Stars - best of Friday 29th November

Stars is our daily look at the previous night's action in the NHL and who stood out amongst the rest.

FIRST STAR

 

Brent Burns - SAN JOSE SHARKS vs St Louis Blues

Burns picked up his first career NHL hat trick in the 6-3 win over the Blues. He also picked up an assist on Tomas Hertl's late empty netter.




SECOND STAR

 

Braden Holtby - WASHINGTON CAPITALS vs Montreal Canadiens

Holtby had a surprise start at the Verizon Center when Michal Neuvirth hurt himself pre-game. He saved 35 shots in the 3-2 shootout win.




THIRD STAR

Darren Helm - DETROIT RED WINGS vs New York Islanders

Darren scored the opening two goals in the 5-0 demolition of the New York Islanders. Ending the Wings losing streak against the Isles.



Honourable Mentions

Mikhail Grabovski had a goal, an assist and the shootout winner in the Caps-Habs game.......



Tomas Plekanec also had a goal and an assist but his miss in the shootout gave the winner point to the Caps......



The man mountain that is Zdeno Chara got himself a Gordie Howe hat trick. He fought with Brian Boyle, assisted on Brad Marchand's goal, and then scored the game winner in the Bruins 3-2 win against the New York Rangers......

 

Rick Nash also scored in that game. It was easy on the eye......

Stars - best of Wednesday 27th November

Stars is our daily look at the previous night's action in the NHL and who stood out amongst the rest.

First, Happy Thanksgiving to all Americans. Enjoy the day whilst the rest of the world go to work.

Back to a full program in the NHL last night with 13 games played, and for the joy of fans, after the last few days of dominant goaltending it was literally raining goals last night.

And it was an emotional night in Florida, as the Philadelphia Flyers visited the Tampa Bay Lightning with Bolts legend Vinny Lecavalier and another former Bolts favourite in Steve Downie on the team.

FIRST STAR

 

Evgeni Malkin - PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs Toronto Maple Leafs

Another two goal, one assist performance here. Malkin's effort came as the Pens fought back from 4-1 and 5-3 down to beat the Leafs 6-5 in a shootout. His assist and 2nd goal were the Pens 4th and 5th goals. He also scored the game sealing goal in the shootout.



SECOND STAR

 

Victor Hedman - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING vs Philadelphia Flyers

Hedman had a point on each of Tampa's first three goals, scorer of the 1st & 3rd, plus an assist on the 2nd.

Here's his first goal. Ray Emery and goalie's everywhere, watch with caution. This may cause harm to your health.



THIRD STAR

Patrick Kane - CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS vs Calgary Flames

Kane played the hero with the game winner on a clever backhand shot. He scored the first Blackhawks goal in what turned out to be a two goal night for him.




Honourable Mentions

Tomas Tatar did this.....



Sean Monahan continues to impress and had a nice goal on a wrist shot.......



Brendan Gallagher is now one goal short of hitting double digits for the 2nd consecutive season. This ripper on the PP, the number one PP on the road, was his 9th of the campaign....



Brad Richards scored a long range goal for the Rangers on Tim Thomas.....




MY PICKS

3-2 for me last night. Pittsburgh, St Louis and San Jose with the wins.


NOTE: Yesterday's "The Night Ahead" will be the last one for the foreseeable future. Unless somebody else would like to write it everyday.

What the Rogers, NHL TV deal makes me hope for

Now that the dust has started to settle on the enormous news yesterday, that Rogers Communications is the sole rights holder of national NHL broadcasts in the "true north strong and free". Now, this means that Canadian cable network TSN, will not broadcast any national games for at least twelve years after the current season ends. They are not gone, they will be lurking in the back, trying to pick up any hockey rights that become up for grabs. They also still hold the rights to regional Winnipeg Jets and Montreal Canadiens games.

For the majority of us hockey fans, from outside of Canada, we don't realise what a big deal this thing is. To put it in UK TV terms, it's what we will experience in about 18 months time when Sky and ITV stop broadcasting UEFA Champions League games, and all games broadcast in the UK will be exclusively on BT. The FA Cup is also headed to BT exclusivity.

I'm not going to delve into the details. No doubt many people have given the facts, figures and their two pennies' worth. I'm going to focus on something that doesn't involve TSN. It involves Rogers' Sportsnet and CBC. Part of the deal is that Sportsnet control the 60 year, CBC flagship show, Hockey Night in Canada. CBC will still air the iconic institution but Sportsnet will have total control. Control over, content, on air talent, artistic and creative direction, and many other aspects that go into creating the show each week.

I know that 9/10 NHL fans, whether they have access to CBC or not, have seen the breath taking opening montages to HNiC. Tim Thompson is the man behind them. I hope, I pray, that Sportsnet make the right choice and keep him in that role. They would be very wrong to get rid of him.

