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Tuesday, November 23
Dallas, Buffalo limp into Cup finals rematch

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The Dallas Stars, entering Wednesday's Stanley Cup finals rematch with Buffalo, are in an extremely odd position right now. Coming off a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, the Stars rest in last place in the Pacific Division with a record of 6-5-1. Also, there's little doubt that the Rangers have a better team than the Islanders, but the Blueshirts have one more loss this season.

Buffalo at Dallas, 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, ESPN2
Coach Ken Hitchcock knew his division would be tough -- even if his team was 100 percent healthy -- but no way could he guess that a game over .500 would land him in the cellar.

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NY Islanders at NY Rangers, 7:30 p.m. ET Wednesday --
Big budget and expectations vs. the exact opposite. But this matchup has intrigue because the Rangers have played a lot like a low-budget team, losing four straight before tying Montreal 2-2 Saturday night. During this slide, the Rangers went more than 250 minutes without a goal. The Isles? Well, they haven't won in three games, but who knows what will happen when these New York rivals face off.

Perhaps, it's not a great time to face the Buffalo Sabres, who fell to the Stars in six games in the Stanley Cup finals just a few months ago. But fortunately for the Stars, the Sabres are in even worse shape. Dominik Hasek is out with a groin injury, and Buffalo is off to a 3-8-1 start.

"It will be interesting," Stars center Mike Modano told The Dallas Morning News. "They're struggling like we are. But it will be good for the fans. I think they're looking forward to it more than we are."

Philadelphia at Anaheim, 10:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, ESPN2
Call it the contest between sweet and sour. Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne aren't soft, but if no one messes with them, they just play hockey. But if and when Eric Lindros is healthy -- he's been out with a virus -- he kicks up dust all over the ice.

Kariya and Selanne might be a bit more skilled; however, Lindros is more skilled than they are mean. Advantage Lindros, the streaking Flyers and the paying customer.

Having said all that, the play of John Vanbiesbrouck and Guy Hebert likely will determine the victor.

Florida at Vancouver, 10 p.m. ET Friday
Maybe this time, we can see Pavel Bure face the Vancouver Canucks for the first time since he was traded to the Panthers last season.

When the teams faced off in South Florida on Oct. 20 (a 5-2 Panthers victory), Bure missed the game because of a groin injury.

Now, The Russian Rocket is flying once again, and it'll be interesting to see how the Vancouver fans react. Bure refused to play for the Canucks last season, sitting out until a trade could be worked out. It was a less-than-amicable separation.

Both teams enter the contest rejuvenated from a year ago, so the trade must have been mutually positive. With a healthy Bure, everyone knew Florida would be better. But the Canucks, with an excellent blend of youth and experience, have seven wins -- almost a third of last season's win total (23).

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