Two days without hockey.....I almost didn't make it.

Christmas may be over, but here at Playoff Beard the presents keep on coming. December 26th presents us with a couple of great matchups worthy of our attention:

Washington at Buffalo 7:00 PM

Last time these two faced off, the Capitals got the better of the Sabres. This was also the game in which superstar forward Alexander Ovechkin was ejected from the match for checking Sabres captain Daniel Briere from behind driving him face first into the boards. Expect this game to be extremely physical, as well as nasty. There probably won't be much love lost between these two teams after tonight, and this could develop into a nasty rivalry.

NY Rangers at NY Islanders 7:30 PM

The Rangers are falling, and the Islanders are flying. After snapping off a 5 game win streak, the Rangers have just capped a 5 game losing streak.....man does this echo of 1999....and 2000, and 2001, 2002, 03.....ugggh. The Islanders have been playing some outstanding hockey this season under Ted Nolan, and he has actually found the player the Yashin used to be. The Islanders have also gotten some incredible goaltending from Rick DiPietro, who is coming off a blanking of the Blue Jackets on Saturday night. Throw all this into one of the most heated rivalries in sports and you have the recipe for a great game.

Anaheim at San Jose 10:30 PM

If you have NHL Center Ice you've no doubt spent many a late night watching these two teams. The Ducks and Sharks are arguably the best teams in the West, and both are headed on a collision course to the Western Conference Finals. The Ducks took the last meeting, but the Sharks have rebounded nicely since that loss, defeating the Stars, and the Flames. Ducks. Sharks. Surf and Turf served up Playoff Beard style!

Enjoy the games!

Your friend on ice,
Captain Bosh