All 6 games in the NHL last night were decided by one goal, with half of them decided by a shootout and another won in overtime. Playoff season is arriving! Ryan McDonagh was nothing short of fabulous last night as the sleepy Rangers pulled out an important two points against the Phoenix Coyotes. All the emerging defenseman did was add two assists and scored the game-winner in overtime.  With those 3 points, McDonagh eclipsed the 40 point plateau and is obliterating his previous high of 32 a few years back.  At 24 years of age, McDonagh has room to grow still and can be comparable to Chicago's Duncan Keith. Mike Smith has been spectacular in net of late and so has Henrik Lundqvist.  The two elite net minders turned their seasons around after the Olympic break and last night was proof.  Unfortunately, Smith went down to a lower-body injury (LBI) and may be lost for some time.  Not good for the Yotes who are battling for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.  Thomas Greiss will man the net in the meantime and has decent metrics at 2.38 GAA and a .924 SP. Grab him if you need goaltender help. The Rangers celebrated Lundqvist's franchise record for victories (302) last night at the Garden and after a shaky start, kept the Rangers in the game long enough for the McDonagh theatrics.  It wasn't one of his best games in that he only faced 21 shots on goal, but it he was good when the team needed him.  Congrats Henrik on your record! Peter Budaj got the surprise start against the Boston Bruins last night instead of Carey Price. Budaj stopped 28 of 29 SOG and raised his record against Boston this season to 2-1-0.  Coach had his reasons and it paid off.  Don't worry Price owners.  Carey is still the Number 1 in Montreal! Erik Karlsson continues to show why he is the elite defenseman in the NHL. He helped the Ottawa Senators upset the Tampa bay Lightning last night with a goal and 2 assists.  What else is there to say? An important win in Big D last night as Kari Lehtonen backstopped the Dallas Stars to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets; especially with Phoenix losing in OT to the Rangers. Lehts stopped 32 of 33 SOG and earned his 27th win on the season. A few more games like that and the Stars will be shining come playoff time. If you throw out that 6-game losing streak in the middle of November, the "rebuilding" Calgary Flames just might be battling for that last playoff spot along with Phoenix and Dallas. Don't expect Calgary to be an easy stop of ...

All 6 games in the NHL last night were decided by one goal, with half of them decided by a shootout and another won in overtime. Playoff season is arriving! Ryan McDonagh was nothing short of fabulous last night as the sleepy Rangers pulled out an important two points against the Phoenix Coyotes. All the emerging defenseman did was add two assists and scored the game-winner in overtime.  With those 3 points, McDonagh eclipsed the 40 point plateau and is obliterating his previous high of 32 a few years back.  At 24 years of age, McDonagh has room to grow still and can be comparable to Chicago's Duncan Keith. Mike Smith has been spectacular in net of late and so has Henrik Lundqvist.  The two elite net minders turned their seasons around after the Olympic break and last night was proof.  Unfortunately, Smith went down to a lower-body injury (LBI) and may be lost for some time.  Not good for the Yotes who are battling for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference.  Thomas Greiss will man the net in the meantime and has decent metrics at 2.38 GAA and a .924 SP. Grab him if you need goaltender help. The Rangers celebrated Lundqvist's franchise record for victories (302) last night at the Garden and after a shaky start, kept the Rangers in the game long enough for the McDonagh theatrics.  It wasn't one of his best games in that he only faced 21 shots on goal, but it he was good when the team needed him.  Congrats Henrik on your record! Peter Budaj got the surprise start against the Boston Bruins last night instead of Carey Price. Budaj stopped 28 of 29 SOG and raised his record against Boston this season to 2-1-0.  Coach had his reasons and it paid off.  Don't worry Price owners.  Carey is still the Number 1 in Montreal! Erik Karlsson continues to show why he is the elite defenseman in the NHL. He helped the Ottawa Senators upset the Tampa bay Lightning last night with a goal and 2 assists.  What else is there to say? An important win in Big D last night as Kari Lehtonen backstopped the Dallas Stars to a 2-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets; especially with Phoenix losing in OT to the Rangers. Lehts stopped 32 of 33 SOG and earned his 27th win on the season. A few more games like that and the Stars will be shining come playoff time. If you throw out that 6-game losing streak in the middle of November, the "rebuilding" Calgary Flames just might be battling for that last playoff spot along with Phoenix and Dallas. Don't expect Calgary to be an easy stop of ...

Smith allowed three goals on 27 shots in a loss to the Bruins on Saturday. The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for Smith, but hey, no one can beat the Bruins right now so don't feel bad Mike. Smith has gone 7-4-0 with a 2.18 GAA and .924 SV% in March.

Smith stopped 22 of 23 shots in a win over the Panthers on Thursday. He has won his last three straight starts with a 2.00 GAA and .935 SV%. Smith enters play vs. the Bruins tonight with a 7-3-0 record in March. He has been great as of late, but no one has been as tough of an opponent as the Bruins.

Smith stopped 22 of 23 shots in a win over the Panthers on Thursday. He has won his last three straight starts with a 2.00 GAA and .935 SV%. Smith enters play vs. the Bruins tonight with a 7-3-0 record in March. He has been great as of late, but no one has been as tough of an opponent as the Bruins.

