On a strange morning where the temperatures are rising like its Phoenix, we bring you Ryan Porth’s Morning Skate.  Yet it is snowing just a little bit…go figure.

The Morning After:

Yesterday’s scores:

Hurricanes 6, Maple Leafs 4

Rangers 2, Capitals 1 (SO)

Flames 3, Predators 1

Avalanche 4, Blues 3

Canucks 7, Stars 1

Kings 2, Bruins 0

Predictions record: 4-2

My 3 stars of the night:

1. Jonathan Quick, LA (34 Saves, Shutout)… Quick stood tall with a much-needed shutout over Boston in L.A.’s second straight win.

2. Brandon Sutter, CAR (2 Goals)

3. Brandon Yip, COL (2 Goals)

Close but no cigar: R. Kesler and H. Sedin, VAN; M. Kiprusoff, CGY; M. Biron, NYR; T. Brent, TOR

—

Tonight’s Slate:

Panthers @ Rangers, 7:00 ET

Islanders @ Penguins, 7:00

Ducks @ Blue Jackets, 7:00

Canadiens @ Flyers, 7:30

Sabres @ Senators, 7:30

Maple Leafs @ Lightning, 7:30

Wild @ Blackhawks, 8:30

Oilers @ Coyotes, 9:00

Game of the Night:

Montreal Canadiens @ Philadelphia Flyers

7:30 ET… TV: VERSUS

Records:

Overall: Canadiens (27-17-5) … Flyers (32-12-5)

Last Ten: Canadiens (6-1-3) … Flyers (8-2-0)

Away/Home: Canadiens (11-11-1) … Flyers (15-7-2)

Season Series: 2-1 Flyers

Players to watch:

MTL- Andrei Kostitsyn

After a funk around New Year’s, Kostitsyn’s production has picked up of late.

PHI- Claude Giroux

The Ontario native is on fire recently, currently on a six-game point streak.

Projected Goaltenders:

MTL- Carey Price (2010/11 stats: 24-15-5, 2.33 GAA)

PHI- Sergei Bobrovsky (2010/11 stats: 20-6-3, 2.44 GAA)

Injury Report:

MTL- Michael Cammalleri (shoulder, out), Andrei Markov and Josh Gorges (knee, out), Jeff Halpern (upper body, questionable)

PHI- James van Riemsdyk (lower body, doubtful), Ian Laperriere (head, out)

Game Thoughts:

Montreal and Philly have established quite an on-ice rivalry (I guess you could say) in the last year or so. Their playoff series kicked things up a notch; so did P.K. Subban’s actions in their first meeting this season. The Flyers are one of the hottest teams in the league, while Jacques Martin’s club is playing well despite the recent injury to Cammalleri. Montreal usually isn’t fazed playing in Philly, but I’m still going with Mike Richards and company.

Prediction: Flyers 3, Canadiens 2 (OT)

The rest of tonight’s predictions:

Rangers over Panthers

Penguins over Islanders (Lock of the night)

Ducks over Blue Jackets

Senators over Sabres

Lightning over Maple Leafs

Blackhawks over Wild

Coyotes over Oilers

Ryan brings us the Morning Skate, now excuse us while we make some pancakes for the Princess. She likes them in the shape of hockey pucks.

The Morning After:

Yesterday’s scores:

Flyers 5, Devils 3

Canadiens 3, Sharks 1

Maple Leafs 3, Bruins 2 (SO)

Sabres 1, Senators 0 (SO)

Thrashers 3, Capitals 1

Penguins 7, Blue Jackets 2

Lightning 6, Avalanche 5

Predators 5, Hurricanes 2

Stars 4, Wild 3 (OT)

Panthers 2, Coyotes 1 (SO)

Oilers 2, Blues 1 (OT)

Kings 3, Red Wings 2 (OT)

Predictions record: 7-5

My 3 stars of the night:

1. Ryan Miller, BUF (32 Saves, Shutout)… The Sabres finally solved Brian Elliott and the Sens, courtesy of Miller’s clutch shutout.

2. Ondrej Pavelec, ATL (45 Saves, 1 GA)

3. Paul Martin, PIT (2 Goals)

Close but no cigar: T. Thomas, BOS; S. Crosby, PIT; S. Gagne and M. St. Louis, TB; A. Kopitar, LA; S. Clemmensen, FLA; N. Khabibulin, EDM; C. Price, MTL; M. Erat, NSH

—

Tonight’s Slate:

Flyers @ Islanders, 1:00 ET

Senators @ Rangers, 5:00

Flames @ Blackhawks, 7:00

Coyotes @ Ducks, 8:00

Blues @ Canucks, 9:00

Game of the Night:

St. Louis Blues @ Vancouver Canucks

9:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Records:

Overall: Blues (12-9-4) … Canucks (14-7-3)

Last Ten: Blues (3-6-1) … Canucks (6-3-1)

Away/Home: Blues (4-7-3) … Canucks (8-2-1)

Season Series (09/10): 2-1-1 Blues

Players to watch:

STL- David Backes

Backes seems to save some of his best hockey for Vancouver.

VAN- Manny Malhotra

Malhotra has been a great pickup this year, leading the way for the third-ranked penalty kill.

