MyOfficePool.caAll but 3 of us survived for another week. Philadelphia was by far the most popular pick (probably because of John’s compelling arguments in last week’s instalment of the top survivor picks), and they didn’t disappoint, beating the Panthers by a decisive 5-1 margin. If memory serves, John predicted a 5-2 score, and all 3 of his picks won. This puts the pressure squarely on me for this week, and there are some tough matchups, so let’s see what we can do.
Minnesota Wild at Pittsburgh Penguins (Saturday at 7:30pm) – This is my favourite pick this week. The Wild have lost every single game they have played on the road in regulation, and are averaging just a shade over 2 goals scored per game. That won’t be nearly enough to beat the Pens in their own barn, as Pittsburgh has spread the offence out nicely so far this season, getting solid contributions from the likes of Tyler Kennedy and Alex Goligoski, as well as the usual suspects, Evgeni Malkin and Sidney Crosby.
Prediction: Pittsburgh wins 5-2
Buffalo Sabres at New York Islanders (Saturday at 7:00pm) – Buffalo has yet to lose a road game all year, and their offense is starting to click. They’ve scored 16 goals in the last four games (as I write this the puck has just dropped in their game against the Devils), after starting the season with 10 in their first four. On a side note, Sabres’ rookie defenseman Tyler Myers has looked unbelievable so far this season, and it’s going to be excruciatingly difficult for the Sabres to justify sending him back to junior at this point.
Prediction: Buffalo wins 3-2.
Atlanta Thrashers at Ottawa Senators (Saturday at 2pm) – The Thrashers are going to be a completely different team in the absence of Ilya Kovalchuk. Guys like Evander Kane and Bryan Little will be expected to raise their level of play to make up for the lost offense, which isn’t fair to them at all at this point in their careers. The Senators have managed to get by so far without any goals from Jason Spezza, and Alex Kovalev has yet to hit his stride. A home game against the Thrashers without Kovalchuk could be just the slump-buster these guys need.
Prediction: Ottawa wins 4-2
Geez, awful performance. Since this went up, Malkin went down with injury, and Spezza was held out of Saturday’s game. And Pavelec just stole that one from the Sens completely.
It happens. I was going to give you the gears about your own pick when it popped up as MTL. It wasn’t a good night for most anyone. A ton of favourites lost. I was expecting a bunch of people to get knocked out when we all picked the same game, not like this.
The second I saw that Malkin and Spezza were out, I didn’t want to pick either of those teams. Then I heard Miller might get the night off, so I didn’t want to pick Buffalo, since he’s been lights-out for them. He ends up still getting the start and the Islanders roughed him up (?!?!). Rough rough night all around, Backstrom and Pavelec were stellar. I’m amazed though, like you said, that everyone picked different games and we still saw a mass exodus.