Around the NHL: Predictions for April 7th

sWe are in the home stretch here for the regular season. With most teams playing their penultimate game, let’s take a look around the NHL at the top picks, plays and predictions.

Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.

Play of the Day: Isles over Rangers.
In the Rangers’ last game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, they came out of the gate looking like a team hungover from clinching a playoff berth. Tonight will likely decide who will hold the third Metro Division spot and who will sink to the first Wild Card position.

Whether the Rangers and/or Islanders would be better off playing the Florida Panthers or the red-hot Penguins is a debate that could be worthy of its own column altogether. But at the end of the day, these teams want to win. The rivalry is enough. The status as a division winner and not a Wild Card team is enough.

Both teams are beaten up at the blueline. Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh is out for the remainder of the regular season with a fracture in his hand. The word is that McDonagh will not need surgery and will try to be ready for the playoffs. Late in the third on Tuesday, Dan Girardi took a tumble into the boards. He too will sit out tonight and Saturday with an “upper-body injury” which is the blanket vague term to describe something that might be a concussion but has not been labeled as such at this point. Remember when Mats Zuccarello had an “upper-body injury” for weeks when it turns out he was in a hospital after taking a puck to the temple?

The Islanders will be without Travis Hamonic for the rest of the season. Calvin de Haan, Brian Strait and Cal Clutterbuck are all listed as questionable.

Not to make light of injury, but it is sort of ironic that both teams will be without their most notorious possession anchors at the blueline in Girardi and Strait.

Prediction: The Islanders are 6-1 in their last seven at Madison Square Garden. Take them to win. Play the over.

The Game to Watch: Red Wings vs Bruins.
This one game could potentially determine the playoff fate of both teams involved. The Red Wings currently hold a two point lead over the Bruins for the third spot in the Atlantic Division. The Bruins are in a points-tie with the Flyers, who hold a game in hand. With a win, Detroit clinches a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

If Boston happens to lose, Philly has a chance to force them out of the Wild Card spot with a win over the lowly Maple Leafs.

Boston holds the series advantage 2-1 this year. All three games were tightly contested. The most recent meeting was a Valentine’s Day game at the Joe in which Detroit came away with a 6-5 victory.

Jimmy Hayes is questionable after sustaining an injury in a fight Tuesday. Brett Connolly and Dennis Seidenberg are also questionable. Max Talbot has been recalled on an emergency basis.

Despite being beaten up, Boston has held the competitive advantage at TD Garden. The Red Wings are winless in their last five visits to Boston, and are 1-6 in their last seven encounters with the Bruins overall. They are 1-9 in their last 10 back-to-backs as well.

Jimmy Howard will be in net for the Wings. Howard shut out the Flyers last night and has won his last six starts.

Prediction: This is going to be a physical matchup with a desperate playoff atmosphere. The back-to-back could hurt Detroit, and if there was ever a time for Boston to pick up their play at home, it’s tonight. Take the Bruins to win. Play the under.

Other Game Notes Around the NHL

Maple Leafs vs Flyers: The Flyers came away from last night’s game against the Red Wings stymied and frustrated. They were forced to the outside in the offensive zone, largely due to the fact that Detroit did a great job of clogging the middle and preventing Philly from generating any zone presence off the dump-and-chase. Brayden Schenn looked to get the best opportunities off of one-timers last night, but it was a quiet outing from Jakub Voracek. After a torrid January into February, Voracek’s scoring has tapered off big time, and last night looked to be a new low point just when Philadelphia needed him most.

Tonight is about as big of a must-win as can be then. The Flyers do have a game in hand on the Bruins, which is a major advantage. Against a team mired in a four-game losing streak, including a 5-1 beatdown at the hands of the Blue Jackets last night, Philly needs to come out firing on all cylinders. Leave nothing to chance.

Prediction: Take the Flyers to win. Play the under.

Lightning vs Devils: This game has a stone-cold under written all over it. The Lightning have been struggling to score of late, averaging just 2.2 goals for over their last five games. The absences of Steven Stamkos and Anton Stralman have hindered them greatly, and tonight it was announced that Victor Hedman would be given the night off as well. And at this point, the less said about the anemic offense of the New Jersey Devils, the better. The under is 7-1 in the last eight meetings between these two teams.

Both teams are in a rut. The Devils are 1-5 in their last six, and the Bolts are 1-3 in their last four.

Prediction: Take Tampa Bay to win. Play the under.

Penguins vs Capitals: The Pittsburgh Penguins are bad news to a Capitals team that is still trying to make history for their goaltender. Tuesday night was yet another failed attempt for Braden Holtby to reach 48 wins, as the Islanders came away with a 4-3 overtime victory. Washington now has three more games to get Holtby two wins to set the record. To do so, Holtby will start tonight against the red-hot Pens or over the weekend against either the Blues or Ducks. It is unlikely he starts all three, given the weekend is a back-to-back.

Pittsburgh is undefeated in their last seven road games. They have won their last seven games against teams with a winning record, whereas the Caps are 1-5 in such matchups.

The season series is split 2-2.

Prediction: The Penguins are just too hot to handle right now. Take Pittsburgh to win. Play the under.