NHL Games of the Week 3/11/12 to 3/17/12

One of the best sports in the world is hockey and the NHL always has great match-ups week in and week out. Here's some games for the week.

Sunday March 11th
Boston Bruins (40-24-3, 83 pts) vs Pittsburgh Penguins (41-21-5, 87pts) - NBC
The Bruins are atop the Northeast, the Penguins would like to be atop the Atlantic. The Bruins are coming off a loss to the Washington Capitals yesterday while the Penguins are rolling on an 8 game winning streak. Both teams are looking to catch-up to the Rangers, but it looks a lot more feasible for the Penguins right now than it does the Bruins. In a match-up of the last two Stanley Cup winners from the Eastern Conference, one will gain two very valuable points, and the other will have to make up ground after today's game.

Philadelphia Flyers (39-21-7, 85pts) vs New Jersey Devils (39-24-5, 83pts)
Two teams that separated by two points, not to mention that they're division rivals as well, expect a lot of penalties, some fights and before the game is up, some hockey. The Flyers are on a five game win streak while the Devils are on a 3 game win streak. One of these streaks is gonna end. Can Bryzgalov continue his hot streak or will Brodeur once again show why he is one of the best goalies of all-time?

Los Angeles Kings (31-25-12, 74pts) vs Chicago Blackhawks (37-25-7, 81pts) - NBCSN
The Kings are currently in 11th place, but a W would put them back in the #8 seed. The Blackhawks are slowly slipping towards the bottom of the Western Conference playoff picture and need a big win if they are to catch of their Central division rivals in front of them. The Blackhawks will be missing star center Jonathan Toews, but will need contributions from everyone else if they expect to win this game.


Monday March 12th
Nashville Predators vs Phoenix Coyotes
The Predators are four points behind the Red Wings while the Coyotes are 3 points behind the Stars. Both teams are vying for home-ice advantage in the playoffs. Jimmy Howard won't be in net for the Red Wings until Tuesday, so it'll be Joey MacDonald will be facing off against Pekka Rinne. The Predators have 7 wins in their last 10 games while the Coyotes have just come off their 1st win this month against San Jose and hope to build on that.

Tuesday March 13th
New Jersey Devils vs Philadelphia Flyers
Think of it as Part 2 of Sunday's game.

St. Louis Blues vs Chicago Blackhawks
A Central division match-up between the top team and the #4 team in the division, 4 point game in the playoffs chase

San Jose Sharks vs Calgary Flames
Two teams not separated by a lot and both will be fighting for a playoff spot

Detroit Red Wings vs Los Angeles Kings
The Kings are fighting for a playoff berth, the Red Wings are fighting for their division lead.

Wednesday March 14th
Colorado Avalanche vs Buffalo Sabres - NBCSN
Two teams that are trying to sneak into the playoffs in their respective conferences. The Sabres are 4 points behind the Capitals for the #8 seed while the Avalanche are tied with three other teams for the #8 seed in the West. The Avalanche are 7-3 in their last 10 games while the Sabres are 7-2-1 in their last 10 games. Both are vying for spots and they're going all out. It'll be Semyon Varlamov vs Ryan Miller tonight.

Phoenix Coyotes vs Vancouver Canucks
The Canucks are fighting for the #1 seed, the Coyotes are fighting just to be in. They're 1 point away from being on the outside looking in while the Canucks will be shooting for the #1 seed going after St. Louis, only problem is, the Canucks just came off a flopper against the Canadiens on Saturday and will be looking to redeem themselves. Tonight's match-up will be Roberto Luongo vs the guy who came outta nowhere to keep Phoenix in the playoff race, Mike Smith.

Thursday March 15th
Colorado Avalanche (38-30-4, 80pts) vs New Jersey Devils (40-25-5, 85pts)
The Avalanche are fighting to hold onto the #8 seed in the West and potentially move up to #7 if Phoenix loses tonight. The Devils on the other hand are looking to move up a spot to the #5 seed, but will only tie Philly if they win tonight. Semyon Varlamov has been on a tear as of late while Brodeur and the Devils hope to redeem themselves after the clunker in Philly Tuesday night where they lost 3-0.

Pittsburgh Penguins (42-21-5, 89pts) vs New York Rangers (44-18-7, 95pts)
Atlantic division match-up where the Pens are looking to catch-up to the Rangers for the division lead, and quite possibly, the #1 seed in the Conference. The Rangers have gone on a little two game win streak to push the lead up to 6 points. The Penguins have a nine game win streak and with the return of Sidney Crosby tonight hope to push it an even ten. But Henrik Lundqvist might have something to say about that.

Boston Bruins (40-26-3, 83pts) vs Florida Panthers (33-23-13, 79pts)
This is a big game for both clubs. The Bruins hold a 1 point lead over Ottawa for the division lead while the Panthers hold a 1 point lead over the Capitals for the division lead. Tim Thomas will try to snap the Bruins out of their current three game losing streak while Jose Theodore will try to give the Panthers some much needed breathing room in the Southeast. Neither team will be competing for the #1 seed, but they both will be competing for the #2 seed which Boston currently holds over Florida by 4 points. Big game for both teams tonight.

