There are 12 games on the docket tonight. Let’s take a look at the top picks, plays and predictions.
| Jets vs Wild ML +145 / -165 O/U 5 |
Red Wings vs Sabres ML -110 / -110 O/U 5 |
| Maple Leafs vs Devils ML +110 / -140 O/U 5 |
Penguins vs Rangers ML +100 / -120 O/U 5.5 |
| Blues vs Capitals ML +150 / -170 O/U 5 |
Flames vs Blue Jackets ML +145 / -165 O/U 5.5 |
| Flyers vs Lightning ML +140 / -160 O/U 5 |
Stars vs Predators ML +140 / -160 O/U 5.5 |
| Oilers vs Avalanche ML -120 / +100 O/U 5.5 |
Canucks vs Coyotes ML +110 / -130 O/U 5 |
| Blackhawks vs Sharks ML +125 / -155 O/U 5 |
Islanders vs Kings ML +165 / -200 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Play of the Day: Penguins over Rangers.
There are not a whole lot of slanted lines that grab the eye today as far as risk-taking is concerned. Many of the games are pretty evenly matched, and the ones that are not are not worth betting against the line.
The Rangers and Penguins played on Monday, with New York scoring five unanswered to top Pittsburgh 5-2. Michael Grabner scored again to pull into a tie with Patrik Laine and Sidney Crosby for the league lead in goals with 12. Kevin Hayes had a two-point night, tying J.T. Miller for the team lead in points with 18. Antti Raanta moved to a perfect 5-0 with the win.
Covered up by the loss is the incredible debut by Penguins forward Jake Guentzel. Guentzel scored on his first shift on his first shot, slipping a wrister under the pad of Raanta. He potted another one later in the first period, banging home a rebound on the rush with Malkin and Kessel.
The 22-year-old will likely stay on the second line tonight. Patric Hornqvist did not travel with the team as he battles with concussion symptoms.
Josh Jooris saw the least amount of ice time for the Rangers, collecting just 9:46 minutes, but he will likely remain in the lineup tonight. New York claimed former first-round pick Matt Puempel off waivers to fill the roster spots voided by Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich.
Pittsburgh’s chance to bounce back starts in net. Yes, they will be facing Henrik Lundqvist this time, but one would have to believe they will be countering with Matt Murray, who at this point as all but cemented the fact that he is the better option over Marc-Andre Fleury. The Rangers have dropped their last two games at home, and Pittsburgh wants revenge.
The Pens have won their last eight games coming off a loss by three goals or more.
New York’s advantage comes at the blueline. I will be the first to jump on Dan Girardi, but he had himself a fantastic night alongside Ryan McDonagh, as the pair led the team in Corsi For percentage Monday night. They shut down the Pens’ top lines, there’s no two ways about it.
This pick is mostly predicated on the fact that winning consecutive games against the Pittsburgh Penguins is incredibly difficult. I have a hard time visualizing back-to-back victories for the Blueshirts.
Prediction: Take the Penguins to win. Play the over, which is 5-1-3 in the last nine meetings.
The Game to Watch: Blackhawks vs Sharks.
Rangers-Penguins at the Garden is certainly a prime candidate for the “game to watch” tonight, but since it’s Wednesday, that means that tonight is hockey night on NBC Sports. At 7:30, the Flyers take on the Lightning. At 10, the Blackhawks head to San Jose to battle the Sharks.
Both highly competitive games, but the 10pm game is going to be one to stay up for.
The San Jose Sharks inked star defenseman Brent Burns to a lengthy contract extension yesterday worth eight years, $8 million per. The news got buried, for whatever reason (what, was there another hockey-related announcement going on last night?), but the deal makes a lot of sense from San Jose’s perspective. It’s a long contract, but Burnzie is showing no signs of slowing down. He has seven goals and nine assists so far this year.
For as much as the NHL looooves to put the Chicago Blackhawks on national television, they are actually winless in their last four Wednesday games, which is typically Wednesday Night Rivalry. Odd. Next you’ll be telling me that the Blackhawks and Flyers aren’t rivals. Psh.
