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Around the Rink - Wednesday, November 24th

Logan Couture, Thornton, Dany Heatley

San Jose Sharks center Logan Couture, center, is congratulated by teammates San Jose Sharks center Joe Thornton, left, and San Jose Sharks right wing Dany Heatley, right, after Couture scored a goal against the Anaheim Ducks in the first period of an NHL hockey game in San Jose, Calif., Saturday, Oct. 30, 2010. (AP Photo/Tony Avelar)

AP

After such a quiet night last night, the NHL is back with a vengeance. 13 games are on tap tonight to make sure there’s something entertaining on TV while you’re out getting loaded up to ensure you’ve got a fantastic Thanksgiving hangover. Pass the gravy! All times listed are Eastern.

7:00 pm

Pittsburgh @ Buffalo

Ryan Miller and Craig River are no-go’s for Buffalo. That could mean trouble for the Sabres as the Pens come rolling into town on a three-game win streak and winners of five of their last six games.

Columbus @ NY Islanders

So, let’s see. Columbus is on fire and playing great. The Isles are in the midst of a 12-game losing streak and just sent Josh Bailey, one of their top forwards, down to the AHL. Columbus should win in a walk, right? Mmm, trap game.

Washington @ Carolina

The Caps have dropped their last three games and their previous two road games ended with 5-0 losses. It’d be a good time to turn things around, right? Carolina has lost four of their last five and their last two have come in the shootout. Something’s got to give here.

Detroit @ Atlanta

A pair of teams on winning streaks pair off in this one. Atlanta is coming off wins against Washington and the Islanders while Detroit is coming off their overtime comeback win against Calgary and winners of five out of their last six. The Wings get see Dustin Byfuglien once again while Alex Burmistrov will get to face off against his idol Pavel Datsyuk. It’s like the storyline for an episode of “Family Matters” or something.

7:30 pm

Los Angeles @ Montreal

Both teams are looking to bounce back after tough losses on Monday night and the players to watch in this one might just be the goalies. Carey Price has been nothing short of amazing for the Habs and Jonathan Bernier gets the nod for L.A. It’s a big deal for Bernier because he’s a Quebec native and will have plenty of family and friends in person to see him play.

Dallas @ Ottawa

Dallas is looking to put their ugly loss to Toronto behind them and going against an unassuming but tough Ottawa team might not be the solution they’re looking for. After dropping three straight ugly games, Ottawa’s win against L.A. made for a distinct change. That being they weren’t blown out. At least Brad Richards doesn’t have to worry about trade rumors to Ottawa... Right?

Calgary @ New Jersey

New Jersey is looking to get their first two-game win streak of the season. Yeah, it’s been that kind of year. Calgary, meanwhile, has played two tough games in a row against Detroit and the Rangers and dropping both in stomach-punch fashion. Henrik Karlsson will start in goal for Calgary so the Flames defense has to tighten things up for him. For the Devils, another dominating performance might get them going for the season.

NY Rangers @ Tampa Bay

Steve Stamkos mania will ramp up once again and with the Rangers in town, impressing the New York media might help continue the craze sweeping the league. We’re OK with that. Meanwhile, the Rangers are on a mini-roll of late winning their last two games. They’re playing tough hockey but trying to bust the Lightning’s four-game win streak will be tough to do.

Boston @ Florida

What will Nathan Horton do to get back at his old team this time? When these two met earlier this year, Horton had three assists in helping Milan Lucic’s hat trick in a 4-0 B’s win. The Panthers are seemingly stuck in this pattern of winning one game and losing the next. They can’t get a winning streak going, but they don’t get a losing streak either. Zen hockey? If the pattern holds, they’ll be celebrating a victory tonight.

8:00 pm

St. Louis @ Nashville

Barret Jackman makes his return for St. Louis and for the Blues, getting their defense back healthy will be a huge boost. Jaroslav Halak hasn’t needed the help all year, but lately getting some better work in front of him would help. The Blues are on a two game win streak but Nashville has been tough on them all year. The Preds are 2-1-0 against the Blues so far this year.

Philadelphia @ Minnesota

The Flyers hit the road and land in Minnesota to deal with the Wild. The key in this one for Philly will be to stay out of the penalty box. The Wild have the second best power play in the NHL and they play things a bit tougher at home. The Wild will send out Jose Theodore against the Flyers and in his career, he’s 14-8-1 against them. There’s your random stat for the day.

10:00 pm

Colorado @ Vancouver

The Canucks will honor former goalie Kirk McLean in their ring of honor in this one and Roberto Luongo could use the inspiration. Vancouver’s dropped four straight and having to deal with the speedy and tenacious Avalanche won’t help matters. The Avs, meanwhile, have won four in a row and are third in the league in scoring. Vancouver throwing out another stinker in this one could get fans pushing the panic button.

10:30 pm

Chicago @ San Jose

Antti Niemi will get the start for San Jose against his old team and while these two faced off in the Western Conference finals last year, obviously Chicago is a different team than they were then. San Jose would like to snap their three-game skid but with Chicago coming into town after thumping Vancouver on Monday, things might get scary. Big question: Do Chicago’s shooters have the book on how to beat Niemi the way they do Luongo?