Smid was placed on injured reserve because of a concussion earlier in the month. He was hurt during a November 5 game against Columbus and has missed the last seven games. He has two assists in eight games this season.

Paul, MN (Sports Network) - The Vancouver Canucks recalled defenseman Nolan Baumgartner on Thursday, prior to the team's game with Minnesota.

The journeyman backliner did not play in the NHL last season, but appeared in 13 games with Philadelphia and Dallas in 2006-07, collecting three assists. The Canucks signed Baumgartner this summer, bringing the 32-year-old back for this third stint with the club.

The Flames have won all three of their matchups against the Avalanche this year, outscoring them 12-5. All of those games took place in Calgary, meaning the Northwest Division rivals will battle three more times in Colorado this year.

That stretch begins tonight after Calgary's 4-1 win on Tuesday gave the club its sixth win in its last eight versus the Avs. The Flames, though, have lost six of seven and eight of their last 10 visits to Colorado.

Vancouver and the Wild will battle for first place in the division tonight as the Canucks come into this test with a one-point edge over Minnesota for the top spot.

Minnesota has won five of the last seven meetings with the Canucks, but Vancouver earned a 2-0 home win over the Wild on November 8 in the first of six encounters between the clubs this year. The Wild have taken two of three and six of nine against the Canucks on home ice.

The Senators have lost five straight contests since earning a 4-1 home victory over Philadelphia on November 6. The slide has helped place Ottawa last in the division and tied for the bottom spot in the Eastern Conference with 15 points.

Ottawa's last three setbacks have come against New York-area teams, as it was swept in a home-and-home series with the Islanders before losing a shootout decision to the Rangers on Monday at Madison Square Garden.

The Penguins had won six straight before being dealt a shootout loss Tuesday evening against Minnesota, while Atlanta had a five-game winning streak halted Sunday evening in Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh's meeting with the Wild was the final test of a three-game homestand for the Pens. Minnesota earned the 3-2 decision at Mellon Arena as Marek Zidlicky netted the game-winning shootout tally. Niklas Backstrom made 24 saves for the Wild and also stopped each of Pittsburgh's three shootout attempts.

The Devils ended a four-game losing streak their last time out, as they won the back end of a home-and-home series with Washington this past Saturday in Newark.

Tonight, New Jersey will aim for consecutive victories, something the club hasn't done since posting a three-game winning streak from October 16-22.

Ovechkin posted 65 goals and 112 points last season, but managed only five points through his first nine games. However, the Russian playmaker has posted six goals and eight assists over his last five games while also recording at least two points a game in that span. That multi-point streak is tied with Dennis Maruk (1980-81) for the longest such run in team history.

Ovechkin is coming off a four-point game, as he posted a goal and three assists in a 6-4 victory over Anaheim on Wednesday, Washington's sixth in seven games. The Capitals have notched at least a point in eight straight games (6-0-2), their best run since going 10-0 with a pair of ties from January 28-February 24, 2001.

The Red Wings were last in action on Monday, when they blanked the Oilers, 4-0, at home. Ty Conklin stopped all 21 shots faced for his first shutout this year and fifth of his career. Conklin, a former Oiler in his first season with the Red Wings after going 18-8-5 with Pittsburgh a year ago, is 5-1-0 with a 2.47 goals against average in six starts this season.

Niklas Kronwall's first-period power-play goal was all the Red Wings needed to win their third straight, while Mikael Samuelsson, Jiri Hudler and Johan Franzen also scored. Henrik Zetterberg added two assists, as the Red Wings record at least a point for the sixth straight game (5-0-1).

The Blackhawks have lost 10 of their last 11 on the road versus the Stars and have been outscored 31-18 over the last six meetings (5-1-0) in Dallas.

Though Chicago has won five of the last eight overall against Dallas, including a 5-2 home win back on October 31, the Stars have earned a point in 17 of the past 21 meetings, going 15-3-1 with a tie in that span.

David Steckel had a goal and an assist, while Michael Nylander collected two helpers for the Capitals, who had a five-game winning streak snapped by the Devils on Saturday. Mike Green scored a goal and assisted on another before leaving in the first period with an undisclosed injury.

Jose Theodore stopped 28-of-32 shots to get the win.

