So Colin Campbell might be having a bad Monday, but that doesn’t mean you have to have one too. Hold off on sending a profanity-filled e-mail to your co-workers and try not to complain too loudly to your friends about things because you’ve got actual hockey to watch tonight and, damn it, you’re going to enjoy it. All times listed are Eastern because that’s where the NHL home offices are based from.
7:00 pm
New Jersey @ Boston
Boston’s found themselves in a bit of a mini-slump having dropped their last two games and four of their last five games. The Bruins have hit an offensive outage the last couple games but the Devils might be the solution they’re looking for. The Devils are coming off a comeback win over Edmonton, but the Bruins are not the Oilers so the Devils will have to be a lot better to win this game. The Bruins offense will like hearing this bit of statistical news: In five of the last six Devils games, they’ve given up exactly three goals in each game. That one game that was the outlier? They gave up five goals.
Vancouver @ Buffalo
Perhaps the Sabres are getting things turned around. They’ve won three of their last four games, and have gotten seven out of a possible eight points in those games. Not too bad. With Thomas Vanek scoring overtime winners and Ryan Miller back in goal, this could be the start of a run for the Sabres. Having to deal with Vancouver, however, will be their biggest test to date. The Canucks are 2-1-0 so far on their east coast trip and they’ve looked strong against both Ottawa and Toronto. If they’re for real, they can take care of Buffalo. One fun side show to look out for is how the Sabres fans treat Raffi Torres. Torres turned out to be a bust of a pickup last year at the trade deadline and helped make the Sabres stay in the playoffs a short one.
NY Rangers @ Pittsburgh
The Rangers got things right in a big way against Edmonton yesterday but dealing with the Penguins means that life should be a little harder. The Pens are playing better and Marc-Andre Fleury is perhaps getting his own mojo back. Meanwhile, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are firing on all cylinders. This could turn out to be a special game if the big performances the Rangers got from Marian Gaborik and Alex Frolov carry over to tonight.
Ottawa @ Philadelphia
So the Senators shutout the Bruins in their last game, meanwhile the Flyers have been an offensive wrecking crew in their last two outings scoring 13 goals in the last two games combined. Does Brian Elliott stay hot for Ottawa and keep the Flyers off the board, or will it be a reality check for the Sens and the Flyers continue to pile up goals? It should be fun to see how things shake out. The sneaky superstar in this game could be Sergei Bobrovsky if he gets the call in net again. He’s been the rock the Flyers have relied on and his steady play seems to be making the rest of the team settle down and feel at ease to open things up. Scary, eh?
8:00 pm
St. Louis @ Colorado
Two injury-riddled teams square off in Denver. The Blues ride in losers of three in a row while the Avs will be looking to bounce back after losing to Detroit on Saturday. After getting off to such a hot start, injuries (and perhaps statistical correction) may have caught up to St. Louis. They weren’t giving up lots of goals during their hot start, but lately it’s been a different story having given up 16 goals in their last three games. To be fair, eight of those came against Columbus. The run-and-gun Avs might give the Blues gimpy defense all they can handle.
10:30 pm
Los Angeles @ San Jose
The potential game of the night comes from out west so if you want to see it, you gotta want to see it if you’re out east. The red-hot Kings roll into San Jose looking to teach their rivals a lesson and let them know that they’re the big shots in the Pacific Division this year. The Kings have won six in a row and they’ve been doing it thanks to stellar goaltending. The Kings are tops in the NHL in goals allowed but the Sharks are no slouches either coming in fifth in that category. During their win streak, the Kings have given up just seven goals. It’s not all snazzy goaltending though, the offense has been stellar as well scoring 21 goals during the six-game streak. Dealing with the Sharks in San Jose won’t be easy, they’re 5-2-1 so far this year at the HP Pavillion at San Jose.