Happy Columbus Day to all of you fortunate enough to have a bank holiday to sit around and watch afternoon hockey. There are three games dropping the puck before the sun sets today while you’re kicking back enjoying some lasagna to celebrate everyone’s favorite 15th Century Italian explorer. All times are eastern because that’s the way Columbus wanted it.
1:00 pm
NY Rangers @ NY Islanders
Nothing says “holiday” like the Rangers and Isles going at each other like cats and dogs on Long Island. It’s their first meeting of the season and, like all other times they meet, should be a slugfest. Look for Derek Boogaard and Zenon Konopka to get to know each other at some point. Henrik Lundqvist will start for the Rangers in goal while Dwayne Roloson will start for the Islanders. Update: So much for Roloson, DiPietro gets the nod.
2:00 pm
Anaheim @ St. Louis
So the Ducks won’t have newly-signed Andreas Lilja in the lineup just yet, but at least they’ll have defenseman to kick around soon. Until then, the leaky defense will have to deal with David Backes and company. Cam Janssen won’t be around to punch people as he’s out for two weeks with a concussion.
4:00 pm
Pittsburgh @ New Jersey
Paul Martin makes his return to New Jersey as a member of the Penguins and he’s expecting to be met with boos. As for the game, the Devils will hope to tighten things up a bit after losing 7-2 to Washington Friday night. That might be tricky to do as they’ll be playing perhaps as few as 18 players. They’ll be without Pierre-Luc Letorneau-Leblond who was suspended. Anton Volchenkov may also miss the game after taking a puck in the visor that broke his nose.
7:00 pm
Chicago @ Buffalo
Buffalo native Patrick Kane gets to show off in his hometown this time without the Stanley Cup or a fire truck crane to get stuck in. Chicago is looking for their first win of the season while the Sabres are hoping they can bounce back after a 6-3 drubbing at the hands of the Rangers on Saturday.
Colorado @ Philadelphia
With Michael Leighton out for up to eight weeks with back surgery, it’ll be the Sergei Bobrovsky/Brian Boucher show in Philly. Bobrovsky looked solid in a win over Pittsburgh while Boucher fared well in an overtime loss to St. Louis. Meanwhile Colorado is riding high after an OT win over Chicago on opening night.
Ottawa @ Washington
The fighting Capitals are hoping to build on the 7-2 win they had over New Jersey on Saturday night that saw the Capitals make like it was the 1980s and both score tons of goals and have everyone drop the gloves. Meanwhile, the Senators are looking for their first win of the season. Coming off a rough 5-1 loss to Toronto gives the Sens all the motive they need to play better.
10:00 pm
Florida @ Vancouver
These teams dealt with each other enough in the off-season and training camp making three different trades with each other. As it happens, Keith Ballard will be all that Vancouver will be bringing to the ice that Florida might recognize, while the Panthers will break out Steve Bernier and Darcy Hordichuk. Look for Hordichuk to find a fighting partner on Vancouver to deal with.