Games To Watch This Weekend

↵
↵It’s pretty much accepted in hockey circles that the NHL regular season doesn’t really come close to the excitement and intensity of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Then again, a pair of games involving the Boston Bruins this week seemed to go against that grain, as the team provided more than enough entertainment in back to back games against New Jersey and Washington, the second and third place teams in the Eastern Conference, respectively.
↵
↵While the NHL can’t guarantee that sort of excitement every time out, here are a few games that offer the prospect of exciting hockey as we get deeper into the season and points become all the more dear.
↵
↵FRIDAY:
↵
↵Pittsburgh@New Jersey: Whoever invented the term “sneaky good” probably had the New Jersey Devils in mind.

Written off by most of the hockey world after Martin Brodeur’s injury, the Devils simply stuck in the race long enough to sort things out and prove they’re one of the best teams in the conference. And their win on Thursday night in Boston, 4-3 in overtime, proved that the team has lots of heart. Sidney Crosby reminded everyone why he’s still one of the best players in hockey in keying Pittsburgh’s win over the Rangers earlier this week, but he and Evgeni Malkin can’t do it alone every night.
↵
↵SATURDAY:
↵
↵Detroit@Washington: The Caps are becoming famous for playing either up or down to their level of competition. If they hold to form on Saturday, we ought to be in for a great game against the visiting Red Wings. The key for Washington: stay out of the penalty box, as their penalty killing is their most abject weakness and one the Wings ought to be able to exploit. Detroit is also one of the few teams in the league that can match the Washington attack as well as their total team speed, so we ought to be in for a fun afternoon.
↵
↵New York Rangers@Boston: The schedule gods are not smiling on the Bruins lately, are they? Coming out of the All-Star break, Boston will have faced Washington, New Jersey and now the Rangers, three of the four teams immediately below them in the standings. The Bruins aren’t complaining, taking three out of a possible four points on home ice in the process. New York’s Henrik Lundqvist can always steal a game, but these days, so can Boston’s Tim Thomas. Isn’t the NHL more interesting when old rivals like Boston and New York are playing in games that matter in late January?
↵
↵Pittsburgh@Toronto: Pittsburgh may not make the playoffs and the Maple Leafs are ticketed for the draft lottery. Still, the game will be televised on Hockey Night in Canada, which by definition means that it’s important.
↵
↵SUNDAY:
↵
↵Boston@Montreal: What better way to finish out your weekend of hockey viewing than by taking in a matinee between two of the bitterest rivals in NHL history? Best of all, the game will be finished up well before the Super Bowl, giving you plenty of time to prepare for the greatest television commercial ever -- albeit one disguised as a football game.↵