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINT Lots of action in the NHL with 11 games scheduled today. St Louis and Philadelphia will start things off this afternoon. Ryan Miller has been (CONFIRMED) for the Blues while Steve Mason is (LIKELY) for the Flyers. Miller has been lights out since his trade to St. Louis with a 7-1-1 record.  He has really found a home with the Blues.  Mason has 3 straight wins so this should be a good contest.  Would not go against Miller though.  Tampa Bay is at Pittsburgh and we will have two goaltenders who are going in different directions.  Ben Bishop (LIKELY) has 5 straight wins for the Lightning, while Marc-Andre Fleury (LIKELY) has lost 3 straight for the Penguins.  Like Bishop in this one.  Detroit faces Minnesota and Jimmy Howard has been (CONFIRMED) for the Red Wings. Darcy Kuemper has been (CONFIRMED) for the Wild.  Kuemper has played very well this season with a 12-5-4 record a 2.22 GA and a .923 SP.  He has allowed only 5 goals in his last 3 games. Go with Kuemper. Robin Lehner is (CONFIRMED) for Ottawa against Dallas, while Kari Lehtonen is (LIKELY) for the Stars. Lehner has really had a tough year with a 3.31 GA and a .904 SP.  Lehtonen has been pretty solid this year with 25 wins and a 2.52 GA.  He did get lit up in his last game against Pittsburgh allowing 5 goals.  Still like him in this game.  Roberto Luongo is (LIKELY) for Florida against Los Angeles, with Jonathan Quick (LIKELY) for the Kings. Quick and Luongo each have 22 wins on the year, and they have save percentages that are very close for the year.  But like Quick in this one, as he has allowed only 11 goals in his last 5 games. The Rangers will be at New Jersey today and Henrik Lundqvist is (LIKELY) for New York while Martin Brodeur is (CONFIRMED) for the Devils. With Cory Schneider struggling this season, Brodeur has gotten a lot of ice time recently. Lundqvist has won 5 of his last 7 games, while Brodeur has lost 2 straight.  Like Henrik!   Montreal travels to Toronto in a game between Canadien teams.  Carey Price is (LIKELY) to be in goal for the Canadiens, and James Reimer is (LIKELY) in goal for the Maple Leafs. Price has won 4 of his last 5 games, while Reimer has lost 5 of 6 in March, and his 3.29 GA is ugly.  Take Price. Cam Ward is (LIKELY) for Carolina against Winnipeg, which will (LIKELY) start Al Montoya. Ward has had a really tough year with injuries and poor play.  He lost to Boston 5-1 in his last game.  ...

Smith allowed three goals on 39 shots in a win over the Kings on Monday. He has won four of his last five starts while allowing 11 goals on 153 shots (.928 SV%). Smith has gone 6-3-0 with a 2.22 GAA and .925 SV% in March and makes for a strong start tonight against the Panthers.

ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINT Coming off a 6-0 blanking of the New York Islanders, Ilya Bryzgalov gets his second start in a row for the Minnesota Wild as he takes on the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider gets a turn in net for the Devils who are in desperate need of a win. Schneider looks to get both his team and his personal performance back on the winning track...Tim Thomas (LIKELY) goes for the Dallas Stars against a Philadelphia Flyers' team that has been surging up in the standings ever since their start of the season slump. Steve Mason draws back in net after Ray Emery Gave Mason a rest against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. The Flyers are soaring whereas the shine has been lost from the Stars who have lost 3 in a row.   Flyers should continue to roll...The Montreal Canadiens and Carey Price are coming off a big win against the Colorado Avalanche and look to make it 4 in a row tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Sergei Bobrovsky will look to keep the Jackets in playoff position as they are holding onto the 8th spot, tied with Washington in points and Detroit a point behind. Bobber is 3-2-1 in past 6 but Price is rounding into form.  Hot Habs should pull this one out...Robin Lehner got lit up against the New York Rangers for 8 goals in his last start and now will face a surging Tampa Bay Lightning team that has Steven Stamkos back in full swing. The Sens are truly missing Craig Anderson in net as Lehner has lost 3 in a row in his place.  Ben Bishop (LIKELY) will go for the seventh straight game even after starting last night's game. Bolts might be too much for a fragile Lehner....Marc-Andre Fleury gets back in the crease for the Pittsburgh Penguins in tonight's tilt against the Detroit Red Wings after Jeff Zatkoff started the past 2. Jimmy Howard draws in for the Wings who are looking to leapfrog into a playoff spot with a win tonight. Without their superstars in the lineup, Howard needs to come up huge tonight. Tough task as Fleury will look to get back on track after sitting...Matthew Hackett gets his first start of the season tonight as Buffalo heads into Edmonton to face Ben Scrivens and the Oilers. The Oilers seem to have solidified their goaltending with the arrival of Scrivens and Viktor Fasth.  The Oil should beat a spiraling Sabres team that has lost 7 in a row....Roberto Luongo (LIKELY) and the Florida Panthers are coming off a spectacular game against San Jose and looks to keep it going...

The Coyotes have 13 games remaining including three back-to-back sets, and it sounds like if Smith is up for it, Tippett plans on starting him in all 13 contests. The Coyotes currently hold a two point advantage over the Stars for the final Wild Card spot, but Dallas also has two games in hand.

Smith allowed two goals on 31 shots in a win over the Flames on Saturday. Smith did not take part in the morning skate this morning because he was reportedly feeling a little off, but he will still be between the pipes vs L.A tonight. Smith has gone 5-3-0 with a 2.12 GAA and .925 SV% in March.