Saturday news and notes

It's a big night in the NHL, as there are 14 games on the schedule. Here's a look at the Canadian teams in action and some other news and notes.

- Florida Panthers at Montreal Canadiens. The NHL's hottest team will host one of the worst. The Habs have won their last four games in a row. Price has been excellent in goal, with six wins so far. Habs fans seem to have finally warmed up to Price...for now. Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn have led the team offensively, with 10 points a piece. Rookie defenseman, P.K. Subban has managed a respectable 6 points. Price will start in goal tonight. The Habs might get some additional help back tonight, with defenseman Andrei Markov expected to return from injury.

The Florida Panthers are currently in rebuild mode, which means it's going to be a tough season in Miami. Veteran defenseman, Bryan McCabe is leading the team with seven points, while the Vokoun has provided solid goaltending having faced 188 shots already.

- Boston Bruins at Ottawa Senators. The Boston Bruins have been solid. Tim Thomas is doing what I thought he would do and proving that he is still an elite goalie. He has two shut outs, five wins, no losses, and a .981 save percentage. Newcomer Nathan Horton has been a great fit thus far, leading the team in offense, with nine points in seven games. Tough guy, Milan Lucic has also stepped up his game, with seven points in as many games.

The Ottawa Senators on the other hand, have looked lost for the most of this young season. Goaltending and a lack of production from their top forwards have been the major factors in the Senators slow start. They will get some help tonight, however, as centre, Jason Spezza will return to action. They are on a two game win streak, so they hope to keep the momentum going against Boston tonight.

New York Rangers at Toronto Maple Leafs. Both the Rangers and Leafs have been struggling as of late, so both teams will come out hard tonight. The Rangers have lost two in a row and will try to get back on track with Lundqvist starting in goal. So far, Ryan Callahan is the scoring leader for the Rangers with 10 points in nine games.

The Toronto Maple Leafs started off the season as one of the NHL's best teams. They have come back down to earth over their last four games however, and will look to get their offense ticking once again. The Leafs will be without forward, Colby Armstrong, who broke his hand last week. The Leafs will go back to veteran Jean-Sebastian Giguere in net, who has won four of his six starts. Phil Kessel remains Toronto's highest scorer, with seven goals and nine points. The Leafs might also be without forward Kris Versteeg, who is dealing with back problems.

- Washington Capitals at Calgary Flames. The Washington Capitals have gotten off to a decent start again this season, with young goalie Michael Neuvirth's stellar play. Ovechkin unsurprisingly leads his team with 10 points, while playmaker Niklas Backstrom has struggled with only six points.

The Calgary Flames have been playing well, sitting at 6-4-0 on the season. This is due to some timely scoring from newly signed, Brendan Morrison, who leads the team with nine points. Calgary's defense seems to have tightened up this season, and Miikka Kiprusoff has continued to play well. He will get the start in goal against the Caps.

- The New York Islanders visit the Philadelphia Flyers at 7:00pm. The Isles have been kicking on all cylinders offensively, but will look to snap out of a three game losing streak. Defenseman James Wisniewski leads the team in points despite missing two games to suspension, with 11 points in eight games. He has been on fire this season. Sophomore, John Tavares, has also been playing well, with 8 points in 7 games. Rick DiPietro will start in goal for the Islanders tonight.

The Flyers have been mediocre so far this season, but Claude Giroux has carried over his playoff heroics into this season, leading the team with 6 goals and 9 points. Despite having fired 40 shots in goal in 10 games, Jeff Carter has struggled on the score sheet thus far, with only three goals in 10 games. There's no confirmation on who will start in goal tonight, but Bobrovsky stated last night, so the team might opt to give Boucher the start.

- Pittsburgh Penguins at Carolina Hurricanes. The Pittsburgh Penguins have struggled so far this season, mostly due to sloppy play from starting goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury. Brent Johnson has posted far better numbers than Fleury, and should this continue, coach Bylsma will opt to give the hot hand more starts. The Pens will try to stop a two game losing skid tonight. Sidney Crosby leads the team with 13 points and defenseman Kris Letang has been solid with 11 points. Johnson is likely to start in goal.

The Carolina Hurricanes have showed some promise this season with rookie Jeff Skinner helping create offense. Skinner and Eric Staal lead the team with 7 points. Goaltender, Cam Ward has been given the bulk of starts this season, but coach Paul Maurice will give Justin Peters a chance to show his worth. Peters could get a start as soon as tonight.

- Andrew Raycroft will start his first game of the season for the Dallas Stars against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight.