Goalie Announcements (Jan 1)

Happy New Year!  The calendar has officially flipped and we're ready to get this year started.

Three games on tap for New Year's Day and that includes the Winter Classic, which is going in Indiana, of all places this year, Notre Dame Stadium.  But you already knew that, reading the Winter Classic Preview yesterday, right?

It's pretty quiet for a Tuesday, but it is also a holiday, so there you have it!  The outdoor gets going shortly, so let's press publish on this one and get going.

Cam Ward (Scott) versus Tuukka Rask (Jesse)
Both coaches were nice enough to offer up their starting goalies yesterday after their respective practices, so we know that both Scott and Jesse will have their respective legs up this morning/afternoon for the Winter Classic today.  Both teams haven't been doing so well of late, Jesse's team is 20th in the second segment of the season, while Scott's is 24th and this would be a great scenario for the outdoor games pool, if there was one, since these two aren't close to the overall money and would have that leg up on the mini-game, thus far.

Michal Neuvirth (Stuart) versus Juuse Saros (Eric)
The first of two evening games will see the Flyers in Nashville to take on the Predators.  Neither one of the evening games have seen confirmed goalies, but three of the four teams played last night, including both of these teams, so we're going with the opposite starters from last night as the projected starters for tonight.  Stuart did get some minutes out of Neuvirth in relief last night, but that could mean just about anything.  Eric's keeper hasn't seen much action of late and will likely be a refreshing change to the Predators' lineup.

Jack Campbell (N/A) versus Marc-Andre Fleury (Troy)
The Golden Knights are the only one of the four late teams to not have played last night, which says to me that Fleury will get another start, since he's been the workhorse for the club and has been given just about all of the opportunity this season, only relenting for the odd back-to-back situation.  The Kings, on the other hand, welcomed Jack Campbell back from injury and I would have to believe that he will take the second half of Los Angeles' back-to-backs on the schedule, auditioning for a spot on a hockey pool roster for Week Eighteen.