Sharks @ Blue Jackets

By the Numbers – Frozen Pool

This will be the Sharks 14^th game on the road already this season, where they've been a respectable 7-4-2 and can hopefully translate that success once they return to California after wrapping up this seven game road trip on Tuesday. If the playoffs started today the Sharks would be the 8^th seed in the West squaring off against Anaheim in the 1^st round. It's been two more weeks and Brent Burns still leads the team in points with 17, with the usual suspects Thornton, Marleau, Couture (16 apiece), and Pavelski (15 poitns) rounding out the top 5. Alex Stalock has really solidified the goaltending position for the Sharks going 1-0-1 when the team surrenders 40+ shots on goal.

The Blue Jackets are actually worse than the Buffalo Sabres when it comes to defense, the team is allowing 3.67 goals against per contest this year. The team has been dealing with a lot of injuries, including goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, and backup goalie Curtis McElhinney has been less than stellar in relief. His 0-5-1 record, 3.76 goals against average, and .887 save percentage have been horrid so far. The offense has been decent, but top heavy with Johansen, Foligno and Hartnell floating around the point per game mark, and Cam Atkinson chipping in with six goals. The next highest scoring forwards are Mark Letestu and Jack Skille with three goals apiece. The Jackets have lost nine in a row, with three of the last four being by two or more goals.

Pick: V+ (Sharks by two or more)

Capitals @ Blues

By the Numbers – Frozen Pool

After starting the month of November with three straight losses the Capitals have righted the ship with three straight wins beginning in Chicago last Friday. The team faces New Jersey on Friday night before flying to St. Louis for this matchup Saturday. The most impressive thing this season for the Capitals has been their defense, allowing an NHL 2^nd best 26.4 shots against per game. Unfortunately they haven't been able to count on their goaltending to make the big save when their team has needed it, as both Holtby (.903) and Peters (.882) are well below the league average for save percentage. On offense the usual suspects lead the way with Ovechkin and Backstrom accounting for 16 points apiece through 15 games, but five other players are averaging at least .67 points per game and that doesn't include Joel Ward's seven goals this season.

The Blues are on the other end of the spectrum compared to teams like Buffalo and Columbus as they've gone 9-1 in their last 10 games. The goaltending duo of Brian Elliott and Jake Allen has been phenomenal this season allowing 30 goals through the teams' first 16 games. Dealing with some injuries the Blues balanced scoring has been very strong this season. Vladimir Tarasenko leads the way with highlight reel goals and 21 points, followed by Schwartz and Lehtera who have 16 points each. The biggest surprise may be on the back end as Kevin Shattenkirk is outpoint Alex Pietrangelo at a 2:1 rate so far this season, while Jay Bouwmeester (37 points last season) has a single point this year.

Pick: V (Capitals win)

Senators @ Flames

By the Numbers – Frozen Pool

It's early but Craig Anderson has been playing up to his new contract with the Sens as he's among the league leaders with a 2.05 goals against average and .942 save percentage, while facing 36 shots a night. Mike Hoffman has come out of nowhere to score six goals in his last five games (on 18 shots), and has tied Clarke MacArthur for the team lead in goals with seven. Other surprises have helped the Sens secure points in 12 out of their first 16 games this season include Mark Stone and Alex Chiasson (nine points apiece). The team hopes to get Bobby Ryan (three goals), Milan Michalek (two goals and five points), and Mika Zibanejad (two goals and four points) going. Despite his drop in production, Erik Karlsson is averaging over four shots on goal per game, up from 3.13 last season.

This should be a fun and exciting game as we'll see two of the highest scoring defencemen in the league this season hit the ice, and no, one of them is not Erik Karlsson. Mark Giordano (20 points) and TJ Brodie (15 points) are sandwiched around Brent Burns as the highest scoring defensemen in the league this season. Who saw that coming? Denis Wideman and Kris Russell are also ranked 23^rd and 31^st in defensemen scoring with nine and eight points respectively. The production from the backend is a huge reason why the Calgary Flames have started the season 10-6-2 and find themselves currently in a playoff spot while teams like Chicago, Minnesota, and Dallas are on the outside looking in at the moment. Offseason acquisition Jonas Hiller has also looked spending posting an 8-4-1 record with a 2.30 goals against average and .922 save percentage this season. His numbers against the Sens in his career only get better as he's 4-0 with a 1.47 goals against average and .955 save percentage.

My Pick: H (Flames win)