Goalie Announcements (Feb 28)

The last day of February, eh?  With how cold it has been this year, not that Brian would know about that, you would have thought that this would have lasted forever, but I'm sure you're as glad as I am, but where did this hockey season go, right?

We're three nights into the week, leaving the back half of the week to go and some teams have points and others certainly do not this week.  Neil leads all teams in the weekly scoring with 20 points, but his lead is slim, only 2 points down to Wilton's team.  At the bottom, four teams are at 5 points to start play tonight and it's a broad stroke of teams too, from 6th down to 23rd.

A relatively quiet Thursday with only seven games on the schedule, but there's still plenty of chances for points tonight.

Garret Sparks (Grant) versus Robin Lehner (Chelsea)
Somehow the goalie match-up tonight is being overshadowed by a forward going back to Long Island tonight... go figure!  Grant and Chelsea's goalies are playing second fiddle to the return of John Tavares to the Nassau Coliseum and it's almost like this is the biggest news in hockey today.

Nevertheless, we'll give Garret Sparks and Robin Lehner their dues, since they are the most important players to this post, as Grant's team has stormed back up to 3rd place with 17 points, so far this week, while Chelsea's team isn't too far behind at 13 points.  The Leafs are on back-to-back nights, so if the Islanders stand up to their former captain, Chelsea could go level with Grant this week.  Interesting.

Brian Elliott (Troy) versus Sergei Bobrovsky (Kristy & Don)
A good Metro Division match-up in Columbus, where the Flyers are in to take on the Blue Jackets, as Troy continues to cash in on his recent pick-up of Brian Elliott in the Waiver Draft, already picking up his 5th start.  The Jackets are not taking this game lightly, going back to their number one, Sergei Bobrovsky, which is good news for Kristy & Don, as they are the team chasing Grant down for 3rd place, starting the night only 4 points back.

Louis Domingue (Eric) versus Tuukka Rask (Jesse)
The Lightning are on back-to-back nights, so it seems very likely we'll see Louis Domingue tonight, he's got the streak, so why not throw him against the Bruins?  The Bruins, on the other hand, have confirmed that Tuukka Rask will get the nod tonight and Jesse's team is trying to climb into that top five and he's closing up the gap, which now stands at 34 points right now and time to go in this season.  This could be a very good game, indeed.

Mikko Koskinen (Tony) versus Craig Anderson (Mike)
The Oilers, 3-5-2 in their last 10, pay a visit to the Senators, who are 3-7-0 in their last 10, but only one of these teams has illusions of the playoffs heading into this one.  Mikko Koskinen, who was pulled last night in Toronto, gets the start again tonight, while Craig Anderson plays out the season with yet another start at the other end.  Either way, 2 points to either Tony or Mike will be a pleasant surprise from their goalies here, as it could be a long finish to the year.  They'll get the minutes, but the points will be far and few between.

Thatcher Demko (Clayton) versus Darcy Kuemper (Neil) 
Neil has been very pleased with his Week Eighteen pick-up, Darcy Kuemper, because of 10 starts, 7 wins and 16 points.  Clayton also picked a goalie in that swap, Thatcher Demko of the Canucks, who is in to face the Coyotes tonight, in theory (not confirmed), has all zeroes, since getting hurt just after the players went live.  Timing is everything.  Clayton's team is only 8 points ahead of Neil's in the overall standings and if Clayton gets a goalie back, this could turn around... again, in theory.

Roberto Luongo (John P.) versus Malcolm Subban (N/A)
The Panthers are into Vegas for their annual stop on the NHL schedule to take on the Golden Knights and you know that John P. is betting on red (but mostly white) tonight, as his goalie, Roberto Luongo takes to the crease as the only pool goalie in this game.  John's team has gotten off to a decent start this week, posting 10 points through Wednesday, but of course, it could be better.  Tough task tonight, but the Panthers can be known to surprise.

Anton Khudobin (Grant) versus Jonathan Quick (Brenda & Seward)
The Stars and Kings will tangle in Los Angeles tonight and both goalies have been confirmed for this one, Anton Khudobin giving Grant another crease appearance tonight, while Jonathan Quick has been given the nod for the Kings, giving the pool's second duo a start.  We know how well Grant's team is doing this week, but the duo is not doing quite as well, one of those teams down with 5 points through three nights.  They could really use this 2 points to stay clear of the basement.