One day after squandering a chance to climb into a playoff position, the New York Islanders receive another opportunity when they begin a four-game homestand Friday against the Detroit Red Wings. New York erased a three-goal deficit in Buffalo on Thursday but allowed a tally with 4:14 left in the third period and dropped a 4-3 decision.

The Calgary Flames have been perfect thus far on their six-game road trip, which reaches the midway point when they visit the struggling New York Rangers on Friday. Calgary has begun its trek with 3-2 victories at Chicago and New Jersey, giving it three straight wins overall and moving it into third place in the Pacific Division.

The Columbus Blue Jackets are mired in a four-game skid and their latest loss, coming at the hands of a division rival, was described by coach John Tortorella as a "kick in the stomach." Columbus gets a chance to avenge that defeat when it hits the road for a rematch against the Metropolitan-leading Washington Capitals on Friday night.

The Los Angeles Kings have put the clamps on their opponents with two shutouts highlighting their recent 4-1-0 stretch. The Kings bid to keep their foes in check on Friday when they open a season-high seven-game road trip versus the Florida Panthers, a team they blanked once already this season.

The Carolina Hurricanes began their season-high eight-game road trip with a pair of victories but have struggled since, losing three in a row (0-2-1). They look to end the slide and perhaps sneak into a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference when they host the Vancouver Canucks on Friday.

The Winnipeg Jets are rolling along with points in eight straight games (6-0-2) and they get a key player back in the lineup Friday night when they host the Central Division-rival St. Louis Blues. Center Mark Scheifele, who is still fourth on the team in scoring despite missing the last 16 contests with an upper-body injury, will return to top-line duty as Winnipeg tries to extend its home point streak to 11 games.

Evgeni Malkin looks to continue a dominant offensive surge when his Pittsburgh Penguins go for a sixth victory in seven games Friday night against the host Dallas Stars, who own a four-game winning streak. Malkin recorded at least a goal in five straight games (nine total), becoming the fifth player to score 30 in six seasons for the Penguins, and has accumulated 13 points during the same stretch.

The Anaheim Ducks have recorded at least a point in 14 of their last 20 games (12-6-2) to remain in the mix for second place in the congested Pacific Division. The Ducks look to continue to push forward on Friday when they host the Edmonton Oilers in the latter's first trip to the Honda Center since losing Game 7 of their epic second-round series in last year's playoffs.