ALL GOALIES CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT TIME OF PRINT
On the last day before the Christmas Holiday break, we have a slew of games, with every team playing except for the Montreal Canadiens and Vancouver Canucks. The Buffalo Sabres are shuffling off into the break on the heels of Ryan Miller, who, despite his and the team's record has been playing well this season. In fact, the Sabres have won 2 of 3 and 3 of their last six. Perhaps they are shedding their doormat moniker for something special this Christmas. Mike Smith (LIKELY) and the Phoenix Coyotes might want to leave some coal in their stockings. This concludes a 4-game road trip for the Yotes so perhaps they will be thinking about being home for the holidays. It's Miller time...Henrik Lundqvist will sit for the second game in a row as the NY Rangers look to get their season straightened out. Cam Talbot has been more than an adequate backup for the Blueshirts and he will give the team a good shot at winning two in a row. Their opponent, the Toronto Maple Leafs, have been struggling with their own game having lost 6 of past 8 games. Both goaltenders are starting to slip lately, opening up discussions about possibly acquiring a bona fide starter. Jonathan Bernier (LIKELY) will try to get back on track after losing to the Detroit Red Wings in a shootout last time out. There's a Blue Christmas in NY....Philipp Grubauer and the Washington Capitals will host the Anaheim Ducks and their starter Jonas Hiller. The Ducks are ending a 4-game road trip and they have actually won 8 in a row. The Caps can be explosive but the Ducks are just too tough and don't want to end up on someone's Christmas table....Curtis McElhinney and the Columbus Blue Jackets head into Carolina to take on Justin Peters (LIKELY) and the Carolina Hurricanes. Nothing could be finer than to be in Carolina for a win. The Canes have lost 5 of 6 and the Jackets look to sweeten up on some candy....With Harding out, its Niklas Backstrom and the Minnesota Wild traveling to Philadelphia to take on Steve Mason and the Flyers. The Flyers are coming off too doozies against Columbus and the inept offense of the Wild just may be what the home team needs to make Christmas even merrier....It's the Battle of Florida as Ben Bishop and the Tampa Bay Lightning look to extend their winning streak to 5 against Scott Clemmensen and the Florida Panthers. The Cats have been playing much better over the past few weeks winning 7 of 9 but the Bolts are just too much....The last time these two teams met up, the Wings smoked the Isles in Long Island 5-0 behind Jimmy Howard. It will be Jonas Gustavsson's in net, winner of 2 straight, against Evgeni Nabokov, who was out with an injury last time out. Makes no difference to the Red Wings and the Monster....This could be a big statement game for the Ottawa Senators and Craig Anderson. Both the goalie and the team haven't had the type of season they were expecting whereas the Pittsburgh Penguins have been rolling since Day 1 despite all the injuries. Marc-Andre Fleury will be in net and should provide his usual, steady performance. Pens over Sens....Cory Schneider gets his turn in net for the suddenly rejuvenated New Jersey Devils. The Devils have won 3 of 4 and have shown signs of offensive life lately but tonight they are up against Antti Raanta and the Chicago Blackhawks. The Hawks have scored the most goals in the NHL, 15 more than the runner-up St Louis Blues. I don't think the Devils will want to get in a run-and-gun contest against this team. Raanta rules in this one....Tuukka Rask (LIKELY) and the Boston Bruins look to raise their December record to 7-4 against Carter Hutton and the Nashville Predators while the Preds look to put a halt to their 3-game losing streak. The Predators are in the midst of one of the toughest parts of their schedule, so look for their woes to continue...Jaroslav Halak and the St. Louis Blues hope to get by a pesky Calgary Flames team tonight as they take on Reto Berra. It their past 6 wins, the Blues have scored 4 or more goals while the Flames have scored only 4 goals once in their past 4 wins, winning low scoring battles. Blues douse the Flames....The Winnipeg Jets head to Edmonton to take on Ilya Bryzgalov and the Oilers. Ondrej Pavelec starts for the 4th straight and both ends of a back-to-back. Depending on which side of the inconsistent Pavelec shows up, could decide on what type of contest this will turn out to be. There will either be lots of presents given away to the opposing team, or he will stuff the chimney so nothing gets through. The Oilers are losers of 6 straight and are a very desperate team. Desperation over uncertainty...Kari Lehtonen and the Dallas Stars are off to Los Angeles to take on the Kings and their rookie prodigy, Martin Jones. What a ride this youngster has been on ever since getting a chance on December 3rd! All he has done is go 8-0-0 with a 0.98 GAA and a .966 SP. Lehtonen is the glue for the Stars. Although it's Christmas and you're suppose to follow the Star, but the star in this case is Jones. Ba-rum-ba-ba-bum!....The recently cleared-of-all-charges Colorado's Semyon Varlamov will go into San Jose with a clear head to take on Antti Niemi and the Sharks. The Sharks have been on a lose-one, win-one trend over the past six games and if you follow the pattern, it's time for the Sharks to lose. The Avalanche are also in the same pattern, but they are on a win-one, lose-one trend, which means it is their turn to win. I'm not into these types of silly trends, but you know what, tonight I'm going to follow it. Avs win.
Merry Christmas all!
FANTASY MUST-STARTS
Jonas Hiller, Anaheim @ Washington
Antti Raanta, Chicago vs. New Jersey
Jonas Gustavsson, Detroit vs. NY Islanders
Tuukka Rask, Boston @ Nashville
Jaroslav Halak, St. Louis @ Calgary
Martin Jones, Los Angeles vs. Dallas
SLEEPER ALERT
Ryan Miller, Buffalo vs. Phoenix
Curtis McElhinney, Columbus @ Carolina
GOALIE DAILY PICKS
Steve: (48-29) Martin Jones
Ray: (42-34) Jonas Gustavsson
Mike: (36-27) TBA
THE GOALIE EDGE: 12/23/2013 primepucks.comMon 12/23/13 2:49 PM