Morning Player Notes (Apr 6)

The 2019 season struggles of Alexander Wennberg of the Columbus Blue Jackets were punctuated with a healthy scratch for rookie forward Alexander Texier on Friday night, which will probably lead to another one on Saturday night, in the final game of the regular season against the Senators.  Wennberg has now likely finished the year with 2 goals and 25 points in 75 games this season, which was only good enough for 380th in pool scoring after Friday night.  It was a horrible disappointment and certainly worthy of the scratching.

Clayton's team picked him up in the 9th round of the draft, 218th overall, which doesn't make him the biggest bust of the regular season, but he is one of eight duds on Clayton's team.  By dud, I mean ranks at least two rounds less in the overall scoring standings than the round he was picked in (-50 spots from their pick selection).

The Dallas Stars took the opportunity to rest some key players on the front half of back-to-back nights, after the team clinched their playoff spot.  It didn't seem to matter to them where they necessarily finished, in terms of a wild card spot, so they sat both Jamie Benn and Mats Zuccarello for their game against the Chicago Blackhawks and got soundly thumped for their lack of motivation, 6-1.  Neither player were up to snuff this season, finishing with some disappointing numbers overall, but the Stars are in the playoffs and at the end of the day for the team, that's all that matters.

Benn was a disappointment to Chelsea's team, which took him in the 3rd round, while Zuccarello was only a even-money kind of pick for John P., who bought low and got some low returns, thanks mostly to injuries.  Neither team really featured in the money conversation past the opening quarter of the season in the end.

Evening Preview (Apr 2)

There's going to be plenty of playoff ramifications in the 10 games on the NHL schedule tonight, which may be a little bit more exciting than some of the hockey pool races that are left, but we'll mix in a little bit of both, just like we have been doing for the last few weeks.

Stacey M. retook 2nd place on Monday night, gaining a 2-point advantage over Kristy & Don and Stacey still has a slight advantage in the projected games to be played column on the standings page as well.

Jesse and Tony both got off to good starts last night, Jesse passing Grant's team for 4th place and made up a little bit of ground on the duo, now 19 points back heading into tonight's action.

Dale C. and Ryan both made up some ground on Wes' team for a top 10 spot in the standings this year, Wes' team is now clinging to a 2-point buffer for that last coveted spot in the standings.

Finally, Derek B.'s team leads Scott's team 1-0 this week in the battle for the basement, Derek's team is now 4 points clear at the start of play tonight.  Scott's team had the chances last night, but couldn't post the points.

Lots to go on the schedule today, so let's get right at it.

Pekka Rinne (John P.) versus Carter Hutton (Wes)
The Nashville Predators dropped to 3rd in the Central last night, thanks to tie-breakers not in their favour, but they could retake 2nd with a win in Buffalo tonight.

The pool goalie match-up will see Pekka Rinne going for John P. and his 15th place team against Carter Hutton and his 10th place team in the standings.  Right now, John's team could finish as high as 14th and as low as 18th, while Wes' 10th place hold isn't very strong, only 4 points clear of 13th, so both are jockeying for their own final placement, but where they are, they're not related at all, given the gap between 13th and 14th.

On the injury front, it sounds like Rasmus Ristolainen is ready to return for the last few games of the season for the Sabres, which is okay news for Jeremy's 19th place team.  As it has been mentioned over the last few days, his team is resting comfortably with no hope and no stress.

Tuukka Rask (Jesse) versus Sergei Bobrovsky (Kristy & Don)
The Boston Bruins are in and are now just jockeying for position in the Atlantic Division race, while the Columbus Blue Jackets have been red hot of late and looking to secure their spot in the playoffs in a come from behind sort of fashion.  The Jackets have very little breathing space to work with, but the teams they are racing against, much like themselves, have difficult opposition tonight, so a loss might not be the end of the world.

It's a pretty solid top four goalie match-up tonight, as Jesse's team is tracking down the money spots and he gets a key start for the Bruins and Tuukka Rask tonight, something to possibly shave down the gap between his team and 3rd place.  Kristy & Don occupy that spot and they have the reigning Player of the Week starting, Sergei Bobrovsky, so I would say that this is the hockey pool game of the night and one worth watching.

Petr Mrazek (Stacey C.) versus Garret Sparks (Grant)
The Hurricanes are one of those teams that the Jackets are racing against in that 3-team race for two wild card spots and Carolina has drawn the Maple Leafs tonight, who coincidentally, is racing against the Bruins for 2nd place in the Atlantic.  I'm sure they are looking at Columbus saying, "we'll scratch your back, if you scratch ours" tonight.

Grant gets the first of two starts tonight with Garret Sparks going for the Leafs tonight.  Grant's team lost 4th place in the standings last night to Jesse and starts 2 points out and 21 points out of 3rd, so he'll need some real help from the crease tonight, if he's going to have a chance at anything.  For Stacey C., it looks like the best his team can finish is 7th and his team starts 6 points back of that spot at the start of play tonight, but gets a start from Petr Mrazek and the Canes, as they hunt down a playoff spot.

