WATCH Lightning vs. Stars Live Stream Online: NHL 2016 Top Division Rivals & Playoff Rankings

Hockey's back for the official 2015-2016 NHL season, so get ready, MstarsNews readers!

The Tampa Bay Lightning battle it out on the ice against the Dallas Stars in Week 23 of the regular season on Thursday, March 17 at 8:30 p.m. EST from the American Airlines Center in Texas. Read on to see where fans can watch and listen to a live stream of the highly-anticipated Thursday evening hockey game online and catch up-to-date feeds and coverage on highlight plays and scores.

Before heading into the official playoff season, both Tampa Bay and Dallas maintain extremely impressive top spots in Joe McDonald's official NHL power rankings for ESPN.com (out of a total 30 teams):

Lightning (5): "Ben Bishop posted his 16th career shutout and fourth of the season with a 4-0 win over the Blue Jackets on Sunday. The win ended Tampa's three-game losing skid. Captain Steven Stamkos reached the 30-goal plateau for the fifth time."    

Record: 40-25-5 (3rd in Atlantic Division)

Stars (6): "The Stars posted a big 5-2 win over Blackhawks on Friday to temporarily gain sole possession of first in the Central. However, the Blues defeated the Stars in OT on Saturday, and the teams now share the division lead with 91 points."     

Record: 41-21-9 (1st in Central Division).

Tonight's monumental game will be broadcasted live on local sports channels FSSW and SunS.

For fans who want to try out a free live stream (which may mean downloading a torrent), click here. Also try this or another option.

For a one-time fee, fans can access a NHL Gamecenter Live pass.

ESPN, ESPN Scoreboard, and NHL.com  are both good sources for up-to-date game coverage and feeds.

More radio listening options for Lightning and Stars.

Official NHL team websites: Lightning and Stars.

Enjoy the exciting hockey game from Texas this evening, and always stick with MstarsNews for additional NHL gameday coverage later this week. Which top division rival will snag the big win tonight?