Daily Deke: Rangers host Hawks; Flyers hope to continue streak
After a very busy Saturday in the NHL, the schedule offers fans three games tonight. With the League taking an “off” day on Halloween, we’re underway for another week in the NHL. As always, be sure to check out our Starting Goalies section and the Team Lineups section. Both areas are updated as news is received.
The New York Rangers are coming off an impressive win against the Toronto Maple Leafs over the weekend. Henrik Lundqvist has been his stellar self and collected his first shutout of the season this weekend. Even with Marian Gaborik and Chris Drury out with injuries, the Rangers have assembled a very nice scoring line with Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, and Ryan Callahan. Callahan has scored in his last four contests, while collecting eight points over his last five games.
King Henrik is confirmed for tonight’s action and is 3-0-2 against the Blackhawks over his career, with a 1.76 GAA and a .939 SV%.
First thing is first for the Chicago Blackhawks, they’ll have defenseman Brian Campbell back in tonight’s lineup. On the down side, they are still without Marian Hossa and Dave Bolland due to injuries. Defenseman Duncan Keith was named one of the NHL’s three starts last week and for good reason, as he’s collected eight points over is last five games.
After a poor outing against the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night, netminder Marty Turco bounced back nicely against the Minnesota Wild on Saturday night. Over his last five games, Turco is 3-1. Against the Rangers over his career, Turco is 3-2-0 with a 2.15 GAA and a .917 SV%.
The Carolina Hurricanes pay a visit to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers after the Canes were shutout by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Cam Ward has been excellent this season, but will take a backseat to Justin Peters this evening. Peters has made one start this season, taking a loss to LA Kings after allowing four goals on 27 shots. Jeff Skinner and Eric Staal lead the Canes in points this season with 11 each. Skinner was highlighted in this week’s Crashing the Net, so be sure to check him out.
The Flyers will need to score over the next three games without the services of Danny Briere, who will begin serving his suspension tonight against the Canes. Claude Giroux continues to play at a high level this season, not only leading the Flyers in points, but also recording three consecutive multi-point games. After a so-so start, winger Ville Leino has started cooking with gas, collecting three points over his last two games but will be without his pivot.
Rookie netminder Sergei Bobrovsky makes his fourth consecutive start tonight and will be looking for his fourth straight win. During his last three wins, he hasn’t allowed more than three goals during any game. He’s posted a 2.45 GAA and a .917 SV% this season.
Just when you thought the New Jersey Devils situation couldn’t get any worse, the team will be without Zach Parise for an extended period of time. Parise was injured during the King’s game over the weekend and is currently back in New Jersey undergoing tests. We will have updated lines very soon.
Netminder Martin Brodeur will start between the pipes for the Devils tonight. He’s 6-10-0 with a 2.91 GAA and a .878 SV% against the Canucks lifetime and has lost his last six of seven meetings against Vancouver.
After playing just one game last week, the Vancouver Canucks take to the ice after a nice five day rest. The rest for the Canucks has been successful, as they expect defenseman Keith Ballard to return and have announced that winger Alex Burrows will play tomorrow night against the Edmonton Oilers. Henrik Sedin is currently tied with three others for the league lead in assists this year, while Daniel Sedin is fourth overall in the NHL with seven goals.
After a long layoff, netminder Roberto Luongo gets the start tonight and is 1-3-1 over his last five games. Against the Devils over his career, Bobby Lou is 6-13-0 with a 2.99 GAA and a .913 SV%.