The Pittsburgh Penguins are battling to stay among the top eight teams in the Eastern Conference, primarily due to their ordinary record at home and a tendency to give up goals in bunches. The Penguins struggled in both areas during a 5-4 home loss to Calgary but will look to bounce back a day later as they host the New York Rangers on Sunday afternoon.

What once was a firm hold on a playoff spot in the Western Conference has turned into a scrum for the Minnesota Wild, who stumbled coming out of the All-Star break and have been unable to regain their equilibrium. The Wild, losers of three straight contests and seven of eight, now must face one of the league's hottest teams when they host the St. Louis Blues on Sunday afternoon.

The Buffalo Sabres are beginning to see their playoff hopes fade a bit as they embark on a critical three-game road trip that starts with a matchup against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday night. The Sabres had gained points in four of five games (3-1-1) before suffering a demoralizing 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers at home Friday, an effort that caused coach Phil Housley to call his team “soft.”

The Detroit Red Wings have gone more than 22 years without winning a regular-season game in Philadelphia, and the latest defeat typified their frustrations of that lengthy drought. The Red Wings wasted a stunning comeback with an overtime loss in the City of Brotherly Love on Saturday but get a chance to avenge that defeat when they host the Flyers on Sunday in the back end of a home-and-home series.

The Montreal Canadiens have been unable to improve their standing in the Eastern Conference playoff race of late as they've dropped three straight contests (0-2-1). Two of those losses have come during their three-game road trip, which concludes Sunday against the Florida Panthers.

The Washington Capitals look to match one of their better efforts of the season last time out when they continue a six-game road trip Sunday night against the struggling Anaheim Ducks. The Capitals gave up the first goal of the game Thursday before rolling to a 5-1 victory over the red-hot San Jose Sharks as one player reached a milestone and another inched closer to one.