Hey NHL fans and even those who are getting tired of the endless baseball playoffs. It’s Columbus Day today and that means that it’s a federal holiday and no work for some of you lucky folks.
Aside from wondering if a federal holiday means that the United States government goes back to work, a new week means that there is a new slate of games to remind us that the hockey is the best sport on the planet.
There is a healthy dose of great matchups in the next seven days. Patrick Roy and his fighting Colorado’s are still undefeated. The Calgary Flames are also undefeated (in regulation) and are technically still challenging the Blackhawks weird season opening streak from last year. Here are your games of the week in no particular order.
Detroit Red Wings at Boston Bruins, Monday, 1 p.m. EST
Take two for the proud Hockeytown residents as they invade Boston for the second time in as many weeks. In the first round, Boston took the Wings apart and shut them down with a decisive 5-1 victory. Though Detroit was at the end of a four-day three game road trip, Mike Babcock’s boys will never offer up an excuse for bad play. With an opportunity to rest the day before and with a touch of revenge on their mind, expect a better showing from Detroit.
Pittsburgh Penguins at Philadelphia Flyers, Thursday 7 p.m. EST
Nothing like a hated rival to jump-start a sluggish offense, eh? The Pens and Flyers renew their disdain for one another on Thursday night. The Flyers have been offensively absent so far this year while the Penguins have had no shortage of scoring from their all-star lineup. The Flyers have already replaced their coach and are looking to get their captain Claude Giroux back to his high-scoring ways and the team back to it’s winning ways.
St. Louis Blues at Chicago Blackhawks, Thursday 8 p.m. EST
Round one of this heated rivalry went to the Blues with a 3-2 win. The Blackhawks will come out with some fire in their collective bellies in front of the home crowd on Madison Avenue. Now that they have their first regulation loss out of the way they can focus on defending their championship. The Blues look every bit the contenders and have raced out to a 4-0-0 start.
San Jose Sharks at St. Louis Blues, Tuesday 8 p.m. EST
“There can be only one!!” will be the cry as two of the NHL’s undefeated clash in the gateway city. The Sharks and Blues have yet to taste defeat this year but someone will have to take a loss on Tuesday night. The two division leaders are potential Western Conference contenders to Chicago’s throne and will battle for early season dominance in St. Louis.
Detroit Red Wings at Colorado Avalanche, Thursday 9 p.m. EST
Patrick Roy and his Avalanche are one of the great stories of the early NHL season. He and Colorado will welcome the old nemesis Red Wings to the mile high city for a potentially fun showdown. If the Avs beat Dallas on Tuesday night their undefeated record could be on the line. No word on whether Mike Vernon will sit behind the Red Wings bench and taunt the rookie Colorado coach.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Chicago Blackhawks, Saturday 7 p.m. EST
The Leafs have the top record in the east, at least they do at this particular moment. They will test themselves against the reigning champs to see how they measure up. With the bull’s eye firmly in place on their backs, the Hawks know that they are getting the best effort from everyone every night.