All six Canadian NHL teams are in action tonight, as Mike Comrie and the Oilers take on the Senators as the forward makes his first appearance in Ottawa since playing for them last season. In other games, the Flames faceoff with the Habs, the Leafs host the Wild and the Canucks challenge the Blues.
Oilers seek rare road win in Ottawa
(Sports Network) - The Edmonton Oilers will try to win back-to-back road games for the first time this year in a city where it hasn't won since 2002, as it visits Ottawa and Scotiabank Place.
For Mike Comrie, this will be his first appearance in Ottawa since putting up seven points in 22 games with the Senators in 2008-09. This past September Comrie signed a one-year contract with the Oilers, returning to Edmonton where he spent three seasons.
The Oilers used their power-play to snap a losing streak over the weekend. The Senators' inability to kill off penalties, meanwhile, extended their losing ways last time out.
The Oilers kicked off a five-game road trip on Sunday in Colorado and handed the Avalanche their first home loss of the season with a 5-3 triumph. Edmonton netted four power-play goals in the contest to snap a three-game slide and win for just the second time in eight games (2-6-0) following a 6-2-1 start to the season.
Edmonton, which had scored just three goals over its three-game skid, improved to 2-5-0 on the road, snapping a four-game slide as the guest and winning on the road for the first time since October 12 in Nashville.
One of two players recalled from Springfield of the American Hockey League on Saturday, Ryan Potulny had the game-winning power-play marker in the third period and added an assist versus the Avs. Potulny was recalled along with Liam Reddox because of injuries to Ales Hemsky (shoulder), Shawn Horcoff (shoulder) and Jean-Francois Jacques (back).
Ladislav Smid, meanwhile, is battling flu-like symptoms for the second time this season, having early been diagnosed with swine flu.
Dustin Penner and Tom Gilbert also had a goal and an assist on Sunday, Andrew Cogliano and Comrie also scored and Nikolai Khabibulin made 34 saves.
"We were working it around good [on the power play]," Potulny said. "That was the key -- just to get the puck and move it quick. You can't hold it. Once you hold it, someone is going to jump on you."
Edmonton is currently ranked sixth on the power play at 23.5 percent and faces a Senators club that is 10th on the penalty kill at 82.1 percent. That number took a hit on Saturday, when Ottawa yielded three power-play goals to New Jersey in a 3-2 setback.
Milan Michalek and Brian Lee had the goals for Ottawa, which has lost five of its last seven (2-3-2) and fell to 1-2-0 on a four-game homestand. The Senators are 4-3-2 as the host overall this season.
"We've got to be more disciplined. We're taking some penalties we shouldn't be taking at the wrong times of the game," forward Mike Fisher said. "We had a good lead, we were playing pretty well. It just hurts the momentum, you've got to kill penalties. It gives the other team some confidence. We beat ourselves [Saturday], it's frustrating."
Pascal Leclaire let in all three goals on 25 shots in the setback. He is 1-2-2 with a 3.44 goals-against average versus the Oilers in his career.
Khabibulin is 5-8-0 with a pair of ties and 3.31 GAA against the Senators.
The Oilers haven't beaten the Sens on the road since March 14, 2002, going 0-2-1 with a tie in four visits since. Ottawa has won four in a row versus Edmonton overall, including a pair of matchups last season.
---------------------
Flames seek fourth straight win in clash with Habs
(Sports Network) - The Calgary Flames will try to match their longest winning streak of the season when they visit the Montreal Canadiens for tonight's interconference battle at Bell Centre.
The Flames, who began the year on a four-game winning streak, have won three straight to open the month of November and are coming off a win Saturday against the visiting New York Rangers.
Daymond Langkow notched a goal and an assist and Miikka Kiprusoff made 32 saves to lift the Flames to the 3-1 decision over the Blueshirts at the Saddledome.
Nigel Dawes, who played for the Rangers for the last three seasons, assisted on all three Calgary goals. Jarome Iginla and Rene Bourque also scored in the victory.
"When we got pucks behind their defense, we were effective and we were able to sustain some kind of a forecheck," said Flames head coach Brent Sutter.
Flames forward Curtis Glencross will miss tonight's contest as he serves the first of a three-game suspension for delivering a high hit to Chris Drury of the Rangers on Saturday. Glencross is eligible to return for Calgary's test against Colorado on November 17.
The Flames are kicking off a three-game road trip today and will also visit Buffalo and Toronto during the swing. Calgary has played well on the road so far this year, posting a 4-1-1 record as the guest.
The Canadiens come into tonight having dropped two of their last three games. The Habs were in action Saturday against visiting Tampa Bay and were dealt a 3-1 setback as Ryan Malone and Alex Tanguay picked up a goal and an assist each for the Lightning.
Brian Gionta scored a power-play goal for the Canadiens, while Carey Price allowed all three goals on just 21 shots.
"It was an inconsistent effort by us for half the game. The second period was good, but we're giving up goals late in the periods," Gionta said. "That hurts you. That hurts the momentum. We have to figure out a way to play a better 60 (minutes)."
Montreal is 5-4-0 as the host this year, but has lost its last two home contests. Next up for the Habs is a two-game road trip against Phoenix and Nashville.