I'm now going to bombard you with a selection of CBC montages. They are great to watch, and you never get bored of watching the same ones over, and over, and over.

That's it from me. Enjoy the videos.

 

 

 

 

 

The Night Ahead - Wednesday 27th November 2013

In "The Night Ahead" we take a look at a selection (well, five) of the upcoming games for the evening (early hours here in the UK) and add a preview and opinion on the match ups.

Twice this week we have had a night of very little games to a night of many many games.

BOSTON BRUINS @ DETROIT RED WINGS

Detroit have won two of the last three, after losing seven in a row, giving them eight losses in ten. Boston have won eight of their last ten. But, Detroit only find themselves as the Atlantic's 4th seed, only 5 points behind the division leading Bruins.

Carl Soderberg, Reilly Smith and Torey Krug continued their great form, I mentioned here, on Monday night in the B's 4-3 OT win over the Penguins.

The usual guys are doing it for Detroit right now, Nyquist, Zetterberg, Franzen, and the magic man, Pavel Datsyuk have all been picking up goals and assists. But there seems to be something missing.

The Bruins are my pick.


TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS @ PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

Toronto have navigated a difficult November admirably despite being with Bozak, Bolland and Kadri out for periods. Although with all two of the three in the team they got thumped 6-0 at home to Columbus on Monday.

After dismantling Anaheim and Washington before narrowly dispatching the Islanders, the Penguins have lost two in a row against Montreal and Boston.

Both teams have issues at the moment and I'm picking Pittsburgh.


ST LOUIS BLUES @ COLORADO AVALANCHE

Two of the best go head to head. Alex Steen, David Backes, T.J. Oshie and Alex Pietrangelo go against Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny, Gabriel Landeskog and Nate MacKinnon.

The Blues are on a four game winning run, 8-1-1 in the last ten. Colorado are 6-4-0, on a three game win streak.

I've got the Blues.


PHOENIX COYOTES @ MINNESOTA WILD

Phoenix are enjoying life under new ownership, and steady management leads to steady performances on the ice. Currently 14-6-4 on the year and 5-3-2 in the last ten. It's not surprising that the foundation for this form starts with Mike Smith in net and impressive defenseman, Oliver Ekman-Larsson. The scoring leaders for the team are Vrbata, Doan, Hanzal and Ribeiro. 

The Wild are very quietly going about their business recently. Whilst other teams in the West get all the headlines, Minnesota have found themselves in a lower seeding position but have pulled away from the teams behind them. Josh Harding has a .939 SV%, and Parise, Koivu and Pominville lead the way offensively. The Wild young players have emerged as great talents too. The quartet of Brodin, Coyle, Granlund and Niederreiter accounting for 40 points.

I'm taking Minnesota.


LOS ANGELES KINGS @ SAN JOSE SHARKS

LA come into this game having won five of the last seven. The only defeats coming in OT to Colorado and New Jersey. The injury to Jonathan Quick hasn't been the hinderance many thought it would be. Ben Scrivens has stepped in and has a .947 SV% in 12 games.

San Jose aren't doing too shabby either. They've won six of the last seven. The defeat coming at the hands of Chicago with a score of 5-1. Along with the big names, players like Vlasic, Wingels and Demers have really impressed me. Combining for 10 goals and 27 assists.

I like San Jose in this game.


Tonight's picks: Boston, Pittsburgh, St Louis, Minnesota, San Jose.

Stars - best of Tuesday 26th November

Stars is our daily look at the previous night's action in the NHL and who stood out amongst the rest.

There was only one game last night so this thing practically writes itself today.

FIRST STAR

 

Ryan Garbutt - DALLAS STARS vs Anaheim Ducks

Garbutt picked up a brilliant goal and two assists as the Stars came back from a 2-1 deficit to defeat the Ducks 6-3.




SECOND STAR

 

Antoine Rousssel - DALLAS STARS vs Anaheim Ducks

It was a two goal night for Antoine. Doubling his tally for the season.




THIRD STAR

 

Vernon Fiddler - DALLAS STARS vs Anaheim Ducks

Fiddler's two assists came on both Roussel goals. The first was the primary assist as he just throws it into the Ducks' crease. See video above.


Honourable Mention

Erik Cole had two assists on the night also. On the goals from Cody Eakin and Alex Chiasson.


MY PICKS..... or PICK

Dallas won so..... yeah.

Podcast - November 26th Edition

Between The Pipes - November 26th Edition

LISTEN HERE


or you can subscribe on itunes!

In this edition Nick, Ross and Junaid go over the weeks headlines, our picks for goals and saves of the week, and make our prediction league picks for this week. In "Four Teams" we talk about Calgary, Nashville, New Jersey and San Jose. Ross gives us his "Things that happened since the Red Wings last missed the playoffs" stat.

