said Stamkos, who turned 31 on Sunday.

Through seven wins in nine games, the Lightning appear to be primed to add to the city’s burgeoning resume of success, and they showed they can go about it in different ways when they faced the Predators — winning 4-3 and 5-2 in tilts that featured stretches of dominant play by the home side.

The Lightning played fast but also big, strong and edgy — characteristics they added to their team last season by acquiring forwards Pat Maroon, Barclay Goodrow and Blake Coleman.

Nashville showed plenty of fight in its subsequent series in South Florida when they split back-to-back games with the Florida Panthers.

The resilient Predators kept grinding again in Thursday night’s 6-5 win when they scored twice down two goals in the in final three minutes of regulation to force overtime. Filip Forsberg, who produced five points, won it in overtime with a minute left.

But the dramatic win came at a price.

Mired in a goalless slump, top-line center Ryan Johansen was lost with an upper-body injury Thursday. That forced Matt Duchene’s line of Mikael Granlund and Forsberg to the top in Friday’s 2-1 loss to the Panthers when the Predators were clearly outplayed.

Florida outshot the visitors 20-5 in the first period and 36-25 overall. The Panthers also meted out 40 hits to Nashville’s 25, plus won the faceoffs 37-25 after losing the battle in the dot by almost the same margin Thursday.

“(The problem) is inconsistency through our game,” Nashville coach John Hynes said. “If you’re going to win consistently and string wins together and get yourself into a situation where you’re going to be a competitive team, the inconsistencies need to stop.”

On Saturday, the club sent forwards Eeli Tolvanen and Mathieu Olivier to the taxi squad.

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ARIZONA vs ST LOUIS
When: 2/2/2021 8:00 PM
Where:

TV: 8:00 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: ST LOUIS , ARIZONA

Oddsmakers currently have the ARIZONA listed as 150-moneyline favorites versus the ST LOUIS, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

The St. Louis Blues hope to ride the momentum of recent road success when they host the Arizona Coyotes Tuesday.

The Blues defeated the Vegas Golden Knights once and the Anaheim Ducks twice last week before returning home to Enterprise Center.

“It’s a really good road trip by our team,” Blues coach Craig Berube said. “You gotta find ways to win games. In a shortened season like this it’s obviously really important and we did that this trip. We didn’t play real great hockey the whole time, which is hard to do, but you got to find ways to win and we did that.”

The Coyotes have lost four of their last six games, but they are coming off of a 3-2 victory over the Ducks at home on Thursday.

This game will be the start of a three-city, six-game road trip.

“You look at the schedule, you’re playing St. Louis, Minny and Colorado,” Coyotes coach Rick Tocchet said. “But we’re just looking at Tuesday night. That’s the way I look at it.”

The Coyotes will face a hot goaltender in Jordan Binnington, who is 3-0-1 in his last four starts with a .939 save percentage.

The Blues also feature a hot forward line with Brayden Schenn centering between Jordan Kyrou and Jaden Schwartz. Schenn has scored six goals and added four assists during his seven-game scoring streak.

Kyrou has five goals and five assists in nine games after scoring just nine points in 28 games as a rookie last season.

“Jordan Kyrou and Jaden Schwartz are a huge complement to my game,” Schenn said. “Those guys are really fun to play with. They have tons of speed. They work extremely hard. That’s why we have success.”

The Blues could get rugged defenseman Robert Bortuzzo back (upper-body injury) back for this two-game set. Forward Tyler Bozak (upper body) remains questionable.

The Coyotes have benefited from good offensive starts from forward Conor Garland and Christian Dvorak, who each have three goals and four assists. Nick Schmaltz has three goals and three assists.

Defenseman Jakob Chychrun (one goal, five assists) has stepped up his play with defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson (lower-body injury) on the shelf.

Goaltender Darcy Kuemper (2.44 goals-against average, .910 save percentage) has allowed six goals in his last four starts. Antti Raanta, who won his only start this season, has come off injured reserve — so he should see action at some point during this trip.

The Coyotes must face the top three teams in the West Division standings during this 11-day road swing.

“It’s going to be a bunch of hard games,” Garland said. “It starts with St. Louis, obviously, they’re a great team, a hard team to play against. A lot of people think they’re Cup favorites, which they are. We’ve got to go into their building and play them well. Not to look too far ahead, but you understand it’s a condensed schedule.”

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VANCOUVER vs TORONTO
When: 2/6/2021 7:00 PM
Where:

TV: 7:08 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: TORONTO , VANCOUVER

Oddsmakers currently have Toronto listed as 185-moneyline favorites versus Vancouver, while the game’s total is sitting at 6.5.

The visiting Vancouver Canucks, who looked like a tired team playing a rested one on Thursday night in a 7-3 loss at the Toronto Maple Leafs, hope a day off makes a difference Saturday night as the three-game series continues.

The Canucks did not make a lot of mistakes, but they did not have the puck often as Jason Spezza notched his eighth career hat trick and Auston Matthews added two goals for the Maple Leafs.

“It definitely wasn’t our decision making,” Canucks coach Travis Green said. “I thought we looked like a tired team playing against a fast team.”

The Canucks were playing their fourth game in six days and lost for the third straight time. The Maple Leafs were coming off a four-day layoff.

