Goalie Announcements (Jan 2)

It's Day 2 of the New Year and we're starting to get back to normal around here or whatever normal actually means to this blog.

Six games on the schedule, starting at a reasonable hour and Week Fourteen is already in full flight.

Dale C. is off to a good start this week with 14 points in the first couple of nights, as is Eric at 13 points, Wes at 12 points, four teams at 11 points and another couple at 10 points. 

Down at the opposite end of the standings, Brian's team is still recovering from the holidays, down at 3 points through two nights, while three more teams are at 4 points and another three teams are at 5 points.

Jacob Markstrom (Chelsea) versus Marcus Hogberg (N/A)
The Canucks continue their World Juniors road trip back east in Ottawa tonight, taking on the Senators.  Chelsea has the only pool goalie going in this game tonight, seeing Jacob Markstrom hit the crease for the visitors again.  Chelsea's team is among those in the middle of the pack for the weekly scoring numbers, 6 points in two nights, hoping that her goalie can take full advantage of an Ottawa team struggling through injuries.

Mike Smith (Brian) versus Jimmy Howard (Tony)
The Flames and Red Wings are only one of two games tonight that feature a starting goalie combination that has two hockey pool goalies.  What a sad state of affairs.

Brian's basement team this week gets a start from the Flames in Mike Smith, working the first half of back-to-back nights, desperately seeking that win.  Tony's team is among those teams with 5 points this week and would like to see some distance between his and Brian's team this week.  Jimmy Howard gets that task for the home side.

Matt Murray (N/A) versus Henrik Lundqvist (Scott)
A good game for NBCSN's Wednesday night rivalry game, when the Penguins and the Rangers faceoff.  Scott's team is off to another rocky start this week, only 4 points through the first couple nights of action and it's only 1 point clear of the basement.  His goalie, Henrik Lundqvist, will have an uphill battle against Matt Murray and the Pittsburgh Penguins, as they have been really rolling of late.

Mackenzie Blackwood (N/A) versus Ben Bishop (Clayton)
The Devils and Stars get their 2019 portion of their campaign going tonight in Dallas and it's another game where there is only one hockey pool goalie going.  Ben Bishop will go for Clayton's team tonight, with his team up to 7th place after 9 points already this week.  It's not quite Mover & Shaker material, but his team is only 5 points back and could be up for a good night, assuming there's a win here against a lesser Devils team.  The Devils, however, are rocking a red-hot rookie in their net, one to keep an eye out for in the next Waiver Draft perhaps.

Martin Jones (Brenda & Seward) versus Philipp Grubauer (Jesse)
The second game to feature two pool goalies sees the Sharks into Denver to take on the Avalanche.  Brenda & Seward get Martin Jones going again after he ended up with the New Year's Eve game off.  The duo are another one of those teams at 6 points through two nights, while Jesse's team sits at 10 points, a pretty good start, and gets a rare start from Philipp Grubauer and the Avalanche. 

The Avalanche called up Pavel Francouz for backup tonight, as Semyon Varlamov is day-to-day with a lower-body injury.  There wasn't much more in the way of detail, might be just an extra day off, might be more.  If it's more, we'll definitely let you know.

Mikko Koskinen (Tony) versus Adin Hill (N/A)
The Edmonton Oilers will be taking on the Arizona Coyotes tonight in the desert, both teams not faring very well lately, the Oilers have lost six straight, while the Coyotes are 4-6-0 in their last 10.  Tony holds the only pool goalie in this game and he's got his fingers crossed that Mikko Koskinen can right the ship for the Oilers for the sake of his pool team, maybe not so much for the Oilers sake though.