For the Blackhawks, any slump seems more isolated. Not necessarily for the Blues. Chicago sagged at the end of its recent road trip, whipped by the Kings and Ducks by a combined 12-1, but those were the only two truly bad efforts the past couple of weeks since a 9-3 loss to Buffalo on November 21. Chicago recovered smartly on Wednesday in a 3-0 win over the Rangers as Spencer Knight (in the nets again tonight) stopped all 21 shots he faced. For the Blues, the malaise has mostly lasted since later October, and consecutive heavy losses to the Bruins and Preds by a combined 12-4 suggest breakdowns beyond iffy work in goal from Jordan Binnington or Joel Hofer (in the net tonight). Play Blackhawks

We can't resist getting Florida at this sort of a price, even plus a goal. The Panthers seem to have righted their ship with wins in three straight, including last night in Salt lake City over the Mammoth. The offense has started to percolate, scoring 15 times (including an OT goal) in the three-game uptick. Paul Maurice has tabbed Daniel Tarasov to start in goal after stopping 20 of 21 shots in a 4-1 win over the Islanders on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Ave are still scary but they have lost games lately (3 of 7) and have been involved in three OT/shootouts, plus another one-goal game, in the past two weeks. Play Panthers on Puck Line

Winnipeg is not to be trusted as a favorite at the moment. Losses in four of five are the evidence, and there have been some reasons for the downturn, mainly the injury to GK Connor Hellebuyck, which continues to keep him on the shelf. Eric Comrie is doing his best but he's not Hellebuyck, and his December stat line isn't great...only one win in five, with a 3.77 GAA and .878 saves. Meanwhile, the Bruins hit the Jets tonight having won three straight, and GK Joonas Korpisalo (in the nets tonight) is off of one of his best efforts, stopping 37 of 39 shots in a 5-2 win over the Blues last Thursday. Play Bruins on Money Line

The Preds bottomed out a couple of weeks ago but have been on the ascent since. Wins in five of seven, including recent successes at defending champ Panthers and home vs. the mighty Avs on Tuesday, suggest the worst is behind as the offense has certainly shifted gears. Steven Stamkos was recently on the scoresheet in consecutive outings and looks to be very much into the offensive flow as Andrew Brunette suddenly appears to be pushing the right buttons. Meanwhile, just when it looks like the Blues might be ready for a turnaround, they stumble as they did on Tuesday at home vs. Bruins. Jordan Binnington also up-and-down in goal, as his uninspiring season-long stats (3.29 GAA, .875 saves) suggests). Play Preds on Puck Line

It's been a pretty potent under combination for the Sharks ..good work in goal and subpar work on offense. Three straight San Jose games have landed on 4-1 scorelines, all under results, as has been the case in 13 of the Sharks' last 17 games. Alex Nedeljkoic has been serviceable enough when in goal as he is tonight, with a GAA of 2.66 and saves at .908 since the beginning of November. As for the Leafs, with Joseph Woll now on the shelf, and Anthony Stolarz out for the past four weeks, Dennis Hildeby has been getting a look in goal and hasn't responded badly, with a 2.16 GAA and .936 saves in six starts. Play Sharks-Maple Leafs Under

Note some pretty decent recent form for the Flyers, winning five of the last seven, as this homestand continues tonight vs. Vegas. At 10-5-2 as host at Xfinity Mobile Arena this season, Rick Tocchet's team has developed a bit of a home edge, and Philly's scoring has been balanced throughout its various lines. Ex-Duck Trevor Zegras, on a team-best 27 points, has been as advertised, and emerging winger Tyson Foerster has scored in three of the past games. Former Flyer Carter Hart won't be starting in goal tonight for VGK (Akira Schmid instead), and Vegas' penchant for close games finally bit it on Tuesday on Long Island when the Isles took a 5-4 shootout decision. Play Flyers on Money Line

We've been waiting for some buy signals on the Panthers and recent efforts suggest the breakthrough might be imminent. Getting away from Sunrise might also be a good thing after recent struggles at home, though Florida just ended what was a dicey homestand with back-to-back wins over Columbus (in OT) and the Islanders. Sergei Bobrovsky gets back in the nets tonight for the first time since a difficult outing vs. the Blue Jackets, and though he has had a bumpy ride lately, expecting Bob to begin flashing prior form at any time. The Panthers also might be hitting Salt lake City at the right time after Utah's offense went limp in back-to-back losses to the Flames and Kings. Play Panthers on the Money Line.

