It's a weird stretch in the early part of the NHL schedule, where there are 12 games tonight, no games on Friday night and then another 14 games on Saturday and they finish with three games on Sunday. Very up and down, if you ask me.The schedule may just be evening out for some of those teams that haven't played a whole lot yet. Edmonton, New Jersey, Florida and Tampa Bay have only played once each, so far this year. I would imagine that this schedule loopiness has something to do with that in one way or another.
With 12 games on the docket, there's a lot to get to, so let's have at it!
Cam Talbot (Mike) versus Jaroslav Halak (Stacey M.)The Oilers came directly from Sweden down to the eastern seaboard of the US to continue on a road trip to start the season, before heading back for their home opener. All indications are that they'll send Cam Talbot back to the crease for game two, while the Bruins will counter with their number two, Jaroslav Halak.
In the overall standings, this game is 18th versus 14th, with Jesse holding a 3-point lead over Stacey's team heading into the night. 4 points is enough to be a swing game in the standings, between goalie starts, especially with the extra points for shutout an ever-present possibility.
Semyon Varlamov (Wilton) versus Carter Hutton (Wes)Interesting match-up in Buffalo tonight, when the Avalanche go in to take on the Sabres. We know the Avs are coming along well in their rebuilding and it looks like we can start saying the same for the Sabres. They're at different points in the rebuild process, where the Avalanche are now becoming a contending team again, making the playoffs last year, and the Sabres have some of the young players in place, showing off what they can do. Do they have the goaltending though?
Two pool teams with 9 points each this week go head-to-head with their goalies in this one. Wilton's team sits in 7th and Wes' is in 16th, 6 points between each other and both have eyes on big prizes this season. It's another step in a long journey to the end of the year.
Joonas Korpisalo (Clayton) versus James Reimer (Dale C.)It's an all-pool match-up for the Panthers' home opener tonight, with the visiting Blue Jackets in town to take them on. The Jackets will be sending their number two, Joonas Korpisalo out to face the Panthers, while the cats have little choice in sending James Reimer out to greet them, with their 1A on the IR.
It's two pool teams at opposite ends of the standings spectrum, as Clayton's team leads the pool for the Mover & Shaker this week with 14 points, while Dale's team is down in the race for the Basement Dwelller with only 2 points.
Pheonix Copley (N/A) versus Keith Kinkaid (Neil)
The Devils will have their home opener tonight and they will get a Capitals team that played last night, winning at home against Vegas, as their opponent. Keith Kinkaid will get the team's second start of the season, just like getting the first, which is good news for Neil, who sits with 7 points this week, right in the middle of the Mover & Shaker race.
Aaron Dell (Troy) versus Henrik Lundqvist (Scott)The Sharks are going to let Aaron Dell run with the job in the crease for a little bit, since Martin Jones has been a bit shaky to start the season. Dell will make consecutive starts tonight, lining up against Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers, who are not exactly on the best of starts of their own, winless in their first three games of the year.
Troy and Scott are separated by only 2 points in the standings, which makes this into a pretty good swing game in the standings tonight. Troy's team has had a good start to the week, registering 10 points, but Scott could really use the help, having only 6 points, so far, this week.
Malcolm Subban (Eric) versus Casey DeSmith (N/A)We're expecting to see Malcolm Subban get his first start of the season for the Golden Knights, as they head to Pittsburgh on this current road trip of theirs. Subban has appeared once in relief already this year, but this will be his first start and only Eric's second goalie start of the season to date. Eric's team is sitting with 8 points this week, 6 points back of the weekly lead and his goalie will be looking to help turn the tides for a struggling Vegas team.
Jack Campbell (N/A) versus Carey Price (Stacey M.)
The Montreal Canadiens will be having their home opener tonight at the Bell Centre and it should come as no surprise, as Carey Price is set to take the crease for the home team. They will welcome a Kings team that is working without their number one and/or a pool goalie, which should help with proceedings in this celebration of a new year. Stacey M. is hoping for positive things out of her team and her goalie, as her team needs a boost from the 6 points they have this week.
Frederik Andersen (Derek B.) versus Jimmy Howard (Tony)
The Red Wings get the daunting task of trying to slow down the Maple Leafs tonight at the Little Caesar's Arena and it will be on Jimmy Howard to get in the way of a lot of rubber coming from the visitors. Frederik Andersen will likely have to be sharp as well, the Wings haven't been slouches out there, so it won't be the easiest of tests tonight.
Derek's team has been looking a bit sharper after a slow Week One, picking up 10 points already this week, but Tony's team has been just a bit better, already at 13 points in the week and up to 5th place in the standings.
Anders Nilsson (N/A) versus Andrei Vasilevskiy (Dale C.)The Tampa Bay Lightning will welcome the traveling Vancouver Canucks and since it's only the Bolts' second game of the year, you can expect nothing but the best out of their lineup tonight, including their number one goalie, Andrei Vasilevskiy. After a really slow start in the crease for Dale's team in the past week and a bit, he gets two starts tonight from his Florida-based keepers, trying badly to play catch-up in the standings. His team opens up in 23rd place, already 26 points out of 1st.
Mike Smith (Brian) versus Jake Allen (Steve)The Flames and Blues will clash in St. Louis tonight and it has some potential to be a pretty good game. The Flames have won their last two games, while the Blues are still winless in two games played, both teams will be sending out their number ones to get that much-needed win.
Brian leads Steve in the overall standings by 7 points, 28-21, and neither team has really found their groove in Week Two, just as yet. It is a busy night worth of action, so getting a goalie start will go a long ways to jump-starting their weeks.
Connor Hellebuyck (Jeremy) versus Pekka Rinne (John P.)It's a Vezina Trophy-type of match-up tonight in Nashville, when the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators go toe-to-toe. Connor Hellebuyck versus Pekka Rinne... it's a clash of the titans, early on in the regular season! When these two collided in the playoffs, it made for one hell of a series, where the Jets came out on top. I don't think the Predators have forgotten that.
John had a pretty good start to the season, but Week Two needs a bit of a boost, so he could really use a win from the home side to make up some of that ground lost in the first three nights of the week. Jeremy, on the other hand, is keeping pace with the leaders, opening up the night in 4th, only 5 points out of 1st.
Cam Ward (Scott) versus Devan Dubnyk (Wes)The Blackhawks are off to a rocking start, while the Wild are off to a rocky start to the season, both teams somewhat doing the opposite of what was expected of them, but it is still early on in the year to get too excited about it. Ward has been dynamite for the Blackhawks as their defacto number one, while Dubnyk hasn't yet won a game for the Wild, looking to change those fortunes here right away.
Both pool teams get their second start of the night in the last game on the schedule, as both Scott and Wes are looking to climb into the top 10 after Thursday night's action. Scott's team sits 11th, losing a tie-breaker for 10th, while Wes' team is in 16th, only 2 points out, but no tie-breaker in his favour, so he'll need help. This game will be a big one for both.
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