More studious hockey fans probably aren’t bothered by this, but on occasion, I will be taken off guard by an early Saturday afternoon game. Well, this happened more often in my uncouth college years, but that’s another discussion for another time.
Let’s take a look at today’s two afternoon games (tonight’s games will be previewed later).
Dallas Stars (28-23-12, 68 pts) at Pittsburgh Penguins (38-22-4, 80 pts) 1:00 PM ET
Hey, Kari Lehtonen, great to see you again. How are you feeling? Good, that’s great to hear buddy. Now get out there and play against Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
Boston Bruins (28-23-11, 67 pts) at New York Islanders (26-30-8, 60 pts) 2:00 PM ET
It might not look like the Bruins are particularly safe in seventh place right now, with just a one point lead on the Thrashers, Rangers and Canadiens. They can make up a decent amount of ground on the Rangers and Habs with a few games in hand, though. From the Islanders perspective, they might just want to let the unnecessarily hot Carolina Hurricanes pass them by so that GM Garth Snow can have a better chance to win the Taylor Hall lottery.