Habs visit flyers ; flames play avs; can 'nucks clinch?

[sleddy2008]

(Sports Network) - A key battle in the Eastern Conference playoff race is on tap tonight in the City of Brotherly Love, as the Philadelphia Flyers welcome the Montreal Canadiens to Wachovia Center.

Catch the game live on TSN and TSN HD at 7pm et/4pm pt.

The Canadiens and Flyers each enter tonight's test with 82 points, locking them in a three-way tie with Boston for the final three playoff berths in the East. All three teams have five games left in the regular season, but the Bruins are idle tonight.

Neither the Habs nor the Flyers have played their best hockey over the last few weeks. Montreal has lost two straight and five of its last six (1-3-2) since a six-game winning streak from March 6-16, while Philadelphia has dropped six of seven.

The Flyers have taken two of three from Montreal this year, but the Canadiens have still won 10 of the last 13 encounters. The Habs also have eight wins in their last 10 trips to Philly.

Philadelphia slammed the Canadiens, 6-2, in Montreal when the clubs met last on Feb. 13. Danny Briere registered a hat track for the Flyers in that contest, giving him 27 points (12 goals, 15 assists) in 29 career games against the Habs.

The Flyers were dealt a 6-4 road loss against the New York Islanders on Thursday, ending a 15-game winning streak against the Isles. Former Flyer Jon Sim had a goal and two assists to lead the Islanders to the victory at Nassau Coliseum.

Darroll Powe, Danny Briere, Aaron Asham and James van Riemsdyk each had a goal for the Flyers, who last lost a game to the Islanders on February 12, 2008.

"Regardless of what happens for the remainder of the season, we need to dig in," said Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette. "Every game is a must-win."

Brian Boucher started in net for Philadelphia and was tagged for five goals on 24 shots before being pulled in the third period. Jeremy Duchesne made his NHL debut and stopped three shots.

It's unclear who will get the start in goal for the Flyers tonight. The club has signed goaltender Sebastien Caron from the Swiss Elite League, and if he clears waivers today, Caron could possibly be in net this evening. Duchesne would also be sent down to Adirondack if Caron clears waivers.

Philadelphia has dealt with numerous goaltending injuries this year. Michael Leighton and Ray Emery are both out for the season, while Johan Backlund, who was called up when Leighton went down, is now sidelined with a groin injury.

Meanwhile, Montreal has dropped its last two games in regulation and was dealt a close loss Wednesday by visiting Carolina. Cam Ward stopped 34 shots and Eric Staal provided the game-winner early in the third period, lifting the Hurricanes to the 2-1 decision at Bell Centre.

Marc-Andre Bergeron scored a power-play goal for Montreal, while Carey Price stopped 25 shots. Jaroslav Halak is expected to get the start tonight.

Bergeron's one-timer from the top of the right circle put Montreal on the board eight minutes into the contest, but that was all the offense the Habs would get.

"We came out with a real good start; a great opening 10 minutes," said Montreal forward Michael Cammalleri.

The Canadiens are 18-16-4 as the guest this year and are playing three of their next four games on the road. Montreal will close its regular season at home against Toronto on April 10.

The Flyers are 22-13-3 as the host this year and are playing the first of two straight on home ice tonight.

[sleddy2008]

Flames visit Avs for important West battle

(Sports Network) - If the Avalanche want to strengthen their hold on the Western Conference's final playoff spot, they need to keep doing what they have been doing all season. That is, beat the Flames.

Colorado will try to increase its lead over ninth-place Calgary this evening at Pepsi Center, while the Flames will try to make the race for the eight spot even tighter.

The Avalanche enter this game 1-5-1 over their last seven games as their lead over the Flames for the final playoff spot in the West is down to just two points. Colorado went 6-8-1 in March, compared to a 9-6-0 record for Calgary, and has six games remaining to the Flames' five in the regular season including tonight.

Both the Avs and Flames were in action on Wednesday night. Colorado dropped a 5-2 decision versus Anaheim, while Calgary bested Phoenix to set up tonight's important showdown.