Kyle Wellwood, Ryan Johnson, Pavol Demitra and Daniel Sedin also scored for the Canucks, who are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games. Mattias Ohlund collected three assists, while Taylor Pyatt and Jannik Hansen both recorded two helpers.

Roberto Luongo made 39 saves to notch his 11th win of the season.

Marc Savard registered a goal and three assists, while David Krejci had a goal and two helpers for the Bruins, who have won 10 of their last 12 games and lead the Northeast division with 28 points.

Phil Kessel scored a goal and assisted on another for Boston, which has won six straight games as the host. Manny Fernandez stopped 25-of-29 shots to pick up the win.

After playing in 551 games with the Habs from 1984-95, capturing two Stanley Cups, two Conn Smythe Trophies and three Vezina Trophies, things went south after a forgettable game.

The infamous night occurred on Dec.

Louis, MO (Sports Network) - The St. Louis Blues announced Wednesday that defenseman Erik Johnson underwent season-ending surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

Dr.

The Capitals had a five-game winning streak halted their last time on the ice, losing the back end of a home-and-home series with the New Jersey Devils. Saturday's shootout loss to the Devils was the opener of the trek and dropped Washington to just 3-4-2 as the visiting team this season.

The Southeast Division-leading Caps have done most of their damage at home, as they boast a 7-0-1 record at the Verizon Center.

The Rangers are leading the East with 30 points and have righted themselves after going 1-4-0 to start the month of November. New York began its three- game winning streak with last Wednesday's 5-2 triumph at New Jersey and followed with back-to-back shootout victories.

After edging visiting Boston, 3-2, on Saturday, the Blueshirts picked up another home win on Monday, downing Ottawa by a 2-1 score. Nikolai Zherdev scored the lone shootout goal to help the Rangers edge the Sens at MSG.

Boston, which leads the Northeast with 26 points, had a five-game winning streak halted by the Eastern Conference-leading New York Rangers on Saturday, but rebounded with a victory in Toronto on Monday night.

The Bruins have yet to suffer a regulation loss in November, as they've gone 6-0-1, with the lone setback coming in a shootout against the Rangers over the weekend.

Klesla was hurt during a November 14 game against Buffalo and is expected to be sidelined for at least a week.

In 13 games this season, Klesla has one goal and three assists with a plus-two rating.

Jarome Iginla and David Moss also scored for the inconsistent Flames, who are now 3-5 since a six-game win streak.

These two teams will meet in Denver on Thursday.

Toews was able to beat Ilya Bryzgalov through the legs in the shootout, and Sharp followed with a shot that beat the goaltender stick side.

Nikolai Khabibulin saved both Phoenix attempts, including a great glove save off Peter Mueller to secure the win.

Bryan McCabe scored twice and David Booth also tallied in regulation for the Panthers, who have won three of their last four games overall. Tomas Vokoun allowed three goals on 52 shots in the win. Vokoun made 15 saves in the first period and 20 more in the second.

Radim Vrbata, Steve Eminger and Evgeny Artyukhin scored for the Lightning, who have lost in a shootout in both of their first two games under interim head coach Rick Tocchet. Barry Melrose, a former coach turned hockey television personality for over a decade, returned to the bench this season but was fired on Friday after a 5-7-4 start.

Shawn Horcoff had a goal and two assists, while Andrew Cogliano, Sheldon Souray, Lubomir Visnovsky and Tom Gilbert each scored and added a helper for Edmonton, which came in having four combined goals during its recent three- game slide.

"[Roloson] was really on top of his game and when your goalie outplays the other guy, it's normally a pretty good indication of the result," Oilers head coach Craig MacTavish said.

After the overtime session ended with the score knotted 1-1, Petr Sykora's backhand was gloved down by Backstrom to start the shootout.

Zidlicky followed by faking backhand, then drifted to his right before sliding a forehand shot around Dany Sabourin.

Sergei Samsonov also scored for Carolina, which has won two straight following a three-game skid. The Hurricanes remain at home for two more contests in this four-game homestand which will continue on Friday against Phoenix.

Robert Lang scored the only goal for Montreal, which has dropped three of its last four games. Carey Price was tremendous between the pipes with 46 saves in defeat.