Thursday, January 10, 2019

Goalie Announcements (Jan 10)



Even with a limited amount of games last night, Wes' team was still able to find some points, as his team is riding one hell of a hot streak at the moment.  His team is now up to 22 points through three nights of action and 4 points clear of Jesse's team in the weekly rankings.  12 teams have made it into double-digits this week, as the scoring rate has still been pretty decent through Wednesday's action.

Scott still has a handle on the Basement Dweller situation, only 4 points are in the bank, so far this week, but Stacey C., Neil and Benson are all at 5 points and there are another five teams in the weekly standings that could be passed with a shutout.  That's at least some positive news for Scott's team.

12 games on the schedule tonight, which makes for a pretty busy night.  There are no plans for any shenanigans tonight, plus the Canucks are playing, so there's a fine chance that the updates will be flowing on the website as play goes on.

Braden Holtby (Stacey C.) versus Jaroslav Halak (Stacey M.)
It's a meeting of the Stacey goalies in Boston tonight, when the Capitals visit the Bruins.  It's two teams that have had very opposite fortunes this season, as Stacey M. has been up among the money leaders for the better part of the season, while Stacey C. is narrowly avoiding dropping out of the top 20.  Stacey C. has seen some gains in the second segment though, tied for 11th in the middle part of the season and could use a boost from a win tonight from the visitors.

Michael Hutchinson (N/A) versus Keith Kinkaid (Neil)
Goaltending hasn't been a great strength for Neil's team this season, tied for 19th in the first segment of the year, tied for last in this second segment.  Keith Kinkaid gives his team another start tonight, as the Devils host the Maple Leafs at the Rock, looking to regain that magic he had last season, when he usurped the number one role for the Devils.

Robin Lehner (Chelsea) versus Henrik Lundqvist (Scott)
Big New York rivalry game tonight at MSG, but more importantly, it's a swing game in the Basement Dweller standings for this week, as Scott's team trails Chelsea's team by 2 points in the Week Fifteen ranks.  Unfortunately for Scott, the crease has been Chelsea's strong suit in this segment of the season, leading all pool teams with 36 points, thanks to excellent efforts from the likes of Robin Lehner and the Islanders.  Scott's team ranks 20th in the same time frame with 13 points, really in need of Henrik Lundqvist to get his act together and start winning more games.

Anton Khudobin (Grant) versus Carter Hart (N/A)
Grant's team has not been relying on his goaltending at all this season, ranking dead last in goalie points this season with only 22 points, but his team still ranks 3rd in the overall standings.  So when he gets a rare start like tonight, his team relishes the opportunity to take a couple of points from a position of weakness.  Waiver Draft pickup Anton Khudobin gets the call for his team tonight, who has 8 points in six appearances, since being activated.

Juuse Saros (Eric) versus Joonas Korpisalo (Clayton)
Between the Predators playing the second half of back-to-backs tonight and the Blue Jackets drama unfolding this morning, this match-up seemed rather destined early on today.  Both Eric and Clayton have not seen many good returns from their goaltending in this middle part of the season, stuck right in the middle with 18 and 14 points, respectively.  This week, both teams are on the right side of the scoring ranks, looking for a good night to maybe bump closer to the Mover & Shaker race, since both look clear of the Basement Dweller... for now.

Petr Mrazek (Stacey C.) versus Andrei Vasilevskiy (Dale C.)
Stacey C. gets the benefit of a second start tonight, when the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Tampa Bay Lightning.  Petr Mrazek has been tapped as the Canes keeper, looking to add to a decent second segment from the crease for Stacey's team, ranking 5th in the pool with 27 points.  Dale C. gets yet another nod from Andrei Vasilevskiy and the Bolts tonight.  The injury to the Bolts keeper this season has really tempered Dale's goalie numbers, but his team has seen 25 points in this second segment from the crease and that's not too bad considering.

Carey Price (Stacey M.) versus Jordan Binnington (N/A)
And as it so happens, both Staceys get two goalie starts tonight, as Stacey M. gets another appearance from Carey Price, when the Canadiens take on the Blues in St. Louis.  Price is the 9th ranked goalie in hockey pool scoring this season, helping Stacey's team to 3rd among all teams in goalie points this season.

Connor Hellebuyck (Jeremy) versus Devan Dubnyk (Wes)
Didn't we just see this match-up not very long ago?  Jeremy's team is one of those within a shutout of the Basement Dweller nod this week and he didn't get the win when the Jets were at home in this home-and-home series with the Wild, so he's got to hope for a road win against a very hot goalie going on the other side.  How do you know that Devan Dubnyk is hot?  He's on Wes' team... that's how.

James Reimer (Dale C.) versus Cam Talbot (Mike)
Mike's team is starting to get starts from Cam Talbot and the Oilers again, which is good news for his pool team, and tonight the match-up will be against the Florida Panthers.  Mike's team isn't off to the best of starts this week, 8 points through Wednesday night, but if the Oilers are indeed getting their game back, then things might start to turn around again for him.  On the other side, Dale C. gets his second start of the night from James Reimer and the Panthers, really trying to chase down that Mover & Shaker this week.

Darcy Kuemper (N/A) versus Jacob Markstrom (Chelsea)
It has been a very relaxed schedule for the Vancouver Canucks of late, which leads me to believe that Jacob Markstrom should, but unconfirmed, get the start tonight against the Arizona Coyotes.  Chelsea's team would be very much appreciative of the start, I'm sure, but if it isn't Markstrom's go tonight, then this game will be moot in the crease.

Martin Jones (Brenda & Seward) versus Marc-Andre Fleury (Troy)
Good Pacific Division match-up in Vegas tonight, as the Sharks and Golden Knights will go once again on the strip.  This week, these two teams are separated by 4 points, Troy's team holding an 11-7 advantage over the pool's second duo.  Troy also holds the hockey pool's best goalie tandem, thanks mostly to far and away the pool's best goalie in Marc-Andre Fleury.  The Sharks are starting to come on a bit now and you can tell, since Martin Jones is the 3rd ranked goalie in the pool.

Marcus Hogberg (N/A) versus Jonathan Quick (Derek B.)
Either way for Ottawa, they're going to have a goalie that isn't in the hockey pool tonight in their second half of back-to-back nights.  On the plus side, the Kings will be sending Jonathan Quick back to the crease, good news for Derek's team tonight, as they try to keep the pace with the weekly leaders in scoring.  Derek's team starts the night at 10 points, still quite a ways back of the leader, but a big result tonight could do wonders.

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