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Around the Rink - Tuesday, January 4th

Semyon Varlamov, Steven Stamkos

Washington Capitals goalie Semyon Varlamov (1), of Russia, stops the puck against Tampa Bay Lightning center Steven Stamkos (91) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Friday, Nov. 26, 2010, in Washington. Capitals defenseman Tom Poti (3) looks on. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

AP

Much like Monday night, we have five games to work with on Tuesday. Let’s take a look at all of them, with start times according to Eastern Standard Time (ET) as always.

7:00 pm

Tampa Bay @ Washington

It’s quite possible that the Capitals will face a more important game - at least from a pure standings perspective - tonight than in the Winter Classic. The Lightning lead the Capitals in the Southeast Division simply because they lost one less game, so whoever wins this contest will take a slight lead in the Southeast Division.

While the rivalry might not be as seasoned as his duel with Sidney Crosby, there may someday be a serious Alex Ovechkin vs. Steven Stamkos debate considering the two sniper’s elite scoring skills. This should be a fantastic - and possibly wide open - game. It’s a shame that it won’t be on national TV, though.

Minnesota @ New Jersey

Instead, this game will be shown on Versus. It’s too bad they couldn’t use a “flex schedule” in this one, as the Devils are easily the worst team in the East while the Wild are one of the Western Conference’s weakest clubs. Maybe Minnesota’s struggles are slightly predictable, but who would have thought that New Jersey would be in the swamps of the standings? The shock hasn’t completely worn off.

9:00 pm

Detroit @ Edmonton

The Red Wings are struggling a bit (two game losing streak, 5-3-2 in their last 10), but the Oilers tend to be an elixir for such maladies. Edmonton is currently on a six-game losing slump, nixing whatever good feelings were being developed when the team showed some friskiness upon Nikolai Khabibulin’s return from injury. The young team has been dominated by Detroit but also gave them a few headaches, so there’s no telling which effort we might see tonight.

Buffalo @ Colorado

The Sabres have been playing better in the short term (two wins in a row) than the Avalanche (two straight losses), but over 10 games the teams are both pretty mediocre. That being said, Ryan Miller is having a tough time cleaning up mistakes made by the shaky Buffalo defense, so sending him to face the explosive Avs offense might be like feeding the wolves.

Columbus @ Phoenix

On face value, it seems like the Coyotes are much better on the road, with 10 away wins to only seven on the road. That ignores the fact that they’ve played six more away games than home games, though. They’ve managed to stay semi-competitive with a tough schedule, but if they hope to make the playoffs again, they need to start winning now that they’re getting some games in Scottsdale.