There are 11 games on Friday, with four Canadian teams in action.
Here are a few of the storylines we’re following.
METRO AFTERNOON SHOWDOWN
The day gets kicked off with a 1 p.m. ET matchup between the New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers in a battle of the NHL’s two highest-scoring teams.
This is the first time the Rangers and Flyers will play each other this season. They met five times in 2015-16, with three of those games needing a shootout.
Wayne Simmonds leads the Flyers in goals (10) and points (18) this season. Keep an eye out for rookie defenceman Ivan Provorov, who scored his first career NHL goal in Wednesday’s loss to Tampa Bay.
The 19-year-old now has nine points in 21 games.
J.T. Miller and Kevin Hayes lead the Rangers with 18 points apiece. The biggest surprise of the season so far has been the play of Michael Grabner, whose 12 goals have him tied for second in the league with Alex Ovechkin and Patrik Laine.
Grabner did score 34 goals in 2010-11, but hasn’t reached the 20-goal mark since 2011-12.
The 29-year-old was brought in to New York on a two-year, $3.3-million contract as an unrestricted free agent this off-season.
He’s been a big reason why the Rangers lead the Metropolitan Division with 29 points.
New York has scored a league-best 82 goals this season, 17 more than Philadelphia, the next-highest team.
The Flyers have had some serious trouble keeping the puck out of their net however, having given up 70 goals in 21 games. Only Dallas has been worse in that regard.
Philadelphia’s goaltenders, Steve Mason and Michal Neuvirth, have given the Flyers a league-worst .880 team save percentage.
HAMILTON VISITS BOSTON
Defenceman Dougie Hamilton was drafted ninth overall by the Boston Bruins in 2011 and played three seasons with the team before being traded to Calgary as an impending restricted free agent at the 2015 draft.
Friday’s matchup will be Hamilton’s second game in Boston since the trade, and third against the Bruins overall.
The 23-year-old had an assist in a 5-4 win in Calgary last December and was minus-1 in a 2-1 loss at TD Garden in March.
The Flames have won four of their last six and are coming off an impressive shutout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday.
Chad Johnson started that one for the Flames, and has started five of Calgary’s last six games. He could be starting to steal the No. 1 job from Brian Elliott, who has struggled so far this season.
Johnson played 27 games for the Bruins in 2013-14.
Boston will be playing the second game of a back-to-back, having lost 3-1 in Ottawa on Thursday.
David Pastrnak scored the lone Bruins goal in his return from an undisclosed injury.
The 20-year-old now has 11 goals in 15 games to lead the Bruins while playing on a line with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron.
OILERS SEARCH FOR SUCCESS IN THE DESERT
This year’s Edmonton Oilers are making a habit of bucking the trends set by the unsuccessful Oilers teams of years past.
They can take another step forward with a win on the road against the Arizona Coyotes on Friday.
The Oilers have lost five straight in Arizona (and 13 of their last 16 there overall), but look poised for success against the Coyotes this season.
Edmonton currently leads the Pacific Division with 25 points while Arizona sits dead last in the league with 14. The Oilers have shaken off a five-game losing streak to win three in a row coming into tonight’s matchup.
Connor McDavid has eight points in his last three games to give him 27 on the season, which leads the NHL. Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov is the next highest player at 24 points.
The Coyotes have lost five of their last six games and are coming off a lacklustre showing against Vancouver on Wednesday.
Goaltender Mike Smith was pulled in that game after allowing four goals on 17 shots. The 34-year-old is 2-1-1 with a 3.24 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage this season.
The Oilers are likely to start Cam Talbot, who’s been strong in his second season in Edmonton.
The 29-year-old is 11-7-1 with a 2.50 goals-against average and a .919 save percentage with three shutouts in 19 starts this season.
The teams will return to Edmonton for the second game of a back-to-back on Sunday.