Phoenix Coyotes (35-25-11, 81pts) vs Calgary Flames (33-25-12, 78pts)
Both teams are separated by a few points, but one's fighting for the division lead while the other is simply fighting to get in. The Coyotes sit two points behind the stars while the Flames sit two points behind the Avalanche for the #8 seed in the West. A loss by Phoenix would pull them back into the pack for the #8 seed which would turn into five teams fighting for two playoff spots, whereas a win would give them a little breathing room and give them an opportunity to fight it out with Dallas for the #3 seed.

Nashville Predators (41-21-7, 89pts) vs San Jose Sharks (34-25-10, 78pts)
The Sharks have been trending the wrong way recently. They only have two wins in their last eight games which has seen them slip from #3 to #9 in the Conference and are currently on the outside looking in. If they win tonight, they can pull even with Colorado (provided they lose to the Devils). On the other side, Nashville can leapfrog Detroit and claim the #4 seed, giving them a great opportunity to chase down St. Louis for the #1 seed. Pekka Rinne vs Antti Niemi, big game for both goalies, which one will come up big tonight?

Friday March 16th
Washington Capitals vs Winnipeg Jets
Both teams are fighting to win the southeast division, this game will have big implications in that race

Chicago Blachawks vs Dallas Stars
The Blackhawks are hoping to move up in the Central while the Stars will be fighting to lead the Pacific.

Saturday March 17th
Philadelphia Flyers (41-22-7, 89pts) vs Boston Bruins (40-27-3, 83pts)
Philadelphia is 8-2 in it's last 10 games, Boston is 3-7 in it's last 10 games and trending in the wrong direction at the worst possible time. The defending Stanley Cup Champions are going to have to figure out their problems now, otherwise they can kiss their division, and potential playoff spot good-bye. Tim Thomas is going to have to figure out a way to stop the puck from going in the net because as of late, he's looked like the worst goalie in the league while Ilya Bryzgalov has been a man on fire. Will the Bruins reverse the trend or will the Flyers continue to roll?

Pittsburgh Penguins (43-21-5, 91pts) vs New Jersey Devils (41-25-5, 87pts)
This is a very important game for the Devils, not only are they chasing Pittsburgh for home-ice advantage in the first-round, they're looking to move up in their division. The Penguins look to continue their 10 game win streak. They have Crosby back and as they demonstrated to the Rangers on Thursday night, they've pretty damn good. The Devils look to stop the Penguins momentum, but will Sidney Crosby and the Pens get the best of Marty Brodeur and the Devils?

Colorado Avalanche (38-30-5, 81pts) vs New York Rangers (44-19-7, 95pts)
The Rangers desperately need a win and the Avalanche are trying to hold off three other teams vying for the #8 seed. Henrik Lundqvist should be in net for the Rangers tonight while Semyon Varlamov will start opposite him in what should be a great game. Colorado needs every point they can get as they have the fewest games remaining out of any team in the western conference with 9 heading into today. Will the Rangers reverse their trend or will Varly and the Avalanche look to spoil the fun in MSG?

Buffalo Sabres (33-29-9, 75pts) vs Florida Panthers (34-23-13, 81pts)
The Sabres are three points behind the #8 seed Caps while the Panthers are three points ahead of their closest division rivals, coincidentally the Caps, by three points. This is a big game for both teams as the Panthers look to solidify their #3 spot while the Sabres look to close the gap to 1. Ryan Miller and Jose Theodore will duel it out in net Saturday night.

Nashville Predators (41-21-8, 90pts) vs Los Angeles Kings (34-25-12, 80pts)
The Predators are 1 point behind the Red Wings for the #4 seed with a game in hand while the Kings are 1 point behind the Avalanche for the #8 seed with 2 games in hand. After Nashville dropped a win against the Sharks on Thursday, they look to rebound with a big W against the Kings. It should be a great match-up of two Vezina worthy candidates in Pekka Rinne and Jonathan Quick. Not only that, it's gonna be a great battle between two teams with a ton of underrated talent.Will the Predators climb over the Red Wings or will the Kings slide into a playoff spot after tonight? Gonna have to be up late to check it out!

Detroit Red Wings (44-24-3, 91pts) vs San Jose Sharks (35-25-10, 80pts)
The Red Wings got Jimmy Howard back, but that didn't stop them from losing to the Kings. They continue their west coast roadtrip against the Sharks who are 3-4-3 in their last 10 games but won a big game against Nashville Thursday night. Detroit has a big enough lead that it seems impossible for them to lose a playoff spot. The Sharks are 1 point behind both Phoenix and Colorado with 2 and 3 games in hand respectively as well as 3 points behind the Stars with two games in hand. This is a huge game for the Sharks as they look to make a statement as well as go after the #3 seed in the West. If you're up late, be sure to check this game out.