Eddie Pasquale (N/A) versus Carey Price (Stacey M.)
The third team in the 3-team race, the one currently on the outside looking in, the Montreal Canadiens, don't get any favours tonight, drawing the President's Trophy recipients, the Tampa Bay Lightning.  If there is any saving grace to this, the Bolts played last night, where the Habs didn't, so that could work in their favour a little.

Stacey M. appears to be getting the only pool start with Carey Price heading back to the crease for the Habs tonight, as they try and make that big push to a playoff spot.  Stacey's team is also trying to make that push to get away from Kristy & Don in 2nd place and both of those teams are getting starts here tonight, which should keep things very interesting.

Matt Murray (Scott) versus Jimmy Howard (Tony)
The Pittsburgh Penguins can punch their ticket into the playoffs tonight in the first of a home-and-home series with the Detroit Red Wings tonight, if they post a win in any fashion on the road tonight.  The Red Wings are more than happy to play spoiler, as they have two players really motoring in the scoring department right now and they could make the Penguins sorry, if the Pens take these games for granted.

Matt Murray was the first off the ice at the Penguins' skate this morning, meaning that Scott will get another start out of the Pittsburgh number one tonight.  Scott's team is the only one sitting at zero points at the start of play tonight.  The race to get out of last is far from over.  It doesn't seem very logical that the Red Wings would bring out a keeper for his first start against the Penguins, so it seems far more likely that Jimmy Howard gets the start again, but that has yet to be confirmed.  I'm sure Tony is looking for this start, hoping the Wings can play a spoiling role at home tonight.

One scratch expected tonight, as the Penguins didn't have Brian Dumoulin on the ice at the skate, he is not expected to play against Detroit due to a lower-body injury.  A missed skater game from the blueline likely won't hurt Neil's team too badly, but his team has reached its ceiling of 7th, now trying to stave off Stacey C. for the spot.

Eric Comrie (N/A) versus Devan Dubnyk (Wes)
Big Central Division match-up in Minnesota, when the Jets take on the Wild.  The Wild are looking at this game with a serious level of desperation, 5 points back of the last wild card spot, so they most definitely need a win in any fashion to at least have a chance, while the Jets, they're just looking to pad their small lead in the division, looking for that division title.

We knew the Wild were going into this big game with Devan Dubnyk back in the crease, giving Wes another start tonight, getting both keepers into the nets tonight will certainly help his chances at defending 10th place tonight.  The Jets haven't confirmed their goalie, but seeing as though they are on back-to-back nights and they still have two games remaining after this one, it seems very likely that they will finally give Eric Comrie a spin in net, since Laurent Brossoit may not be ready to go from his injury yet.

Cam Talbot (Mike) versus Anton Khudobin (Grant)
The Dallas Stars only need 1 point to get themselves into the playoffs and they get a team now playing for pride in the Philadelphia Flyers at home, but they shouldn't be taking this team likely, as the Flyers are a sly bunch and will play spoiler at the drop of a hat.

Grant's team does have a little bit of hope with a second start tonight, thanks to the Dallas Stars and Anton Khudobin getting the call against the Flyers.  It's not going to be an easy game, but one that he could win and help Grant retake 4th place and possibly make that late push for 3rd as well.  The Flyers are doing Mike's team a favour tonight and giving Cam Talbot another audition for a job for next season, as Mike may or may not (I'm not exactly sure, to be honest) want that 20th overall spot from Benson.

Mikko Koskinen (Tony) versus Semyon Varlamov (Wilton)
The Oilers were officially eliminated last night, while the Avalanche can eliminate the Blackhawks and pad their slight lead in the wild card with a win tonight.  Both teams are coming off of losses last night, so the curse of the back-to-back will do one of these teams in tonight.

Surprisingly, with not a whole lot to play for, Tony is going to be gifted another start from the Oilers, as they'll send Mikko Koskinen back to the net, which will certainly give him at least a chance for 2 points, but the Avalanche are going to be hungry for those points and I can't imagine the mood in the Oilers room is all that giddy.

Martin Jones (Brenda & Seward) versus Thatcher Demko (Clayton)
The San Jose Sharks are locked into 2nd place in the Pacific and the Vancouver Canucks have been out of the playoff picture for a few days now, so there isn't a whole lot to play for tonight, except for jobs and pride.

The Canucks will be giving rookie goalie Thatcher Demko a chance to improve their chances against the Sharks, a team they haven't had much success against in recent history.  Clayton's 17th place team sure hopes that's the case, but the best his team can do is 14th, so the hope for the pool points is somewhat moot.  Brenda & Seward will get another start from Martin Jones and the visiting Sharks tonight, as expected, their only start of the night, chasing down Chelsea's team, which misses out on a Canucks start tonight.

And if Clayton's team wanted that win, he probably didn't want to see the return of his forward Joe Pavelski to the Sharks lineup tonight.  It looks like he's ready to return from injury, after missing the last few weeks and sinking his pool team into the depths of the bottom half of the standings.

