There are 12 games on the schedule, so let’s take a look a look around the NHL at today’s top picks, plays and predictions.
| Ducks vs Flyers ML -110 / +100 O/U 5 |
Islanders vs Blue Jackets ML -125 / +113 O/U 5.5 |
| Kings vs Bruins ML -107 / -103 O/U 5 |
Panthers vs Sabres ML -116 / +105 O/U 5 |
| Lightning vs Canadiens ML -116 / +105 O/U 5 |
Jets vs Blues ML +131 / -145 O/U 5 |
| Capitals vs Predators ML +101 / -111 O/U 5.5 |
Stars vs Wild ML -111 / +101 O/U 5.5 |
| Oilers vs Devils ML +106 / -117 O/U 5 |
Sharks vs Blackhawks ML +127 / -140 O/U 5.5 |
| Canucks vs Avalanche ML +115 / -127 O/U 5.5 |
Maple Leafs vs Flames ML +129 / -143 O/U 5.5 |
Play of the Day: Capitals over Predators.
The Capitals are the underdog. The President’s Trophy leading Capitals with a fully healthy lineup and their number one goaltender in net are the underdogs. Let that sink in.
The Predators are looking to break even on a four-game homestand following the All-Star break. After a close 1-0 loss to the Blues and a blowout at the hands of the Flyers, they finally rebounded with a 6-2 thumping of the San Jose Sharks.
The Predators have reorganized their top line, with Calle Jarnkrok added to the pairing of Ryan Johansen and James Neal. Jarnkrok has goals in his last two games. Johansen has 14 points in 13 games with Nashville. Neal leads the team with 19 goals.
The Capitals are on a three-game win streak, having won all three games by a 3-2 score. While their league-leading powerplay has cooled off to an 0-for-17 rut, individual performances remain stellar. Evgeny Kuznetsov has a whopping 12 assists in his last seven games. Andre Burakovsky extended his point streak to seven games with an assist against Philadelphia. Alex Ovechkin tallied his 30th goal of the season.
Washington being at a +101 is a slam-dunk. The Caps are a good road team, and are not cold, so there is not really a good reason for them to be an underdog. The only question comes with whether the over should be taken at 5.5.
Prediction: Take the Capitals to win. Play the over.
The Game to Watch: Lightning vs Canadiens.
The Montreal Canadiens are on a win streak! They are scrambling to repair a dumpster fire of a past few months, and have actually put together a pair of games of high-intensity, competitive hockey.
Much of the credit goes to Ben Scrivens, who after beginning his Canadiens tenure 0-4 has won his last two starts with just two goals allowed. He stopped 34 of 35 shots against Carolina Sunday. It’s certainly a major step up from allowing four goals a game as he was before.
Max Pacioretty has found himself in a better position to score in the past few games as well. He had a goal on a nice tic-tac-toe play against Carolina and has registered 18 shots on goal in his last five games.
Tonight will be a test to see if the Canadiens really do have any chance at inserting themselves back in the playoff picture without Carey Price in net. To do so, they will have to take down one of the hottest teams in hockey.
The Tampa Bay Lightning had a clunker of a game last night against the Senators. Andre Vasilevskiy did not have the best night in goal, allowing four goals on 28 shots. They will have Ben Bishop in net tonight, which will provide a little more security in goal.
They will have to tighten up their outlet passes tonight. Last night was the first instance in quite a while of the Lightning struggling to break out of their own zone. A rivalry game against Montreal should help provide a much-needed energy boost.
Prediction: Take the Lightning to win at -116. There will come a point where the Habs being an underdog at home is an enticing play, but +105 just isn’t lucrative enough. Play the under.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Oilers vs Devils: The New Jersey Devils had a very rough game last night against the New York Rangers in terms of shot suppression. It should not be a surprise considering that the Devils are a bottom-five team in possession this season- they sport a horrendous 46% team Corsi percentage and are last in total Corsi events both for and against.
It is more of a surprise considering the Devils had been playing winning hockey of late. If not for Cory Schneider, New Jersey would have easily been blown out. It was not until the final 10 minutes of the game when the Rangers went into their patented third-period shell that the Devils applied any pressure.
Tonight may be a more emotionally-charged night, if only just because it is Marty Brodeur night at the Rock.
They will be taking on the Edmonton Oilers, who have scored just twice in their last two games. They were embarrassed by the New York Islanders 8-1 Sunday. Cam Talbot, the Oilers’ starter per LeftWingLock, allowed five goals on 21 shots in a relief effort.
Prediction: The Oilers have been allowing a lot of goals lately, but the Devils have not had an over hit since January 21st. Play New Jersey to win, and take the under.