Saves of the week

Nick: Martin Brodeur vs San Jose on Logan Couture - 23/11/13



Ross: Reto Berra vs Columbus on Jack Johnson - 20/11/13



Junaid: Cam Ward vs Ottawa on Colin Greening - 24/11/13



Goals of the week

Nick: Max Pacioretty vs Minnesota (2nd goal) on Josh Harding - 20/11/13



Ross: Jonathan Toews SHG vs Edmonton on Devan Dubnyk - 25/11/13



Junaid: Alex Ovechkin vs Montreal on Peter Budaj- 23/11/13



Prediction League

TABLE

Nick - 2/6
Ross - 2/6
Junaid - 0/6

This weeks games/picks:

Anaheim @ Dallas
Boston @ Detroit
Toronto @ Pittsburgh
St Louis @ Colorado
Toronto @ Montreal
Vancouver @ New York Rangers

Nick: ANA, BOS, PIT, STL, MTL, NYR
Ross: DAL, BOS, PIT, STL, TOR, NYR
Junaid: ANA, BOS, TOR, STL, MTL, NYR

THINGS THAT HAPPENED SINCE DETROIT LAST MISSED THE PLAYOFFS
by Ross Chaplin

The Berlin Wall wasn't officially finished being pulled down until Detroit had already started the first season of their run of consecutive playoff seasons.


And finally, Nashville's ode to all things American........





Email us any questions you'd like us to answer at betweenthepipespodcast@hotmail.com and we will answer them during recording. Also you can direct anything our way on twitter, @NickVarney90, @j_hussain & @MasonCooper4.

The Night Ahead - Tuesday 26th November 2013

In "The Night Ahead" we take a look at a selection (well, five) of the upcoming games for the evening (early hours here in the UK) and add a preview and opinion on the match ups.

Just the one, that's right, one game in the NHL tonight.

ANAHEIM DUCKS @ DALLAS STARS

Dallas go into tonight's sole NHL fixture 6-3-1 in their last ten but find themselves bottom of the uber competitive Central Division on 24 points after Winnipeg won in New Jersey last night. Anaheim find themselves in quite the opposite situation, sitting atop the Pacific Division, joint for 2nd best in the league with St Louis on 37 points.

Dallas have been heavy reliant on the play of Benn, Seguin and whoever lines up with them, not to mention the excellence of Kari Lehtonen. Whilst the Ducks form is down to the usual suspects, Getzlaf, Perry and free agent pick up Dustin Penner.

The Stars are on a two game skid and the Ducks have own two in a row after a five game losing streak.

I'm picking the Ducks in this game.


Tonight's pick: Anaheim.

Stars - best of Monday 25th November

Stars is our daily look at the previous night's action in the NHL and who stood out amongst the rest.

FIRST STAR

 

Martin St Louis - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING vs New York Rangers

It was a big night for Marty. It was his 1000th game in the NHL and he celebrated the best way he knows. By scoring twice and assisting on another.

SECOND STAR

 

Ben Bishop - TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING vs New York Rangers

Bishop had a 37 save shutout on a night when the skaters in front of him put goals passed two Rangers goaltenders.


THIRD STAR

 

James Neal - PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs Boston Bruins

Neal had a huge night in the Pens 4-3 OT defeat. He picked up two goals and as assist. His goals bought the Penguins back from a 2-0 deficit to tie the game. His assist came with a couple of seconds left as he threw the puck to the front of the net and watched on as Kunitz moved it on to Crosby, who scored with 0.3 seconds left to send it to OT.

 

Honourable Mentions

Ryan Johansen had two goals (5th and 6th) in the Blue Jackets 6-0 win in Toronto...... Tim Thomas went 38/39 for a .974 SV%...... Loui Eriksson had a goal and two assists in the Bruins win, including a secondary assist on the game winner..... Andrew Shaw had two goals and an assist as the Blackhawks overcame Edmonton....... Corey Crawford had a .960 SV% in the game, stopping 24 shots from 25...... Ben Scrivens gave up two goals off of 39 shots faced for a .949 SV% and had this four save effort to help the team to victory.

Daniel Sedin received a high stick to the face in Vancouver's loss at home to LA. He responded by pulling out his tooth

 

 

 

MY PICKS

2-3 on the night with St Louis and LA winning.

The Night Ahead - Monday 25th November 2013

In "The Night Ahead" we take a look at a selection (well, five) of the upcoming games for the evening (early hours here in the UK) and add a preview and opinion on the match ups.
Back to a nice full plate of games tonight after a lazy Sunday. So without further ado.....

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS @ BOSTON BRUINS

The cream of the Eastern conference do battle at the Gaaaahden! This is a rematch of last seasons Conference final in which the B's swept the Pens away in four games, only giving up TWO goals in the process. This is the second meeting between the two since, the other a 3-2 home win for Pittsburgh.

