Goalie Announcements (Feb 1)

Oh sweet merciful crap, we have more than three games going on tonight!

Friday, Saturday and Sunday are the last hurrah of the second segment of the season and then we'll activate thew new players and off the stretch run we go.

Jeremy still leads the weekly scoring through four nights, up at 14 points, while we still have a couple of teams still without points in Tony and Stacey C., but all of this is about to change over the weekend and things are going to get good again.

And away we go!

Cam Ward (Scott) versus Carter Hutton (Wes)
The Blackhawks and Sabres lead off our schedule tonight and in the goaltending match-up in the pool, it's Scott's team versus Wes', teams that are pretty far apart in the weekly standings.  Scott's team has only picked up 2 points, still clear of the basement for now, while Wes' team ranks tied for 3rd in the week with 8 points and back in the hunt for the Mover & Shaker.

Juuse Saros (Eric) versus Roberto Luongo (John P.)
Next up, it's the Predators and Panthers and this match-up could have been all about John P. and his two goalies, but Nashville has decided to go with their number two tonight, as they play on back-to-back nights, making this an Eric versus John P. match-up, two teams separated in the weekly standings by 3 points, well within a shutout.  Eric's team is tied for 3rd at 8 points, while John's team is safe at 5 points.

Andrei Vasilevskiy (Dale C.) versus Thomas Greiss (Stuart)
Another two hockey pool teams vastly far apart getting starts on Long Island tonight, as the Lightning are in to face the Islanders in a division leaders battle.  Dale C. has 1 point this week, avoiding the bottom by the tips of his fingers, while Stuart is up at 7 points this week, not too far out of the race at this point.  Both pool teams need wins, but for very different reasons.

Anders Nilsson (Picked) versus Casey DeSmith (Benson)
Early on, it was beginning to look a lot like this would have been a wash for goalie minutes, between two goalies that were only just selected in this week's Waiver Draft, but the Penguins have opted to start Casey DeSmith tonight, giving Benson's Week Nine selection another go against Ottawa.  Benson's team is at 6 points this week, well clear of the bottom and still a ways from the top.  A win tonight helps both of those situations out immensely.

Mike Smith (Brian) versus Braden Holtby (Stacey C.)
10 points separates Brian and Stacey C. in the standings and Stacey's team is one of those in dire need of some points this week, but it's going to get some help on Friday night.  Braden Holtby will give him the first of two starts in Washington, playing host to the Flames.  The Flames will counter with Mike Smith, with Brian looking to see his team move up from the equator of the standings, sitting 2 points back of 12th place.

Frederik Andersen (Derek B.) versus Jimmy Howard (Tony)
Derek B. will get at least one more start out of Frederik Andersen before so unceremoniously dropping him this week in the Waiver Draft, looking to capitalize on rookie goalies.  The tank for freshman points has been well-documented this week and standing in the way of another 2 points through veteran players is Jimmy Howard and the Red Wings.  Tony's team is still looking for its first 2 points of the week and the Wings will be in tough to get them, but anything is possible.

Maxime Lagace (N/A) versus Petr Mrazek (Stacey C.)
The second of Stacey C.'s starts goes in Carolina tonight, when the Hurricanes play host to the Golden Knights.  Petr Mrazek gets the nod for the home side, set to make his 24th appearance this season.  The Hurricanes starter currently ranks 38th among all goalies in points this year with 22, 6 points back of 31st in the goalie rankings, which would be enough to consider him a decent starter in the pool this year.

Devan Dubnyk (Wes) versus Ben Bishop (Clayton)
The last match-up of the night is a good one in the hockey pool, as Wes and Clayton are up in the weekly standings, 8-7, respectively, and they are good and close in the overall standings, 4th versus 7th, respectively, when Devan Dubnyk goes for the Wild and Ben Bishop goes for the Stars in Dallas tonight.  A division clash, two teams holding playoff spots... yeah, this could be a really good game tonight.