The much-ballyhooed return of John Tavares to Long Island will finally take place when the Toronto Maple Leafs pay a visit to the New York Islanders on Thursday night. Tavares, a former No. 1 overall pick of New York who played nine seasons with the Islanders, will make his first appearance at Nassau Coliseum since signing a $77 million deal with Toronto in the offseason.

The Philadelphia Flyers have dragged themselves up from the depths of despair and inserted themselves in the postseason conversation by recording at least a point in 15 of their last 18 games (14-3-1). The Flyers bid to improve their standing and avert a season sweep at the hands of the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday when the Metropolitan Division rivals meet at Nationwide Arena.

The Boston Bruins are playing some of their best hockey of the season despite missing an important player as they prepare to host the NHL-best Tampa Bay Lightning for an Atlantic Division showdown on Thursday. The Bruins knocked off red-hot San Jose 4-1 on Tuesday to extend their point streak to 14 games (10-0-4), but All-Star David Pastrnak (thumb) has missed half of them.

Time is running out for the Edmonton Oilers to climb into playoff contention while only a few grains of sand remain in the Ottawa Senators' hourglass as the clubs meet Thursday in Canada's capital. Edmonton fell to 0-1-1 on its five-game road trip with a 6-2 loss at Toronto on Wednesday and is nine points out of a wild-card spot in the Western Conference after going 3-9-4 in its last 16 contests.

The Arizona Coyotes are right in the thick of the playoff race in the Western Conference thanks to their current surge. They hope to continue their push for the postseason against another competitor when they continue a seven-game homestand Thursday versus the Vancouver Canucks.

The Vegas Golden Knights received just the response for which they were hoping after making a blockbuster deal to acquire Mark Stone at Monday's trade deadline. After posting only their second victory in the past eight games, the Golden Knights look to post back-to-back wins for only the second time in seven weeks when they host the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.

The Dallas Stars are surrendering a high volume of shots and not generating enough of their own en route to losing five of their last seven games. The Stars bid to change the narrative on Thursday when they play the third contest of their four-game road trip against the reeling Los Angeles Kings, who have lost nine in a row (0-6-3).