Oilers-Kings, Bruins-Red Wings highlight weekend schedule

Each Friday, NHL Network and ESPN analyst Kevin Weekes will provide readers with three games he is looking forward to that weekend:

New York Rangers at Florida Panthers (Friday, 7 p.m. ET; MSG2, BSFL, TVAS)

The Rangers (24-8-1) have been one of the top teams in the NHL this season, having lost two straight games just once. They began their post-holiday break with a 5-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday and head to Florida for a two-game trip. Defenseman Jacob Trouba was injured in the game but should play. Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad have been on fire all season and the fact that they've been able to be this good with all-world goalie Igor Shesterkin not at his best, has been impressive. Backup Jonathan Quick, however, is 9-1-1 with a 2.27 goals-against average and .920 save percentage. New York has perhaps been the most consistent team in the NHL this season.

The Panthers (20-12-2) have shown that last season's run to the Cup Final was no fluke, and defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2 prior to the break and the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-2 on Wednesday in their first game after the break. They'll have another test in the Rangers. Matthew Tkachuk hasn't been the offensive force he has been (24 points in 34 games), but Sam Reinhart leads them in goals (21) and points (42). He's scored at least 20 goals eight times but never hit 40 and is on pace for that this season. The fact that they've also been this good with two defenseman injured to start the season (Aaron Ekblad, Brandon Montour) and two departing in the offseason  (Marc Staal, Radko Gudas) has been impressive. But Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov and Uvis Balinskis have filled the gaps nicely.

Edmonton Oilers at Los Angeles Kings (Saturday, 10 p.m. ET; BSW TVAS2, CITY, SN, CBC)

The Oilers (16-15-1) have won three straight following a 5-0 win against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday, which also included wins at the New Jersey Devils and New York Rangers last week in which they scored four goals in the third period in each. Connor McDavid has surged up the NHL scoring leaders with 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) in his past 16 games. Zach Hyman has 20 goals and has been a big piece of their success. He is on pace for his first 40-goal season. Goalie Stuart Skinner and the defense have rebounded nicely since a very slow start to the season.

Los Angeles (20-8-4) is seeking its third straight home win, and playing better at home is something they need to do. They're 7-6-3 at Crypto.com Arena and 13-2-1 on the road. Cam Talbot has had an outstanding year. Kevin Fiala is starting to come alive for them. And defenseman Drew Doughty and center Anze Kopitar remain effective players in their 16th and 18th seasons respectively. The Kings lost to the Oilers in the first round of the playoffs last season but are better prepared to match up with them this season.

Boston Bruins at Detroit Red Wings (Sunday, 5 p.m. ET; NESN, BSDET, SN, TVAS)

Boston (20-7-6) had lost four straight games prior to a 4-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday and will be playing the second half of a back-to-back against the Red Wings, following a game against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. The Bruins have really had no dips the past two seasons, so losing four in a row was something new. They have a great goalie tandem, depth at forward and an excellent defense core, but for some reason, haven't matched up well against the Red Wings this season.

The Red Wings (16-15-4) are struggling, having lost nine of 11 entering Friday, but have defeated the Bruins twice this season, each coming on the road, 5-4 on Nov. 4 and 5-2 on Nov. 24, so they know they can hang with one of the best teams in the NHL. They have been allowing too many goals and have not been able to hold on to leads. The good news is Patrick Kane has 11 points in 11 games since joining them, including nine points during a five-game point streak and four-game goal streak. I love what Derek Lalonde has done with them. I just think they need to be more consistent defensively and the goalies need to be better, as was the case during their hot start to the season.