ALL GOALIES ARE CONFIRMED UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED AT THE TIME OF PRINT The Columbus Blue Jackets are still trying to claw their way into a playoff position but will find a tough opponent in the New Jersey Devils. Cory Schneider is firmly entrenched as the Devils Number 1 goaltender with Martin Brodeur quietly seeking a trade. Schneider's numbers are spectacular even though his win-loss record doesn't live up to those metrics.  However, he does give the Devils thebe best chance at winning, and that is what they need in order to get back into the playoff hunt.  Sergei Bobrovsky has been playing much better since his return from injury and he will need to lead the Jackets if they want to play in the dance come April. Devils at home.....The New York Islanders will face the Toronto Maple Leafs on the Island tonight but without their superstar, John Tavares.  Evgeni Nabokov will man the nets for the depleted squad while Jonathan Bernier goes for the Leafs. The Leafs may prove too much for the inexperienced Islanders who will also be without the services of Frans Nielsen & Matt Martin. Leafs blow away the Isles...their 11-4 surge started when they beat tonight's opponent, the Chicago Blackhawks, 3-2 in Chicago on January 8th. Henrik Lundqvist also started to return to form and the Rangers have been rolling along up until the Olympic break.  Lundqvist gets another days rest as Cam Talbot mans the pipes for the Blueshirts. The Hawks are 3-3-3 in past 9 and will try and get back on track with Corey Crawford getting the start. The Rangers should be focused as they don't play again until Saturday against Philly.  Rangers.... Speaking of Philly, San Jose heads into the City of Brotherly Love but won't find any as Steve Mason and the Flyers are pushing to secure a playoff position.  Alex Stalock should get the nod for the Sharks but will face a tough opponent tonight. Antti Niemi gets a little more rest. Take the cheesesteaks....The Montreal Canadiens had a tough overtime loss last night against Detroit but there is no letting up as they face the Eastern Conference leader, the Pittsburgh Penguins.  With Carey Price out for at least one more game, Peter Budaj (LIKELY) will probably man the crease again tonight. The Pens will probably go with Marc-Andre Fleury as they seek to lock down the top seed for the playoffs. With their legs under them now, I see an upset in Steeltown....A revitalized Braden Holtby leads the Washington Capitals into Miami, Florida to take on Tim ...

Thomas allowed two goals on 32 shots in 3-1 loss to the Red Wings last night. He will draw both starts of the back-to-back as he takes on the Hurricanes tonight. It has been a struggle for Thomas as of late. He has lost four of his last six while posting a 3.32 GAA and .888 SV%.

Thomas stopped 20 of 21 shots in 4-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Tuesday. The Panthers were all over the Maple Leafs in this one and Thomas made the necessary saves to preserve the victory. Tonight he meets the Red Wings for the fourth time this season. He has had a lot of success vs. his hometown team (Flint, MI native) going 3-0-0 with a 2.21 GAA and .911 SV% against Detroit this season.

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 ...

Busy night yesterday in the NHL with 9 games played. Vancouver visted Boston and came out the loser 3-1.  Nice game by Bruin goalie Tuukka Rask as he had 27 saves. Rask is a premiere fantasy goalie with a 25-13-3 record a 2.09 GAA and a .929 SP.  Boston forward Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist, and with 16 goals and 40 points on the year, he is not the player he once was at 36 years old, but he is still a viable 6th forward option. The New York Rangers are really turning their season around.  They have gone 10-3 in their last 13 games.  One of the big reasons for their surge has been the play of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who has won 4 straight games and 9 of his last 11, allowing only 15 goals during that stretch. Ryan Callahan had a big game for New York with 2 goals and an assist. Callahan is a tough and gritty player, but he is in the last year of his contract, and it appears that he and New York are not going to come together on a new contract.  This means that Callahan will likely be traded soon. He has only 24 points on the season in 40 games, so he is not exactly the second coming of Wayne Gretzky.   New York forward Brad Richards had a goal and an assist, but he has only 41 points on the season. The 33 year old is a far cry from his 91 point days in Dallas.  The only thing big about his time in New York is his contract; $58.5 million worth. Goalies duel: Nice goalie duel in Carolina last night as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Hurricanes 2-1 on a late goal by by Jets forward Chris Thorburn of all people. This was Thorburn's 36th goal in 516 NHL games.  What the heck?  Both goalies were outstanding as Ondrej Pavelec had 29 saves for the win, and Anton Khudobin had 27 for Carolina, giving up Thorburn's late goal. Cam Ward is now fully healthy for the Hurricanes, so head coach Kirk Muller is going to have to make a decision as to who is his starting goalie; Ward or Khudobin. Keep a close eye on the team's next few starts for a sign of how Muller is leaning. The Price is right: OK so I have used this one before, but it is good and also easy.  Great night for Montreal goaltender Carey Price as he shutout the Calgary Flames 2-0 with 27 saves. Price has had a nice year with 24 wins a 2.37 GAA and a .923 SP.  Those are really good numbers.  The Canadiens have struggled a bit lately going only 3-9 in their last 12 games, but Price has been solid.  Montreal forward David Desharnais had a PPG, but with only 28 points on the season, he has been a big ...

