Goalie Announcements (Mar 2)

It's Saturday once again, the Week Twenty-Two edition!

Only two afternoon games, so we plowed through the projected goalies already, taking a stab at some guesses, as at the hour that the timestamp reads down at the bottom of this post is still pretty early.  I wanted to get some stuff done today, so up and at it I was.

Neil heads into Saturday's action at the top of the weekly standings with 28 points, but with 10 games on the schedule, that's far from safe.  11 teams are within 10 points of the top and there are going to be a lot of players going, so it's anyone's game this week.

Down at the bottom, Wes has had another stunningly difficult week, down at 7 points, it's either feast or famine for that guy it seems.  10 points, however, gives him access to the other 12 teams in the standings, his team could find his way up a ways, if they find a hot streak on Saturday, which has to be a small glimmer of hope.

So, let's see how it's all going to shake out in the respective creases, shall we?

Mikko Koskinen (Tony) versus Joonas Korpisalo (N/A)
Afternoon hockey in Columbus sees the Oilers take on the Blue Jackets and both teams are coming off of wins on Thursday and both are looking to make waves in the standings, so they'll want to keep the momentum, right?  Well, the Jackets have bigger fish to fry tomorrow night, so since neither team has committed to their goalies this morning, I am suggesting this match-up. 

Cam Ward (N/A) versus Jack Campbell (N/A)
Nothing confirmed here, but it looks like the afternoon tilt between the Blackhawks could be a wash in the crease.  The Kings played last night, so it seems reasonable that Campbell goes for the home side, while the Blackhawks start back-to-backs, but are in San Jose tomorrow and I think they would give Corey Crawford the run there.  Regardless, no pool goalies are going for the Blackhawks in either situation.  What a bore!

Mackenzie Blackwood (N/A) versus Tuukka Rask (Jesse)
A game that's confirmed a day ahead of time!  How nice!  Jesse gets the only confirmed hockey pool start between the Devils and the Bruins, as Tuukka Rask gets the nod for the home side today.  Jesse's team has moved its way up to 5th place with a decent week, to date, notching 18 points, but not really making any gains on 4th place... yet.  His team is making a pretty good run of things at the moment though.

Carter Hutton (Wes) versus Frederik Andersen (Wilton)
Frederik Andersen was confirmed nice and early this morning by the Leafs for the start against the Sabres.  Wilton's team is doing well this week, up at 25 points, up in the mix for the Mover & Shaker, only 3 points back of the lead, and gets this start here, which bodes well for him.  The Sabres, on the other hand, played last night, so this is just an educated guess, putting Hutton up there, but it hasn't been confirmed at the time of the post.

Casey DeSmith (Benson) versus Antti Niemi (N/A)
Both the Penguins and the Canadiens played last night, so the assumption early on here is that neither of last night's goalies will go back-to-back, but that's not always the case, is it?  The Canadiens may want to go back to Carey Price, since this is the Penguins coming to town, but they aren't quite the same as they have been in the past.  Neither goalie confirmed here, just a guess.

Anders Nilsson (Stuart) versus Andrei Vasilevskiy (Dale C.)
We know that Andrei Vasilevskiy will be going for the Lightning tonight, wearing those sleek black duds, which means that Dale C. gets a start tonight.  Dale's team hasn't been great this week, posting only 15 points, so far, but could click into the top half of the weekly standings with a solid result tonight.  The Senators are playing the second half of back-to-backs tonight, so it's a fair assumption that they'll go with Nilsson, since they have plenty of faith in him... or does the new coaching staff have that kind of faith?  We will see.

Petr Mrazek (Stacey C.) versus Sam Montembeault (N/A)
The Carolina Hurricanes were winners at home to the Blues last night and travel to Florida tonight, where they are expecting to face a goalie making his NHL debut.  The Hurricanes should be going with the goalie that didn't play last night, which could be good news for Stacey C., but again, not confirmed.  Petr Mrazek has been good this season at times and that's why they are right in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Jimmy Howard (Tony) versus Darcy Kuemper (Neil)
Nothing confirmed for the Red Wings and Coyotes tonight in the desert, but all signs are pointing to the match-up above, which should suit both Tony and Neil quite well.  Both teams are vying for the Mover & Shaker and their goalies are going head-to-head, in theory, so they'll be keeping a close eye on this one, I'm sure.

Anton Khudobin (Grant) versus Jordan Binnington (N/A)
No one was confirmed for Dallas and St. Louis at the time of the post, but with the Stars winning on Thursday, they should ride the hot hand, while the Blues played last night and will want to go back to their hot hand, following a loss to the Hurricanes.  This match-up feels pretty likely, which is good news for Grant, seeing as though he has the only projected goalie in this one.

Devan Dubnyk (Wes) versus Mike Smith (Brian)
It's a celebration kind of night in Calgary, so the festivities will be starting early and likely running exceptionally long, which doesn't bode well for either goalie, as their pregame warm-ups will probably mean next to nothing.  Nevertheless, neither team has confirmed who will be ice-cold at the start of this game, but we're assuming that it will be Dubnyk versus Smith, playing for teams down at the bottom of the weekly standings.  If I were these teams, I would be playing the teams that they would feel most comfortable suffering groin injuries, but that's just me.