The 5pm game tonight will have the Sabres hosting the Capitals with their playoff spot already clinched. The quest for the Division Title will have to pass through Alexander Ovechkin (Box 15), which hasn't been the hardest of tasks in recent weeks. Ovechkin has only registered 4 points in the last couple weeks... including 0 points in the 7-1 romp over Tampa Bay. Don could use a big night from Ovechkin to help catch Dieter tonight.
At 5:30pm on TSN, the Rangers will host the Flyers. The Rangers looking to solidify their hold on a playoff spot tonight, whilst the Flyers are still only just playing for the future. The Rangers lead the series this season 4-2-0 and they have been hot of late going 3-1-1 in their last 5 games. If the Rangers are to win tonight, they would find themselves only 1 point back of 6th place Tampa and 3 points up on the lump of teams tied for 8th. For the top 3 teams in the pool, only Martin Straka (Box 19) was chosen between them and he may not figure into the line-up with a knee injury.
At 6:30pm, the Sharks travel to the Windy City to take on the Blackhawks. The Sharks go into tonight in 6th place, 1 point back of Minnesota (with this game in hand) and will face a Chicago team who has been playing a bit better of late, but are still nowhere near the playoff hunt. The only top 3 wild card in this game is Don having Evgeni Nabokov (Box 12)... if Nabokov starts tonight against Chicago, then he will have the opportunity to make up some more points. As I recall, Vesa Toskala (Box 6) started the last game, so there is a good chance that Nabokov will start tonight.
The Avalanche are in the middle of an Alberta project. They are trying to catch the Flames for 8th in the West, while taking on the lowly Oilers who are winless in their last 11 (their overtime loss does not count in a losing streak, as they received a point) . The Avs are 6 points back of the Flames with a game in hand and will face the Oilers one more time in Edmonton on Friday night. If Colorado loses tonight (somehow!), then Detroit and Nashville will automatically clinch their playoff spot in the West. As for major players in the pool, Jeff could climb back with a couple points from Andrew Brunette (Box 7).
Also on TSN tonight at 8pm, the Predators will go into Vancouver to take on the Canucks. The Predators, with a point from overtime, could clinch their playoff spot by themselves, despite the result from the game an hour earlier. The Canucks will look to keep their Northwest Division lead on Minnesota to 3 points with a deuce over Nashville. The Predators have owned the season series against the Canucks going 3-1-1 against the home team, which doesn't bode well for the Canucks. Granted the Canucks have TSN on their side, going 3-0-0 in games broadcast nationally on the network... and a current 3-game winning streak. This is another big game for Don as he has both Markus Naslund (Box 1) and Daniel Sedin (Box 7) and neither Dieter or Jeff hold any players in this game.
In Los Angeles at 8:30pm, the Kings will play host to the Stars at the Staples Center. The Stars currently sit in 7th, 2 points behind 5th place Minnesota (with 2 games in hand). The Kings, on the other hand, have been out of the playoff picture for some time now. Nothing can really be decided by the outcome of this match-up, but the Stars want to have a bit better of a grip on their playoff future and maybe want the likes of Vancouver or San Jose in the first round. Currently, they'll play Anaheim in the first round... a match-up which would probably be an epic bout. Both Jeff and Don have Jaroslav Modry (Box 10) and will hope to high hell that the Kings can open up a can on Dallas... but Jeff would prefer a Stars shutout, as he has Marty Turco (Box 6).
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