Tuukka Rask since Rask returned from a three-day personal absence, leaving Rask in line for Thursday. He is an impressive 12-5-0 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .930 save percentages lifetime against the Islanders.Halak, who spent his l

Edmonton Oilers coach Ken Hitchcock recently remarked that a tough stretch of the schedule will give an accurate reading of the state of the team.There are still some bumps in the road http://www.officialflyersproshop.com/authentic-adidas-nolan-patrick-jersey , but there were some lessons learned, too.Looking to extend a winning streak at Rogers Place, the Oilers square off against the sputtering Philadelphia Flyers on Friday night.Article continues below ...Last Saturday, Hitchcock said the “next three games are going to tell us a lot of the things that we’re good at and the things we need to work on.”Hours later, Edmonton defeated the Calgary Flames, 1-0, in the Battle of Alberta. Two days later, the Oilers traveled to the Denver and topped the high-powered Colorado Avalanche, 6-4. On Thursday, Hitchcock’s club erased a two-goal deficit in the second period but fell to the Winnipeg Jets, 5-4 in overtime.“We have not, as a group, have not been even close to being involved in stuff like this and these are great lessons for us moving forward as long as we take them,” Hitchcock said.Since Hitchcock took over on Nov. 20, Edmonton (17-12-3) has won all five games at Rogers Place by a combined score of 14-5. In the first nine home games this season under Todd McLellan, the Oilers went 4-4-1 with a 29-28 scoring advantage.Hitchcock is 8-2-2 with Edmonton, which is five points behind Pacific Division-leading Calgary.“We need the points (but) I look at the way we’re playing,” Hitchcock said.The Oilers were swept in the season series in 2017-18 and have dropped three of the last four matchups with Philadelphia. Edmonton has surrendered one power-play goal in each of the last four meetings with the Flyers.But the Oilers will face a team unable to keep the puck out of the net recently.After giving up seven goals in a loss to the Jets on Sunday Scott Laughton Jersey , the Flyers surrendered two goals in the final 1:08 of regulation and the game-winner 35 seconds into overtime of a 6-5 defeat to Calgary.“We’ve got to find a way to reset,” winger Dale Weise told NBC Sports Philadelphia. “It’s embarrassing.”While Philadelphia (12-13-4) made a change off-ice by firing general manager Ron Hextall on Nov. 26, the team is still struggling. The Flyers have gone 2-2-2 since Hextall’s ouster and sit in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division, two points ahead of the New Jersey Devils.The team has yielded at least four goals four times since Chuck Fletcher took over in the front office. One of his first chores should be an upgrade in goal.With Brian Elliott injured and Michal Neuvirth away from the team as his wife prepares to give birth, Philadelphia is going with the tandem of Anthony Stolarz and Alex Lyon, who was recalled Thursday. The pair have combined for a total of 26 games, including 17 starts.Stolarz allowed 10 goals in his last two appearances and has an .889 save percentage through seven games, but coach Dave Hakstol seems willing to let him learn by doing.“He’s a young guy in terms of games in the NHL,” Hakstol told Philly.com. “And there’s a lot of things that he continues to work at. We don’t want to put too much on his plate that way. Just go out and continue to build his game.”Mikko Koskinen is expected to start in the second of back-to-back games and looks to continue his stellar play on home ice for Edmonton. In seven games (six starts), Koskinen has surrendered just six goals while recording three shutouts. BOSTON — Rick Middleton’s name is all over the Boston Bruins‘ record books.It hasn’t been enough to send the man they call ‘Nifty’ into the Hall of Fame — but it is enough to get his No. 16 raised to the TD Garden rafters prior to Thursday night’s game against the New York Islanders.Acquired from the New York Rangers in exchange for Ken Hodge — the latter reunited with Phil Esposito in New York, Middleton is third in goals (402), even strength goals (275), and shooting percentage (20.0), fourth in points (898) goals created (357.2), and goals for on ice (1,319), fifth in power play goals (102), sixth in assists (496) and game winning goals (52) Womens Sean Couturier Jersey , tied for sixth in hat tricks), seventh in shots (2,007), eighth in games played (881) and goals per game (0.46) and 10th in plus-minus (plus-220).Article continues below ...Oh, and he’s the team’s all-time leader with 25 short-handed goals.“Loved ‘Nifty,’ even though I was a defenseman,” said current Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy. “Crafty. One-on-one. Played in traffic. I liked watching him and Barry Pederson feed off each other.”Cassidy’s banged-up team (13-7-4) comes home for a two-game homestand after a split of a Montreal/Toronto trip — and still looking for more production.The Bruins, top heavy with the Patrice Bergeron line doing much of the scoring, is now without Bergeron, who suffered an upper body injury that will cost him a month. General manager Don Sweeney admitted Monday he is searching for a possible trade for offense — and the Bruins recalled Ryan Donato from Providence, where he had nine points in 10 games since his demotion.The defense, missing as many as six regulars at one point, has lost Kevan Miller again, this time for at least five weeks with larynx damage suffered when he took a puck to the throat in Toronto.“He plays his heart out. That’s two blocked shots that have put him out,” said Cassidy. “We’ll miss him.”Brandon Carlo, who has been out since Nov. 10 with a shoulder/collarbone injury, returned to practice Wednesday and expects to play either Thursday or Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings. Meanwhile, Charlie McAvoy (concussion) has been skating but took a day off Wednesday — a move not considered a setback.The Islanders (12-9-2) will “re-open” their old home http://www.officialflyersproshop.com/authentic-adidas-shayne-gostisbehere-jersey , the Nassau Coliseum, Saturday night. First, they have the Bruins and are coming off a 4-1 loss to the Washington Capitals in Brooklyn Monday night.The Bruins swept three games from the Isles last season.“We’re headed in the right direction,” coach Barry Trotz. “We’re trending in the right direction from a total hockey standpoint, from the people running it, such as Lou (GM Lamoriello), and the infrastructure behind that.”Hard-working forward Casey Cizikas, who has missed the last six games with a lower body injury, was removed from IR and will be back for Thursday night’s game.“He brings a lot of intangibles,” said Trotz, whose new team lost to his old team — the defending Stanley Cup champions — Monday night, in a game played after Trotz received his championship ring.The Bruins have alternated Jaroslav Halak and Tuukka Rask since Rask returned from a three-day personal absence, leaving Rask in line for Thursday. He is an impressive 12-5-0 with a 2.22 goals-against average and .930 save percentages lifetime against the Islanders.Halak, who spent his last four seasons playing for the Islanders, was 7-1-1 with a 1.53 GAA and .950 save percentage against New York before going there.Thomas Greiss has played three straight and seven of the last eight games in goal for New York. He is 8-4-1 on the season and is 2-3-0 with a 1.63 GAA and .950 save percentage lifetime against the Bruins.Robin Lehner, who has struggled this season with his new team (4-5-1), is just 4-11-3 with a 2.71 GAA and .922 save percentage all-time against Boston.