The New York Rangers face an uphill climb to get into playoff contention, among the reasons why much of the attention surrounding the team is focused on potential moves at next month's trade deadline. The Rangers will return from a nine-day break to host the league-worst Detroit Red Wings on Friday night in the front end of a home-and-home.

The Philadelphia Flyers skated into the All-Star break and their bye week with plenty of momentum, capping a sizzling 4-1-0 stretch with a decisive 3-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Keystone State rivals will conclude an unconventional home-and-home series spanning a week and a half on Friday when they reconvene in Pittsburgh.

The Washington Capitals own the best record in hockey but they showed they are far from a finished product, failing to protect a third-period lead in Wednesday's 5-4 home loss to Nashville. After having its four-game winning streak halted, Washington vies for its league-leading 20th road victory when it visits the Ottawa Senators on Friday night.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Vegas Golden Knights skated into the All-Star break and their respective bye weeks in opposite directions, with the former posting a 5-2-1 record over their last eight games while the latter had lost six of their last seven (1-5-1). The Hurricanes look to return to form on Friday against Vegas in Raleigh, N.C.

The Boston Bruins are tied for the second-highest point total in the NHL but their once-healthy lead atop the Atlantic Division is down to five points coming out of the All-Star break. Returning to action for the first time in 10 days, the Bruins will kick off a rugged stretch featuring eight road games in the next 12 at the Winnipeg Jets on Friday night.

The St. Louis Blues' recent struggles away from the Gateway City have prevented the reigning Stanley Cup champions from widening their gap atop the Western Conference. Fresh off snapping a five-game road losing skid (0-4-1), the Blues bid to continue their ascent on Friday when they visit the Edmonton Oilers.

The Tampa Bay Lightning had to rally to gain positive results in the first two games after the All-Star break and look to get off to a better start Friday night when they visit the improving Anaheim Ducks. The Lightning needed a late goal in regulation to gain a point at Dallas on Monday before fighting back from a two-goal deficit as captain Steven Stamkos scored twice to beat Los Angeles 4-2 on Wednesday.