Jack Campbell (N/A) versus Darcy Kuemper (Neil)
The Arizona Coyotes have the most hope remaining in the schedule to possibly climb into a wild card spot, as they start the night only 2 points behind the Avalanche with three games to go and they have the tie-breakers in their back pocket, so they just need to get the points to make it really interesting too.  They get the Kings tonight, who lost last night to the Flames, which may bode well for the dogs, but this is why we play the game!

No surprises with the Coyotes tonight, as they will definitely be going with Darcy Kuemper again, giving Neil another start and a good chance at points in this game.  His grip on 7th could be strengthened by a good effort from the dogs tonight, especially with a road-weary club as their opponent.

Goalie Announcements (Mar 28)

Plenty of good races in the weekly scoring for Week Twenty-Six, as teams are vying for both the Mover & Shaker and the Basement Dweller in tied up fashions.

Stacey M. and Neil lead the way in the top half of the standings, up with 19 points a piece.  Three more teams are within a shutout in that race, which is awfully exciting.

Wes and Troy are down at the bottom with 3 points each, through three nights of action and there are six more teams within 4 points of those two, so there's plenty of movement to be had down near the bottom.

The overall race is seems to be locking in though.  Stuart has been locked in at the top for a while now and with Stacey M. having her big week, 2nd place appears to be a lock for her team.  3rd place, however... we've finally seen a little bit of movement, as Kristy & Don have slid up in the standings, overtaking Grant, and now leading by 3 points.  Jesse and Tony are now slouching either, they are both looking to make moves this week and they're both having good weeks.  This is the race to watch!

Jimmy Howard (Tony) versus Linus Ullmark (Steve)
A couple of dud teams in the NHL playoff race doesn't mean that there isn't a little bit of meaning in the hockey pool, as we know that Tony's team is chasing the money and has the first of two potential starts tonight with Jimmy Howard going for the Red Wings in Buffalo.  Tony's team has the 16th ranked goaltending in the pool this year, but it isn't for a lack of trying, his team has the 8th most minutes played in the pool this season.

Braden Holtby (Stacey C.) versus Curtis McElhinney (N/A)
Stacey C. has his team in the hunt for a Mover & Shaker for this current week, as his team is only 1 point back of the lead and is now looking to lock down a top 10 spot this season.  His team will have Braden Holtby, the only pool goalie going in the Caps/Canes game in Carolina tonight.  Talking about the rankings of goalies in the pool, Stacey's team ranks 4th with 114 points this year.

Carey Price (Stacey M.) versus Sergei Bobrovsky (Kristy & Don)
A few weeks ago, this could have been a contender for hockey pool game of the night, but Stacey M. has seen her team pretty well lock up 2nd place, so there isn't a whole lot of intrigue in this match-up, per se, but Kristy & Don still have a lot of interest in their placement this year and they need the points to help lock down 3rd place, where Stacey's goalie can now play the role of spoiler. 

Oh yeah, Montreal and Columbus... huge playoff implications in the east!  Carey Price and Sergei Bobrovsky... tune in!  It'll be a good one.

Roberto Luongo (John P.) versus Anders Nilsson (Stuart)
Both the Panthers and Senators are out of the playoff picture down the stretch, Stuart has 1st place locked up and John P. has a 17th place team, well clear of the basement to start play tonight, so there isn't a whole lot of meaning to this game tonight.  Roberto Luongo and Anders Nilsson are your goalies here, 2 points is 2 points.

Robin Lehner (Chelsea) versus Connor Hellebuyck (Jeremy)
Maybe a little bit more meaning the NHL playoff race than the hockey pool in Winnipeg, as the Islanders visit the Jets.  The Isles are fishing for home-ice advantage in the opening round, while the Jets are vying for the Central Division title, so the teams themselves have something to play for.  Chelsea gets a start from the visitors, in the 4-point range of the basement, while Jeremy gets a start from the home side, smack dab in the middle of the weekly scoring, neither team in the top half of the standings.

Anton Khudobin (Grant) versus Mikko Koskinen (Tony)
Assuming that this is the goaltending match-up tonight, Edmonton had yet to confirm, but this is the hockey pool game of the night, as Grant's 4th place team is trying to fend off Tony's 6th place team and both teams are eyeing up 3rd place, so when Anton Khudobin takes to the ice on back-to-back nights, coming in for injury relief last night, he should be getting Mikko Koskinen at the other end and it will make for some interesting watching in the hockey pool standings.

Jonathan Quick (Brenda & Seward) versus Thatcher Demko (Clayton)
The Kings had yet to confirm, but the Canucks did confirm that rookie keeper Thatcher Demko would be getting a start tonight against the lowly Kings, as both teams cruise to the end of the regular season schedule with a game tonight.  Neither (potential) pool team has any merit in the money conversation in the pool, but both the duo and Clayton are into double-digits in the weekly scoring, so there might be a little something there, but not really.

Corey Crawford (N/A) versus Martin Jones (Brenda & Seward)
The duo get their second start of the night in the other late game, so maybe, just maybe, Brenda & Seward could be in the Mover & Shaker conversation when we head to the weekend, if all things go well for their goalies, assuming both of them play.  Martin Jones has been tapped to play against the Blackhawks at home tonight, as they try and get their playoff seeding sorted out.