Looking at who’s playing tonight:
I have a gut feeling the Flyers will be fired up tonight and give Columbus a run for their money. Mason has been improving as of late and the Flyers seem like they are getting back on track. What’s with that? Two seasons in a row they have come out of the gate with a goat instead of a horse. No matter; as long as they continue to up their game they should be right in the mix come playoff time. The Blue Jackets on the other hand look to be battling with all their might just to get points. They won last game, but that was McElhinney’s first win this season; he has an ugly .887 save %. I predict a 4-2 win for Philadelphia in tonight’s game.
(CLB) McElhinney VS (PHI) Mason – both confirmed.
The Capitals will be hosting the New Jersey Devils tonight; and guess who is starting for the Devils? Who other than Cory Schneider in his 16th straight start, crazy isn’t it? The top line for New Jersey has been somewhat productive this season; but not a lot of depth scoring. Cammalleri and Jagr have been putting up reasonable points; but a good chunk of New Jersey’s points have come from the defense. Young stud Damon Severson has been phenomenal so far, and veteran Marek Zidlicky has started to heat up over the last couple of weeks. The Capitals have been spreading out the offense more this season than years in the past...perhaps a new coach has something to do with that. Marcus Johansson and Andre Burakovsky have been excellent for Washington so far this season. Johansson has 12 points in 15 games with 8 goals and Burakovsky also has 12 points in 15 games, but with 3 goals; great start for the 19 year old. A 4-1 victory for the Flyers is how I see this game finishing.
(NJD) Schneider VS (WSH) Holtby – both confirmed.
The Pittsburgh Penguins will be in Toronto tonight versus the Maple Leafs who have been playing solid hockey lately. Crushing the Bruins the other night was a big win for Toronto; and of course their fans that have a distinctive hate for Boston, kind of like how Montreal does; just for different reasons. Phil Kessel has been excellent as of late, but don’t let his incredible wrist shot take away from the revamped bottom six that has Toronto on track for a more consistent effort nightly. The additions of Komarov, Sanotrelli, Winnik and Polak have really made an impact on the team; they have added some grinders and some strength which has paid dividends thus far. Toronto always has trouble with Sidney Crosby…who doesn’t? If they want to win tonight’s game they will have to contain Crosby and of course keep an eye on Kunitz, Malkin and the red hot Hornqvist. Letang seems to have settled back in nicely for Pittsburgh after having a stroke last season; he has 12 points in 14 games so far. It’s an absolute must for the Leafs to stay out of the penalty box as the Penguins have one of the best power plays in the league if not the best. This game I see ending in a 3-3 tie going into overtime, where the Leafs come out on top with a game winning overtime goal from JVR.
(PIT) Greiss VS (TOR) Bernier – both confirmed.
The Detroit Red Wings are hosting an old Western Conference rival tonight - the mighty Chicago Blackhawks. Detroit has struggled to get 2 points from their opponents over the past couple weeks and I expect that they are in for a tough challenge tonight versus the Hawks. Pavel Datsyuk will return to the lineup tonight for Detroit, which will certainly give them a much needed offensive boost up front, however look for the Wings have a slow start coming off a 4 day break. If the Wings can start on time tonight and get some secondary scoring from the likes of Tatar/Abdelkader/Sheahan/Jurco, look for Detroit to have a good showing since they have only won 1 in their last 5 game and you can be sure Babcock and company will be looking to put an end to this skid tonight. Chicago hasn’t exactly been the powerhouse I expected…They are not playing bad by any means, but they are not playing stellar hockey on the road. They have won their last two games and big guns for Chicago have been somewhat silent lately, production wise at least. Patrick Kane has been quiet up to this point in the season. He is usually a 70-80 pt player. Part of his slow start is due to lack of shots, but also playing with new line mates every few games doesn’t exactly help to get the chemistry going. Crawford has been holding down the fort quite well recently and holds a .938 save percent in his last 4 outings. I predict a closely fought game and the Wings winning this one 3-2 in regulation.
(CHI) Crawford VS (DET) Howard – both confirmed.
Roberto Luongo and the Panthers will be hosting the Islanders tonight. Halak will be between the pipes for New York; he’s had two shutouts in a row and three wins in a row. The Isanders are looking great this season with the summer additions really making an impact. Florida has been off to a better start than I thought they were going to…not that its overly impressive. Luongo is certainly a reason why they have been able to stay in some games they maybe shouldn’t have been in. He has a .928 save percent which is excellent considering. The Panthers are a very young team and have some quality young talent; I am high on Barkov on forward and Ekblad on defense. It will likely be a few years before you see anything positive come out of Florida. Brock Nelson has been absolutely outstanding for the Islanders. Between Tavares, Okposo and Nelson as the high end talent, they have a good supporting cast for the first time in Kulemin, Strome, Grabovski and Nielsen. At the start of the season I called the Islanders to be the most improved team, so far so good. The Isles should come out on top tonight; I predict a tight 3-1 victory for the Islanders in regulation.
(NYI) Halak VS (FLA) Luongo – both confirmed.
More than likely Ryan Miller will be between the pipes in Vancouver tonight as they host the Arizona Coyotes. Will Smith start? I don’t know yet…they Coyotes played last night and Smith was the starter. They lost 5-3 vs Calgary. So I have a feeling the backup will be in tonight, which is Devan Dubnyk. Arizona seems to be giving up a lot of goals (56); they are -16 as a team on the season. With that in mind Miller has been playing lights out and has the Canucks on track for a huge improvement over last season. Miller currently has 11 wins and 2 losses on the season with a .910 save percent; he must be so happy he is out of Buffalo. (Sorry Sabres fans, but the truth hurts sometimes!). The Sedin twins and Vrbata have been great so far; although at the moment Radim Vrbata is injured. What I have been impressed with is the play of Higgins and Bonino together; I didn’t think Bonino was as good as he is. Edler has fit in well on the first powerplay for the Canucks; so if you need a defenseman, I think he’s a good pickup. Vancouver will hand Arizona a lashing tonight; I’m thinking 4-1 Canucks.
(ARI) Dubnyk VS (VAN) Miller – neither confirmed.
Best of luck in your fantasy and enjoy the weekend!
Thanks for reading.