Whether you’re interested for fantasy hockey reasons or just want to know which goalie your team is playing in a given day, we thought it might be helpful to share our best guesses (based on various previews from newspapers and Web sites plus our own instincts) on who might start each day.
7:00 PM ET games
Edmonton @ New Jersey
Likely Edmonton starter: Devan Dubnyk - The super-tall goalie will get the start after Nikolai Khabibulin struggled for the second straight game last night against the Detroit Red Wings. (Source: Edmonton Journal.)
Likely New Jersey starter: Martin Brodeur - It sounds like Brodeur might make his return from a bruised elbow tonight.
Colorado @ Columbus
Likely Colorado starter: Peter Budaj - Another start, but get this: we might see the NHL return of John Grahame of all people soon since Craig Anderson is still on the mend. (Source: Adrian Dater.)
Likely Columbus starter: Steve Mason (Source: The Cannon.)
Tampa Bay @ Pittsburgh
Likely Tampa Bay starter: Mike Smith - Dan Ellis was solid in net for the Lightning last night, but he lost to the Washington Capitals and this is a back-to-back so Smith is the sensible choice. (Source: Raw Charge.)
Likely Pittsburgh starter: Marc-Andre Fleury - Brent Johnson wasn’t totally at fault for that third period collapse against the Boston Bruins, but then again, “MAF” wasn’t at fault for everything that went wrong in his losses either. So it makes sense that Fleury is getting a chance. (Source: Inside Pittsburgh Sports.)
7:30 PM ET game
Minnesota @ Florida
Likely Minnesota starter: Jose Theodore - Niklas Backstrom played the first half of back-to-back games last night, so Theo it is. (Source for both: Hockey Wilderness.)
Likely Florida starter: Tomas Vokoun (Source for both: Hockey Wilderness.)
9:00 PM ET game
Calgary @ Phoenix
Likely Calgary starter: Miikka Kiprusoff - No surprise that Kipper gets the start, as usual. (Source: Calgary Herald.)
Likely Phoenix starter: Ilya Bryzgalov (Source: Roger Millions.)
10:00 PM ET game
Dallas @ Anaheim
Likely Dallas starter: Kari Lehtonen - It seemed like Andrew Raycroft might have gotten the start because Lehtonen played last night. Still, the Stars are saying that he’ll play tonight. (Source: Dallas Stars blog.)
Likely Anaheim starter: Jonas Hiller - The Ducks never seem to make it obvious who will start ... good thing they pretty much always put Hiller in there anyway.