Monday night saw the league’s best players setting league topping numbers with Marleau of San Jose scoring his 32nd goal of the season to become the score leader.  Though right behind him are Alex Ovechkin of Washington put away his 30th goal on a penalty shot.  Sydney Crosby of Pittsburgh also put away number 30 early on in the Pens’ game against Minnesota.  So, with the players surging forward, here’s a look at the midweek action slated for Wednesday, January 20.

Florida Panthers v New Jersey Devils
New Jersey is returning to the home ice after a rough road trip.  Even top goalie Martin Brodeur has hit the skids as the Devils lost their third consecutive game on Monday night against the New York Islanders.  They were outshot 46-20 while Brodeur let 4 goals slip by in the first 40 minutes of the 4-0 shutout.

On the other side of the ice, Florida is coming into this game on a three game winning streak.  The Panthers have picked up their game, which was certainly evident in their game against Atlanta on Monday, in an effort to set themselves up for the playoffs.  Helping them to their 1-0 shutout and their previous two wins is goalie Thomas Vokoun.  In the last give games, he went 4-0-1 with two shutouts and a 1.57 goals against average.

These two teams have met twice before, each game resulting in a win for each team.  The Devils will be missing key center Patrik Elias, who took a massive hit on Saturday against Colorado.  And, the Panthers may be missing top scorer Stephen Weiss, who is listed as day-to-day with a lower body injury.  It should be a pretty close game, but look for the Devils to get back on track on the home ice.

St Louis Blues v Montreal Canadiens
A new coach appears to be just what the doctor ordered in St Louis.  Since Jan 2, when head coach Davis Payne came aboard, the team has seen its longest winning streak of the season.  They won four in a row before their loss to Columbus on Monday night.  Despite their renewed spirit, the team is still lacking goal scorers.  None of their offensive stars are close to the 30-goal mark (which, as you can from above, many players are surpassing).  This is going to be an issue they’ll need to address by Wednesday night if they want to beat the Canadiens.

Montreal has had a rough couple of games, first losing to Senators and then losing to the Rangers.  They’re hoping that a return to the home ice will see them put an end to their losing streak. It shouldn’t be a problem as Benoit Pouliot alone has scored four goals in his last four games.  Between him, Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta, there have been 12 goals and 14 assists, which is a fair bit better than the Blues.  This will be the first meeting between these two teams since November 2008.  If the Habs can keep up strong offense to rack up the goals, they should do well on the home ice.

BetUS is offering the following odds:
Puck Line
Blues: +1 ½ -290
Canadiens: -1 ½ +240
Moneyline
Blues: +115
Canadiens: -135

Vancouver Canucks v Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton has been hopeless this season.  They’ve won just 16 out of 48 games played.  They are in the last position in their division and lead only the Hurricanes in the overall standings.  They were hammered by Colorado (6-0) on Monday night, and followed it up with a pretty brutal practice on Tuesday.  One of their biggest issues has to be injuries.  With a handful of forwards, Ales Hemsky, Gilbert Brule, Mike Comrie, and Nikolai Khabibulin, out at various times, the Oilers haven’t ever really played this season at full strength.

They’re certainly going to have a tough time divisional rivals the Canucks as Vancouver has been cleaning up in recent weeks.  They’re coming into this game off of a massive 6-2 win over the Penguins on Saturday nigh, snapping a three game losing streak. They are sitting pretty in the top eight of the Western Conference.  They’ve met the Oilers four times before this season, three of which equaled substantial wins for the Canucks. And unless Edmonton really picks it up, it looks like it will be yet another win for the Canucks.

BetUS is offering the following odds:
Puck Line
Canucks: -1 ½ +170
Oilers: +1 ½ -210
Moneyline
Canucks: -170
Oilers: +150

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