Colorado began its three-game homestand with its loss on Wednesday, getting goals by Milan Hejduk and Darcy Tucker and 22 saves from Craig Anderson. The Avalanche are also five points back of the Kings for the seventh spot in the West.

"We have to get back to our game," said captain Adam Foote. "We've been trying to do too much and that is dangerous. There is no room for panic."

Anderson is 4-1-0 with a 2.18 goals-against average and .935 save percentage in five games versus the Flames this year and is still confident in his team's playoff chances.

"We're still leading the race, we have six games left and destiny in our own hand," he said. "We control our own fate. If we win Friday we're looking pretty good. That's the bottom line, we need to focus for the next game and put this one behind us."

Colorado will get some reinforcements tonight, as both Brandon Yip and Stephane Yelle are slated to return. Yip has been out since suffering a shoulder injury on March 1, while Yelle hurt his left on March 14.

Predicting the score for tonight's game shouldn't be too hard, as all five 2009-10 meetings have ended in 3-2 decisions. The Avalanche won the first four and six straight in the series overall before a home setback on March 17. That win at the Pepsi Center snapped the Flames' three-game slide in Denver.

Calgary seeks a third straight win tonight after Wednesday's big 2-1 triumph over Phoenix. Rene Bourque and Ales Kotalik scored for the Flames, who saw goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff make 29 saves.

"We needed a sense of urgency and we got that tonight," said Calgary head coach Brent Sutter. "Right now just being good isn't good enough; right now we need excellence. We need to continue to be resilient."

Despite the Flames' struggles this year versus the Avalanche, Sutter added after the game that he won't have to do much to get his team ready for this contest.

"There's not much that has to be said," Sutter told the media. "You know what the stakes are."

Kiprusoff is 0-3-1 with a 2.74 GAA and .883 save percentage versus the Avs this year.

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Canucks aim for playoff berth in Anaheim

(Sports Network) - Though the Ducks have been playing playoff-caliber hockey over the last few weeks, it is the Canucks who again have a chance to lock up a postseason berth tonight.

Vancouver will try to halt a four-game road losing streak this evening against an Anaheim squad that has won its last five games at the Honda Center.

The Canucks actually had a chance last night to claim their second straight trip to the postseason, but they were instead routed by the hosting Kings, 8-3. Vancouver can still get in this evening with a point in this game or any type of loss by ninth-place Calgary, which visits Colorado tonight. The Avalanche trail the Canucks by seven points for first place in the Northwest Division.

Kyle Wellwood scored a pair of goals and Ryan Kesler also tallied for the Canucks, who have lost four of their last six.

"It definitely wasn't one of our best performances of the year," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "At the same time, we had quite a few players that didn't have a very good game and the score obviously indicated that."

Already without 30-goal scorer Mikael Samuelsson (shoulder) and defenseman Shane O'Brien (disciplinary), Daniel Sedin missed the contest due to back spasms and Alex Burrows left early after getting hit in the throat by the puck.

Samuelsson, Sedin and Burrows have combined for 89 goals and 193 points this season. Samuelsson might return this weekend after sitting out the last seven games, while Sedin and Burrows' status for tonight is unknown.

Henrik Sedin had an assist last night to up his NHL-leading points total to 105, but Roberto Luongo allowed all eight goals on 29 shots. Vancouver could go with Andrew Raycroft tonight after deciding not to use him in relief Thursday. Raycroft is 3-1-0 with a 3.39 goals-against average and .880 save percentage lifetime versus Anaheim, splitting two starts against the club this season.

The Ducks picked up their third straight win on Wednesday and helped the Canucks out in the process by handing the Avalanche a 5-2 defeat. Jason Blake matched a club record with five points on a goal and career-high four assists, while Teemu Selanne netted the 601st goal of his career to match Jari Kurri for 17th on the all-time list and for the most scored in the NHL by a Finnish skater.

