Hey, happy belated Thanksgiving, all. What better way to get over a sleep-inducing tryptophan overload than the prospect of 11 NHL games on Black Friday. Here's a look at two of my favorites:
Winnipeg Jets at Nashville Predators, 6 p.m. ET
It's a big weekend for these two Central Division foes as they play home-and-home Friday and Sunday. The Jets, so full of promise with youngsters Mark Scheifele (23 points, third in the league in scoring) and rookie Patrik Laine (tied for second in the league with 12 goals) leading the way, are off the rails again after losing four in a row. Goaltending remains an unsettled issue, as the Jets are 23rd in goals allowed per game, and until that gets resolved, it will be hard to consider the Jets real playoff contenders. That said, they'll come to Nashville one point behind the Preds, who sit in the second wild-card spot in the Western Conference. The Predators -- and superstar defenseman P.K. Subban -- have started to play the kind of hockey most of us expected from them at the start of the season, and are on a nice 6-2 run. More importantly, goalie Pekka Rinne is on fire and has won six of seven and has allowed just nine goals over that stretch.
Columbus Blue Jackets at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7:30 p.m. ET
The Blue Jackets looked poised to make legions of hockey prognosticators look bad after a nice 8-1-1 run, but they're heading into Tampa on Friday night winless in two and the league's top-ranked power play is on a mini 0-5 skid. The Lightning, meanwhile, are proving that life without captain Steven Stamkos might not be pleasant, but that doesn't mean they have to stop piling up the points. The Lightning, led by Nikita Kucherov (four goals and two assists in five games), have won five of six and outscored opponents 20-9 as they continue to battle the Montreal Canadiens for top spot in the Atlantic Division. So this will be a good test for the Blue Jackets, who will get a rematch with the Lightning in Columbus on Tuesday, looking to prove that they're really back in the hunt.