Your morning shot of hockey to go with your coffee.

LAST NIGHT’S SCORES:

Quick Hits Again. Click the link for the full boxscore. Here were my picks yesterday in case you missed them. Asterisk indicates who I picked

Sabres edge out Senators 2-1 in 10-Round Shootout. – That’s two shootouts in two nights for Ottawa. You wouldn’t have expected this Senators team to have only scored one goal against Buffalo. Even with Ryan Miller, their defense is horrible. 10 Rounds is exactly why shootouts don’t work, they can go on forever. I’m planning a full post about the current Overtime situation in the NHL but if you have any thoughts/suggestions, please post them below.

Ovi Snipes Four, Caps* edge out Lightning 6-5 (SO). – Alexander the Great. The guy now has 26 goals in 29 games. His version of the 50 in 50 (dating back to last season) may be (close to?) over but the 50 in (his first) 50 for this season could very possibly be alive. Yes, he’d have multiple multi-goal games, but he’s certainly capable. Despite dropping off since losing Stamkos, Tampa Bay has to be given credit for a tremendous game here. Coming into the season, everyone thought they had no shot whatsoever.

Blue Jackets literally edge out Devils 5-4. – Yep, the game-winner went off the skate of Nick Foligno. Rather be lucky than good I guess.

Kings blow out Canadiens* 6-0. – Remember that whole thing I said yesterday about the Canadiens being on a hot-streak was enough for me to pick them? Lesson learned. Good to see LA Goalie Martin Jones stepping in nicely while Jonathan Quick is still injured. Jones made 31 saves in rout to that shutout last night.

Red Wings blow two-goal lead, fall to Panthers 3-2 (SO). – Good for Florida rallying and everything but can we talk about this:

That is a replacement pane of glass. Yes it looks like cardboard, and that is because the Panthers’ crew couldn’t remove the protective layer off it.

Predators down Rangers 4-1. – I would’ve thought Nashville could defeat the Rangers, but not 4-1. The Preds are a defensive team. The GOB image above applies to you as well Henrik.

Blues edge out Jets 2-1. – St. Louis is still winning, but hasn’t been scoring as much lately. Hopefully their offense gets back on track, especially when:

Blackhawks’ (recent) road woes disappear in Dallas; 6-2 Chicago. – Chicago improves to 12-4-1 on the road this year, hence the “recent.” (Really, it’s just their previous game in Minnesota before this one.) When the two Patricks (Kane and Sharp) account for 3 goals, that’s bad news for everyone. I wouldn’t want to be the team that plays them next, oh wait… (see below)

Coyotes down Avalanche* 3-1. – Damnit that puts me under .500 on the day and season. Phoenix needs more of these wins to get back on track, especially with Vancouver streaking as of late.

Bruins defeat Flames 2-1. – Jerome Iginla returned home last night for the first time since being traded away from the Flames back in March. The Calgary fans greeted him well. Too bad for them that the Bruins won, but I think even they expected that.

Oilers blow two goal lead but win in OT over the Hurricanes 5-4. – How did these two teams combine for nine goals? Probably because we saw a glimpse into the future in Edmonton with Jordan Eberle, Taylor Hall, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins all scoring last night. If you didn’t know about them before, all three are legit.

Islander end 10-game losing streak in San Jose with 3-2 Shootout Victory. – The Isles really rallied in this one, scoring two 3rd Period goals to force OT. Goalie Kevin Poulin stopped 46 shots so thankfully the luck of the draw shootout resulted in the Islanders favor.

1-2 last night. 18-19 on the season now. I’m playing some serious jump rope with the .500 line.

Highlight of the Night:

Alex the Great does it again. Seriously, I typed in “Alex Ovechkin scores four goals” and this was sixth on the list.

GAMES  TONIGHT:

Just three games on the slate tonight. The Blackhawks’ next opponent I alluded to above is none other than the Flyers. The Blackhawks are the best team at home and the Flyers just want to go back to Philly, tonight could be rough. Nonetheless I’ll be cheering for the boys and giving my cousins in Chicago as much smack as I can. The Keys tonight are the same as usual because the Blackhawks will capitalize. No ifs, ands, or buts about it. If Kane doesn’t, Toews will. If he doesn’t, Hossa will. Or Sharp, or someone else. Hold onto the puck, finish checks, don’t take dumb penalties, and screen the goalie. Ray Emery is returning to Chicago for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup. No word yet on if he or Steve Mason will be starting. I’d go with Mason tonight against the better offense than your opponent tomorrow night, Montreal. Nonetheless,

LET’S GO FLYERS!!!

The other two games tonight are very exciting matchups: Kings at Maple Leafs and Wild at Ducks. The Kings certainly proved me wrong last night so I’m picking LA tonight. Furthermore on this one, Toronto’s offense hasn’t been as prolific as everyone had it’d be right now and LA’s defense is one of the best and tied with Boston for fewest goals allowed. Minnesota has been great lately but still is not very strong on the road. That’ll be a problem in Anaheim. I’m picking the Ducks.