The Flames notched a 4-3 home win over Montreal on October 6 and tonight's contest marks the end of the season series between the clubs, who have split the last six encounters. Calgary has lost its last four games on the road against Montreal.
--------------------------------
Maple Leafs try to stay hot versus Wild
(Sports Network) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to keep moving in the right direction as they will try for a third straight win when they host the Minnesota Wild tonight at Air Canada Centre.
The Maple Leafs came into this past weekend with just one win on the season, but posted back-to-back victories against Carolina and Detroit on Friday and Saturday, respectively.
Toronto last won consecutive outings on March 21 and 24 of last season and hasn't notched three straight victories since a four-game winning streak from February 22-28.
After notching a close 3-2 win at Carolina, the Leafs returned home to record Saturday's shocking 5-1 defeat of the defending Western Conference champion Red Wings. Jeff Finger and Phil Kessel each netted a goal and an assist to lead Toronto.
Kessel notched his first goal since coming over to the Leafs in an offseason trade from Boston, while Finger also scored his first goal of the season. Kessel has a goal and two assists in three games this year after missing the first month of the season while recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.
"When you add a guy like Phil Kessel in the mix, it definitely gives a jolt to our whole lineup," said Toronto's Jason Blake. "Offensively, he's as dangerous as they get."
Wayne Primeau, John Mitchell and Alexei Ponikarovsky also scored for the Maple Leafs, who are just 1-4-2 at home this season. Jonas Gustavsson stopped 35 shots and is 3-2-3 in his first NHL campaign.
Toronto has earned a point in seven straight contests, going 3-0-4 since beginning the year on an eight-game losing streak.
On the injury front, Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek suffered a lower- body injury in Saturday's game and is questionable for this evening's test.
The Wild, meanwhile, have won three of their last four games and are coming off Saturday's close victory over visiting Dallas. Marek Zidlicky registered a goal and an assist to lift Minnesota to the 3-2 win at Xcel Energy Center.
Cal Clutterbuck and Mikko Koivu also scored for the Wild, while Niklas Backstrom made 19 saves in the win.
"We stuck with our game plan, stuck with our system. Guys were committed to playing the right game and helping each other out," Wild defenseman Nick Schultz said.
Wild forward Petr Sykora will miss tonight's game after suffering a concussion in the win over Dallas. Sykora sustained the injury on a hit to the head by Steve Ott of the Stars.
Tonight marks the start of a four-game road trip for the Wild, who are just 1-8-0 as the visiting club this season. Minnesota will also make stops in Tampa, Washington and Carolina during the swing.
This is the only scheduled meeting of the year between the Wild and Leafs. Minnesota notched a 6-1 home decision against Toronto last year, but the Maple Leafs have taken five of seven all-time in this series. The Wild have never won in four trips to Air Canada Centre.
-------------------------
Blues try to end skid in home test vs. Canucks
(Sports Network) - The St. Louis Blues will try to snap a season-high losing streak this evening in a matchup with the Vancouver Canucks at Scottrade Center.
With Roberto Luongo still out since October 28 because of a hairline rib fracture, Andrew Raycroft has been handling the goaltending duties. However, he got the day off on Friday, with Cory Schneider instead making his first start of the year and sixth of his career. Schneider halted 45-of-47 shots faced in a 2-1 setback to Dallas.
Mason Raymond had the lone score for the Canucks, who had a three-game winning streak snapped and fell to 1-1-0 on a five-game road trip. Vancouver is 3-6-0 overall as the guest this year.
"We really came hard in the third and we almost tied it there a couple of times and just fell short," said Schneider. "I think the whole team battled hard and they had a lot of shots, but a lot were from the outside and I saw all of them, which was good."
Though Luongo hopes to return at some point on this road trip, Raycroft will likely be back in net tonight. He is 1-1-0 with a 1.01 GAA in two starts versus the Blues, halting 35-of-37 shots faced.
Vancouver could also see the return of Daniel Sedin on this trek, as he has missed the last 14 games due to a broken foot but has joined the club on its road trip. He could be back in action on Thursday in Detroit.
The Canucks have won five of their last seven versus the Blues, but have dropped five of their last eight in St. Louis. These two clubs also met in the first round of last season's playoffs, with Vancouver handing St. Louis a four-game sweep.
The Blues have lost five straight games for the first time since December 10-18, 2008. They haven't lost six in a row since October 30-November 12 of last year.
Though St. Louis hasn't won since October 28, it does have a point in three straight. That includes a 3-2 shootout loss to Atlanta on Sunday in which netminder Ty Conklin made 38 saves but was beaten twice in the final frame.
Andy McDonald, who missed his shootout chance, scored in regulation, as did David Perron to stake the Blues to an early 2-0 lead they did not hold.
"We didn't want to play a shut-down game in the third," said Blues head coach Andy Murray. "We wanted to play attack hockey, and we need to continue to play attack hockey and learn how not to sit on a lead. We made mistakes, they scored."
St. Louis will likely go with Chris Mason in net tonight in the opener of a six-game homestand. St. Louis is just 2-5-1 at home this year.
Mason, 3-4-3 with a 2.45 goals-against average this year, is 1-4-1 with a 3.19 GAA lifetime versus the Canucks.