Quick Note: Wow, the season is half over and only 3 more weekly previews left. Time flies. Then again, I could write about 100 of these in the time it's taking me to find one of the Fortnite llamas. Games of the Week Sunday July 15th - 10:00 PM EST Arizona Coyotes at Ottawa Senators The Coyotes top line was putting on a display for onlookers last week, and their other lines picked up some slack which helped the Yotes add a little to their lead on the second wildcard and now have the first wildcard targeted. The Sens are still trying to catch the Maple Leafs for first in their division after the Leafs overtook them a few weeks ago. If we see two top lines clash it'll likely be a defensive battle with a few individual efforts creating some high-danger scoring chances. With how deep both these teams seem to be, any match up could turn into a great game for viewers. Monday July 16th - 10:00 PM EST Columbus Blue Jackets at Boston Bruins Not a lot was expected from either team at the start of the season, and here we are with both teams fighting for a playoff berth currently only a couple points out. Columbus has been on the outside looking in almost all season while Boston has struggled recently which cost them their playoff spot. A win for Columbus could inch them one step closer to a spot they've been coveting all season; a win for Boston could help them regain their position they lost after a bad stretch of games. Tuesday July 17th - 10:00 PM EST Carolina Hurricanes at Chicago Blackhawks It's crazy to think that the Blackhawks and Hurricanes have the same amount of points at this point in the season. Both teams also have a big acquisition in their recent history with the Canes acquiring @Odieeeeee and the Hawks acquiring @VVaGs82 (which is certainly as big of a blockbuster as the trade for @Odieeeeee ). Like many teams, the Canes and Hawks are chasing other teams as they are being chased and need any points they can get. A rematch of the last lineups when these teams met are impossible as a third of the players in that game are no longer with their respective teams. This is the last matchup for these teams, maybe Carolina will tie the season series or Chicago will win it outright. Wednesday July 18th - 9:00 PM EST New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins I saw these two playing each other this week and had to choose it for Wednesday night. The Penguins can't be happy about the Rangers usurping the throne in the Metro and this is their chance to gain two points on the Rangers. Not sure if the Rangers are afraid of any one at this point after going on an absurd 18-2 run with their two losses being one-goal affairs. They are just going to do whatever they can to keep rolling and, while I think they're going to likely get some good lines from several teams like DAL, STL, and MIN based on usage from previous weeks, this PIT game should still be one circled on their calendar. Players to Watch: Owners Edition @Xx LoL xX 9 (C) The Wild really rely on LoL to create offense away from the @Sbass19 and @I3rissette line, and the puck didn't seem to be going into the net a ton for the Wild in those games going 0-1-1 against the Flames last week with 3 assists. If they're going to lean on him this much for points to strengthen their position with the Hawks and Blues chasing, the Wild will likely need even more contributions from LoL to succeed. Fortunately, he's likely up for the task. Watch for him to create and finish plenty of plays for Minnesota in Week 6. @cj142 (C) There's absolutely no doubt the Wings need CJ to play at the top of his game as the Wings are currently losing the tiebreaker with Montreal for the second wildcard in the East. His line contributes the most points to the Wings, and they depend on him to play smart and to help their defense; with their line contributing almost half Detroit's wins so far this season, they can't afford for CJ to take a week off. I wouldn't expect to see CJ buckle under the pressure this week. @Jer Dubz (LD) He's on a 6 game win streak scoring 3 goals and adding 9 assists in that stretch. The Flames finally made a big push in the standings and seem to be hunting down the teams in front of them en route to the second wildcard spot in the West. Safe to say, his play has played a large part in the Calgary's recent rise. The current hits-leader on defense has to continue to play his particular brand of hockey to ensure the Flames don't burn out too soon (and prove that last week wasn't just a final flare before the fire dies down). This week, @Jer Dubz should lead by example and will Calgary to a similar week. Milestone Watch Points: @The Gr8 Haxby is 3 points away from 1000 career points @jackD00P is 3 points away from 800 career points @Tayyyzzzz is 1 point away from 600 career points @Easy Macaroni is 3 points away from 600 career points @Shockz is 1 point away from 500 career points @gundamfreedomx is 2 points away from 500 career points @MiDi x 39 is 5 points away from 400 career points Goals: @BigJayAyotte is 3 goals away from 500 career goals Assists: @Williams x12x is 3 assists away from 500 career assists @BacKLuND x 22 is 1 assist away from 300 career assists @Nuge is 3 assists away from 300 career assists Games Played: @slammerama is 2 games away from 500 career games played @T lR lM is 1 game away from 300 career games played @Easy Macaroni is 2 games away from 300 career games played @At43 is 3 games away from 300 career games played The Hot Seat Saint Louis Blues - @Nxgi The Blues have seemingly been on the playoff bubble all season; I have no idea if that's true or not. Anyways, they're just 3 points out (potentially 1 if they win their game in hand on the 2nd wildcard team). A big trade for the Blues acquiring @mfricha @silentsoljacuz4 and @Josh55777 should bolster their offensive depth, but will that be enough to silence the several Blues who have been vocal about leaving the organization? Regardless, the Blues needs results this week ahead of the trade deadline. Their big games would seem to be on Sunday against the Rangers and Penguins and Tuesday against the Flyers, so I'd expect a big effort from the Blues and grabbing at least 4 of the 6 points from these games would be huge for the Blues at this point in the season. Can @Nxgi rally the troops here and get the Blues to perform in an ever-important Week 6?
@goonderk thanks for the mention but please don’t compare me to that shitter @Odieeeeee , that’s just insulting
Tampa bay vs Vancouver Tuesday at 9 is a cant miss game, we’ll be playing for the LG toilet bowl cup.