The Penguins come into this game 5-5-0 in their last 10, including a 3 win streak that was halted on Saturday night in Montreal. The large majority of points being scored by Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz and Neal. The run also saw the emergence of Brian Gibbons who had a goal and an assist in the recent 3-1 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

Boston went 7-1-2 in their last 10, the regulation loss coming to the Jekyll and Hyde style Ottawa Senators. They needed a David Krejci OT winner to fend off Carolina on Saturday, and have relied on the great form of Reilly Smith, Carl Soderberg, Torey Krug, and Gregory Campbell in their last five outings.

This is going to be a heavy hitting, great watch for neutrals. I'm going with Pittsburgh on this one.

MINNESOTA WILD @ ST LOUIS BLUES

Despite the showdown above this is the big game NBCSN have plumped for tonight. Oh, and it's going to be just as epic!

A home win make St Louis the belle of the ball, the star on the tree, 1st overall in the NHL. Minnesota aim to tie Chicago as 2nd best in the league.

8-1-1 in their last 10, Minnesota's only regulation loss was a 6-2 humbling away to the Montreal Canadiens. Parise, Koivu and Pominville have been the offensive stars for the Wild with a steady helping of blue line attack from Ryan Suter. This team, bar that one ugly game, is on a roll right now and should be feared by all.

8-1-1 in their last 10, Minnesota, St Louis have found themselves with one of the leagues shiniest diamonds, polished from the rough. Alex Steen. Second in goals, third in points. Steen is slowly becoming a player that the opposition have to plan around, and with that new found attention he'll be jumping at the bit to ride this momentum so long as he has air in his lungs. But if the flame does start to flicker there's a great supporting cast in David Backes, T.J. Oshie, Alex Pietrangelo, plus 2nd year winger Vladimir Tarasenko to pick up the slack. Despite being routed by the Caps 4-1 recently, the Blues have beaten Colorado, Boston and crushed Dallas in their last game.

This game is the Western conference equivalent of the Pens @ Bruins.

I can't decide so will plump for home advantage.

NEW YORK RANGERS @ TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

The Rangers are on a two game win streak and are 6-4-0 in their last 10. The losses coming in no shame to Anaheim, Boston, LA and rivals New Jersey. Richards, Stepan, Kreider and Zuccarello have been on top form for the Blueshirts, and have been buoyed on by the return of Rick Nash who already has a goal in his three games back.

Tampa Bay have been without captain, and leading scorer Steven Stamkos for six games since he broke his leg on a backcheck in Boston. They sit level on points with Detroit and Toronto, 3rd in the division and 4th in the conference, despite going 0-3-1 in their last 4. only winning the first two games after Stamkos' injury. They beat Anaheim 5-1 with three points for Valtteri Filppula, who many said had to up his game to fill the void left. Their last 4 games were at Phoenix (6-3), at LA (5-2), at San Jose (5-1), and at Anaheim (1-0 OT).

I haven't mentioned the Rangers goaltending but that's the reason I'll take them. Whether it's Lundqvist or Talbot in nets.

WINNIPEG JETS @ NEW JERSEY DEVILS

This is a perfect game for the Devils to continue their attempt to crash the East conference playoff battle. Having gone 6-3-1 in the last 10. The losses coming to hot teams in, Minnesota, LA, San Jose and Toronto in a shootout. The six wins include a 4-1 rout over the Penguins, plus two OT wins in LA and Anaheim. Jaromir Jagr has been rolling back the years and finds himself as the teams top scorer. Followed by Elias, Zidlicky, Zubrus, Henrique and Ryder.

Winnipeg have gone 5-3-2 recently, but after their last three wins came in a bunch and were in shootouts they have lost four in a row. Two regulation, two shootouts.

New Jersey sit 4th in the Metropolitan and are outside the playoffs by a point. Winnipeg would be in that position but only behind the Rangers on the fact they've played more games. But being in the West they find themselves 3rd bottom of the conference. Little, Ladd, Wheeler, Kane and Byfuglien lead the Jets in scoring, Little and Wheeler putting down some doubters after the big contracts they signed in the offseason.

I've gotta go Devils on this. Whose fans, despite management changing the goal song, found a new way to chant "You suck!"

LOS ANGELES KIGNS @ VANCOUVER CANUCKS

LA come into tonight 6-1-3 over the previous ten outings, having lost their last two at home in OT to New Jersey and Colorado. Vancouver on the over hand are a little less steady in their form, going 3-4-3 in the last 10, six losses in their last seven games at the hands of LA, Anaheim, San Jose, Dallas, Florida and Chicago.

I've written a fair amount about these teams in the last few days. So won't bore you with re-written information. But, will send you in the direction of these posts - The Night Ahead - Friday 22nd, Stars of Friday 22nd & The Night Ahead - Saturday 23rd.

LA are my pick.


Tonight's picks: Pittsburgh, St Louis, New York Rangers, New Jersey, LA.