It's been a good homestand for the Flames, who needed it, scoring three straight wins at the Saddledome by a combined 13-5 margin. Monday's 7-4 win over the Sabres, however, looks a bit of an outlier, as previous games haven't featured anything close to that type of scoreline. In the preceding four games, Calgary just managed 8 goals total, and G Dustin Wolf had stopped 65 of 67 shots in his previous three appearances. Meanwhile, the Red Wings have won three straight and are flying on their current road trip, while John Gibson, who seems to have assumed No. 1 goalie status, is off of a 4-0 shutout at Vancouver. Play Red Wings-Flames Under.

Things went sideways for the Blackhawks at the end of their recent trip to the West Coast. Outscored 13-1 across the last two games, heavy losses vs. the Kings and Ducks, the defense is now under the microscope, including G Spencer Knight, who had a difficult time vs. the Kings at Crypto.com when stopping only 26 of 32 shots. Knight's form the past couple of weeks has been a bit of a worry, as Chicago has lost in five of his last seven starts. Meanwhile, the Rangers are back where they want to be, on the road, where they're 12-4-1 this season (Igor Shesterkin 9-3-0 in goal away). Now, why can't they play the same way at MSG? Play Rangers on the Puck Line.

Some improved recent form from Nashville tempts us to give the Preds a roll tonight, but in truth we'd rather not buck Colorado unless we absolutely must. Yet with the Preds having apparently rediscovered some offense in the past two weeks, the over is suddenly back in play in Nashville's games. We've seen over results in six of the last seven Preds games, and now top goal-getter Filip Forsberg, who had gone five straight games without finding the net, got back on the scoresheet on Saturday vs. the Canes. Colorado's prowess needs no further confirmation as Nathan MacKinnon and the AVs are the runaway leaders in NHL scoring with 115 goals (Anaheim a distant second with 107). Play Avs-Preds Over

The Sabres continue to struggle on the road after last night's 7-4 whipping administered by the Flames in Calgary. Buffalo has only won 2 of 15 on the road. It's also this is looking like the road trip from hell, as the Sabres been outscored 16-7 while losing the first three of this excursion. Lindy Ruff had to pull Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen after he stopped only 17 of 22 shots the first 40 minutes. Alex Lyon, in the nets in the 3rd period, likely starts tonight. As for the Oilers, they are rumbling, with wins in two straight on this homestand, scoring 15 goals in the process after a 1-0 loss to the Wild last Tuesday. Play Oilers on the Puck Line.

We've got a quick turnaround here from last Thursday in Boston when the Bruins were all over the Blues by a 5-2 count. That was Jordan Binnington vs. Joonas Korpisalo in goal last week at TD Garden, and tonight it's Jeremy Swayman vs. Joel Hofer. Save a poor effort last Tuesday vs. the Red Wings, Swayman has won four of his other five starts in the past six, and recovered nicely to stop 29 of 30 Devils shots on Saturday in a 4-1 Boston win. As for Hofer, he's off of a 2-1 win over the slumping Sens, but had lost in five of his previous six starts as the Blues continue to simply tread water. Play Bruins on the Money Line.

Some pretty good work in goal lately on the Flames side, especially Dustin Wolf, who in three December appearances has an 0.86 GAA, and stopped all 27 Utah shots he faced in Saturday's 2-0 win over the Mammoth at the Saddledome. Calgary's overall form has improved for the better lately, too, with wins in six of nine. The aforementioned Wolf has stopped 53 of 54 shots faced in his last two starts, both Flames wins. As for the Sabres, the road has been a problem, where they've won just twice in fourteen tries this season. This road trip has also started off on the wrong foot for Buffalo with losses at Philadelphia and Winnipeg. Play Flames on Money Line

Well-documented, the Rangers' problems at MSG this season, but we suggest those are mostly behind them now. Improved play across the last week continued on Saturday at home vs. the Avs, and while the Rangers lost 3-2 it took OT for Colorado to prevail and it didn't look like the New York that has struggled earlier this season at home. The Rangers have won in five of their last seven, and turning to Jonathan Quick (1.69 GAA, .944 saves) tonight in goal is no drop-off from Igor Shesterkin. It's been a mini-turnaround the past week for VGK with three straight wins, but the Golden Knights aren't far removed from a stretch of just three wins in twelve. Play Rangers on Money Line

It's getting desperate for first-year coach Adam Foote as the losing continues for the Canucks. For Vancouver, it's losses in four straight, seven of eight, and ten of twelve as the offense has mostly grinded to a halt. More of the same last night vs. Utah which rolled into Rogers Arena and skated away with a 4-1 win, the third straight game the Canucks have scored just one goal, and wasting some decent efforts in goal by Kevin Lankinen. Nikita Tolopilo will likely be in the net tonight for the Canucks, while Jesper Wallstedt has been a revelation in goal for the Wild with his 1.74 GAA and .944 saves in ten starts, and likely goes tonight. Play Wild-Canucks Under