This road trip has been a frustrating one for the Chicago Blackhawks. They were shutout twice in their four-game trek across Canada, and had to come from behind down 3-0 to top the lowly Vancouver Canucks in overtime.
Chicago’s powerplay is 3-for-30 in their last 10 games. Their penalty kill has allowed five goals in 27 attempts over that same stretch, which puts them at 81.4% efficient- below the league median.
Not that San Jose has been doing too much better on the special team’s front. They are 3-for-32 in their last 10 games on the man advantage. Their kill has stopped 21-of-23 penalties, at least.
The under is 9-1-1 in the last 11 Sharks home games.
Prediction: Take San Jose to win on home ice. Play the under.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Jets vs Wild: I will be the first to admit that I was snowed by the Winnipeg Jets. Twice this weekend I picked them to win road games against the Bruins and Hurricanes and they lost them both by a combined score of 7-2. They dropped the first game of this road trip against Philly last week as well.
Now they get to the hard part of their road trip, playing Central Division foes Minnesota and Nashville, both teams looking to pull away from Winnipeg in the standings.
Not even the awesome Winnipeg top line can save them.
The Wild earned a loser point Monday night against the Dallas Stars. They return home after that brief interruption of Minnesota-based games to play the Jets and Pittsburgh on Friday night.
Connor Hellebuyck will start against Devan Dubnyk.
The under is the wise play tonight. The under is 5-0-1 in the last six games in Minnesota, and 5-1-1 in the last seven overall or Winnipeg.
Prediction: Take the Wild to win tonight. Play the under.
Maple Leafs vs Devils: New Jersey is hamstrung by injuries once again. Mike Cammalleri missed a few weeks, but is possible to return tonight, and they will be without Taylor Hall for a significant amount of time. While Cammy’s return would be absolutely huge for the Devils, who knows how long he will be able to stay in the lineup given how unpredictable his tenure in Jersey has been.
New Jersey is averaging just 2.22 goals-for per game, and tonight they go up against the fifth-most potent offense in the league.
The difference tonight? Home ice. The Devils are 6-0-1 at the Rock, while the Leafs are just 1-5-3 on the road this season.
Both teams enter tonight on a losing streak, with the Devils falling thrice in California and the Maple Leafs stumbling in back-to-back 2-1 games.
Call me crazy, but Toronto has a real chance at snapping their road woes tonight.
Prediction: Take a chance on the Maple Leafs tonight. Play the under.
Flyers vs Lightning: The Flyers suffered a major injury blow of their own, as they learned that Sean Couturier will miss four-to-six weeks with a lower-body injury. Coots is one of the most valuable forwards on Philadelphia for his two-way play. Scott Laughton has been called up in his stead.
Center is arguably the weakest position on the Flyers. Beyond Couturier and Claude Giroux, Philly has little to offer down the middle. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Nick Cousins offer very little in any category.
If Laughton plays tonight, he would be the likely choice to slot in on the second line given that he is a natural center. Oh boy.
Tampa Bay is missing a center of their own in Steven Stamkos. The only difference is that the Bolts have Vladislav Namestnikov, Tyler Johnson and Valtteri Filppula down the middle- ya know, real NHL players.
Jonathan Drouin has two points in three games since returning to the Bolts’ lineup. He will skate on the Lightning’s third line.
Nikita Kucherov is a point behind Connor McDavid for the scoring lead.
Prediction: Take the Bolts to win. No Couturier is a huge blow for Philly, and being on the tail-end of a back-to-back doesn’t help matters. Play the over.
Stars vs Predators: Here we have two teams that are underperforming that have done poorly against teams that are underperforming this season. Tricky, eh?
Nashville has won their last four home games. The Preds are 6-1-1 at home, which is really the only thing keeping them afloat at this point.
Dallas already has racked up five overtime/shootout losses this season, which leads the NHL. They are 3-4-3 on the road. They have, however, dominated Nashville of late, winning seven of their last eight encounters.
Prediction: Home ice is a saving grace for Nashville. Take the Preds to win. Play the under.
