At 19:04 of the first period in the Coyotes/Flames game, video review supported the referee's call on the ice that the puck deflected off Jiri Hudler's skate and into the net in a legal fashion. According to Rule 49.2 "A puck that deflects into the net off an attacking player's skate who does not use a distinct kicking motion is a legitimate goal." Good Goal Calgary.

At 14:32 of the first period in the Blues/Blue Jackets game, video review was inconclusive in determining whether Adrian Aucoin's shot was deflected by Cam Atkinson above the crossbar. Therefore, the referee's call on the ice stands. Good Goal Columbus.

CISCO NHL Live talks with NHL Network Analyst Barry Melrose about the upcoming NCAA Frozen Four and NHL bubble teams.

NEWARK, N.J. -- Ottawa Senators coach Paul MacLean confirmed Friday prior to pregame warmups that left wing Milan Michalek will return to the lineup to face the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.

MacLean said Michalek will be reunited with top-line center Kyle Turris and right wing Daniel Alfredsson to open the game. The 28-year-old has missed the past 24 games with a knee injury. He has two goals and 10 points in 15 matches in 2012-13.

"We're hoping he can bring speed, leadership and his ability to score," MacLean said during his pregame media scrum. "He's been a very consistent player throughout his career, and he's the type of player you can put on the ice in any situation; power play, penalty-kill or 4-on-4. He's a very valuable part of our team, and we look forward to having him back in the lineup."

CALGARY -- The Stanley Cup Playoffs hope for the Phoenix Coyotes could rest on the broad shoulders of Mike Smith.

The 6-foot-4 goaltender has stopped 93 of 95 shots since returning to the lineup against the Colorado Avalanche on April 6 after missing six games with an upper-body injury. He's earned four of a possible six points for a Coyotes club that enters action against the Calgary Flames on Friday night trailing the Detroit Red Wings by two points for the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference.

According to coach Dave Tippett, Smith has been the injection the Coyotes needed as they try to close in on the Red Wings.

"We needed a guy that's going to take the ball and run with it," Tippett said. "We had a good week at home where we used three different goaltenders and got three wins, but ultimately if we're going to have a chance to be a playoff team, Smitty has to take that ball and run with it."

NASHVILLE -- With the Dallas Stars in a desperate situation to try to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs, No. 1 goalie Kari Lehtonen was not sounding optimistic Friday about his injured groin following his team's morning skate.

"I was hoping that I would feel a lot better than I did," Lehtonen said, but he added the injury is "going in the right direction."

As a result, Richard Bachman was going to start Friday at Bridgestone Arena against the Nashville Predators. Lehtonen will not be in uniform. Coach Glen Gulutzan said Cristopher Nilstorp, an emergency call-up from Texas of the American Hockey League, would back up Bachman.

In a special Cisco NHL Live at 5 p.m. ET Friday on NHL Network with Steve Mears and Butch Goring, we'll have the live announcement of the Hobey Baker Award winner between Boston College's Johnny Gaudreau, Quinnipiac's Eric Hartzell and St. Cloud State's Drew LeBlanc. We'll also get a preview of the NCAA championship game from NHL Network analyst Barry Melrose live in Pittsburgh.

The Montreal Canadiens became the latest team to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Playoffs; we'll talk to Canadiens captain Brian Gionta. On the ice, two Central Division rivals square off on NHL Network at 8:30 p.m., as the Detroit Red Wings visit the Chicago Blackhawks. We'll have this game covered as we talk to Eddie Olczyk via the Cisco NHL Arena Cam in Chicago. We'll also get live pregame previews in New Jersey for the Devils-Senators and Columbus for the Blues-Blue Jackets.

Don't forget to submit your #AskButch questions through Twitter via @NHLNetwork, and stick around for the shootout as Butch picks all five games being played on Friday.

There are way more goals being scored off faceoffs in the NHL than ever before.

The Carolina Hurricanes scored twice in the first period Tuesday and both were just seconds after one of the Staal brothers won a faceoff in the Pittsburgh Penguins' zone. The first was a power-play goal, and the second was a thing of beauty. Eric Staal won the faceoff back to his defenseman at the left point, Bobby Sanguinetti, who moved slightly to his right and snapped a shot through traffic for a goal.

Staal won the faceoff and moved to his right to provide a screen. The most underrated part of the whole play was forward Jiri Tlusty bumping Pittsburgh's Beau Bennett right after the draw -- this prevented him from getting out to cover Sanguinetti in time.

A lot of people talk about "puck-possession hockey," especially with the Detroit Red Wings intheir heyday. Well, it is pretty tough to play "puck-possession hockey" if you don't have the puck. It is up for grabs on a faceoff, and you either have it or you're chasing it.

COLUMBUS -- The St. Louis Blues are red-hot. The Columbus Blue Jackets are in a fight for survival in the Western Conference playoff race.

The two Central Division rivals will meet for the final time of the season Friday night, also for the last time as divisional rivals, with the Blue Jackets departing for the Eastern Conference beginning with the 2013-14 season.

The Blues, winners of six in a row, will turn to Jake Allen in goal after Brian Elliott earned his third straight shutout in Thursday's 2-0 win at the Minnesota Wild. Elliott has a shutout streak of 189:29 he will carry into Sunday's NBC Game of the Week against the Chicago Blackhawks.

NEWARK, N.J. -- In a season when the New Jersey Devils haven't fared well after allowing the first goal of the game, their inexplicable start in a loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday, with a Stanley Cup Playoff berth on the line, left coach Peter DeBoer speechless.

The Devils will look to make amends Friday at Prudential Center against the Ottawa Senators, marking the fifth straight meeting against a Northeast Division opponent. Entering the game 1-5-6 against the Northeast this season, the Devils will be looking to snap an eight-game winless streak (0-4-4) against a team that just snapped its own five-game skid with a 3-1 win at the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.

The Devils will have defenseman Adam Larsson back in the lineup after he sat out Wednesday with a sore right foot. However, the team will be without defensemen Bryce Salvador (wrist) and Anton Volchenkov (suspended), as well as right wing Ilya Kovalchuk (shoulder).