JAN 30TH

If the result of their first game back was any indication, the All-Star break may have done wonders for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

It certainly hasn't slowed the New Jersey Devils.

Coming off an overtime road victory against the Eastern Conference's best team, the Devils will return home in search of their eighth straight win on Friday night when they face the Penguins.

New Jersey (31-15-3) went into the break with five consecutive victories - the first four of which came at the tail end of a season-high six game road trip.

The Devils returned to the road after the All-Star game, opening up the second half Tuesday night in Ottawa. With the score tied at 1 midway through the second period, Jamie Langenbrunner broke the deadlock, and he gave New Jersey a two-goal cushion 19 seconds into the third en route to a 4-1 victory.

Langenbrunner was at it again Thursday night in Boston against the East-leading Bruins. He notched a shorthanded goal in the first period and then scored 1:11 into overtime, lifting the Devils to a 4-3 victory - their seventh in a row.

"They're the team that everybody needs to measure themselves against, and rightfully so," Langenbrunner said. "They've had a great year, and we just wanted to ... [More]

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GUESS WHO'S BACK

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NHL 19TH

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HELP PLZ

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NHL JAN 16TH

The last time the Toronto Maple Leafs won consecutive games, they did so in Atlanta.

The Maple Leafs (17-21-6) again travel to Philips Arena looking for back-to-back wins Friday against the Thrashers (14-25-5), who hope to avoid a third straight loss.

Toronto avoided embarrassment and broke its four-game losing streak with Thursday's 6-4 victory in Carolina.

After scoring the first four goals and leading 4-1 entering the final period, the Maple Leafs blew that advantage by allowing three goals in the first 8:40 of the third.

Tomas Kaberle, however, bailed out his team by scoring on a power play with 5:25 remaining, and Jason Blake added a empty netter with 11 seconds left to complete his sixth career hat trick. Blake also contributed two assists for a career-high five points.

"We found a way to win," Toronto coach Ron Wilson said. "We never should have put ourselves in that position, but we did."

The victory also ended a four-game road skid for the Maple Leafs, and the six goals were the most they scored since their 6-2 win Dec. 22 at Atlanta. Following that game, Toronto averaged 1.70 goals over its next 10 before Thursday's win.

The Maple Leafs have won two of three meetings this season with the Thrashers and five of the last six. They are 8-1-1 in their last 10 trips to Atlanta, but Toronto is also 1-4 in the second half of back-to-back games in 2008-09.

Friday'... [More]

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NHL JAN 15TH

Playing without Roberto Luongo for much of the past seven weeks certainly hasn't been easy on the Vancouver Canucks. They can only hope their star goaltender will be able to help end their slide.

Luongo is expected to make his return to the net Thursday night, when the Canucks try to avoid a fourth consecutive loss as they host the Phoenix Coyotes.

Vancouver (22-18-5) held a three-point Northwest Division lead over Calgary and had limited opponents to 2.35 goals per game entering a Nov. 22 visit to Pittsburgh. Luongo suffered a strained groin almost five minutes into that contest, although his team emerged with a 3-1 victory.

Since Luongo went down, the Canucks have dropped 15 of 24 games (9-12-3) while a combination of Curtis Sanford, rookie Cory Schneider and recently-acquired Jason LaBarbera have allowed an average of 3.0 goals. The slide has dropped Vancouver seven points behind the Flames for the Northwest lead.

The Canucks' slump has grown worse lately. They've dropped five of six overall and five in a row at GM Place, including the first three games of their current five-game homestand. Vancouver, which fell 5-3 to New Jersey on Tuesday, will now try to avoid losing six in a row at home for the first time since Nov. 3-18, 1978 - when only five players on the roster... [More]

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HELP PLZ

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NHL JAN 14TH

After giving up more goals in a game than they had in nearly a year, the Atlanta Thrashers return home on Wednesday night - although that hasn't offered much of advantage lately.

Atlanta looks for just its third victory at Philips Arena in two months as it hosts the Ottawa Senators, who finally found some offense in their last game.

The Thrashers (14-24-5), who have allowed 4.0 goals per game while losing 11 of their last 13 at home, are coming off an 8-4 loss to Florida on Saturday that capped a 1-2-0 trip. Atlanta got second-period goals from Todd White and Erik Christensen, but allowed five in the third.

It was the most goals allowed in a game by the Thrashers since a 10-1 loss at Buffalo on Jan. 18.

"For two periods we played pretty well," said White, who notched two assists for the second straight game. "The third period we just fell apart. We made way too many mistakes and they capitalized on them."

White, who has a team-leading 28 assists this season, had 58 goals and 86 assists with the Senators from 2000-04.

Following his 29-save shutout of New Jersey on Thursday, Kari Lehtonen allowed seven goals to Florida on just 27 shots. He was replaced by Johan Hedberg after the Panthers scored four unanswered in the opening 12:01 of the third period.

"We have to forget about this and go forward," Lehtonen said.