“We were a rested team playing against a very tired team that has had a very tough schedule,” Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe said. “So frankly speaking, I expected us to be really good and make it hard on Vancouver. The challenge, of course here now, is to regroup and do it again.”

The Maple Leafs have defeated every team in the North Division this season and have eight wins.

“We’ve seen everybody, but I think the greatest challenge throughout this whole schedule is to beat the same team back-to-back,” Keefe said. “In this case, we play Vancouver again (Saturday and Monday). We get the edge here, they regroup and we’ll have to get better. This year, the other team won’t feel good about (losing) the first game. So it’s important for us not to take our foot off the gas.”

The Canucks have two games left on a six-game trip that started last Saturday with a win over the Winnipeg Jets and continued with losses to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday and Tuesday.

“I’m not going to sugar-coat it, we weren’t good enough,” said Canucks captain Bo Horvat, who scored a goal on Thursday. “We need to come to play Saturday night. It’s not our goaltender’s fault. We’re giving up too many grade-A opportunities. We’ve got a lot of guys in the room who’ve played a lot of important hockey and know what it takes to win.”

The Canucks will have to contend with Matthews, who has scored in five straight games for a total of six goals, and Mitchell Marner, who has points in six straight games (two goals, eight assists) after getting a goal and two assists on Thursday.

The game on Thursday was the first for the Maple Leafs after taking seven of a possible eight points on an Alberta road trip. Toronto won twice at Calgary, then split a pair of games at Edmonton with an overtime loss.

Keefe promoted Wayne Simmonds to the second line with John Tavares and William Nylander. Tavares scored his 350th NHL goal on Thursday.

Nic Petan played his first game in nearly 11 months Thursday after his promotion from the taxi squad and had an assist.

“There will come a time where we have to settle on the people we think are our absolute best lineup,” Keefe said. “We don’t think we’re quite there yet.”

The Maple Leafs will be without defenseman Travis Dermott, who left the game in the first period Thursday with an injured left leg.

“It looks like it’s pretty minor,” Keefe said. “It’s just a charley horse.”

Mikko Lehtonen will replace Dermott on Saturday.

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NY ISLANDERS vs NY RANGERS
When: 2/8/2021 7:00 PM
Where:

TV: 7:00 PM
LINE: 0
PREDICTION: NY RANGERS , NY ISLANDERS

Oddsmakers currently have the NY ISLANDERS listed as -105-moneyline favorites versus the NY RANGERS, while the game’s total is sitting at 5.5.

The latest installment of the rivalry between the New York Islanders and New York Rangers began with the teams trading dominating shutout victories at Madison Square Garden in the first two games of the season.

Both teams have experienced inconsistent performances since but are looking to follow up on solid performances Monday night when the Islanders visit the Rangers.

The Islanders scored three times in the first period for a 4-0 win on Jan. 14 and the Rangers countered by scoring two times apiece in the first and second periods for a 5-0 win on Jan. 16.

Following the first two matchups, the Islanders won two straight but then went 0-3-2 in their next five games, a stretch that included blowing a three-goal lead through 20 minutes by allowing five goals in the second period of a 6-3 loss at Washington on Jan. 28. The skid continued with a pair of overtime losses at Philadelphia and then ended with a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night in their first game following consecutive postponements due to COVID-19 issues with the Buffalo Sabres.

“It was a big win for us because we stopped a little bit of a slide here,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said.

Jordan Eberle scored twice in the first period, giving him five goals so far this season, and the Islanders overcame a 3-2 deficit by getting the tying goal from Cal Clutterbuck and the go-ahead tally on a power play by Anders Lee.

Saturday marked the third time the Islanders scored more than three goals.

“In this short season, you don’t want to get too far behind,” Eberle said. “We need to get on a roll and get back into it.”

The Rangers have found a way to win lately, are seeking a third straight victory and are 3-0-1 in their past four games. New York’s recent improvement follows a four-game skid (0-3-1) where it lost each game by one goal.

The Rangers have been idle since posting a 4-2 win over Washington on Thursday. They had a game at New Jersey postponed on Saturday due to COVID-19 issues with the Devils.

After a 3-1 win over Pittsburgh on Monday, the Rangers took the lead 1:41 into Thursday’s game on a goal by Ryan Strome, who scored twice and has three of his goals in the past four games. Artemi Panarin added three assists and has nine points (three goals, six assists) over the past four games.

“I liked a lot about our game from the get-go,” Rangers coach David Quinn said. “I thought we were all dialed in. I thought we were mentally and physically ready to go.”

Panarin leads the Rangers with 15 points and is heating up while Mika Zibanejad is off to a slow start with a goal and two assists after scoring a career-best 41 goals last season.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign for the Rangers on Thursday was a second straight solid showing by goaltender Igor Shesterkin against the Capitals.

Shesterkin made 31 saves, including six of seven shots from Alexander Ovechkin. Since getting off to a shaky 0-2-1 start, Shesterkin has stopped 79 of 84 shots during a three-game winning streak and helped the Rangers kill off 10 penalties in the past two games.

Shesterkin started the first meeting with the Islanders while Alexandar Georgiev made 23 saves in the second meeting to improve to 6-2 in his career against the Islanders. Until the past two games, the Rangers alternated goaltenders.

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