PHI/BOS – Joffrey Lupul returned against the Maple Leafs on Wednesday and the Flyers will take all the healthy bodies they can get right now. The key addition would be leading scorer Mike Richards who the Flyers are hopeful can return this weekend. Defenseman Randy Jones will miss this game for Philly while Boston could be without defenseman Zdeno Chara. With all the injury issues and the streaky play of these two clubs, this match-up could be a tough call as they battle it out for a playoff spot. The Bruins have won just once it their last seven games while Philly has won just twice in their last six games.

NAS/DET – Hot meets not in this match-up as the Red Wings have won five straight while the Predators have lost three straight. This series has been tight this season. Unlike last season when the Red Wings were 6-1-1 versus Nashville, this season’s series is knotted up at 2-2-1 thusfar. The Predators have been outscored 17-9 in losing four of their last five!

NJ/CO – Despite continuing to be dealt one injury issue after another, the Avalanche have now won 8 of their last 9 games. They also are a fantastic 8-1 in interconference action this season. However, the Devils have enjoyed the interconference action as well as they’re 6-3 against the Western Conference this season. This one could come down to the goaltending and that’s a tough call with both Jose Theodore and Martin Broduer playing very well between the pipes right now.

BUF/TOR – A surprising blowout win for the Sabres over Carolina last night could trigger a run for Buffalo. However, in a key divisional match-up tonight the Maple Leafs could hold the upper hand though as they have been off since Wednesday whereas the Sabres are in the second night of a back to back. The key issue in this match-up though is the availability of the Leafs captain and top player Mats Sundin.

VAN/DAL – The Canucks are once again in a scoring funk over their last three games and they are likely to have trouble rectifying that situation at Dallas. The Stars are not happy about blowing a 3-1 lead at Detroit on Thursday and losing 5-3. Look for Marty Turco to bounce back versus a team whom he has enjoyed a lot of recent success against.

NYI/MON – The Canadiens are 10-2 at home against the Islanders and they’ve won all three of their match-ups with New York this season. Coming off of a shutout loss in their most recent game means a big bounce back should be on tap for the Habs tonight. The Canadiens had scored 31 goals in their last eight games before the shutout.

NYR/TB – The Rangers had earned points in thirteen straight games before losing in regulation at Florida last night. Now, New York must deal with Tampa Bay and the second night of a back to back situation won’t help matters for the Rangers. The Lightning are 5-3-1 against the Rangers in the last 9 games played in Tampa Bay. The Lightning have won their last two games by a combined score of 11-5 and they have the scheduling advantage in this match-up.

LA/MIN – The Wild have lost three straight games in the shootout. They haven’t won a game in nearly two weeks but that victory came against Los Angeles and the Kings are struggling again. Los Angeles had won just once in their last eight games before coming up with an upset win over Nashville in their most recent game. Also, the Wild have enjoyed plenty of success in their recent meetings with Minnesota.

STL/ANA – The Ducks have won eight straight home games and should have no trouble with the Blues tonight. However, St Louis has won two of their three games with Anaheim this season. Don’t put too much weight into that though as the Blues have won just once in their last 12 games and they have particularly struggled on the road. This one could get ugly for St Louis with how dominant Anaheim’s J-S Giguere has been!

EDM/PHX – The Oilers have won six of their last eight meetings with the Coyotes and they’ve also won three of their last four meetings in Phoenix. The Oilers are also chasing the Coyotes for a playoff spot and Edmonton has certainly shown no signs of quit! The Oilers are coming off of a 5-1 loss to Colorado but they came into that game having won seven of their last eight. Phoenix has had trouble scoring goals and that could be a difference maker here as Coyotes goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov has struggled against the Oilers in his career and Edmonton has the more potent offense in this match-up.

As always, best of luck in all your gaming from Scott Rickenbach.