Friday, October 20, 2006

Tonight's Games (Oct 20)

Toronto at Columbus - 7 pm
Philadelphia at Florida - 7:30 pm
Carolina at Buffalo - 8 pm
Vancouver at St. Louis - 8 pm
Chicago at Dallas - 8:30 pm
Minnesota at Anaheim - 10 pm

Game of the Night

Carolina at Buffalo

When these two teams met in the playoffs last year the hockey was some of the best we have seen in years. The last time Carolina was in Buffalo, it was a game Sabres fans will remember for a long time (I was fortunate to be in attendance for this one):Carolina is in the midst of a seven game road trip. They lost the first two bringing their record to 0-3-1 but since that game they have won their last three to move back to .500. The Canes are coming off matching 5-1 wins over Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay. The Canes have six forwards with more than four points, led by Williams (8), Brind'Amour (7) and Whitney (7).

Buffalo has a perfect six wins in six outings so far, scoring a league-high 31 goals. Chris Drury, Daniel Briere and Maxim Afinogenov have combined for 28 points in six games.

Probably the most intriguing matchup is in net where we should get to see two of hockey's top young goalies - Ward and Miller. Both players proved in the playoffs last year that they can handle high pressure situations and carry a team when needed. I have a feeling that Buffalo will prevail in a close battle tonight and will pickup their first loss tomorrow night in Boston.

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