Daily Deke: Luongo faces Sid; Rangers host Bruins
Vancouver visits Sidney Crosby and the Penguins tonight searching for their ninth win over their last 11 games. After a shaky start to the season, Canucks’ netminder Roberto Luongo has finally settled down into the goalie we all know he is. Bobby Lou has won six of his last seven starts while collecting a 7-4-2 record on the season with a 2.66 GAA and a .914 SV%. In net for the Penguins will be Marc-Andre Fleury, who is making his fourth straight start and looks to erase his poor start to the season with another solid showing.
Fans should expect an exciting game while watching Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin go to work against Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. The Sedins have combined for three goals and 11 assists over their last three games while Ryan Kesler has also come up big in his last few appearances, posting four goals over his last three games.
It’s Heritage Night from Madison Square Garden tonight, which means the Rangers will be wearing their awesome new alternate jerseys when they host the Boston Bruins. This one expects to be another great matchup as Tim Thomas goes against Henrik Lundqvist. While the Bruins has lost four of their last six games, the Rangers have won three straight games. Even though the Bruins are struggling for wins, Thomas leads the NHL in shutouts with four and has a 9-1-0 record with a 1.28 GAA. King Henrik is 3-2-0 over his last five starts and is coming off a big 37 save overtime win against the Penguins on Monday night.
Rangers’ winger Brandon Dubinsky has recorded a goal in his last five games, but has pitched in with three points and continues to produce on the top line with Ryan Callahan and Antrem Anisimov.
Jason Spezza and the Ottawa Senators look to take advantage of a struggling Hurricanes goaltender named Cam Ward tonight. Ward, who looked good to begin the season, has been pulled twice in back-to-back games after allowing four goals to start the game. Spezza has three goals and four total points over his last five games. Speaking of Ward, he’s already 0-1 against the Sens this season after allowing three goals on 39 shots.
Sharks’ center Joe Pavelski along with the other lines for San Jose have found scoring goals easy over the past few games. After an eight game scoring drought for Pavelski, he’s found the back of the net twice over his past two games for the Sharks. Logan Couture has made the most of his promotion to the second line for the Sharks, collecting two goals and six total points in his last five games.
Due time constraints, the Daily Deke will be shortened today. Steven Stamkos and Tampa Bay hopes to get back on the winning track against the Islanders on the road tonight. The Capitals look for revenge when they host the Buffalo Sabres tonight, but more importantly, check out the new look lines for the Caps. Two struggling teams face off in Atlanta when the Thrashers host the Florida Panthers tonight – over/under on attendance being 2,000 people? Alex Steen is picking up the slack for injury-plagued St. Louis Blues, but they’ll have a tough test tonight against Jimmy Howard and the Detroit Red Wings in Detroit, a place where Howard has yet to lose a game this year. Netminder Niklas Backstrom has been excellent for the Minnestoa Wild thus far and will look to silence Corey Perry and the Anaheim Ducks. Believe it or not, the Phoenix Coyotes have won three-straight games and will look to extend that streak against a slumping Calgary Flames team that has lost their last three home games. Marty Turco will face the Edmonton Oilers tonight, which is a team that has already beaten Chicago twice this season. In our final game of the season, the Los Angeles Kings will put their undefeated home winning streak on the line when Rick Nash and the Columbus Blue Jackets kick off their California road trip.
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