Stars - best of Sunday 24th November

Stars is our daily look at the previous night's action in the NHL and who stood out amongst the rest.

Thanks to there only being two games tonight and they both started at a reasonable time this post is coming to you about 9-10 hours early.

FIRST STAR

 

Eric Staal - CAROLINA HURRICANES vs Ottawa Senators

Two assists and an empty netter for Eric Staal as the Canes rout the Sens 4-1. His first assist was a beauty of a feed pass to Toumo Ruutu who found himself in front of goal with just the goalie to look at. His 2nd was a straight forward pass down the wing and rookie Elias Lindholm did all the work.




SECOND STAR

 

Cam Ward - CAROLINA HURRICANES vs Ottawa Senators

The Senators took the lead 1:07 in to the first period. It was the 2nd shot of the game and for the Sens. So after giving up goal on two shots that early Cam Ward decided to turn into a brick wall. He saved all 34 or .972% of the rest of the shots Ottawa fired his way as captain Eric Staal led the team to the 4-1 win.

THIRD STAR

 

Jonas Gustavsson - DETROIT RED WINGS vs Buffalo Sabres

Like Cam Ward, Gustavsson gave up a goal in the first period and went on to slam the door in the face of the Sabres attack. Jonas finished 21/22 with a .955 SV%.

The goal, on otherwise a solid night.




Honourable Mentions

Ryan Miller once again did his best to shine bright like the diamond he is behind the turd known as the Buffalo Sabres defence. Going 31/33 with a .939 SV%.

Justin Faulk had two assists for the Hurricanes.

Elias Lindholm's nice finish for his PPG.



MY PICKS

1-1. Detroit won. Ottawa lost.

The Night Ahead - Sunday 24th November 2013

In "The Night Ahead" we take a look at a selection (well, five) of the upcoming games for the evening (early hours here in the UK) and add a preview and opinion on the match ups.

Only two games on after a hectic last few days in the NHL.

DETROIT RED WINGS @ BUFFALO SABRES

In yesterday's The Night Ahead I mentioned the Red Wings seven game losing streak recently ended with a win against Carolina. Well, that streak stayed at one as the Ottawa Senators went in to "HOCKEYTOWN" and left with all the points.

The upside in the last two games for Detroit is that Gustav Nyquist and Darren Helm each have two goals whilst Henrik Zetterberg has four assists. Luckily for the Wings they get a great opportunity to get back in the "W" column as they now head to league's bottom team, the Buffalo Sabres.

Since firing Ron Rolston and Darcy Regier, the Sabres won their first game under new management, at home to Toronto. But, have hit a three game losing streak since, conceding 12 goals and scoring only four in the run.

No surprise in my pick. Detroit.

OTTAWA SENATORS @ CAROLINA HURRICANES

So the two most recent opponents of the Red Wings do battle in Carolina tonight.

Ottawa off of a victory look to make an assault on the Atlantic Division playoff places, although they currently sit five points back. Carolina find themselves in a tougher position in an, on paper, easier division. They're six points off a wildcard place, but, are only two points back from a top three division seeding. Since beating Colorado and Anaheim the Canes have hit a four game skid. Including two losses at the hands of the Bruins.

I'll take the Sens here.


Tonight's picks: Detroit, Ottawa.

Stars - best of Saturday 23rd November

Stars is our daily look at the previous night's action in the NHL and who stood out amongst the rest.
It seems Saturday was all about the goalies showing us what they're all about. So, in a night that no skater recorded more than two points, all of Saturday's stars are goaltenders.

FIRST STAR

James Reimer - TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS vs Washington Capitals

Reimer had 49 saves from 50 shots against the Capitals, as the Leafs went on to win 2-1 in the shootout and condemn the Caps to a third straight loss. The goals were scored by David Clarkson and Alex Ovechkin.

This is the one, outstanding shot that beat Reimer.

SECOND STAR

 

Jonas Hiller - ANAHEIM DUCKS vs Phoenix Coyotes

The Ducks became the first team to inflict a regulation defeat on the Coyotes in Arizona this season, and Jonas Hiller played a big part in that. With 42 saves on 44 shots for a .955 SV% he helped the Ducks secure a 4-2 win.

THIRD STAR

 

Ben Scrivens - LOS ANGELES KINGS vs Colorado Avalanche

Scrivens was on the losing side last night but as he saved 32 shots before surrendering enough net for Jamie McGinn to win it for the Avs in overtime. Any other night and his .970 SV% would lift any team to a victory but the Kings came up against a Semyon Varlamov in brick wall form.

 

Honourable Mentions

Three more goalies will get a mention here. Cam Talbot, Niklas Backstrom and Martin Brodeur. Talbot shutout the Predators in a 2-0 win for the Rangers, but only faced 17 shots. Backstrom posted a .949 SV%, saving 37 shots from 39 and stopped 3 of 4 shooters in a 3-2 shootout win for the Wild over the Jets. Marty had 28 saves in a 2-1 defeat for the Devils in San Jose. Brodeur also pulled off a save of the week contender on Logan Couture.

