Your morning shot of hockey to go with your coffee.
January 28th, 2014

LAST NIGHT’S SCORES:

Quick Hits today. Here are yesterday’s picks in case you missed them. Asterisk indicates who I picked:

Staal Brothers carry Canes over Jackets 3-2 – Older brother and team captain Eric had two, but it was Jordan Staal putting away the game-winner with under six minutes to go. Carolina’s four-game winning streak puts them into third place in the Metropolitan Division and only two points behind the Rangers for second place.

Bruins* double-up Islanders 6-3 – This was a back and forth game until the Bruins scored their 4th goal late in the second period. They carried that momentum into the third to cruise to the 6-3 victory, but the concerning stat for Boston is 0 for 3 on power play. Even more concerning was the Islanders going 0 for 5 on the man advantage, two of which were in the third period.

Pens blank Sabres 3-0 – This is exactly what you’d expect: the Penguins win all of the statistical categories and ultimately win the game. And BONUS, Marc-Andre Fleury gets a shutout.

Avs* edge Stars 4-3 – Colorado also wins the season series 4-0. Seymon Varlamov made 41 saves for Colorado. Watch out for him on the Russian team in Sochi.

Kings down Sharks* 1-0 – Jonathan Quick and SJ Goalie Alex Stalock were the first and second stars with a combined 43 saves in this game. A defensive battle isn’t what you’d expect from this matchup but it’s cool to see a game where both teams blocked more shots than they put on net.

Oilers drop Canucks 4-2 – The Oilers’ David Perron scored a hat-trick in this one for his 20th, 21st, and 22nd goals of the year. The Oilers can be explosive offensively at times, but have an awful defense. They’ve scored 144 goal but have let up the league’s worst 190 goals.

2-1 last night. 60-56 on the season now.

Highlight of the Night:

GAMES  TONIGHT:

The Flyers return to action tonight to host the Detroit Red Wings. The Flyers need to rebound, plain and simple. The team practiced Sunday morning before their Charity Carnival as the Bruins game was a wake up call to them. Jimmy Howard could possibly make his return tonight; good news for America, bad news for the Flyers. The potential good news is the Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk are not expected to be in Philadelphia with the Red Wings. The key for the Flyers will be to control the puck, with an emphasis on control. Don’t be fancy, just make some good tape-to-tape passes and hustle. The goals will come, they just can’t keep leaving their goalies out to dry. You can catch this game at 7 on Comcast SportsNet.

LET’S GO FLYERS!!!

Ten other games around the league tonight. Three games to keep an eye out for: Lightning @ Maple Leafs at 7, Capitals @ Sabres at 7:30, and Panthers @ Bruins at 7. Maple Leafs over Lightning: Tampa Bay is on a three-game winning streak and Toronto is on a two-game skid after wrapping up a road-trip in the midwest. Returning home should get the Leafs back on the winning-end of games. Capitals over Sabres: If the Sabres win, they will have swept the Capitals in the season series. Washington may be cold right now, but they don’t want to swept by the Sabres. Bruins over Panthers: Another game that’s on here because of the circumstances: Tim Thomas is making his return to Boston tonight. On Sunday, Paul Pierce and Keven Garnett, former Boston Celtics’ stars, returned to a great ovation from the fans and an incredible video for the Celtics’ staff. How will the Bruins fans treat him? I think they’ll also give him a warm welcome but tell me what you think in the comments below.