"It's a big honor," Selanne said of tying Kurri. "When I was young I would have never expected this. He was my idol."

Saku Koivu registered a goal and three assists and both Steve Eminger and Scott Niedermayer scored for the Ducks, who have also won seven of their last nine games to go along with their home winning streak and are 24-11-3 as the host this season.

Despite Anaheim's recent run, it is seven points back of the eighth-place Avalanche in the West with six games to play.

Curtis McElhinney made 27 saves in the win, as Jonas Hiller missed his second game in a row with back spasms. Hiller is questionable for tonight, meaning McElhinney should make his first ever start versus Vancouver.

Ryan Getzlaf, the team leader with 50 assists, is also likely to miss his fourth game in a row with a sprained left ankle.

The Ducks won their first two meetings with the Canucks this year by a 10-4 margin, stretching their series winning streak to four games, before a 4-1 setback at Vancouver on March 24. Anaheim has still won two straight and four of its last six at home over Vancouver.

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Stars and Oilers clash in Big D

(Sports Network) - Having little chance at making the postseason isn't going to stop the Stars from being competitive down the stretch. They'll need to be sharp tonight given how they how close their games have been this season versus the Oilers.

Dallas and Edmonton wrap their four-game season series this evening with a matchup at American Airlines Center.

The Stars enter Friday seven points behind the Avalanche for the eighth spot in the Western Conference with five games to play. Colorado hosts Calgary this evening and also has a game in hand over Dallas.

With the Stars likely to miss the postseason for a second year in a row, they accepted the role of spoiler on Wednesday, handing the West's current top seed, the San Jose Sharks, a 5-1 setback.

Steve Ott notched his first career hat trick, scoring short-handed, at even strength and on the power play for the Stars, who have alternated wins and losses over their last 10 games and improved to 21-10-7 at home this season.

"I don't care if I score the rest of the year and we win every game -- that's the more important side of it," Ott said. "I just try and work hard, and there were a couple phenomenal plays that I was just the beneficiary of."

Loui Eriksson and Brian Sutherby scored and had an assist each, while Marty Turco made 29 saves in the rout. Kari Lehtonen is expected to start tonight and hasn't faced the Oilers since Jan. 20, 2008 while with Atlanta, his lone career appearance versus them.

Meanwhile, Mike Modano may return to action tonight after missing the last nine games due to an appendectomy on March 15. The 39-year-old pending free agent could be playing in his final games with Dallas and also of his career.

The Stars will be trying to avoid losing their season series with the Oilers since going 0-3-0 with a tie in 1992-93. Edmonton won the first two matchups this year in a shootout -- with its 3-2 win at Dallas on Dec. 5 snapping a five-game series road losing streak -- before dropping a 4-3 heartbreaker at home on Jan. 22.

The Oilers tied that game on a Sam Gagner goal with 1:02 left in regulation, but the Stars' James Neal scored with 22.2 ticks left to secure the win.

That was just one of many examples of the breaks not going Edmonton's way this year. The Oilers rallied from four goals down on Tuesday versus the Red Wings to tie the game, only to see Detroit net the game-winner with 1:07 to play in a 5-4 game.

Detroit's Brad Stuart redirected a Pavel Datsyuk wrister by Jeff Deslauriers, and the goal was reviewed and upheld to see if Stuart had used a high stick.

"Well I'm 6-foot-4 and I jumped a foot in the air. Last time I checked the net are four feet high," said Deslauriers, who disagreed with the call after making 39 saves. "I can't do nothing right now. It's upsetting and it's just hard for us."

Tom Gilbert scored twice, Mike Comrie had a goal and an assist and Zack Stortini also lit the lamp for the Oilers, who have lost three straight and 15 of their last 21 overall as well as eight in a row and 19 of 20 on the road.

Edmonton, though, did clinch the worst record in the league, giving them the best chance at landing the first overall pick at the upcoming draft lottery.

Dustin Penner is questionable for tonight after getting hit in the eye with a puck early in the first period versus Detroit, though he did practice on Thursday.