Max Pacioretty, Dustin Penner, David Backes and James Neal were the night's top scorers each netting two goals.

Eric Boulton of the Islanders scored his first goal in 72 games in Philadelphia last night.

A few minutes into the 3rd period in Vancouver, Patrick Sharp had a shot from the blue line that hit all three posts. The Blackhawks went on to win 2-1 with goals from Shaw and Kruger.

 

 

 

MY PICKS

2-3 last night. Again the Canadiens win after I pick them to lose. I only got Anaheim and Chicago right.

The Night Ahead - Saturday 23rd November 2013

In "The Night Ahead" we take a look at a selection (well, five) of the upcoming games for the evening (early hours here in the UK) and add a preview and opinion on the match ups.

PITTSBURGH PENGUINS @ MONTREAL CANADIENS

Both teams picked up wins last night. Sidney Crosby picked up his 250th NHL goal on the game winner against the Islanders whilst the Habs won in Washington. A win that included a first goal in 26 regular season and playoff games for David Desharnais.

It's the first meeting between the two this season. Back in March they fought out an epic 7-6 OT game at the Bell Centre with Pittsburgh coming out on top thanks to a Chris Kunitz goal.

The in form Penguins look amazingly strong right now. The Habs win last night was only their 4th in November.

I'll go Pens win.

OTTAWA SENATORS @ DETROIT RED WINGS

Daniel Alfredsson welcomes his former team to his new home in first meeting since free agent departure.

Alfie signing with Detroit and then saying he has a better chance at glory now probably takes silver for "departure that really hurt the fan base" in the 2013 offseason. Ilya Kovalchuk, I'm looking at you buddy. Alfie is doing fine in "HOCKEYTOWN" with three goals and two assists in 19 games this season. The Red Wings, like the aforementioned Canadiens, are having a November to forget. They narrowly beat the Carolina Hurricanes to snap a SEVEN game losing streak. Luckily for them five of those were either in overtime or a shootout which means despite the dip they still find themselves in a playoff spot, five points (see) ahead of the New York Rangers, currently the best team looking up in the East.

Ottawa are also on the outside looking in, which is strange when you consider what they did with so many injuries last year. Now Karlsson, Michalek and Spezza are all having solid minutes and playing every night they seem like they can't click. Is that the effect of the Alfredsson loss? They also lost veteran defenseman Sergie Gonchar to the Dallas Stars. Can two veterans leaving usurp the progress of the "pesky" Sens?

I'm taking Detroit in this one but should be wary that back in October the Sens routed them 6-1 at The Joe.

ANAHEIM DUCKS @ PHOENIX COYOTES

With the Ducks OT win against Tampa Bay last night they moved into 1st place in the West and the entire league. Phoenix have quietly gone about their business as the one of lesser covered teams in the league. Led by Martin Hanzal, Shane Doan, Radim Vrbata and Keith Yandle, on 19, 17, 17 & 17 points respectively, they have gone 8-1-2 in their last 11, the one regulation defeat? 5-2 to Anaheim......

This is the sort of game that screams overtime and I'm taking the Ducks.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS @ VANCOUVER CANUCKS

The reigning Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks go into enemy territory tonight. A rivalry born from recently intense playoff match ups. They head to the Pacific Northwest on shaky form. Sweeping away most teams that come their way, led by Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa, they have also suffered thrashings at the hands of division rivals Nashville and Colorado.

Vancouver had an impressive win when they welcomed the Blue Jackets last night but before that it's not been a great time for them losing five in a row.

The Canucks might be back on form and depending on how the Blackhawks play this could be a tight fought classic or a rout. I'm going with the champs here.

COLORADO AVALANCHE @ LOS ANGELES KINGS

LA go into tonight having gone 7-1-2 in their last 10. The losses coming in regulation to Nashville, in a shootout to Buffalo, and in overtime in their last game at home to the New Jersey Devils.

It's the first meeting between the two this season. Colorado have been one of surprises this year and under new coach Patrick Roy, have enjoyed great defensive play and fantastic performances from their goalies.

They both have over 30 points this season and find themselves amongst the lower seeds in the playoff picture. A testament to the sheer strength of that conference this year.

Colorado's attack is led by Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny and captain Gabriel Landeskog. Number one draft pick Nathan McKinnon has also contributed well with three goals and ten assists. You wouldn't be surprised to here Anze Kopitar, Justin Williams, Mike Richards and Drew Doughty lead the way in goals and assists for LA.

Gotta take a home win in this one. Unless they get a stellar goalie performance Colorado seem to come unstuck against some of the leagues better teams.


Tonight's picks: Pittsburgh, Detroit, Anaheim, Chicago, LA.

