The Olympic break has shut down the NHL for the next two weeks, but we are always thinking about ways to give you information. Today we talk about the chances that the United States hockey team can win the gold medal in Sochi.  Remember that the games in Sochi will be on the big ice, where the rinks are about 15 feet wider than in the NHL.  This really brings speed and skill into play.  So lets start in goal because in a short series like the Olympics a hot goalie can win it all for you.  The US has 3 goaltenders, Ryan Miller, Jimmy Howard and Jonathan Quick. Miller was the hero of the US 2010 team that lost in overtime to Canada in the gold medal game.  They always say that you do not win silver, you lose gold if you come in second place.  While Buffalo has really had a bad year, and Miller has only 14 wins, his .923 save percentage should make him the likely starter, as both Howard and Quick have struggled this year.  But goaltending should be pretty good for the US. The US has a pretty solid group of defensemen with a nice mix of age and a lot of size, and a combination of shut-down defensemen and offensive talent. At 33 years of age, Brooks Orpik is the classic shut down defenseman, and he has the size at 6' 2" and 220 lbs. He will be joined by Paul Martin of Pittsburgh who also has good size at 6' 1" and 200 lbs, and is a shutdown guy as well. Ryan Suter should be the leader on defense, and the 29 year old has had a great season with 33 points on the year. 22 years old Cam Fowler of the Ducks is another offensive d-man who has 31 points this season. All-in-all the US defense has a very nice mixture of age, defensive and offensive skills.  This group is not going to hurt the US. On offense the US has two great stars in Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel. Joe Pavelski of San Jose has had a terrific year as well with 54 points. The problem is that after these three, the talent level drops off a bit.  T J Oshie from St. Louis is very fast, and Max Pacioretty from Montreal can really score with 26 goals on the season, and he appears to be okay after crashing into the net in his last game. Blake Wheeler, at 27 years of age, has really been coming on strong for Winnipeg with 48 points this year, and his teammates have been raving about his play. David Backes of the Blues has great speed and he can score as well. Toronto's James van Riemsdyk will be playing in his first Olympics, and the 24 year old is having a terrific season with 47 points. Not quite sure why ...

The Olympic break has shut down the NHL for the next two weeks, but we are always thinking about ways to give you information. Today we talk about the chances that the United States hockey team can win the gold medal in Sochi.  Remember that the games in Sochi will be on the big ice, where the rinks are about 15 feet wider than in the NHL.  This really brings speed and skill into play.  So lets start in goal because in a short series like the Olympics a hot goalie can win it all for you.  The US has 3 goaltenders, Ryan Miller, Jimmy Howard and Jonathan Quick. Miller was the hero of the US 2010 team that lost in overtime to Canada in the gold medal game.  They always say that you do not win silver, you lose gold if you come in second place.  While Buffalo has really had a bad year, and Miller has only 14 wins, his .923 save percentage should make him the, likely, starter, as both Howard and Quick have struggled this year.  But goaltending should be pretty good for the US. The US has a pretty solid group of defensemen with a nice mix of age and a lot of size, and a combination of shut down defensemen and offensive talent. At 33 years of age Brooks Orpik is the classic shut down defenseman, and he has the size at 6' 2" and 220 lbs. He will be joined by Paul Martin of Pittsburgh who, also, has good size at 6' 1" and 200 lbs, and is a shutdown guy as well. Ryan Suter should be the leader on defense, and the 29 year old has had a great season with 33 points on the year. 22 years old Cam Fowler for the Kings is another offensive d-man who has 31 points this season. All in all the US defense has a very nice mixture of age, defensive and offensive skills.  This group is not going to hurt the US. On offense the US has two great stars in Patrick Kane and Phil Kessel. Joe Pavelski of San Jose has had a terrific year as well with 54 points. The problem is that after these three the talent level drops off a bit.  T J Oshie from St Louis is very fast, and Max Pacioretty from Montreal can really score with 26 goals on the season, and he appears to be ok after crashing into the net in his last game. Blake Wheeler at 27 years of age has really been coming on strong for Winnipeg with 48 points this year, and his teammates have been raving about his play. David Backes of the Blues has great speed and he can score, as well. Toronto's James van Riemsdyk will be playing in his first Olympics, and the 24 year old is having a terrific season with 47 points. Not quite sure why ...

