Big slate tonight with a lot of fun matchups and interesting games. We are not going to over-think some of these spots, and we are going to let the competition make the mistakes and get cute.
Correlated Snipe #1 – Robert Thomas – Pavel Buchnevich – Jordan Kyrou
The Blues are at home against the Sharks; a spot that we will be attacking all year and that should not be over thought. Robert Thomas got his feet wet the other day after a long absence, and he will only get better and better. These top Blues players are very good and with how injured their defense is, they know that they have to start scoring some big goals. No better opportunity to do that than at home against an inferior opponent.
Nov 16, 2024; Sunrise, Florida, USA; Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) celebrates with teammates after scoring a short-handed goal against the Winnipeg Jets during the second period at Amerant Bank Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jim Rassol-Imagn Images
Correlated Snipe #2 – Aleksander Barkov – Sam Reinhart
The Panthers are simply a matchup nightmare for the Blackhawks, as well as just the superior team. This is to not be over thought. Barkov is one of the best centers on the planet and even with as talented as Bedard is, Bedard cannot compete in the faceoff dot or in the corners with Barkov; which means that no Blackhawks player can. Barkov also elevates Reinhart who has had a magical time in South Florida. The Panthers are just an awesome team with high upside, and they are consistently putting pucks in the net.
Grinders:
Kent Johnson – Finally back and excited to be back for the CBJ. He looked awesome and was over a point per game before he got injured. Raw upside punt here.
Ryan Hartman – With Zuccarello banged up, Hartman is the man to slot in on the top powerplay unit. He is a tough player with some snarl to his bang that can bang around and score a greasy goal at any time.