Welcome to April. The NHL playoffs are around the corner and there are eight games on tap for tonight. Let’s take a look at the top picks, plays and predictions.
| Panthers vs Bruins ML Off / Off O/U Off |
Wild vs Predators ML +105 / -125 O/U 5.5 |
| Senators vs Jets ML Off / Off O/U Off |
Maple Leafs vs Red Wings ML -140 / +120 O/U 5.5 |
| Canadiens vs Lightning ML Off / Off O/U Off |
Devils vs Flyers ML +170 / -200 O/U 5 |
| Stars vs Hurricanes ML +145 / -165 O/U 5.5 |
Ducks vs Oilers ML +110 / -130 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
The word of the day is Gimme Game: a game that a true playoff team wins against an inferior opponent; one that is vital to the points race in the standings.
The Game to Watch: Panthers vs Bruins.
There are quite a few games on tonight that you should be keeping an eye on. But everything starts with the afternoon showdown between the Florida Panthers and the Boston Bruins. From here, the dominos will fall.
Boston holds a three-point lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning, but have played one more game. This is the last game that they will play against a sub-.500 team. Their final week includes games against Chicago, Tampa, Ottawa and Washington.
Essentially, the Lightning are in control of their own destiny. If they make up the game in hand with a win and beat the Bruins on Tuesday night while simply keeping pace the rest of the way, they will pass them in the Wild Card hunt. Boston will need to keep the pressure on Tampa Bay by winning the gimme games.
Luckily, the Panthers have lost their last four road games and six of their last seven to teams with a winning home record. Boston has won nine of their last 11 against sub-.500 teams.
Plus, the Bruins have won 10 of their last 11 against the Florida Panthers. So yes, this is a must-have Gimme Game.
Boston is 10-2-1 in day games this year, which also helps the cause.
The Panthers will be sending out Reto Berra in net. With both Roberto Luongo and James Reimer out with injuries, Berra has had to make a couple of appearances this month.
In his first game as the Cats’ new de facto starting goaltender, he allowed six goals to the Montreal Canadiens. In two starts these last few weeks, he has allowed 10 total goals.
Gimme. Game.
If Boston loses today, it would be a meltdown of epic proportions. This game is being gift-wrapped for them. Barring one of the most un-clutch performances in the NHL this season, this one looks to be all Bruins.
Prediction: Take Boston to win. Play the over.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Maple Leafs vs Red Wings: Here’s where the domino effect comes into play. A Bruins win means that Boston would leapfrog over the Leafs in the standings in points. However, Toronto would still hold a game in hand. No reason to panic yet, but a win today to keep a leg up would be nice.
The Leafs have won five of their last six. They have won all three meetings with the Red Wings this season, including a 4-0 shutout in their last trip to the Joe. Auston Matthews, currently riding an eight-game point streak, has three goals against Detroit this season.
Toronto still has plenty to play for. Their playoff spot is not yet official, which is motivation enough. But they also have home-ice advantage to keep in mind. After tonight, Toronto will play a home-and-home with the Ottawa Senators, which will all but decide who gets to host Game 1 in the opening round of the playoffs.
Detroit will be without Anthony Mantha for the remainder of the season. The rookie who had an encouraging first year in the NHL fractured a finger in his last game. He will finish with 17 goals and 19 assists in 59 games this season. Not too shabby.
Getting off to a fast start is a common goal around the league. It’s a recurring buzz phrase when previewing a game. In this particular case, it actually has some meaning. Toronto has scored a first period goal in 14 consecutive games. If they are able to put the throttle down early, this should be an easy victory.
Again, this is the definition of a Gimme Game.
Prediction: Take the Leafs to win. Play the over.
Canadiens vs Lightning: Now this is anything but a Gimme Game. However, it’s the difficulty of the Bolts’ schedule that influences the importance of the aforementioned matchups. Tampa Bay has two games remaining against Montreal, one against Toronto and one against Boston. They also have meetings with Dallas and Buffalo in the mix.
Games like this are the kind that make you sweat through your clothes as a fan.
The Bolts have won four in a row to keep pace with the Bruins. They have won seven of their last eight against the Atlantic Division. But that doesn’t mean that this is going to be easy.
After all, Montreal has won five of their last six against Tampa Bay. Granted, the season series is currently tied at one win a piece, with the Lightning winning in overtime on home ice back in December.
