Chicago will try to snap a three-game losing streak and recover from the loss of yet another defenseman tonight, when it takes on the Los Angeles Kings at Staples Center.

The Blackhawks are two points behind the San Jose Sharks for the top seed in the Western Conference, but matched their longest losing streak of the season with last night's 4-2 setback to the Anaheim Ducks, a loss that was made worse with the early exit of Brent Seabrook to injury.

San Jose will try to halt a three-game slide this evening at GM Place against a Vancouver squad that will be without Mikael Samuelsson for the next few weeks.

The Canucks own a slight three-point lead over the Colorado Avalanche for first place in the Northwest Division, a margin that might be tough to hold onto without Samuelsson. The Swedish forward has a career-high 30 tallies and 53 points over 70 games this year, but Vancouver's second-leading goal scorer left Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders with an upper-body injury that will sideline him for two-to-three weeks.

One of the NHL's great success stories of the 2009-10 campaign, the Coyotes appear well on their way to their first postseason appearance since 2001-02 and enter tonight's clash riding a six-game winning streak. The surging club's most recent triumph, a 2-1 verdict over Tampa Bay on Tuesday, matched a franchise record for victories in a single season that was initially set by the 1984-85 Winnipeg Jets.

Phoenix, which has amassed an excellent 14-4-0 record since January 26, currently occupies the No. 4 seed in the Western Conference standings and has moved within five points of San Jose for the top spot.

The Flyers signed Ray Emery this past offseason to be their No. 1 netminder and also added Brian Boucher to serve as the backup. Emery, though, battled injuries throughout the season and is currently out with a hip problem and Boucher has struggled at times. That has left the bulk of the starting duties to Leighton, who was claimed off waivers from Carolina on Dec. 15.

Leighton responded by going 16-5-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average in 27 games with the Flyers, making his 15th straight start on Tuesday night at Nashville. The netminder did not finish the game, though, as he exited the first period with a high ankle sprain that has him day-to-day.

Buffalo enters the St. Pete Times Forum having lost 10 of its last 11 road tilts (1-7-3) and has dropped the first two tests of a current five-game trek. The Sabres had a string of eight consecutive defeats away from home -- a skid which matched the longest in franchise history -- snapped with a 2-1 overtime win over the New York Rangers on March 7.

After starting this road trip with an overtime setback to Detroit on Saturday, Buffalo came out on the short end of a 4-3 decision Tuesday in Atlanta. The loss was the third straight overall for the Sabres, who are just 6-11-4 since January 19.

The Wild look to continue their playoff push this evening at Bridgestone Arena versus the Predators, who currently hold the seventh spot in the Western Conference.

Minnesota needs a strong finish to the campaign if it wants to make the postseason for the fourth time in five seasons. The Wild have done just that, winning three straight for the first time since Jan. 23-28 while going 5-2-2 over their last nine games.

Toronto has gone 4-1-0 over its last five outings and won all three of its matchups on home ice during that period. The club just came back from consecutive road games and concluded the short trip with a 4-1 victory over the reeling Ottawa Senators Tuesday at Scotiabank Place.

Jonas Gustavsson made 30 saves for the Maple Leafs in a strong performance between the pipes, with Phil Kessel, John Mitchell, Mikhail Grabovski and Rickard Wallin all scoring goals to provide the offense.

Atlanta lost ground in the postseason race after a recent 0-5-1 stretch, but did manage to bounce back with a much-needed 4-3 home win over Buffalo on Tuesday. After allowing the Sabres to come back from an early 3-1 deficit, the Thrashers went ahead to stay on Jim Slater's goal with 6:44 remaining in the third period.

Tim Kennedy scored 7:02 into the final session to draw the Sabres even, but Atlanta moved back in front just over six minutes later after Niclas Bergfors' shot from the right boards hit off Slater's glove and trickled past Buffalo goaltender Patrick Lalime.

Ovechkin will complete a two-game suspension tonight while his Capitals visit the Carolina Hurricanes at RBC Center.

Despite Ovechkin's absence from Tuesday's contest at Florida, the Capitals slammed the host Panthers by a 7-3 score. Brooks Laich led the way for Washington with two goals and an assist.

The Rangers have 71 points and are three behind Boston for the eighth and final postseason berth in the East. Meanwhile, St. Louis is seven points back of Detroit for the Western Conference's last playoff berth.

Neither New York nor St. Louis helped their postseason chances on Tuesday, as they both dropped home contests in regulation.

Cooke is expected to be in the lineup tonight when Pittsburgh visits the Bruins and what should be a hostile crowd at TD Garden.

During Pittsburgh's 2-1 home victory over Boston on March 7, Savard suffered a Grade Two concussion on a blind-side hit to the head by Cooke.