Projected Goaltenders:

STL- Ty Conklin (2010/11 stats: 2-2-1, 3.38 GAA)

VAN- Roberto Luongo (2010/11 stats: 11-7-2, 2.54 GAA)

Injury Report:

STL- T.J. Oshie (ankle, out), David Perron (concussion, out), Roman Polak (wrist, out)

VAN- Sami Salo (Achilles, out), Guillaume Desbiens (hand, out), Alexandre Bolduc (ankle, out)

Game Thoughts:

Winners of four straight, Roberto Luongo and the Canucks kickoff a three-game home-stand tonight. They’re coming off a big shutout win in Chicago, which followed a blowout victory in Calgary. St. Louis, meanwhile, has struggled to have any consistency on the road this year and lost to the Oilers last night. Can they get it together for tonight’s contest? I don’t think so. Plus, the Canucks have won seven of their last eight home games against the Blues.

Prediction: Canucks 3, Blues 1

Lock of the Night:

Flyers over Islanders… Aside from the Flyers flat out being the better team (by a landslide), they have won 17 of their 18 meetings.

The rest of tonight’s predictions:

Rangers over Senators

Blackhawks over Flames

Ducks over Coyotes

A case of the Mondays has hit but the Morning Skate still goes on.

The Morning After:
Last night’s scores:
Penguins 2, Flyers 1
Hurricanes 5, Bruins 1
Avalanche 4, Stars 0
Predictions record: 2-1

My 3 stars from last night:
1. Jussi Jokinen, CAR (1 Goal, 2 Assists)
Jokinen picked up 3 points in the Canes’ big win over Boston.
2. Sergei Gonchar, PIT (1 Goal, 1 Assist)
‘Gonch’ was the trigger-man for both of Pittsburgh’s goals.
3. Craig Anderson, COL (27 Saves, Shutout)
Anderson notched yet another shutout even though the Avs didn’t need him at his best.
Dud of the Night:
Boston Bruins… The B’s have now lost 8 of 9, and are on the outside looking into the Eastern Conference playoff picture. They will now go almost two weeks without gathering a point, and have a tough stretch coming up. Boston needed a win yesterday, and failed to get it done.
—

Tonight’s Slate:
Penguins @ Rangers, 7:00 ET
Blues @ Flames, 9:30
Sabres @ Canucks, 10:00

Games of the Night:
Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Rangers
7:00 ET… TV: VERSUS, TSN

Records:
Overall: Penguins (32-20-1) … Rangers (26-21-3)
Last Ten: Penguins (6-4-0) … Rangers (7-3-0)
Away/Home: Penguins (17-11-0) … Rangers (15-9-2)
Season Series: 3-0 Penguins

Players to watch:
PIT- Jordan Staal
Call it a gut feeling, but I really think Jordan will have a solid game against brother Marc.
NYR- Brandon Dubinsky
‘Dubie’ hasn’t played well in the last couple games; that needs to change tonight.

Projected Goaltenders:
PIT- Marc-Andre Fleury (09/10 stats: 25-14-1, 2.60 GAA)
NYR- Henrik Lundqvist (09/10 stats: 22-17-6, 2.81 GAA)

Injury Report:
PIT- Marc-Andre Fleury (finger, probable), Chris Kunitz (abdomen, out), Max Talbot (groin, questionable)
NYR- None

Game Thoughts:
For the second straight day, Pittsburgh will play a divisional rival on the road. Yesterday they edged the Flyers 2-1, and have owned the Blueshirts this season. John Tortorella’s Rangers have been shutout the last two games… so you’d think they are due for a big night, right? I think they’ll grind out enough goals to barely beat the Pens…
Prediction: Rangers 2, Penguins 1 (OT)
—
Buffalo Sabres @ Vancouver Canucks
10:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Records:
Overall: Sabres (30-13-7) … Canucks (31-18-2)
Last Ten: Sabres (5-2-3) … Canucks (7-2-1)
Away/Home: Sabres (14-8-2) … Canucks (21-7-1)
Season Series: First meeting

Players to watch:
BUF- Tim Connolly
Connolly is currently on a 15-game point streak, 2nd highest in the NHL this season.
VAN- Henrik Sedin
Henrik has had a multi-point game in 8 of the last 11 games. He’ll see a lot of Tyler Myers tonight.

Projected Goaltenders:
BUF- Ryan Miller (09/10 stats: 27-10-5, 2.06 GAA)
VAN- Roberto Luongo (09/10 stats: 27-14-2, 2.27 GAA)

Injury Report:
BUF- None
VAN- Willie Mitchell (upper body, questionable), Sami Salo (groin, doubtful), Kevin Bieksa and Michael Grabner (ankle, out), Rick Rypien (flu, questionable), Alexandre Bolduc (shoulder, out)

Game Thoughts:
An interesting intra-conference battle will take place in VanCity tonight. Buffalo continues their long road trip with a date with the Canucks, who will start their 14-game trek this Saturday. They are playing their best hockey right now, having beaten Chicago 5-1 two days ago. I like the Canucks here as Buffalo hasn’t won in Vancouver in over 10 years.
Prediction: Canucks 3, Sabres 2

The rest of tonight’s predictions:
Flames over Blues

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