from Katie Strang of ESPN,

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- Carolina Hurricanes: It's an uphill battle for GM Ron Francis and first-year coach Bill Peters with the Canes currently mired in a five-game losing streak that has them 29th overall in the league, ahead only of the beleaguered Edmonton Oilers. Most recently, they were smoked 5-1 by the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday. Cue the Eric Staal and Jordan Staal trade speculation.

- The Red Wings in the shootout: Asked about the team's 1-5 record in the shootout this season, forward Tomas Tatar said that with all the skill in Detroit's dressing room, he'd figure the team would be one of the best in the league in the skills competition. Instead, it is one of the worst. Mike Babcock has his crew working on it in practice, treating it now as a special-teams unit, but you have to wonder if it's more mental than anything.

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- Anaheim Ducks: With a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Saturday, the Ducks recorded their seventh straight win to improve to 21-6-5. They lead the league with 47 points. A big part of that has been the play of goaltender Frederik Anderson, who has been the netminder of record during that span. According to Elias Sports Bureau, he is only the third goaltender in franchise history to win seven straight in the regular season. Anderson has given up just four goals in the last three games.

- T.J. Oshie: Another team surging in the West is St. Louis, with the Blues recording their fourth consecutive victory with a 3-2 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday, and Oshie scored the game-winner for the second straight game. Oshie also tallied the game-winner in the Blues' 6-3 victory against the Islanders on Thursday.

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