We had no losers in the pool last week, which has been something of a rarity so far this year! This week’s top matchups will be decided by the play of some hot (and not) goaltenders.
Vancouver Canucks at Carolina Hurricanes (1:30 PM, Saturday) – Roberto Luongo is bolstering his case to win the starting goalie job with Team Canada, as he outdueled Martin Brodeur to a 5-2 victory Wednesday night, and followed it up with a 38-save shutout victory against the Flyers on Thursday. The Canucks should have no problem visiting the basement-dwelling Canes, whose defensive lapses should only continue now that they’ll be without top defenseman Joe Corvo for 8 to 12 weeks after he suffered a lacerated calf earlier this week.
Prediction: Canucks win 4-0
Atlanta Thrashers at Florida Panthers (7:00 PM, Saturday) – Panthers’ fans can blame this one on the homerun-swinging Keith Ballard. The injured Tomas Vokoun’s replacement, Scott Clemmensen, has had a gruesome go as Florida’s new starting goalie, allowing 7 goals on just 45 shots in his two starts since Ballard’s stick incident. Thrashers’ accurate sniper Ilya Kovalchuk is scoring on 23.1% of his shots right now and should feast on the struggling netminder.
Prediction: Thrashers win 5-2
New York Rangers at Buffalo Sabres (7:00 PM, Saturday) – By leaps and bounds, Ryan Miller has been the best goaltender in the NHL so far this season, leading the league with a 1.84 GAA and .937 save percentage. The Rangers on the other hand, have had trouble keeping pucks out of their net lately. They have been outscored 18 to 6 during their current three game skid, and their woes won’t end in Buffalo. The Sabres have won four straight, and seem to be rounding into shape offensively with 18 goals during the win streak.
Prediction: Sabres win 3-1