Stars - the best of Friday 22nd November

Stars is our daily look at the previous night's action in the NHL and who stood out amongst the rest.

FIRST STAR

 

Chris Kunitz - PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs New York Islanders

Kunitz had a brilliant night at the Consol Energy Center last night. Picking up two goals and an assist. He had his hat trick goal waived off for a high stick penalty on Evgeni Malkin that shouldn't have been called a penalty. He went on to continually harass the Isles D and with 1:16 left in the game, tied at 3-3, he crashed Radek Martinek into the boards behind the Isles goal, tapped it off to Pascal Dupuis who slid it to Sidney Crosby for the game winner. Also Crosby's 250th NHL goal.

SECOND STAR

Daniel Sedin - VANCOUVER CANUCKS vs Columbus Blue Jackets

Daniel picked up three points in this 6-2 Canucks win, one goal and two assists. His goal tied the game at 1-1 after some nice work behind the net he skated to the front and let rip towards Bobrovsky. He had his shot saved and brother Henrik put in the rebound for 3-1. Then midway through the 3rd he had a shot from the blue line tipped in for Henrik's 2nd of the night.

THIRD STAR

 

Sidney Crosby - PITTSBURGH PENGUINS vs New York Islanders

As mentioned above, Sid had the game winner which was also his 250th NHL goal. He also assisted on Kunitz's first goal and would have had the primary assist on Kunitz's hat trick goal if the refs didn't make the "high stick" call on Malkin.

Honourable Mentions

Henrik Sedin had a two goal night off his brother Daniel's rebound and then tipped in one of Daniel's shots.

Thomas Vanek also had two goals in the Islanders loss to Pittsburgh. With Kyle Okposo picking up as assist on each.

Alex Ovechkin scored two against the Canadiens. He isn't amongst the stars as he routinely scores on the Habs. He now has 34 points in 32 games against them.

Josh Gorges had two assists in the Habs 3-2 win at the Verizon Center, including on Briere's game winner and on the Habs 2nd which was David Desharnais' first goal in 26 regular season and playoff games.

Ben Bishop. 41 saves for the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Anaheim Ducks remarkably wasn't enough for the toothless Bolts. He unfortunately had a big gaff too. Letting a Ryan Getzlaf shot sneak under his glove and bounce goalwards. No thanks to defenseman Richard Panik who lived up to his name and in the heat of the moment used his stick and inadvertently stopped Bishop making a routine goal line glove grab and giving Anaheim the win with 5 seconds left in OT.

MY PICKS

Last night I went 3-2 in my picks with Calgary and Montreal pulling out wins.

The Night Ahead - Friday 22nd November 2013

In "The Night Ahead" we take a look at a selection of the upcoming games for the evening (early hours here in the UK) and add a preview and opinion on the match ups.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS @ PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

The recently tumbling Isles face the Penguins for the second time this season. They won the first meeting, in Pittsburgh, 4-3 in regulation. Frans Nielsen, 1 goal & 2 assists, including an assist on the game winner, and Radek Martinek, 2 assists, had a big hand that night. They also had a large contribution from Evgeni Nabakov, who recorded 39 saves. The win put the Islanders comfortably in the Metropolitan top three places (a guaranteed playoff berth), but since then the Isles have accumulated just EIGHT points in the twelve games since and dropped to bottom in the division.

Pittsburgh on the other hand were top of the division back then and that loss didn't do much to halt their season. They've gone 6-5-0 since and are joint second in the conference at the quarter way point of the season. In no surprise it's yet again Crosby, Malkin, Kunitz and Dupuis who are amongst the Pens top scorers this year combining for 24 of the teams 55 goals, and 48 of the teams 97 assists. Marc Andre Fleury is also back to his regular season best. Posting a .924 save percentage and a 1.90 GAA.

I'm taking the Penguins in this one. There's been a lot of shocks recently with Vancouver, Colorado and other early leaders falling to bottom feeders, but this one has to be a home win for one of the East's perennial best teams.

MONTREAL CANADIENS @ WASHINGTON CAPITALS

The Montreal Canadiens march in to the Verizon Center tonight to face a side who were blown away by the Penguins on home ice Wednesday night, so expect some sort of response from the Caps.

After a difficult October, the Capitals entered the second month of the season 5-7-0. In November they've won all but three games and currently sit 12-9-1 in second in the Metro behind Pittsburgh. Alex Ovechkin has continued his hot form from last term notching up 17 of the teams 69 goals. They also have Backstrom, Grabovski and Johansson putting up 19, 11 and 16 assists respectively.

Montreal come into tonight on a somewhat opposite track to Washington. They enjoyed a very successful October but haven't kept it up this month only recording 3 wins so far. But might have once again pushed up a gear after beating Minnesota 6-2 in their last outing. Carey Price, like Fleury, has returned to form after a playoff meltdown last spring and has a .935 save percentage and a 2.05 GAA. It's hard to pinpoint a true dangerman in the Habs ranks as none of their 13 goal scorers have scored more than eight.

