EHEC Game Previews 11/30

[Virtual Jarmo]

Following the college football rivalry weekend, and some NFL rivalries as well, EHEC has its own rivalry night tonight with five inter-division rivalries on its Monday night docket. Eight games all taking place before the eight o'clock hour EST are on the schedule with some very interesting matchups. As we enter action tonight, 22 of the league's 30 teams have double digit victory totals, with four other teams sitting on the nine-win mark.

Happy Cyber Monday everybody. It's a day for agoraphobics to find good deals on their Christmas shopping, or just people who are too lazy to leave the house and be amongst the masses. Definitely some good deals to be found out there, and we'll have an upcoming column on the EHEC teams' Christmas Wish Lists. It's sure to bring tidings of comfort and joy to their opponents to help exploit their weaknesses.

Buffalo (11-7-5) @ Toronto (7-15-2)

One of the most recognizable rivalries in the world, the Sabres and Maple Leafs, two teams who vie for the fandom of Canadians caught in the middle, will meet for just the second time on this young season. A rivalry always filled with lots of bad blood and raucous crowds, Air Canada Centre will be the site of our highlight game this evening.

Toronto is in the midst of a 2-10 month behind first-year GM Mike Walters. Having battled sickness issues for the better part of the month, Walters has not had the chance to do much to improve his team, and their struggles have forced him to put Tomas Kaberle on the block. Closing out the month with a win against the hated Sabres would go a long way for the fans that bleed blue and white. Vesa Toskala's numbers are significantly worse than The Monster Jonas Gustavsson's, and the Leafs have finally made the change in net over the past few games.

Following an ugly four-game losing streak that spilled in to November, Buffalo is playing better despite having a large percentage of their players in the minus category. Even goaltender Ryan Miller has a GAA above 3. But, after consecutive losses, Miller helped the Sabres right the ship with an astounding 36 save performance in a 2-1 win over Carolina on Saturday. Some have begun to question the playing time of Nathan Paetsch as he sports a team worst -10, but the Sabres have yet to make a move.

Season series to date:
10/30/09: BUF 3, TOR 2

Pittsburgh (15-12-0) @ New York Rangers (11-9-6)

As mentioned in the game preview for Saturday night, the Rangers cannot win in overtime this month. They have lost all six overtime games and put them alongside four regulation losses. With just two wins this month, the Rangers look to end the month on a positive note by getting retribution against the Pittsburgh Penguins. This is the back end of a home-and-home.

The Penguins, meanwhile have won all three of their 60+ minute games this month, including this past Saturday against the Rangers. Evgeni Malkin scored the game-tying goal midway through the 3rd and potted the game winner in the extra frame, capping off a four-point night for the Russian. Brent Johnson has yet to see action this season and some are wondering if Marc-Andre Fleury will start to show some fatigue.

Season series to date:
10/02/09: PIT 4, NYR 3
11/28/09: PIT 4, NYR 3 (OT)

St. Louis (15-7-2) @ Columbus (16-7-2)

A battle of two of the league's hottest teams culminates in Columbus tonight as the red hot Jackets take on the streaking Blues. The Jackets come in having won eight of nine and the Blues come in having won five straight following an eight game winning streak that ended 20 days ago. Columbus is a spectacular 9-1-1 at home, while the Blues are just 5-3-1 away from home.

First place in the Central is on the line tonight as the Blues are just two points behind the Jackets in the crowded Central Division. Fifth-place Nashville is just eight points behind the division lead. Mathieu Garon was spectacular for Columbus last week winning his two starts during a road trip that visited Canada. Following Mason's 4-1 loss to the Rangers, Garon filled in and beat Montreal and Ottawa. Mason returned to the net as the beneficiary of Columbus's six goal explosion against Calgary in their last game.

The Blues have been rolling along despite a dormant GM. They have lost just two games this month and are 4-0 on the road in November. Along with some five goal outbursts, the Blues have allowed two goals or less in eight of their last 12 games.

Season series to date:
No games have been played

In other games, a Southeast Division slugfest takes place in Raleigh as Washington, with points in all of their last 10 games, takes on Carolina who had ridden Cam Ward to a five-game winning streak before running in to Ryan Miller in their last game. In a non-division matchup, Calgary travels to the Music City to take on Nashville. Nashville wants to keep pace in the crowded Central Division.

[TorontoGM]

Least we got more wins than the NHL Maple Leafs(6-11-7).