Todd Marchant and Saku Koivu also tallied and Corey Perry added a pair of assists for the Ducks, who have won two in a row after losing five straight.

Jonas Hiller was strong in net, making 39 saves.

Eric Nystrom picked up the other score for the Flames, who snapped a two-game slide and won for the fifth time in seven tilts to move within one point of idle Detroit for eighth place in the Western Conference.

"Overall, it was a solid road win. We knew coming in we had to play well, and we're going to have to do the same from here on out," noted Flames head coach Brent Sutter. "Every game from now on is big for us." Chris Durno and Milan Hejduk scored for the Avalanche, who had won three in a row. Craig Anderson took the loss despite 31 stops.

Dainius Zubrus, Paul Martin and Rob Niedermayer also tallied for the Devils, who have won four of five and are tied for the Atlantic Division lead with 87 points.

By virtue of having one more win than Pittsburgh (42-41), the Devils assumed the second spot in the Eastern Conference.

Leighton left the Flyers' 4-3 shootout loss at Nashville with a high ankle sprain after falling backwards onto his leg while making a play late in the first period.

The 28-year-old's status had been reported as day-to-day by general manager Paul Holmgren, but the team's website on Wednesday reported that Leighton is likely out of action for a few weeks.

The Vancouver Sun is reporting the injury is shoulder-related and happened during the team's loss to the Islanders on Tuesday.

Samuelsson has a career-high 30 goals and 23 assists this season in 70 games.

Chicago's quest for the top seed in the Western Conference took a major hit on Sunday. Not only did the Blackhawks blow a three-goal lead in a 4-3 overtime setback to the Capitals over the weekend, but Chicago also lost the services of defenseman Brian Campbell in the first period.

Campbell was pushed violently into the boards by Washington's Alex Ovechkin, who received a major for boarding, a 10-game misconduct and ultimately a two- game suspension for a hit in the NHL called "reckless" in its release announcing Ovechkin's punishment.

The Avalanche's current winning streak over the Flames includes a victory in all four meetings so far this season, with each contest ending in a 3-2 score. The first three meetings finished in regulation before Colorado notched a shootout triumph at Calgary on Jan. 11.

Chris Stewart had the game-tying goal in that victory and also notched the winner in the shootout. The forward has been red-hot as of late, posting 10 goals and 11 assists over his last 12 games.

The Penguins, of course, are the defending Stanley Cup champions and come into tonight with a two-point edge over the Devils for the division lead. New Jersey, however, won the Atlantic title last season and has taken the crown in three of the past four years.

The Atlantic lead also comes with the inside track on the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race. With 87 points, Pittsburgh is 16 behind Washington for the top spot and five points ahead of third-seeded Buffalo.

Matt Moulson added a goal and an assist for the Islanders, who have won three straight following a four-game winless skid. Dwayne Roloson was strong with 35 saves, while Dylan Reese and Freddy Meyer also scored for the victors.

With 67 points and 12 games remaining in the season, the Eastern Conference playoff race is taking shape with the Islanders on the outside looking in. New York sits seven points behind the current eighth-seeded Boston Bruins.

Paul, MN (Sports Network) - Andrew Ebbett and Martin Havlat each had a goal and an assist, as the Minnesota Wild defeated the road-weary Edmonton Oilers, 4-2, at Xcel Energy Center.

Chuck Kobasew and Antti Miettinen also lit the lamp for the Wild, who have beat the Oilers 13 straight times in the Twin Cities. Josh Harding made 34 saves for Minnesota, which has won three in a row and now sits six points behind the Red Wings for the eighth spot in the Western Conference.

Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Peter Mueller continued his hot play for his new team, tallying two goals and an assist to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 5-3 win over the St. Louis Blues.

Mueller has tallied at least a point in each of his seven games with the Avs after being acquired from Phoenix and eight straight overall as Colorado swept the four-game season series with St. Louis.

Erat also scored in regulation along with Steve Sullivan and Jerred Smithson for the Predators, who have won three straight and remained in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. Nashville holds the seventh seed.

Pekka Rinne made 42 saves in the victory.

With the win, the Coyotes set a new franchise record for wins in a season, topping the 1984-85 Winnipeg Jets with their 43rd win of the campaign.

Bryzgalov, who owns a league-best eight shutouts, has been on a roll of late allowing just five goals in his last five starts, which have all been wins and include two whitewashes. Vernon Fiddler and Mike Lombardi scored the goals for the Coyotes, who have recorded their second six-game win streak of the season.

Phil Kessel, John Mitchell, Mikhail Grabovski, and Rickard Wallin scored for the Leafs, who have won four of five but still sit last in the Eastern Conference with 60 points.

Andy Sutton scored the lone goal for the Senators, who dropped to 1-5-1 in their first seven outings of March. Brian Elliott turned aside 26-of-29 shots in defeat.