East playoff hopefuls hope for big day on Saturday

Five teams are jockeying for the final three playoff berths in the Eastern Conference, and four of them see action on an 11-game Saturday.

The Atlanta Thrashers, just two points out of the top eight in the East, start the day when they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins at 1 p.m. ET. The Thrashers are coming off a 2-1 loss at Washington on Thursday, while the Penguins -- who hope to get star center Evgeni Malkin back in the lineup -- have had two days to ponder a 2-0 home loss to Tampa Bay.

At 2 p.m., the Ottawa Senators, who clinched a playoff berth on Thursday with a 4-3 shootout win over Carolina, visit the New York Islanders. The Isles put a crimp in Philadelphia's playoff hopes by beating the Flyers 6-4 on Thursday.

Also at 2, Nashville visits Detroit in a battle between two Western Conference teams all but assured of making the playoffs. Both are coming off 3-2 wins on Thursday -- Nashville against St. Louis and Detroit over Columbus.

The playoff race in the East heats up again in the evening, when three of the five games that start at 7 p.m. involve playoff contenders.

Boston, which lost 1-0 to Florida on Thursday and starts the day in eighth place, visits Toronto, where the Leafs are coming off a 4-2 win over Buffalo on Thursday. The game can be seen on CBC. The Sabres move on to Montreal for a meeting with the Canadiens, who climbed into sixth with a 1-0 victory at seventh-place Philadelphia on Friday. That game is also on CBC and will be shown on the NHL Network in the United States.

The New York Rangers, two points out of a playoff berth, go for a Sunshine State sweep when they visit Florida. The Rangers routed Tampa Bay 5-0 on Friday night.

Also at 7, Washington pays a rare visit to Columbus and New Jersey, a 2-1 shootout loser to Chicago on Friday, travels to Carolina.

Dallas, a 6-3 winner over Edmonton on Friday, tries to make it two wins in two nights when the Stars visit St. Louis at 8 p.m. ET. The Oilers move on to Phoenix for a 10 p.m. ET game that will be shown on CBC.

The last game of the night is the latest edition of the Freeway Faceoff, with the Anaheim Ducks visiting Los Angeles. The Kings are coming off their best offensive performance of the season, an 8-3 win over Vancouver on Thursday, while the Ducks lost 5-4 in a shootout to the Canucks on Friday.