Morning Skate: Tuesday, 1/6

Tonight’s Slate:
Wild @ Bruins, 7:00 ET
Senators @ Sabres, 7:00
Flyers @ Capitals, 7:00
Devils @ Hurricanes, 7:00
Panthers @ Maple Leafs, 7:30
Thrashers @ Penguins, 7:30
Blue Jackets @ Red Wings, 7:30
Avalanche @ Predators, 8:00
Blackhawks @ Coyotes, 9:00
Kings @ Ducks, 10:00
Sharks @ Flames, 10:00

Games of the Night:
Game #1: Philadelphia Flyers (21-10-8) @ Washington Capitals (26-11-3)
7:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Players to watch:
PHI- Scott Hartnell
Hartnell scored a hat trick the last time these two met.
WSH- Alexander Semin
Will he have the guts to play the bongos on Riley Cote!?

Projected Goaltenders:
PHI- Martin Biron (08-09 stats: 13-7-4, 3.03 GAA)
WSH- Jose Theodore (08-09 stats: 13-6-1, 2.98 GAA)

Injury Report:
PHI- Daniel Briere (groin, out), Joffrey Lupul (lower body, questionable), Claude Giroux (head, out), Arron Asham (knee, out), Josh Gratton (lower body, questionable), Ryan Parent (shoulder, out), Derian Hatcher (knee, out)
WSH- Sergei Fedorov (ankle, out), Tomas Fleischmann (illness, questionable), John Erskine (concussion, out), Brian Pothier (concussion, out), Tom Poti (groin, questionable)

Last Ten Games:
Flyers (5-3-2) … Capitals (9-1-0)

Season Series:
1-0 Flyers

Game Thoughts:
The Flyers drilled Washington 7-1 a couple weeks ago in Philly. You’ll know the Caps will be looking for a little bit of revenge. This is the first time Philly has played in the Verizon Center since their dramatic Game 7 win in last year’s playoffs. But the Caps are 17-1-1 at home, and I look for Ovechkin and Semin to take over tonight.

Prediction: Capitals 6, Flyers 4
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Game #2: San Jose Sharks (29-4-5) @ Calgary Flames (23-12-4)
10:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Players to watch:
SJ- Joe Thornton
‘Big Joe’ has 11 points in the last 6 games.
CGY- Dion Phaneuf
Phaneuf is starting to turn it around with an assist in the last 2 games.

Projected Goaltenders:
SJ- Evgeni Nabokov (08-09 stats: 21-3-4, 2.44 GAA)
CGY- Miikka Kiprusoff (08-09 stats: 23-11-3, 2.88 GAA)

Injury Report:
SJ- Douglas Murray (lower body, doubtful), Jody Shelley (upper body, out), Jeremy Roenick (shoulder, out), Torrey Mitchell (leg, out)
CGY- Jim Vandermeer (ankle, out), Brandon Prust (jaw, out), Wayne Primeau (foot, out), Rhett Warrener (shoulder, out)

Last Ten Games:
Sharks (6-1-3) … Flames (7-1-2)

Season Series:
1-0 Sharks

Game Thoughts:
Will San Jose fall in to the ring of fire in Calgary tonight?? The Sharkies are 2-0-2 since Christmas, and haven’t really been the same. Meanwhile, minus a 5-2 loss in Chicago, the Flames are flamin’; they’ve won 4 straight at the Pengrowth Saddledome. I expect Calgary to rebound and make it 5 straight at home.

Prediction: Flames 3, Sharks 2
The rest of tonight’s predictions:
Bruins over Wild
Sabres over Senators
Hurricanes over Devils
Panthers over Maple Leafs
Penguins over Thrashers
Red Wings over Blue Jackets
Avalanche over Predators
Blackhawks over Coyotes
Ducks over Kings