Good morning, let the games begin! Well, the women's ice hockey started already for the Olympics. Looks like Scott Hartnell is on a consistent roll with 7 points in last 6 games. If you haven't noticed, Winnipeg is trying to move back into playoff contention with their play lately. Mark Scheifele had 2 goals and could be in store for a nice breakout next season if some personnel are moved. Kevin Shattenkirk hasn't scored a point in last 6 games. He's still playing top PP minutes so I'm not concerned. Boston pasted the Ottawa Senators yesterday, 7-2. OUCH!  I guess they didn't miss Chara. The good news out of that game was that Bobby Ryan, (remember him?), scored a goal. David Krejci and Jarome Iginla have had dome two weeks, huh? Iginla, 14 points in 8 games.  Krejci, 11 in those same 8 games. Luongo was cruising to a 1-0 shutout of the Maple Leafs when the heavens opened up and the Leafs scored 3 unanswered goals in the third period to win 3-1. Montreal lost Pacioretty when he got pushed into the goalpost. That woke the Habs up I think.  Desharnais scored two goals.  DD might be a good after-Olympic pickup. Even though Jimmy Howard lost against Tampa, he did play really well and kept them in the game but the Red Wings couldn't get anything going in the third period against Ben Bishop. This Tyson Barrie is on fire.   9 points in last 8 games.  Cory Schneider is, and deserves to be, the New Jersey Devils number 1 goaltender. They will make the playoffs with him as their number 1. Even though he lost against Washington last night 3-0, he was in net for only one goal against, and he was screened on that shot. Schneider has a 1.85 GAA.  Fantastic number. Enjoy the Olympics! See you after the break!

Howard allowed a single goal on 24 shots in a 3-1 win over the Panthers on Thursday. Howie likely won't see much action in Sochi as he sits behind Ryan Miller and Jonathan Quick, so he will go again tonight in Tampa Bay. The Lightning have lost four of their last five and may have to start their third string netminder, Howie should make for a good start tonight.

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINT Two teams coming off opposite ends of a shutout will face each other tonight as Evgeni Nabokov and the NY Islanders host Reto Berra and the Calgary Flames. Nabokov blanked the Washington caps 1-0 the other night after losing 3 straight following his return from injury.  Hopes for a playoff spot lie on Nabokov's shoulders and he will get eh majority of starts from here on out.  Calgary is still in rebuilding mode but did manage to win 5 in a row before the shutout loss to Montreal.  The Flames are tough to douse but the Isles should be able to....Detroit's Jimmy Howard did not have a particularly good weekend in Washington following his return from injury, but did manage to fill in quite well when Gustavsson had to leave the game early against Vancouver. The two combined for a 2-0 shutout of the Canucks and you have to remember that Howard was playing well before his recent injury.  Tim Thomas and the Florida Panthers are coming off a fine 4-1 effort against the Toronto Maple Leafs but Detroit is getting all their horses back with the return of Pavel Datsyuk. The Red Wings should prevail....The King gets a night off as Cam Talbot will man the pipes for the red-hot NY Rangers. The Rangers have won 4 in a row and 7 of last 9 and will face-off against he bottom feeder of the Western Conference, the Edmonton Oilers.  Ben Scrivens has been the best option for the Oilers since his acquisition but they are still only 2-3 in his starts, the only support he got was in a 3-0 win over San Jose. The team could only muster 1 goal in his other 2 starts.  Scrivens will do his best against a streaking Rangers team that is using their speed to dominant games of late....Two goalies who recently signed contract extensions will face-off against one another tonight as Semyon Varlamov of the Colorado Avalanche goes against Steve Mason and the Philadelphia Flyers. Mason has played close to his pre-signing level while Varlamov has slipped back a bit.  Philly is coming back from a successful 3 game road trip out West but will face a Colorado team that will look to avenge their lopsided loss to the Rangers the other night.  I'd go with Mason as Varlamov has been inconsistent lately.....Ondrej Pavelec will lead the Winnipeg Jets into Washington to take on Michal Neuvirth and the Washington Capitals. Ever since the coaching change in Winnipeg, Pavelec has turned his game up a notch while the Capitals are looking ...

