The Montreal Canadiens' top line of captain Max Pacioretty, Alexander Radulov and Phillip Danault are showing signs of coming together as a group while the Philadelphia Flyers quickly came apart at the seams in their first game back from the NHL All-Star break. Fresh off recording his second hat trick of the season and sixth career, Pacioretty (team-leading 24 goals) looks to continue his scoring surge on Thursday when the Atlantic Division-leading Canadiens visit the Flyers in the season series

The All-Star Game gave NHL teams a chance to get recharged but the New York Rangers and Buffalo Sabres each appeared to extend their respective breaks by about two hours too long. Both the Rangers and Sabres will look to avoid getting off to disastrous starts when the clubs square off for the third time this season on Thursday night in Buffalo, N.Y.

The Ottawa Senators hope to rebound from an uncharacteristically sloppy performance when they visit the struggling Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night in a battle of Atlantic Division rivals. The Senators saw their six-game point streak come to an end with a 6-5 loss at Florida on Tuesday despite 41 shots on goal in the first contest after the All-Star break.

The Edmonton Oilers and Nashville Predators cruised into the All-Star break before stumbling out of the blocks in their first trip to the ice. The Western Conference upstarts look to regain their footing at the other's expense on Thursday as captain Connor McDavid and the Oilers open a three-game road trip against the Predators.

The Dallas Stars look to exact revenge for their worst loss of the season but more importantly pick up two key points in the Western Conference standings when they host the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday. Dallas, which lost 8-2 in the last meeting Nov. 8, and Winnipeg each have 52 points, and are four points behind third-place Nashville in the Central Division while being among six teams bunched together fighting for the two wild card positions.

Less than nine months after advancing to the Western Conference finals last season, the St. Louis Blues pulled a shocker by dismissing veteran coach Ken Hitchcock on Wednesday. Mike Yeo, designated the coach-in-waiting for 2017-18, had his timetable pushed up and will be behind the bench when St. Louis hosts the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night.

The Chicago Blackhawks aren't getting much bang for their buck from their vaunted second line, with Artem Anisimov struggling to find the words in much the same manner as he's struggled to find the net in the last 11 games. Anisimov, Artem Panarin and reigning Hart Trophy winner Patrick Kane look to rediscover their scoring touch as the Blackhawks bid to snap a three-game skid on Thursday when they visit the Arizona Coyotes.

While Patrick Marleau continues his quest for career goal No. 500, the Pacific-leading San Jose Sharks are aiming to remain successful on the road when they visit the division-rival Vancouver Canucks on Thursday. Marleau has closed in on the milestone by netting six tallies over his last four contests and is one shy of tying Lanny McDonald and becoming the 45th player in NHL history to reach the plateau.