Maple Leafs vs Flames: The Maple Leafs made waves this morning by dealing away captain Dion Phaneuf in a whopping nine-player trade with the Ottawa Senators. In return for Phaneuf, Matt Frattin, Casey Bailey, Ryan Rupert and a prospect, the Leafs got young defenseman Jared Cowen, Colin Greening, Tobias Lindberg, longtime-Senator Milan Michalek and a second-round pick. No salary was retained on either side of the deal.
The trade is a huge win for the Maple Leafs. Since dealing away David Clarkson, Phil Kessel and now Dion Phaneuf, Toronto has now cleared up over $19 million in cap space. Phaneuf’s behemoth of a contract is now Ottawa’s problem.
This does mean that the Maple Leafs have quite a bit of adjusting to do as far as regrouping their personnel. The Maple Leafs are in full rebuild mode, so they will be the underdog for most likely every game from here on out. Their most recent game was a 6-1 drumming at the hands of (who else) the Senators.
Calgary has won two of three games since coming back from the All-Star Break. They will be starting Jonas Hiller tonight, who has had the occasional good game but has been by and large pretty horrendous on the year.
James Reimer will start against him.
Prediction: The Leafs will be disorganized today with the change in personnel. If not for such a huge overhaul, the +129 against Jonas Hiller would be a good play. Take Calgary to win, though. Play the under 5.5.
Sharks vs Blackhawks: The NHL’s road warriors have stumbled out of the gate following the break, as the Sharks have dropped two of their last three in underwhelming fashion. They will be taking on the Chicago Blackhawks, who look well-rested and are back to clicking on all cylinders.
Despite having the best road record in the NHL, the Sharks are 1-8 in their last nine games in Chicago, and 1-4 against the Blackhawks in general.
Martin Jones will get the nod in net for the Sharks. Jones had a rough night against the Nashville Predators Saturday. His glove side was exposed and he was beaten with regularity on shots that, while perfectly placed, were seen pretty much all the way. Jones allowed four goals in both games against Chicago this season, losing both games.
The Sharks are starting to taper off offensively after a great January. Patrick Marleau has just one goal in 16 games.
Prediction: Take the Hawks to win. Play the over.
Ducks vs Flyers: The Ducks’ win streak finally came to an end against Pittsburgh last night, losing 6-2. Ryan Getzlaf notched a goal and an assist.
Philly has suffered back-to-back crushing losses. They missed out on collecting two points by 12.9 seconds against the Rangers before falling in the shootout, then were dealt a 3-2 defeat by the Capitals in the third period. Shayne Gostisbehere continues to be a force of nature, as he tallied his 18th assist of the year against Washington. His eight-game point streak is the second-longest by a Flyers’ rookie in franchise history, per Elias Sports Bureau. It is the longest point streak by a rookie defenseman since Kevin Shattenkirk’s nine-game streak in 2010.
Philadelphia is a +100, which essentially makes taking them to win a wash. Anaheim is 5-0 against Philly. The Flyers are 1-4 in their last five home games. Taking the Flyers to win is simply not sexy enough.
Prediction: Take Anaheim to win. Take the over, which is 4-0 in their last four meetings.
Stars vs Wild: Boy oh boy is Minnesota floundering hard. They have caught Montreal-itis in that even though they are still in the thick of the playoff hunt, they are plummeting fast and burning up on reentry. They have won just one game in their last 11, including their last five in a row.
They will be taking on one of the top teams in the NHL, the Dallas Stars.
Shot generation from forwards not named Zach Parise has been a major issue for the Minnesota Wild. Though Jason Pominville notched seven shots last game against St. Louis, both he and Charlie Coyle have been very guilty of simply not getting enough to the net. The Wild went the majority of their game against New York last week with just one shot on goal from their forwards, that being a breakaway goal for Ryan Carter.
It certainly does not help that Jared Spurgeon and Mikko Koivu both missed practice yesterday for the Wild. Koivu has not been ruled out definitely for tonight, though it looks like Spurgeon will be sidelined.
Prediction: Take the Stars to win. Play the under, which is 3-0-1 in the last four Wild home games.
Canucks vs Avalanche: One team that has to step on the gas in light of Minnesota’s crashing and burning is Colorado. They have been unable to do so. They are 1-3-1 in their last five and are 0-2-1 in three home games since the break.
Semyon Varlamov made his return to action Saturday after the conclusion of his civil trial and looked off his game. He faced his usual enormous workload inflating his stats to 34 saves on 37 shots, but it was apparent that he was not up to par just yet.
The Canucks are 1-3-2 in their last six. The money line has them as underdogs at +115.
Prediction: This game could very well go to overtime considering that the Canucks have been there 19 times in 52 games. Take the Avalanche all the same. The Canucks have had too much difficulty scoring. Take the under 5.5 with that in mind.
