Goalie Announcements (Mar 9)

We're into the home stretch finish of Week Twenty-Three and Neil is running away with the Mover & Shaker race, now up to 26 points and a 7-point lead over three teams and there are a couple more teams 8 points back.  That looks awfully safe to me, but this is why we play the game!

Brian's team continues to struggle this week and at an unprecedented rate as well.  His team is still stuck at 2 points this week and has dropped from 10th to 17th in the process and there's an outside shot it call a bit further, if they don't pick up their socks on Saturday.

12 games on the schedule on Saturday and we'll do our very best to see what kind of guess work we have to do today.  The first game isn't until 1pm MT, but that doesn't mean there won't be guessing, as I don't plan to sit here all morning and wait for the news to drop.  There's stuff to do and steps to get!

Carter Hutton (Wes) versus Philipp Grubauer (Jesse)
In the early, early game, it will be the Buffalo Sabres and the Colorado Avalanche in Denver and we know one goalie for sure, as Carter Hutton has been tapped for the Sabres, offering up a start to Wes' team, which has been a bit better this week, up at 14 points, right in the middle of the weekly standings.  No indication on the Avalanche goalie, at the time of posting, but an early afternoon game is ripe for the picking for Philipp Grubauer, but the Avalanche are scratching and clawing for points, so they could swing back to their number one in that case.

Jordan Binnington (N/A) versus Aaron Dell (Troy)
Nothing confirmed for an afternoon game in San Jose, when the Sharks host the Blues.  The home side is much in the same boat as the Avalanche above, as they played last night as well and get an early afternoon game on Saturday.  The match-up is a pair of goalies that didn't play in each of their team's last games, the Blues coming off a back-to-back earlier in the week, so this looks like a reasonable match-up on paper.

Frederik Andersen (Wilton) versus Mikko Koskinen (Tony)
We're only 50% confirmed for the finish of the Maple Leafs' swing through Western Canada and it is the Leafs starter that we know tonight and it's right back to Frederik Andersen, who is really carrying the load again this year.  Wilton's team opens up action today at 14 points in the week, right in the middle of the weekly standings and still holds a top 10 spot, up in 8th.  We're just assuming that Koskinen is going again for the Oilers, as they desperately make a push for a playoff spot, but this isn't confirmed, but very likely.

Craig Anderson (Mike) versus Tuukka Rask (Jesse)
The first game confirmed for the day is the Senators and the Bruins, where Mike and Jesse will have goalies going in this one.  Mike's team is closer to the bottom of the weekly standings, down at 9 points this week, but still 7 points clear of Brian's team, while Jesse is up closer to the top, up at 18 points this week and getting a start against a lesser Sens team early this evening.

Jonathan Bernier (N/A) versus Louis Domingue (Eric)
The Tampa Bay Lightning are going to be wearing their sharp black jerseys again tonight, when they take on the Detroit Red Wings and they will also have the only pool goalie going in this one, as Louis Domingue gets a rare start for the team, which has to excite Eric's pool team, as it's been a while since he got a couple points from the Tampa backup.  Eric's team has yet to see any goalie minutes this week, yet it's still in the mix for the Mover & Shaker, starting the day with 18 points.

Brian Elliott (Troy) versus Thomas Greiss (Stuart)
The second game that was pretty well confirmed this morning was the Flyers and the Islanders, head-to-head at Nassau Coliseum tonight.  Troy's team has been slipping a bit, only with 12 points this week and he gets a start from Brian Elliott, while Stuart's pool-leading team has been okay, now with 16 points, getting the start from Thomas Greiss.  Both teams are a bit off the pace, when it comes to the weekly scoring, but that's what Saturdays are about... making those points up!

Cory Schneider (N/A) versus Alexandar Georgiev (N/A)
This game is projected to be a wash by goaliepost.com today and that looks about right.  Cory Schneider has been confirmed by the Devils already today, but the Rangers had yet to confirm, but with a loss in Dallas the other night, the Rangers may just go back to the kid and give him some more work, as they play out the stretch.

Matt Murray (Scott) versus Sergei Bobrovsky (Kristy & Don)
The Penguins and the Blue Jackets are playing the second half of a home-and-home series tonight in Columbus and tonight will be the match-up that maybe we should have had on Thursday night, but that's a debate for another time.  Matt Murray goes again for Scott's pool team, coming off a shutout of the Jackets a couple of days ago, while Kristy & Don get the start from Sergei Bobrovsky tonight.  Scott's team holds a rare weekly advantage over the duo, heading into Saturday at 16-10 and Murray looks to add onto it with back-to-back wins.

Jonathan Quick (Brenda & Seward) versus Darcy Kuemper (Neil)
The Arizona Coyotes continue to roll in the desert and they are legitimately knocking on the door for the playoffs in the west.  They start the night 3 points out of a spot and they play the last place Kings to push themselves further into the conversation.  Neil's pool team is just loving Darcy Kuemper starts and he has been tapped for this one, giving our Mover & Shaker leader a start tonight.  The Kings have yet to confirm, but the pool's second duo will likely get a start from them, trying to stave off the basement.

Petr Mrazek (Stacey C.) versus Juuse Saros (Eric)
Eric is getting two starts tonight?!?   He should buy a lottery ticket, because that's a good streak of luck for a pool team that hasn't had much work from his goalies.  Juuse Saros gets the nod for the Predators, confirmed, which is a nice rare start down the stretch and he gets the Carolina Hurricanes, who are playing the second half of back-to-back nights.  Last night, they went with Curtis McElhinney, so it's fair to assume they'll go with Petr Mrazek tonight, but that has yet to be confirmed.  The 8-1 stomping they took last night at home to Winnipeg is also another good indicator.

Corey Crawford (N/A) versus Anton Khudobin (Grant)
The Dallas Stars are working on back-to-back shutouts, but not with their starting goalie tonight.  Anton Khudobin gets the nod against the Blackhawks, still a hockey pool goalie, belonging to Grant's team, but it's just not the red hot goalie that they have been rocking this week.  Grant's team is definitely okay with the start though, still holding a 6-point lead for 3rd place in the standings, this start may help that nicely.

Malcolm Subban (N/A) versus Jacob Markstrom (Chelsea)
The Golden Knights are opening up back-to-back nights in Vancouver and playing the lesser Canucks tonight over the division-leading Flames tomorrow would suggest that Malcolm Subban would get the nod for the visitors, while Jacob Markstrom has had a couple of nights off, as the Canucks came off back-to-backs on Wednesday and Thursday, so back in net he should go.