Ryan brings us the meat and potatoes edition of the Morning Skate.  with 12 games on the schedule tonight, he had his work cut out for him.  Here it goes.

The Morning After:

Yesterday’s scores:

Maple Leafs 5, Predators 4

Canadiens 3, Flyers 0

Stars 2, Ducks 1

Predictions record: 2-1

My 3 stars of the night:

1. Carey Price, MTL (41 Saves, Shutout)… Price had a Halak-like performance against the Flyers, continuing his early-season hot streak.

2. Kris Versteeg, TOR (2 Goals)

3. Brian Gionta, MTL (1 Goal, 2 Assists)

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Tonight’s Slate:

Lightning @ Islanders, 7:00 ET

Bruins @ Rangers, 7:00

Canucks @ Penguins, 7:00

Sabres @ Capitals, 7:00

Senators @ Hurricanes, 7:00

Panthers @ Thrashers, 7:00

Blues @ Red Wings, 7:30

Ducks @ Wild, 8:00

Sharks @ Avalanche, 9:00

Coyotes @ Flames, 9:30

Blackhawks @ Oilers, 9:30

Blue Jackets @ Kings, 10:30

Games of the Night:

Vancouver Canucks @ Pittsburgh Penguins

7:00 ET… TV: TSN, Local Networks

Records:

Overall: Canucks (10-4-3) … Penguins (9-8-2)

Last Ten: Canucks (8-1-1) … Penguins (4-5-1)

Away/Home: Canucks (4-4-2) … Penguins (3-5-1)

Season Series (09/10): 1-0 Canucks

Players to watch:

VAN- Dan Hamhuis

Hamhuis ‘returns’ to Pittsburgh, a team he’s had previous success against.

PIT- Sidney Crosby

Sid is on fire, racking up 13 points on his current six-game point streak.

Projected Goaltenders:

VAN- Roberto Luongo (2010/11 stats: 7-4-2, 2.66 GAA)

PIT- Marc-Andre Fleury (2010/11 stats: 3-6-1, 3.07 GAA)

Injury Report:

VAN- Sami Salo (Achilles, out), Ryan Parent (groin, questionable), Guillaume Desbiens (hand, out), Alexandre Bolduc (ankle, out)

PIT- Jordan Staal (hand, out), Tyler Kennedy (illness, questionable)

Game Thoughts:

In their lone meeting last year, the Canucks lit up John Curry and Alex Pechurskiy in a 6-2 beat-down at GM Place. Vancouver has turned around their early-season struggles, while Pittsburgh is still trying to get on track. Luongo is 7-1-1 in his career against the Pens, but I think Crosby and company will be determined to get the ‘W’ after Monday’s debacle. They must win the special teams battle, though.

Prediction: Penguins 4, Canucks 3

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Wednesday Game of the Week:

St. Louis Blues (9-4-3) @ Detroit Red Wings (11-3-1)

7:30 ET… TV: Local Networks

2009/10 Season Series: 4-2 Blues

Prediction: Red Wings 3, Blues 2

More to come from this game…

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Lock of the Night:

Capitals over Sabres… Though Buffalo has shown some good signs lately, the Caps’ offense has been dynamite lately and will avenge Saturday’s loss at the Sabres.

The rest of tonight’s predictions:

Lightning over Islanders

Rangers over Bruins

Hurricanes over Senators

Thrashers over Panthers

Wild over Ducks

Sharks over Avalanche

Flames over Coyotes

Blackhawks over Oilers

Kings over Blue Jackets

Ryan brings it once again….I hear rumors he may kick Anaheim in the rear later….stay tuned for that…….

The Morning After:
Last night’s scores:
Flyers 3, Devils 2
Islanders 4, Bruins 1
Blue Jackets 3, Oilers 2 (SO)
Penguins 5, Ducks 2
Kings 4, Panthers 3 (SO)
Lightning 4, Coyotes 1
Predictions record: 3-3

My 3 stars from last night:
1. Vincent Lecavalier, TB (2 Goals, 1 Assist)
Lecavalier led the Bolts to a big win in Phoenix with 3 points.
2. Matt Moulson, NYI (2 Goals)
Moulson’s pair of goals sparked the Isles’ road win over the Bruins.
3. Ray Emery, PHI (33 Saves, 2 GA)
Emery helped put an end to the Devils’ road winning streak with 33 saves.
—

Tonight’s Slate:
Capitals @ Rangers, 7:00 ET
Maple Leafs @ Senators, 7:30
Hurricanes @ Canadiens, 7:30
Sharks @ Predators, 8:00
Avalanche @ Flames, 9:30

Games of the Night:
Washington Capitals @ New York Rangers
7:00 ET… TV: VERSUS, TSN2

Records:
Overall: Capitals (12-4-4) … Rangers (11-8-1)
Last Ten: Capitals (6-2-2) … Rangers (4-5-1)
Away/Home: Capitals (5-3-1) … Rangers (6-3-0)
Season Series: 1-0 Rangers

Players to watch:
WSH- Alex Ovechkin
He’ll likely return to the lineup tonight, and has good career numbers against New York.
NYR- Ales Kotalik
13 of Kotalik’s 17 points have come on the power play.

Projected Goaltenders:
WSH- Semyon Varlamov (09/10 stats: 7-1-0, 2.67 GAA)
NYR- Henrik Lundqvist (09/10 stats: 9-6-1, 2.51 GAA)

Injury Report:
WSH- Alex Ovechkin (shoulder, probable), Mike Knuble (finger, out), Milan Jurcina (lower body, questionable), Boyd Gordon (back, questionable)
NYR- Chris Drury (concussion, out), Brandon Dubinsky (hand, out)

Game Thoughts:
Ovechkin’s return should be a boost to the Caps lineup, but will it be enough to take down the Rangers?? Lundqvist has had their number since the lockout, and Gaborik is as hot as anyone in the league. I like Washington tonight, though, to get back on the winning track.
Prediction: Capitals 4, Rangers 3
—
San Jose Sharks @ Nashville Predators
8:00 ET… TV: None

Records:
Overall: Sharks (14-4-4) … Predators (9-8-1)
Last Ten: Sharks (7-0-3) … Predators (7-3-0)
Away/Home: Sharks (8-4-2) … Predators (4-3-0)
Season Series: 1-0 Sharks

Players to watch:
SJ- Joe Thornton
Jumbo Joe has had great success against the Preds since coming to San Jose.
NSH- Jason Arnott
He has just one point since returning from injury, but has had plenty of scoring chances.

Projected Goaltenders:
SJ- Evgeni Nabokov (09/10 stats: 12-3-4, 2.16 GAA)
NSH- Pekka Rinne (09/10 stats: 6-4-0, 2.34 GAA)

Injury Report:
SJ- Rob Blake (arm, out), Torrey Mitchell (knee, out), Jody Shelley (soreness, questionable)
NSH- Colin Wilson (groin, out)

Game Thoughts:
This is a good test for a Nashville team looking to gather momentum. They’ve won six of their last eight, and Rinne is looking good in net. They are also looking for some revenge after losing a nail-biter to these guys last week out west. The Sharks come to town coming off a tough overtime loss in Chicago. If the Preds play like they did Saturday vs. Montreal, they have a good chance. But I still like San Jose to come out on top…
Prediction: Sharks 3, Predators 2 (SO)

The rest of tonight’s predictions:
Senators over Maple Leafs
Canadiens over Hurricanes
Flames over Avalanche

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