In the teams' last meeting in Atlanta, though, ... [More]

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NHL JAN 13TH

Winning at home hasn't always seemed as easy as it has been this season for the Washington Capitals.

Matchups with the Edmonton Oilers have been an exception.

The Capitals, trying to bounce back from a rare loss at Verizon Center, look to win their seventh straight home game against the Oilers when the teams meet Tuesday night.

Southeast Division-leading Washington (27-13-3) has enjoyed outstanding success at Verizon Center, going 18-2-1. Only San Jose has a better home record at 19-0-2.

The Capitals' record at Verizon Center was .500 or worse in three straight seasons before going 23-15-3 in 2007-08, when they made the postseason for the first time in five years.

Washington, though, hasn't wavered at home against Edmonton (20-18-3) for more than a decade, winning six straight there in the series since a 3-1 loss on Jan. 26, 1997. That game is the Oilers' only victory in 12 visits to the nation's capital since 1990.

The Capitals beat Edmonton 5-4 in a shootout at Washington last Jan. 17 in the teams' only meeting of 2007-08. It was the fourth time in the Capitals' last five home games in this series they've scored four goals.

Washington could use another big game offensively as they try to rebound from their first home shutout of the season, 3-0 to Columbus on Friday night. It was Washington's first loss at Verizon Center in 10 games and ended its seven-game wi... [More]

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HELP PLEASE

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tyler's monday

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tyler's sunday

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TYLER'S PICKS

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TYLER'S REVENGE PUCKS

At 19-0-2, San Jose owns the NHL's best home record, and also has played well on the road, going 10-5-3, but has struggled of late away from HP Pavilion.

The Sharks, who lead the West with 63 points, lost 5-2 at Calgary on Tuesday for their second straight road loss while falling to 1-2-3 away from home since winning five in a row there.

The Oilers (19-17-3) fell to 2-1 on their five-game homestand with a 4-2 loss to Vancouver on Wednesday. Robert Nilsson and Erik Cole each scored for Edmonton, which has lost three of five since winning three in a row.

Dwayne Roloson made 18 saves and allowed three second-period goals for the Oilers while falling to 11-7-3 with a 2.62 GAA on the season.

Dustin Penner had a goal with an assist against the Sharks last month for his most recent multi-point contest. Roloson, meanwhile, made 41 saves in that contest and is 11-9-0 with three ties and a 2.93 GAA in his career versus San Jose.

The Oilers have won the last three meetings between the teams, all coming in San Jose. The Sharks are 2-0-1 since losing three in a row at Edmonton.

PICK: EDM

Vancouver (22-15-5), second in the Northwest Division behind Calgary, added Sundin in hopes of making its deepest playoff run in 15 years. Since losing to the New York Rangers in ... [More]

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TYLER'S THURSDAY PUCKS

Minnesota (20-16-2-1) at Philadelphia (21-10-4-5)

Minnesota (20-16-3) has started its four-game road trip with Backstrom blanking Colorado on Sunday and Boston on Tuesday. The 30-year-old netminder, selected to his first All-Star game on Wednesday, has never had three consecutive shutouts and the only other time he had two in a row came in a home-and-home series with Edmonton from April 3-5, 2007.

His 1-0 victory over Boston, the East leader and highest-scoring team in the conference, was the Wild's sixth straight win against Eastern teams and improved their record versus the opposite conference to 10-1-1.

Minnesota's power play has come to life, scoring at least one goal in four consecutive games (3-0-1) after a 1-for-19 slump, but it's Backstrom and the defense which have keyed the Wild's surge.

Backstrom has started all of the Wild's games against the East except their regulation loss to Montreal on Oct. 30, and is 13-0-3 versus Eastern teams since a 4-1 defeat at Washington on Feb. 26.

PICK: MIN

Chicago (22-8-2-5) at Colorado (20-19-0-1)

Coming off two dominant victories, the Blackhawks will try to make it three in a row on Thursday when they continue their three-game road trip against the Colorado Avalanche.

Chicago (22-8-7) has gone from being a young, up-and-coming team to one that's been nearly unbeatable ... [More]

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little help

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tyler's saturday

• Home team is 21-7-1 in the last 29 meetings.
• Rangers are 1-6 in the last 7 meetings in Washington.
• Rangers are 0-4 in the last 4 meetings

• Capitals are 5-0 in their last 5 after scoring 5 goals or more in their previous game.
• Capitals are 6-1 in their last 7 games as a favorite of -151 to -200.
• Capitals are 6-1 in their last 7 games as a home favorite of -151 to -200.
• Capitals are 22-4 in their last 26 games as a home favorite.
• Capitals are 13-3 in their last 16 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
• Capitals are 4-1 in their last 5 vs. a team with a winning record.

• Blue Jackets are 4-0 in their last 4 overall.
• Blue Jackets are 5-2 in their last 7 when their opponent scores 2 goals or less in their previous game.

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TGIF picks

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