Busy night yesterday in the NHL with 9 games played. Vancouver visted Boston and came out the loser 3-1.  Nice game by Bruin goalie Tuukka Rask as he had 27 saves. Rask is a premiere fantasy goalie with a 25-13-3 record a 2.09 GAA and a .929 SP.  Boston forward Jarome Iginla had a goal and an assist, and with 16 goals and 40 points on the year, he is not the player he once was at 36 years old, but he is still a viable 6th forward option. The New York Rangers are really turning their season around.  They have gone 10-3 in their last 13 games.  One of the big reasons for their surge has been the play of goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who has won 4 straight games and 9 of his last 11, allowing only 15 goals during that stretch. Ryan Callahan had a big game for New York with 2 goals and an assist. Callahan is a tough and gritty player, but he is in the last year of his contract, and it appears that he and New York are not going to come together on a new contract.  This means that Callahan will likely be traded soon. He has only 24 points on the season in 40 games, so he is not exactly the second coming of Wayne Gretzky.   New York forward Brad Richards had a goal and an assist, but he has only 41 points on the season. The 33 year old is a far cry from his 91 point days in Dallas.  The only thing big about his time in New York is his contract; $58.5 million worth.   Goalies duel: Nice goalie duel in Carolina last night as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Hurricanes 2-1 on a late goal by by Jets forward Chris Thorburn of all people. This was Thorburn's 36th goal in 516 NHL games.  What the heck?  Both goalies were outstanding as Ondrej Pavelec had 29 saves for the win, and Anton Khudobin had 27 for Carolina, giving up Thorburn's late goal. Cam Ward is now fully healthy for the Hurricanes, so head coach Kirk Muller is going to have to make a decision as to who is his starting goalie; Ward or Khudobin. Keep a close eye on the team's next few starts for a sign of how Muller is leaning. The Price is right: OK so I have used this one before, but it is good and, also, easy.  Great night for Montreal goaltender Carey Price as he shutout the Calgary Flames 2-0 with 27 saves. Price has had a nice year with 24 wins a 2.37 GAA and a .923 SP.  Those are really good numbers.  The Canadiens have struggled a bit lately going only 3-9 in their last 12 games, but Price has been solid.  Montreal forward David Desharnais had a PPG, but with only 28 points on the season, he has been a ...

Thomas gave up four goals on 30 shots in a loss to the Blue Jackets on Saturday. He has allowed at least three goals and a total of 28 goals in his last seven starts (4.00 GA/game). Tonight he will face a Maple Leafs team that he is familiar with from his days in Boston.

Thomas had a rough return to Boston, he allowed six goals on 41 shots in a 6-2 blowout loss. Thomas has allowed three-plus goals in six consecutive starts and will face a Columbus team who have tallied 39 goals in their last 10 games (3.9 G/PG)

Thomas gave up four goals on 30 shots as the Panthers overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Red Wings 5-4 in a shootout last night. On Tuesday he will make his return to Boston for the first time since leaving. He allowed three goals in a lost to the Bruins in October.

Thomas gave up four goals on 30 shots as the Panthers overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to beat the Red Wings 5-4 in a shootout last night. On Tuesday it looks like he will make his return to Boston for the first time since leaving. He allowed three goals in a lost to the Bruins in October.