This is probably the toughest game of the night to call as the case for both teams is that you never which version will turn up.

I'll go for a narrow Caps win.

FLORIDA PANTHERS @ CALGARY FLAMES

This is one of those games that will probably get ignored by the casual fan. To put it in Premier League terms this would be like watching Reading vs QPR last season.

The Panthers changed coach after going 3-9-4 in their first 16 games and have limped to 6-13-4 since, although those three wins did come against Anaheim, Colorado and Vancouver. The latter two on the road. Similar to the Canadiens, none of their goal scorers have topped the 8 mark but it's the back end that suffers the most. They have Stanley Cup winner Tim Thomas between the pipes, ahem, and despite him being in better form than most expected it's still not his Boston Bruins cup winning form. He could be playing that well but with the players in front of him they'd still be in a similar position because with Thomas, Markstrom and Clemmenson combined the Panthers have shipped 76 goals in 23 games this season.

It's fair to say that Calgary are the Western conference equivalent to the Panthers. Both sit 2nd bottom in their respective conferences, and at 7-11-4 Calgary have given up 81 goals, 2nd to Provincial neighbours Edmonton on 84. In a hard to watch season for Flames fans they do have hope in the form of Jiri Hudler and rookie Sean Monahan. The teams top contributors with 21 and 14 points.

There's not much to say about these teams. They are terrible. I would usually go for the home team in this scenario but as mentioned above Florida have beaten Colorado and Vancouver on the road already.

I'm going for a Panthers win.

COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS @ VANCOUVER CANUCKS

This season has been a coming down to Earth with a bump for Columbus. Last season's surprise package they nearly made the playoffs for the first time in their history, on the back of some excellent goalie play from Sergei Bobrovsky. Now in the Eastern conference and, like many suggested towards the end of the last season, they are having rather a hard time. The player they made a huge "win now" trade for, Marian Gaborik, is out for the foreseeable future and big free agent acquisition Nathan Horton has yet to even play after having shoulder surgery in July. They currently sit on a 8-11-3 record that puts them four points off of a playoff place. With Gaborik out they still have four skaters who are ahead of him on the scorers list. Wisniewski, Dubinsky, Johansen and Umberger on 16. 15. 13 and 12 points.

The "struggle after realignment" tag was also lumped on the Vancouver Canucks. Coming out of a Northwest Division that they yearly won at a canter, and entering the fiercely contested Pacific Division. A bigger change some might say has been adapting to the style of John Totorella, and his more defensive game plan compared to previous coach Alain Vigneault. The Sedin twins have racked up huge minutes this year and have struggled immensely in the last couple of weeks. Daniel more than Henrik. One positive from the new style is the resurgence of Ryan Kesler who has 9 goals and 6 assists, but like the Sedins is playing an awful lot of minutes. At 11-8-4 they have dropped out of the playoff spots in the significantly stronger West.

The Jackets beat the Canucks on home ice a month ago, in a 3-1 win with goals coming from Gaborik, Johansen and Umberger. With backup netminder Curtis McElhinney putting up 38 saves. The Canucks goal was scored by Henrik Sedin and an assist awarded to Kesler.

Despite the recent struggles I'll go for a Canucks win.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING @ ANAHEIM DUCKS

This is another potentially great match up tonight. Both have very similar records. Tampa 14-8-0, Anaheim 15-6-3, and both are amongst the top scorers in their conferences.

A big moment came when Tampa's star and leading scorer, Steven Stamkos, broke his leg in Boston 11 days ago. But Tampa have pressed on unfazed and one of the seasons big surprises are continuing to go on well despite fears the Stamkos injury would derail the team. Martin St Louis continues to put up good numbers season after season, and the void left by Stamkos has been filled nicely by free agent signing Valtteri Filppula adding 9 goals and 7 assists to the teams totals.

Anaheim are coached by perennial regular season great Bruce Boudreau. They won the Pacific last year and looked good in a seven game series lost to Detroit. As of now they're tied for the divison lead with California rivals the San Jose Sharks. You wouldn't be shocked to see Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf lead the way for the Ducks, and despite trading away 30 goal a year man Bobby Ryan, they have enjoyed excellent play from Dustin Penner, Nick Bonino, Matthie Perreault and Andrew Cogliano.

Tampa beat Anaheim 5-1 in Florida last week but on their current West road trip have suffered three straight losses. Anaheim have also lost their three games since these sides last met but once in a shootout to Carolina, once in OT after scoring an own goal to win it for the Devils, and only once in regulation to the brilliant Penguins.

I'll go for a high scoring tight home win.



Tonight's picks: Pittsburgh, Washington, Florida, Vancouver, Anaheim.