Morning Skate (Thanksgiving Day)

From Ryan and I....a Happy Thanksgiving to all and thanks to Ryan. Now some Morning Skate.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!!!


The Morning After:
Last night’s scores:
Capitals 2, Sabres 0
Flyers 2, Islanders 1
Maple Leafs 4, Lightning 3
Devils 3, Senators 1
Rangers 2, Panthers 1 (SO)
Penguins 3, Canadiens 1
Thrashers 2, Red Wings 0
Bruins 2, Wild 1 (SO)
Blues 4, Stars 3 (SO)
Predators 4, Avalanche 3 (OT)
Kings 3, Oilers 1
Flames 2, Coyotes 1
Ducks 3, Hurricanes 2
Blackhawks 7, Sharks 2
Predictions record: 7-5-2

My 3 stars from last night:
1. Ondrej Pavelec, ATL (40 Saves, Shutout)
Pavelec was a hoss in Detroit last night, stoning the Wings for his 2nd shutout of the season.
2. Marian Hossa, CHI (2 Goals)
Hossa’s Chicago debut did not disappoint, as help scored a pair to help the ‘Hawks run away from the Sharks.
3. Semyon Varlamov, WSH (25 Saves, Shutout)
‘Varly’ was terrific in the Caps’ shutout win over Buffalo.
Dud of the Night:
Sharks power play… Todd McLellan & company have one of the better man advantage units in the league, but it was horrible tonight. The men in teal gave up three (yes, three) shorthanded goals to the high-flying Blackhawks. The back-to-back goals by Hossa and Sharp were back-breakers.
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Tonight’s Slate:
Blue Jackets @ Senators, 7:30 ET
Kings @ Canucks, 10:00

Games of the Night:
Columbus Blue Jackets @ Ottawa Senators
7:30 ET… TV: TSN, Local Networks

Records:
Overall: Blue Jackets (12-8-3) … Senators (12-7-3)
Last Ten: Blue Jackets (5-3-2) … Senators (6-3-1)
Away/Home: Blue Jackets (6-6-1) … Senators (9-3-3)
Season Series: First meeting

Players to watch:
CBJ- Antoine Vermette
Vermette will play his first game against the Sens since last year’s deadline deal.
OTT- Daniel Alfredsson
With both Kovalev and Fisher out, ‘Alfie’ becomes even more of a go-to guy.

Projected Goaltenders:
CBJ- Steve Mason (09/10 stats: 8-5-3, 3.59 GAA)
OTT- Brian Elliott (Last night @ NJ: 18 saves, 2 GA)

Injury Report:
CBJ- Derek Dorsett (head, out), Andrew Murray (shoulder, out), Fredrik Modin (knee, out)
OTT- Pascal Leclaire (face, out), Alex Kovalev (personal, out), Mike Fisher (upper body, doubtful), Anton Volchenkov (elbow, out), Shean Donovan (knee, out)

Game Thoughts:
Ottawa suffered a tough defeat to hands of the Devils last night, while the Blue Jackets were resting up after losing to Montreal. I really like the Jackets’ chances here. They’ve lost three in a row, and are due for a win. The Sens are a bit banged up, and may start Brodeur tonight… no, not that one! Columbus in overtime…
Prediction: Blue Jackets 3, Senators 2 (OT)
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Los Angeles Kings @ Vancouver Canucks
10:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Records:
Overall: Kings (14-9-2) … Canucks (12-11-0)
Last Ten: Kings (5-5-0) … Canucks (5-5-0)
Away/Home: Kings (5-4-1) … Canucks (8-3-0)
Season Series: 1-0 Canucks

Players to watch:
LA- Drew Doughty
Doughty has been hot lately as he continues to try to impress Stevie Y and the rest of Team Canada’s brass.
VAN- Christian Ehrhoff
He knows these guys well, and has been a great fit in Vancouver.

Projected Goaltenders:
LA- Erik Ersberg (09/10 stats: 1-1-0, 4.18 GAA)
VAN- Roberto Luongo (09/10 stats: 8-8-0, 2.54 GAA)

Injury Report:
LA- Ryan Smyth (upper body, out), Rob Scuderi and Jarret Stoll (lower body, questionable)
VAN- Pavol Demitra (shoulder, out), Michael Grabner (ankle, out), Alexandre Bolduc (shoulder, out)

Game Thoughts:
The Kings pulled out a low-scoring game in Edmonton last night, but will face a tougher task in Vancouver here. Alain Vigneault’s crew needs to get all the wins they can at home before their lengthy road trek after the New Year. Coming off a shutout, I like the Canucks to win this one.
Prediction: Canucks 4, Kings 2