Morning Skate: Sunday, 3/15

Today’s Slate:
Flyers @ Rangers, 12:30 ET
Islanders @ Blackhawks, 3:00
Bruins @ Penguins, 3:00
Red Wings @ Blue Jackets, 5:00
Wild @ Blues, 6:00
Sharks @ Ducks, 8:00
Avalanche @ Canucks, 10:00

Games of the Day:
Game #1: Boston Bruins @ Pittsburgh Penguins
3:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Records:
Overall: Bruins (45-16-9) … Penguins (36-26-8)
Last Ten: Bruins (5-4-1) … Penguins (7-1-2)
Away/Home: Bruins (21-10-4) … Penguins (18-12-3)
Season Series: 2-1 Bruins

Players to watch:
BOS- Phil Kessel
Kessel has scored 3 goals in the last 2 games.
PIT- Sidney Crosby
Sid the Kid is on a 9-game point streak, and has 18 points in 12 career games vs. BOS.

Projected Goaltenders:
BOS- Manny Fernandez (08-09 stats: 14-6-3, 2.39 GAA)
PIT- Mathieu Garon (08-09 stats: 6-9-0, 3.20 GAA)

Injury Report:
BOS- Stephane Yelle (head, questionable), Marco Sturm (knee, out)
PIT- Philippe Boucher (foot, out), Mike Zigomanis (undisclosed, out)

Game Thoughts:
Both teams played yesterday, with the Bruins winning and the Pens losing in OT. This one means much more to the Pens and will want to finish this in regulation. The key matchup is the PIT power play (24th) against the BOS penalty kill (12th). I like Pittsburgh’s chances today…

Prediction: Penguins 4, Bruins 3
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Game #2: Detroit Red Wings @ Columbus Blue Jackets
5:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Records:
Overall: Red Wings (45-15-9) … Blue Jackets (36-27-8)
Last Ten: Red Wings (6-3-1) … Blue Jackets (6-4-0)
Away/Home: Red Wings (20-10-5) … Blue Jackets (22-10-2)
Season Series: 3-2 Blue Jackets

Players to watch:
DET- Chris Osgood
If ‘Ozzie’ gets the nod, he’ll need to continue his success from yesterday.
CBJ- Rick Nash
Nash has 2 hat tricks vs. DET this season.

Projected Goaltenders:
DET- Chris Osgood (08-09 stats: 20-6-7, 3.30 GAA)
CBJ- Steve Mason (08-09 stats: 28-16-3, 2.20 GAA)

Injury Report:
DET- Andreas Lilja (concussion, out)
CBJ- Fredrik Modin (knee, out), Marc Methot (concussion, out), Jason Chimera (groin, out), O-K Tollefsen (knee, out), Derick Brassard (shoulder, out)

Game Thoughts:
This is the must-watch game of the day… no doubt! Nationwide Arena will be electric as the Jackets are hotter than a pistol... and oh by the way, the Wings are in town. Columbus has taken 3 of the first 5 games of the season series. Can seal it up tonight and take 4 of 6?? I believe so. Detroit played yesterday in St. Louis, so they may be a bit sluggish. Meanwhile, Mason was able to get a night off on Friday when the Jackets won 5-3 in Chicago. Look for Ken Hitchcock’s group to keep separating themselves from the western pack.

Prediction: Blue Jackets 3, Red Wings 2
The rest of today’s predictions:
Rangers over Flyers
Blackhawks over Islanders
Blues over Wild
Ducks over Sharks
Canucks over Avalanche