What has kept Tampa alive is their offense. They have tallied five goals or more in three of their last four. Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov have been unreal, but the offense is starting to spread around the lineup, which is when the Bolts are at their most dangerous. Victor Hedman has picked up his play and reached 51 assists. Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn both scored last game. The weapons are coming out in full force.
Their toughest test will be scoring on Carey Price, who has a 1.64 goals-against average this month.
Montreal has won three in a row, all at home. They have not played a game on the road of late, but have been very successful in the last month. The Habs have won seven of their last eight as the visiting team.
However, even though their offense is hot, they seem to follow up scoring explosions with losses. For whatever reason, they are 0-8 after scoring five goals or more in the previous game. How peculiar.
There are plenty of factors and trends to hyper-analyze in this game, but it all boils down to how much faith one has in the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In all honesty, I would not have too much unless Carey Price is for whatever reason on the bench in this one.
Prediction: Take the Canadiens to win. Play the over.
Stars vs Hurricanes: Seriously. How are the Hurricanes still alive? Who sold their soul to what entity to allow the Carolina Hurricanes to get this hot?
I mean, did you see Jeff Skinner’s performance against Columbus Thursday night? The dude had numbers in every stat category. He had a goal, an assist, four shots on goal, two hits, two blocks and two takeaways. His shift in overtime to set up the game-winner? That was straight up Herculean.
The Canes have points in their last 13 games played. How long can this magic last?
They still need five points to pass the Bruins. A tie simply will not cut it with the tiebreaker. They do hold a game in hand which helps, but they essentially need to win out and hope Boston crumbles against the tough competition next week.
After Dallas tonight, Carolina heads to Pittsburgh tomorrow then Minnesota on Tuesday. If they somehow survive that, they will host Brooklyn and St. Louis before closing out their season next Sunday in Philly. That is far from easy.
In hindsight, Carolina has lost some heartbreakers at home that they should not have this season. They have lost their last five home games to teams with a sub-.400 winning percentage on the road. But that’s all in the past. They can redeem themselves tonight by besting the Stars.
Dallas has won their last four against Carolina. Ordinarily, the Stars are a lock to put up at least five against the Canes. In early February, Dallas routed the Canes 5-2 in Texas. But times have changed and the Stars forgot to bring their offense along on this road trip of theirs. They have two regulation goals in three road games this week.
I want so badly for Carolina to keep this miraculous push going. I love chaos. However, the line scares me. A -165 on Carolina to beat a team that they have historically had a lot of trouble matching up against gives me reason to pause.
Call me a hopeless romantic, but I’m going with my gut and taking the Canes anyway.
Prediction: Take the Hurricanes to win. Play the under, which has hit in six of the Stars’ last seven.
Ducks vs Oilers: Oh yeah, the Western Conference exists. How ’bout that.
Since San Jose has forgotten how to play hockey recently, the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks are now locked in a battle for the Pacific Division title. Anaheim currently holds a one-point lead, but Edmonton has been absurdly good at home.
It’s an interesting hypothetical. Yes, winning the division is a huge accomplishment, and it would ensure home-ice advantage for the first two rounds. However, is the preferable opening-round matchup one with the top-seeded Wild Card Calgary Flames? Or is it with the slumping Sharks? If you say the Sharks are the better opponent so you settle for the second Divisional spot, are you taking too much of a chance assuming the Flames won’t swap places with them?
As a team, you leave the matchup possibilities out of it. Play to win the division, it’s simply the safest route.
Which makes this a surefire entertaining matchup.
The Oilers played 11 of their 13 games in March on home ice. They went 8-2-1 in that stretch, winning their last seven in a row. One of those road games happened to be at the Honda Center, where they fell 4-3 to the Ducks. Ryan Getzlaf had three assists in the game.
Cam Talbot will go for win #40 in this one. Words do not really accurately describe how clutch he has been for the Oilers in this run. Connor McDavid will get the glory for this team for as long as he wears an orange-and-blue sweater, but Talbot has been the backbone this franchise so desperately needed.
John Gibson could be making his long-awaited return to the Ducks net. Gibson has made only one start since February 20th as he has battled a lower-body injury. But will Randy Carlyle pull Jonathan Bernier while he is locked in one of the best streaks of his career? Bernier is 8-0-1 in his last nine starts. He has faced a very high workload in terms of shot quantity and come up big.
My assumption is, until LeftWingLock proves me wrong, that the Ducks will stick with Bernier until he shows any signs of slowing.
Prediction: The gloves are coming off in this one, and I can’t wait. Take the Oilers to win. Play the over.
