SUNRISE, Fla. -- After stumbling to a 2-5-0 start, the Florida Panthers are hoping their longest homestand of the season can help turn things around.

After playing five of their first seven games on the road, the Panthers' game Thursday against the Boston Bruins will be their first of six straight at BB&T Center.

The homestand also includes visits by the Minnesota Wild (Oct. 19), Chicago Blackhawks (Oct. 22), Buffalo Sabres (Oct. 25), Tampa Bay Lightning (Oct. 27) and St. Louis Blues (Nov. 1).

"This is a good test for us," Panthers coach Kevin Dineen said. "It's a quality hockey team. We look at this, it's a window. We want to play at home, we want to be here and get things going in the right direction. Nothing better than a good, stiff challenge like Boston."

MONTREAL -- The Montreal Canadiens will be without left wing Max Pacioretty and perhaps left wing Rene Bourque as well when they face the Columbus Blue Jackets at Bell Centre on Thursday.

Pacioretty left the Canadiens' 3-0 win against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday in the first period with a lower-body injury. He had to be helped off the ice and was unable to put weight on his left leg.

Canadiens coach Michel Therrien said the team still was awaiting the results of an MRI taken Wednesday night amid rampant speculation in Montreal about the severity of Pacioretty’s injury. When he said the team did not have the results of the MRI as of early Thursday afternoon, a few reporters chuckled.

"What are you laughing at? We don't know yet," Therrien said. "I'm as eager to know as you are. Maybe even a little more eager than you are."

After sitting out the past two games, Edmonton Oilers goaltender Devan Dubnyk will return as the team's starter Thursday against the New York Islanders.

Edmonton has gone 0-2-1 to start its season-long, six-game road trip, and Dubnyk has come under fire for his lack of stability in the crease.

"He hasn't played as well as we'd hoped," Oilers coach Dallas Eakins said Thursday. "I talked to him this morning and he's ready to go out and battle."

PHILADELPHIA -- One can look at the Philadelphia Flyers and their 1-6-0 record and come to the conclusion that they're playing poorly and the record reflects that. Someone else can look at the Flyers, see that they blew a third-period lead and lost to the Vancouver Canucks two nights ago and think they are primed for a breakout.

Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma falls into the latter category. He isn't preparing to face a struggling team Thursday at Wells Fargo Center (7 p.m. ET, NHLN-US); he's expecting to face a dangerous one that played better in a loss Saturday at the Detroit Red Wings and nearly beat the Canucks on Tuesday.

"I don't look at the Flyers' record as an indication of the quality of opponent or what we're going to see [Thursday] at all," Bylsma said. "They do have some injuries, but they have key players in, good players in, a special teams that is good and dangerous with what they bring. That's what we expect from them. Especially early on in the season, when you get off to a 1-3, 1-4, whatever it is, the limelight is on you but I still think they're a very good team and that's what we're focused on, not what their record is."

TAMPA -- When the Tampa Bay Lightning take the ice Thursday against the Minnesota Wild, they might be missing one of their premier players, captain Martin St. Louis.

St. Louis was hit in the foot by a shot while killing a penalty during the Lightning's 5-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday, and while tests have not shown any fracture, his status for the game is up in the air.

"Let's get this out of the way -- Marty is a game-time decision," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "We will see what happens over the next few hours but he's an option to play. I don't want someone in there who may be apprehensive and not the Marty we are used to seeing. But we'll find out at game time."

Brett Connolly was recalled from the team's American Hockey League affiliate as a precaution and he skated this morning in St. Louis' spot alongside Steven Stamkos and Ryan Malone.

"If they need me I'll be ready," Connolly said.

BUFFALO -- They may be opponents from different conferences, but the Buffalo Sabres and Vancouver Canucks have a lot in common.

Buffalo defenseman Christian Ehrhoff was a key member of Vancouver's Stanley Cup Final team in 2011 and forwards Cody Hodgson and Zack Kassian were traded for one another at the trade deadline in 2012.

"I'm not going to go back on the trade now, it's been like over a year and a half," Hodgson said ahead of the Canucks' visit to Buffalo on Thursday. "I'm happy here, I feel great as a Buffalo Sabre and I'm happy I'm going to be here the next six years."

Kassian started the season with a suspension from a high-sticking incident in the preseason. He said coming back to Buffalo is a positive thing for him.

"It'll be good. It'll be fun," Kassian said. "I'll have a lot of friends and family here so I'm looking forward to it."

PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers are 1-6-0, and while captain Claude Giroux knows his team hasn't been great, he can't quite figure out why they haven't been able to win more games since Craig Berube took over as coach 10 days ago.

Giroux said it reminds him of another time when the Flyers were struggling for results yet confident in how they were playing.

"What's going on right now makes me think of when we played Boston in the [2010 Stanley Cup] Playoffs," Giroux said, referring to the series against the Bruins three years ago. "We were down 3-0 [in the series] but we were talking to ourselves and were like, 'How the [heck] are we down 3-0? We should be up 3-0.' We just stayed with it and came back to win the series.

"You know, it's a long season. If you think about it we still have 75 games left. That's a lot of games."

The Tampa Bay Lightning recalled forward Brett Connolly from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League, the team announced Wednesday.

Connolly, 21, had one assist in three games with the Crunch and in the preseason was tied for the team lead with four goals in five games.

ANAHEIM – Dustin Penner will return to the lineup for the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night against the Calgary Flames.

Penner skated on the top line with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry at the morning skate. He missed the previous game because of a lower-body injury.

“He looked good enough to play,” Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Whether I play him is a different story, but he looked good enough to play.”

It's Wednesday Night Rivalry on NBCSN as the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals square off, and NHL Live will preview this Metropolitan Division matchup at 5 p.m. Eastern on NHL Network. We'll go to Verizon Center and talk to NBCSN's Pierre McGuire, who will be "Inside the Glass" for the game.