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Around the rink - Wednesday, December 8th

Toronto Maple Leafs v Washington Capitals

of the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Center on December 6, 2010 in Washington, DC.

Greg Fiume

Who’s ready for Hump Day? You’d better be because the schedule today is set to fascinate the living daylights out of you. That’s not overhype, we’re really curious about more games than not tonight. Cancel those dinner plans, fire up the popcorn and get on that couch it demands that you work on that perfect butt imprint. All times are Eastern.

7:00 pm

San Jose @ Philadelphia

The Sharks east coast swing rolls along into Philly and they’ll be looking to keep the good mojo working after beating Detroit soundly on Monday. For the Sharks, the work of rookie Logan Couture is what’s making folks take notice lately. Couture was huge in their win against Ottawa and was solid against Detroit. Meanwhile, Philly has won two in a row and they’d like to keep the good times rolling. One thing for them to take notice of, how much better San Jose is compared to the last two teams they’ve beaten. The Devils and Islanders these are not.

Toronto @ Pittsburgh

Sidney Crosby and his 16-game point streak get to face off with a Leafs team that’s showing some hardcore resilience of late. Two straight shootout wins for the Leafs after coming back to tie both the Bruins and Caps late in those games and suddenly the Leafs have a little bit of confidence. We’ll see how Tim Brent feels about having to shadow Crosby during the game. This could turn into a harsh return to reality for the Leafs as the Penguins are looking for their 11th straight win and playing very good hockey. Crosby isn’t the only story as Marc-Andre Fleury has been vastly improved in leading the Pens to this incredible streak.

7:30 pm

Nashville @ Detroit

The Wings are looking to snap out of their mini-slump. A weekend loss to L.A. followed up by a stinker of a game at home to San Jose and fans start getting a little antsy. It’s Detroit, it’s how the fans get. Getting back on track against Nashville might be tough as the Preds have won three of their last four but dropped their last game against Atlanta in overtime. They’ll have some good news as David Legwand looks to return to action. Center has been a rough position of late for Nashville with Legwand and Matt Lombardi out of the lineup.

8:30 pm

Dallas @ Chicago

So you thought this one would be all about Marty Turco getting to face his former team for the first time, right? Wrong. Corey Crawford gets the call in goal for Chicago as they learn to live life without Patrick Kane for a while. With Kane and Marian Hossa out of the lineup, Chicago’s lineup doesn’t look as intimidating. Guy to keep an eye on in this one? Dallas’ Adam Burish. The trash talker and physical forward is looking forward to giving his former teammates a dose of the medicine he was dishing out to opponents while he was a Blackhawk. The Stars are looking to bounce back after a shootout loss to Columbus that snapped their six-game win streak. Getting to face Turco might’ve given them a bit too much motivation.

10:00 pm

Anaheim @ Vancouver

A test of momentum between these two. The Ducks snapped a two-game skid last night with their epic 10-round shootout win over Edmonton. Vancouver, on the other hand, is looking to bounce back after a loss to St. Louis that broke their four-game winning streak. For Anaheim, a complete effort will be needed against Vancouver who has started getting their act together. Folding up late in the game the way they did against Edmonton will end up costing them a victory if they do that against Vancouver.