Tonight’s Slate:
Islanders @ Rangers, 7:00 ET
Canadiens @ Panthers, 7:30
Wild @ Flames, 9:00
Sharks @ Stars, 9:00
Predators @ Avalanche, 9:30
Blue Jackets @ Kings, 10:30
Game of the Night:
San Jose Sharks (27-4-4) @ Dallas Stars (15-14-5)
9:00 ET… TV: Local Networks
Players to watch:
SJ- Dan Boyle
Boyle has relatively slowed down since his hot start… look for him to find the stat sheet tonight.
DAL- James Neal
I like this Neal kid… he has 5 goals in the last 4 games, and has kind of sparked the team since the Avery departure.
Projected Goaltenders:
SJ- Evgeni Nabokov (08-09 stats: 19-3-3, 2.45 GAA)
DAL- Marty Turco (08-09 stats: 14-12-5, 3.27 GAA)
Injury Report:
SJ- Jeremy Roenick (shoulder, out), Torrey Mitchell (leg, out)
DAL- Sergei Zubov (hip, out), Brendan Morrow (knee, out), Joel Lundqvist (shoulder, doubtful)
Last Ten Games:
Sharks (6-1-3) … Stars (6-3-1)
Season Series:
2-0 Sharks
Game Thoughts:
Dallas has been hot and is back in the thick of things in the west. But that will come to a stand-still tonight when they host San Jose. The Sharks lost 3-2 in a shootout to St. Louis on Saturday, and I expect them to rebound against their division rivals. The Stars will keep it close, though.
Prediction: Sharks 3, Stars 2
The rest of tonight’s predictions:
Rangers over Islanders
Canadiens over Panthers
Flames over Wild
Predators over Avalanche
Kings over Blue Jackets
For more predictions and analysis on the NHL like this, stop by the Red Light District.