Good afternoon poolies! Firstly, off the bat, I just wanted to give a thumbs up to my colleague Marty who last week managed to nab 5 of his 6 winners, despite evening out in ProLine terms. If you followed his winners moneyline through offshore wagering, you were pretty happy. Anyhow, on my front, I remain on the verge of hitting at a rate of 60% thus far in 2011-12, and feel confident I can spike that back up further this week.

• Stats as of Friday morning
• Winning % this Season= 58%
• Previous Week Record= 3-3
• For ProLine Purposes= 2-4
• (* -1 for ProLine where I had the Bolts to win by more than 1 goal; but they took it by exactly 1).

~~ Follow Anthony Lancione on Twitter @Anthisdaman

So with the 35^th Crosby-less weekend of ordinary times in the books, let's get right to the meat and potatoes!

New Jersey @ Washington (7:00pm ET)

By the Numbers – Frozen Pools

Even though Washington sits in 6^th spot in the East, they nonetheless hold title to Least Points Dropped per games played in the conference. The Caps are also tied with the Stars for top home record in the league at 5-1. Washington's star trio of Ovechkin, Backstrom and Semin have been simmering a bit lately, as all three are starting to find their groove. This trend should only continue.  The Devils have won three straight off the heels of Marty Brodeur's return to action, (minus his stellar return against Toronto)! It seems the hall of famer in back in charge of crease in Jersey.

Speaking of crease battles, it appears Neuvirth has been making a case again recently to challenge for Vokoun's top dog status. See www.goaliepost.com for the latest projected starter!

Pick

Washington – Home Win – H(ProLine)

Ottawa @ Toronto (7:00pm ET)

By the Numbers – Frozen Pools

After finishing October on a scorching note, winning an NHL best- 6 straight, the surprising Senators seem intent on starting their November on an equally terrible run, having dropped four in a row, encounting! However, they were projected by many pundits to finish dead last or next to last in the NHL for a reason. I still have them easily missing the playoffs without a shadow of doubt.  The Leafs similarly were brought back to reality this week after a cup of coffee atop the NHL standings heading into their meetings vs. the visiting defending cup champs & upstart Panthers. Both games were ugly, but with a rebounded W against the Blues, the Leafs continue to defy the odds and remain tied with the Pens in first in the East!

Pick

Toronto – Home Win – H(ProLine)

Pittsburgh @ Carolina (7:00pm ET)

By the Numbers – Frozen Pools

The Indianapolis Colts should take out a page from Dan Bylsma's book, and learn how to remain an elite power, despite the unavailability of their superstars. The 2^nd half of last season, Pittsburgh famously was led by the Jack Adam's winning bench boss without the luxury of either Sid or Geno's presence. October bared many resemblances to last spring with Malkin missing half his games, and still no sign of Crosby, yet they're still ranked tops in the East, sitting at a cool 9-3-3. Meanwhile, the Canes may as well have had their superstar captain, Eric Staal not bother to lace them up thus far, as he's been a pitiful -16 and only on pace for a disgusting 27 points on the season. One would hope that this would turn around, and soon! Perhaps the brother rivalry offered in this matchup vs Jordan will be the catalyst for getting Eric's motivation back to where it needs to be.

Pick

Tie – Home Win Plus– T(ProLine)(Pittsburgh in SO)

Dallas @ Detroit (7:00pm ET)

By the Numbers –Frozen Pools

Talk about a roller coaster to start to Detroit's season thus far! A month and a half into the season, and then The Winged Wheel have still literally only been a part of 3 specific streak, encounting! First a 5-0 stand out of the gates, followed by a demolishing at the hands of the caps in the battle of the undefeated, sparking a 6 game losing streak. Now Detroit is looking for their 3^rd straight against the surprise of the West, Dallas. The Wings seemed to have found their magic from the first 2 weeks. However, Dallas has evidently never lost their mojo in the 1^st place, leading the NHL with a predictable breakout year from Jamie Benn, with 18 points in 14 games & a red-hot start from Louie Eriksson as well, with 16 in 14.

Pick

Detroit – Home Win Plus – H+(ProLine)

Tampa Bay @ St. Louis (8:00pm ET)

By the Numbers – Frozen Pools

The Lightning come into this one winners of three straight and 7-3 in their past 10. Finally they are getting reliable goaltending from the league's oldest Rollie the Goalie! However their normally potent attack led by Stamkos, Marty St.Louis and Lecavalier, still holds true to a -1 goal differential . Althought that's of course due in large part to the early netminding troubles.  Meanwhile St.Louis has also calmed their netminding problems with all-world backup-ing from Brian Elliott, not to mention the resurgence shown when Stella Got her Groove Back Halak has been up to task of late. Only once since October 18^th have the Blues surrendered more than 3 goals. However, that can't last forever.

Pick

Tampa Bay – Visitor Win – V(ProLine)

Phoenix @ San Jose (10:30pm ET)

By the Numbers – Frozen Pools

After a rough 1-3 opening accord to the season, the Sharks have earned points in 9 of their last 10 soaring back into the mix in the West. Anti Niemi has shown that he certainly was not a one hit wonder in 2010's cup championship with Chicago posting a great final 4 push last year, and has rebounded well from injury. New line configurations and the debut of Martin Havlat have certainly given this team more options to roll with than possibly ever before with this core. Phoenix has only allowed 11 goals over their past 5 outings, yet their offense hasn't taken advantage of the stellar and surprising play of Mike Smith, who has seamlessly taken over for Bryzgalov, sporting a 2.41 GAA and .925 SV%.

Pick

San Jose – Home Team Win — H(ProLine)