The
Toronto Maple Leafs have slowly but surely climbed up the Eastern Conference standings as of late, and will look to continue that surge as part of a six-game NHL schedule on Thursday night.
Toronto, which earned a 3-2 win on home ice against the
New York Islanders on Wednesday, get right back at it on Thursday at 7 p.m. ET with an Original Six matchup against the
Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Boston (15-9-5) has won seven of its last 10 games and trails the
Buffalo Sabres by just one point in the Northeast Division.
The Bruins haven't played since routing the Maple Leafs 7-2 at Boston last Saturday.
Also at 7 p.m.,
Peter Laviolette looks for his second win as coach of the
Philadelphia Flyers when they host the
Ottawa Senators (14-11-4) at the Wachovia Center. After dropping their first two games under Laviolette, the Flyers bounced back with a 6-2 win against the Islanders on Tuesday. Ottawa, which lost 5-1 in its last visit to Philadelphia, comes to town after a 4-1 home loss to Montreal on Tuesday
In a game that can be seen on the NHL Network in the U.S. and RDS in Canada, the
Montreal Canadiens face the
Pittsburgh Penguins at the Bell Centre. The Habs are over the .500 mark (15-14-2) thanks to three straight victories, while the Pens (20-10-1) continue to battle with the
New Jersey Devils for the Atlantic Division lead. Pittsburgh won the first two meetings at Mellon Arena, with
Sidney Crosby scoring four goals.
The
Columbus Blue Jackets play their second game in as many nights at 8 p.m. ET as they travel to Nashville to take on the Predators. Columbus skated away with a 3-0 victory against Florida on Wednesday night behind a 32-save performance by
Steve Mason at Nationwide Arena. Nashville beat Vancouver 4-2 at home on Tuesday.
The final two games of the night take place on the West Coast. At 10 p.m. ET, the
Vancouver Canucks will attempt to stop a two-game skid as they face the
Atlanta Thrashers at GM Place. After winning the first two games of their four-game road trip in New Jersey and Philadelphia, the Canucks suffered defeats at Carolina and Nashville. Thursday marks the first of an eight-game homestand for Vancouver. Atlanta lost 3-1 at Calgary on Wednesday.
Thirty minutes later, the
Los Angeles Kings play the second of back-to-back games against the
Phoenix Coyotes at the Staples Center. The Kings won 5-4 in overtime at San Jose on Wednesday, while the Coyotes won their fifth in a row by beating Minnesota 2-0 at home on Monday.