Sabres-Lightning highlights Wednesday schedule

One of the League's hottest teams returns to the ice on Wednesday night to face against a team doing its best to remain in the Eastern Conference playoff race as part of the NHL's six-game schedule.

The Buffalo Sabres, who lead the Northeast Division and have won four in a row, will look for their fifth consecutive victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning at HSBC Arena at 7 p.m. ET. Tampa Bay (16-15-10) has earned points in six of its last 10 games.

Two other games get under way at 7 p.m. -- the Philadelphia Flyers host the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Wachovia Center (TSN in Canada), while the New York Rangers look to make it two in a row when the Dallas Stars at Madison Square Garden. New York picked up a 3-2 win on home ice against Boston on Monday. The Stars are coming off a 4-0 loss at New Jersey on Tuesday.

The Minnesota Wild will try to avoid a fourth straight loss at 8 p.m. ET when they face the Calgary Flames at the Xcel Energy Center. Calgary (24-12-5) is 12-5-3 on the road and has won four in a row overall. The Flames are just one point behind the Colorado Avalanche for the Northwest Division lead.

Speaking of the Avs, they hit the ice at 9 p.m. ET, when they'll host the New York Islanders at the Pepsi Center. Colorado (24-13-6) has won seven of 10, while the Isles have goaltender Rick DiPietro accompanying them on their three-game road trip. DiPietro is expected to play either Friday in Dallas or Saturday in Phoenix -- his first action in more than a year. New York has played three consecutive shootouts, winning two.

In the final game of the night, the San Jose Sharks host the St. Louis Blues at HP Pavilion at 10:30 p.m. ET (NHL Network). San Jose dropped a 6-2 decision to the Los Angeles Kings on Monday, while St. Louis will play its second game under interim coach Davis Payne. The Blues lost 6-3 to Chicago on Saturday in Payne's debut.

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