A Look At Tonight’s Match-Ups Around The NHL 1-5-14

Last night was a good night around the NHL. The Maple Leafs and the Stars were run out of their own building, the Capitals losing streak was extended another game, and the Senators have now won six of the last seven games against the Canadiens. Tonight’s match-ups include five teams that will be playing back to back games after playing Saturday at some point. There are five games slated to be played today, one this afternoon, and the other four later tonight.

1:00 EST TSN, ROOT Winnipeg Jets vs. Pittsburgh Penguins

• The Jets head to Pittsburgh to take on the dreaded Penguins this afternoon after suffering a loss to the Boston Bruins yesterday afternoon. Should the Jets start thinking about starting Al Montoya more often after Pavelec had another poor performance? The Penguins on the other hand are looking to match their franchise record of 13 straight home wins. The Penguins are hard to beat at home, or at all for that matter, the Jets are struggling and are looking to avoid a third straight loss. Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start in net for the Penguins this afternoon. Fleury has been playing well for the Penguins, refusing to lose, no matter the team that’s on the ice in front of him.

7:00 EST FSTN, FSCR Nashville Predators vs. Carolina Hurricanes

• The Predators travel from Florida to Carolina to take on the Canes tonight. The Predators are coming off of a tough shootout loss to the Panthers yesterday, but the Hurricanes are riding a three game winning streak at the moment and look to ride the momentum into tonight’s game and come away with another two points. The Hurricanes are currently 3 points back of a playoff spot, getting hot now could be huge for the team’s playoff hopes. The Predators enter tonight’s game looking to forget about the tough loss they received last night. The Predators have lost two games in a row now, and will look to snap the streak and get their game headed back in the right direction.

8:00 EST NBCS, WGN San Jose Sharks vs. Chicago Blackhawks

• The Sharks suffered a loss to the Colorado Avalanche yesterday afternoon as rookie Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals to lead the Avs to a 4-3 victory. The Sharks move on to Chicago tonight to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champs. The Blackhawks hold an impressive home record of 15-2-5, and look to defend their home ice tonight as well as their first place in the standings in the entire NHL. The Sharks have a good challenge in front of them tonight, in what could be a match-up we see in the playoffs this season.

8:00 EST RDS2, SUN, RSW Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Edmonton Oilers

• The struggling Edmonton Oilers will play host to the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight as the second place team in the Atlantic Division comes to town, still hanging in the standings even without elite goal scorer, Steven Stamkos. Ben Bishop continues to be the story in Tampa. He’s having an awesome season, and the Lightning are riding him down the stretch. The Oilers are unsure of the meaning of “good goaltending” still, unfortunately. Ilya Bryzgalov hasn’t been their savior, and their season looks to be all but over sitting in last place of the Pacific division with only 31 points.

8:00 EST RSNP, FSPT Vancouver Canucks vs. Anaheim Ducks

• The first place Ducks are hoping to tally two more points under their names tonight. The Vancouver Canucks will be in Anaheim in what should be a great game. The Canucks got Roberto Luongo back yesterday, but it didn’t make any difference as the Canucks lost to the Los Angeles Kings. Luongo and the Canucks are hanging on in the Pacific, and hanging on to their playoff dreams. But, if the Canucks are going to make it out of the first couple of rounds in the playoffs this year, there’s a good chance they’ll have to go through the Ducks. This should be a good one to watch.