Howard stopped all 16 shots that he faced after replacing Jonas Gustavasson, who left after the first because of dizziness on Monday. Howard sits at 11-12-9 with a 2.70 GAA and .913 SV% this season and draws a strong matchup against a Panthers team who have lost four of six.

There are only 2 games scheduled in the NHL today, and both are early afternoon games so as to not compete with the Super Bowl tonight. Detroit will play at Washington.  Jimmy Howard has been (confirmed) for the Red Wings. Howard is having a tough season going only 10-12-8, and he was a mediocre 4-4 in January. Michal Neuvirth  is (confirmed) for the Capitals and he has lost his last three games.  Tough one to call but we would go with Detroit. In the other game Winnipeg will travel to Montreal to play the Canadians. Ondrej Pavelec is (likely) for the Jets.   Pavelec has been hot lately winning 6 of his last 8 games. His 2.99 GAA and .900 SP are not too good though. Carey Price has been (confirmed) in goal for Montreal, and he has been stone cold losing 5 of his last 6 games. Still we think you should go with the Canadians. FANTASY MUST STARTS: None SLEEPERS: Michal Neuvirth, Washington vs Detroit DAILY GOALIE PICKS: Steve: (70-42) Michal Neuvirth Ray: (64-47) Jimmy Howard Mike: (54-39) Carey Price

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINT It's the Battle of New York Part II as the Islanders and Rangers face off against one another after their outdoor game in Yankee Stadium. With the same w net minders manning the posts, you can probably expect more of the same; a rough-and-tough rumble on the ice.  Henrik Lundqvist has just been on top of his game of late while Evgeni Nabokov is getting his legs back after a few weeks away. Rangers win again...Anton Khudobin has started every game since his return from injury and deservedly so. With Cam Ward a few AHL games away from returning, Khudobin can make that choice more difficult with another solid outing.  He has won 4 of 5 and 5 of last 7, losing in his last time out to the Montreal Canadiens 3-0.  He draws a tough assignment in St, Louis and Jaroslav Halak, who has been equally as hot as Khudobin. The Blues should be able to get past the Canes unless they are looking ahead to Nashville tomorrow....Michal Neuvirth will lead the Caps onto the ice tonight against the returning Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings. Howard had been playing much better since his last return from injury until he got dinged up a bit last week.  Expect Howard to continue his fine play the rest of this season while Neuvirth tries to find his game...The New Jersey Devils continue their swing through the Western Conference as they play against Carter Hutton (LIKELY) and the Nashville Predators. Cory Schneider has been playing lights out for the Devils and gets the start again on back-to-back nights. This is a sign that the changing of the guard is occurring in Jersey.  Take the Devils as the Preds may be looking forward to their tilt against St. Louis tomorrow night...Capping things off tonight is the Vancouver Canucks going against Ondrej Pavelec and the Winnipeg Jets. Roberto Luongo has had 2 poor outings against Edmonton and Chicago, so Eddie Lack will be in net tonight for the Canucks. The Canucks start a 5-game road trip and being away from home may actually help them.  The Jets meanwhile have played well and have been tough to play against since the arrival of new Head Coach Paul Maurice.  Winnipeg has won of 6 of 8 since the hiring.  The Canucks will find a way to win, but it will be a battle. FANTASY MUST-START Jimmy Howard, Detroit vs. Washington Cory Schneider, New Jersey @ Nashville SLEEPER ALERT None. GOALIE DAILY PICKS Steve: (69-41) TBA Ray: (63-46) Jimmy Howard Mike: (53-39) ...

Howard missed the last four games with a knee injury that he suffered last Monday against the Blues. Before getting inured, Howard was playing his best hockey of the season. In three and a half games he had stopped 143 of 150 shots (.953 SV%) winning two out of three and leaving early in the 4-1 loss to St. Louis. The Red Wings are decimated by injuries, so Howie will need to re-gain that top-form on Friday.