Goalie Announcements (Nov 24)

It was a great day off yesterday, thanks to the US Thanksgiving... we all got a chance to enjoy some football for a change of pace. You know, if you're into that sort of thing.

Let's see, we had 15 games on Wednesday night and it didn't exactly produce the results that I'm sure a lot of teams were looking for in the survivor pool.  Only two teams had qualified going in and it looked like the other six had at least one shot each of making it through.  Sadly, only two made it.  Grant and Wilton were the only two to qualify on Wednesday, leaving four teams to still do so before the week is out.

Thankfully, there are 14 more games going on tonight, so we're really getting our fill, aren't we?  Let's see if Stacey M., Tony, Mike or Stacey C. can get a win out of these games.  With the day off in between, it should be safe to assume each team will be going with their number one... with games starting at 11am MT, it's a very early post, if we don't have any confirmations.

Matt Murray (Stacey M.) versus Anton Khudobin (N/A)
Stacey M. will be getting the first of two starts on this Black Friday with the opening game of the day, the exceptionally early start between the Penguins and Bruins in Boston.  Matt Murray has been tapped as the Pittsburgh starter, which could be all the Stacey needs this week.  The Bruins will be going back to Anton Khudobin, who's stock is rising significantly, ahead of the Waiver Draft next week.

Jaroslav Halak (Benson) versus Brian Elliott (Stacey C.)
It looks like Stacey C. will be getting an afternoon start as well, as Brian Elliott and the Flyers will be playing host to the Islanders.  The Islanders starter is still up in the air, but whether or not it is Jaroslav Halak or Thomas Greiss, neither are surviving goalies at this point, it will just be a matter of whether or not Benson or Dale B. gets the start in this one for overall points.  The suggestion is Halak will get the nod, but it may not really matter either way, because both have played well.

Jonathan Bernier (Scott B.) versus Devan Dubnyk (Brenda & Seward)
There's still no Semyon Varlamov for the Avalanche these days, as his illness is now running him into the ground.  This will be his second straight start missed out on being under the weather and one would begin to suspect that things are a little bit worse than the Avalanche may make us think.  Instead, it will be Bernier versus Dubnyk in Minnesota in a big Central Division tilt this afternoon.

Connor Hellebuyck (Neil) versus John Gibson (Tony)
The Anaheim Ducks open up a difficult back-to-back, this afternoon at home to Winnipeg and tomorrow night in Los Angeles, both of their opponents are above them in the standings, so it's going to be a tough slog.  We were waiting until the last minute for posting this for confirmation, as we think John Gibson should be getting the nod for the Ducks and he'll get a tough test in Winnipeg's new number one, Connor Hellebuyck.

Jimmy Howard (Dale C.) versus Henrik Lundqvist (Brian)
Doesn't look like Petr Mrazek will get the first half of the back-to-back games this weekend, as Jimmy Howard has been tapped as the likely starter tonight on Broadway against Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers.  Mike will have to wait until Saturday, if he still actually needs his win, to try and collect it from his Detroit keeper.

Craig Anderson (Tony) versus Sergei Bobrovsky (Derek B.)
The Senators open back-to-back nights in Columbus on Friday night and they will be presenting their hosts, the Blue Jackets, with their number one goalie, Craig Anderson, for their hospitality tonight.  The Blue Jackets should be doing much of the same tonight, making this into a good battle of number ones in Ohio.  Sergei Bobrovsky has been worth the price of admission this season and will try to throw a wrench into Tony's works tonight.

Frederik Andersen (Mike) versus Cam Ward (Stacey M.)
All indications are pointing at an all-survival match-up in Carolina tonight, as the Maple Leafs and Hurricanes will be swinging for the fences tonight.  Mike's only start will come from Leafs starter Frederik Andersen, while Stacey M. may have already picked up her win in the earliest game of the day, but if that doesn't happen, her team will have one more crack at it with Cam Ward in net for the Hurricanes.