The Tampa Bay Lightning continue to hang in the race for a playoff spot despite digging deep into their farm system and continue their quest with the opener of a short, but important, road trip Monday against the New York Rangers. The Lightning, who are down five regular forwards due to injuries and traded two others, rallied from a two-goal deficit to beat Florida 3-2 on Saturday and have earned points in 13 of their last 15 games (10-2-3).

After experiencing a bump in the road in Buffalo, the Columbus Blue Jackets continue their quest for a division title - and the Presidents' Trophy - when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday. Columbus dropped a 5-3 decision to the Sabres on Saturday to remain three points behind Washington for the top spot in both the Metropolitan Division and the entire league.
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The New York Islanders play their first game at Barclays Center in more than three weeks when they host the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday in the opener of a home-and-home series. New York ended a season-high nine-game road trip with a 4-3 loss at St. Louis on Saturday, finishing 5-3-1 on the trek, and sits one point behind Toronto for the second wild card in Eastern Conference.

The Nashville Predators found a way to end their west coast road trip on an upswing, and return home to host the Winnipeg Jets on Monday after a critical 3-1 victory at San Jose on Saturday. The Predators, who are third in the Central Division, earned points in nine of their past 11 games and collected four points during the three-game road swing through California.

The Calgary Flames are the hottest team in the NHL and have used the stellar play of Brian Elliott to better their position in the Western Conference playoff race. Calgary looks to match the franchise record of 10 straight victories when it hosts the also-streaking Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday in the opener of a four-game homestand.

The Boston Bruins hope to continue their strong play at both ends of the ice when they begin a challenging four-game road trip against the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Monday. The Bruins have won 10 of 13 games since Bruce Cassidy replaced Claude Julien as coach, including Saturday’s 2-1 triumph over Philadelphia in which Tuukka Rask recorded his 199th career victory.

Colorado is the only team which is mathematically eliminated from postseason contention and while it appears Arizona will be next, the Coyotes try to stave off the inevitable for a little longer by earning two points when they host the Avalanche on Monday.  Arizona is coming off a thrilling 5-4 victory over New Jersey on Saturday while Colorado failed in its fourth attempt at a three-game winning streak this season with a 4-2 home loss to Ottawa on the same night.

The St. Louis Blues are streaking at just the right time, and they hope to continue their run when they begin a five-game road trip Monday against the Los Angeles Kings. St. Louis has bounced back from a five-game slide with four straight victories, which has moved it within two points of Nashville for third place in the Central Division and three ahead of Los Angeles for the second wild card in the Western Conference.