It's Saturday Night on the Ice and we shake things up a little bit here on the other side of the All Star Break. Here we take a quick look at all the Saturday Night NHL action. This is short because it is intended to be a quick read. This is a sentence or two that pops into an NHL mind when looking at the Saturday Night card. The intent is to help you focus in on match-ups where you feel there might be enough value to put your hard earned money to work for you! Let's get to work:
Dal @ Cbs - The Stars are much improved from earlier this season. They're getting stronger goaltending plus solid defense. However, so too are the Blue Jackets!
Pit @ Tor - Though the Penguins fell short at New Jersey last night, they have already shown a lot of emotion and intensity since the All Star break. Toronto is at home for this match-up but it's hard to trust this season's Maple Leafs team anytime, anywhere!
Fla @ Nyi - Florida is playing its best hockey of the season. The coaching change coming into this season has paid huge dividends. The Islanders are off of a rare win. Note the key word here is "rare". Also, the Isles injury-depleted goal-tending situation is still a concern.
Atl @ Car - Atlanta is off of a tight home loss and Carolina is off of a tight home win. What does that tell us here? Nothing! These are two of the most inconsistent teams in the league. No thanks, we'll pass!
Phi @ Stl - The Flyers are off of a dominating win at Tampa Bay last night. The Blues, with one of the worst records in the league, have mostly been on the wrong end of domination this season! A home loss to Ottawa Wednesday just adds to the frustration for St Louis.
Buf @ Phx - The Coyotes are coming off of a shutout. However, that was at San Jose. Still, hosting Buffalo won't exactly be fun either. The Sabres were surging before Wednesday's loss at Calgary. Both teams have been improving and both teams are coming off of a loss. That means this one sets up to be a solid battle.
Min @ Van - Could be value with the Wild here. They're off a poor effort at Edmonton last night. At least the Wild occasionally put together a solid effort though. The Canucks season has been all downhill and the slide was made quicker with goalie Roberto Luongo's long-term injury issues.
Chi @ Sj - Yes the Blackhawks have been in a slide but the Sharks are also heavily favored here which makes them unattractive. This looks like a solid battle all the way.
