There are 12 games on the NHL schedule tonight. Let’s take a look at the top picks, plays and predictions.
| Senators vs Bruins ML Off / Off O/U Off |
Penguins vs Devils ML -170 / +160 O/U 5.5 |
| Islanders vs Hurricanes ML +115 / -130 O/U 5.5 |
Jets vs Blue Jackets ML +155 / -185 O/U 5.5 |
| Lightning vs Maple Leafs ML +130 / -150 O/U 5.5 |
Blues vs Panthers ML Off / Off O/U Off |
| Predators vs Stars ML -130 / +110 O/U 5.5 |
Wild vs Avalanche ML -187 / +155 O/U 5.5 |
| Canucks vs Coyotes ML -111 / -103 O/U 5 |
Blackhawks vs Ducks ML +105 / -125 O/U 5.5 |
| Flames vs Kings ML +115 / -130 O/U 5 |
Oilers vs Sharks ML +110 / -130 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
The Game to Watch: Lightning vs Maple Leafs.
With their season hanging in the balance, the Tampa Bay Lightning turned in perhaps the most disappointing effort they could have. Boston dominated puck possession, and Tampa struggled to establish zone time. The Bolts were outshot 38-28, but it felt like much more.
Credit where credit is due, Andrei Vasilevskiy had himself a good night. The first goal was off a rebound in which Andrej Sustr was slow to cover his man and Victor Hedman was spinning, outnumbered down low. The second goal was a breakdown in defensive coverage that resulted in a clear cross-slot pass that David Pastrnak buried.
Look at this play. The action is 4-on-4. Braydon Coburn is all the way up by the Bruins’ bench trying to check Kevan Miller with Ondrej Palat. Coburn does not even get a solid hit off, and Miller slides the puck easily down to an open Riley Nash. Now this play is essentially a 2-on-1. Anton Stralman does the only thing he can do and drops down to a knee to try and prevent the pass to Pastrnak, in the open slot in the picture above. It does not work.
The put-away goal was a tic-tac-toe pass on the man advantage that was buried by Zdeno Chara. Pastrnak would add an empty-netter, giving him 34 goals on the year.
So now, Tampa Bay needs a miracle. Toronto is pretty much the only team that they can catch at this point in the standings. They would need to win out their remaining games against Toronto, Montreal and Buffalo while having Toronto lose out their final three against Tampa, Pittsburgh and Columbus (in regulation, of course).
Tampa could also win out and tie Ottawa if they happen to lose their final three games as well, but it all simplifies to this: if the Lightning lose tonight, they’re done.
The season series is 2-1 Toronto. Their last meeting exactly three weeks ago was a 5-0 Maple Leafs win.
In the Leafs’ last contest Tuesday night, they fell 4-1 to the Washington Capitals. They are usually able to rebound well, as they are 5-1 following a home loss of three or more goals this season.
The Lightning are playing their fourth game in six days. They are 1-8 in that kind of scenario, in case you were curious.
Prediction: Toronto will want to put it away tonight. Take the Maple Leafs to win. Play the over.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Senators vs Bruins: Ottawa has a funny problem on their hands in that they are tied in points with the Boston Bruins, currently listed ahead of them in the standings, and yet they have not clinched a playoff spot yet. Theoretically, if they lost their last three games in regulation, the Lightning won their last three in regulation or overtime, and the Leafs got a point somewhere in the mix, the Senators would miss the playoffs.
In case you were curious, the Sens play the Bruins, Rangers and Islanders to close out the season. Much like the Maple Leafs, the odds of their losing three in a row when playing teams that are trying to save their energy for the playoffs are pretty slim.
Ottawa snapped a five-game losing streak on Tuesday at home against the Detroit Red Wings. Erik Karlsson, who missed two games with an injury, played terrifically in the home-and-home, notching two goals and an assist in two games against the Wings.
Craig Anderson earned his fifth shutout of the season. If he does not win the Masterton Trophy this year, I’ll lose my mind.
Even still, the Senators are hardly playing their best hockey. They have won five straight road games and are winless in their last four against teams with a winning home record.
Boston is on a six-game winning streak, their most recent triumph being their playoff-clinching victory over the Lightning. Now that they are clinched, some of their urgency may be missing. But they are still playing for precious seeding, and beating the Senators would help out a lot.
What will impact this game the most is whether or not Brad Marchand will be allowed to suit up for it. Marchand gave a how-do-you-do to the groin of Jake Dotchin during Tuesday night’s game. The spear earned Marchand an ejection, and he will have a phone hearing with the NHL disciplinary committee today. My guess is that he will face a fine and nothing more. The NHL simply does not suspend players for spears. If they did, Sidney Crosby would have already served time.
Ottawa has won their last five against the Bruins and four of their last five in Boston. I would be very surprised if they pulled off the four-game season sweep, though.
Subject to change, I think Marchand is the difference in this game. If he plays, Boston will win. If he doesn’t, the odds are a lot more even. Even then I think Boston would pull it out.
Prediction: Take the Bruins to win. Play the under.
Islanders vs Hurricanes: Everything that we’ve discussed as a way for the Lightning to make the playoffs applies to the New York Islanders. They are tied with the Lightning in points and have one more regulation/overtime win. They would need to win out against the Carolina Hurricanes, New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators.
Without John Tavares.
Simply put, there are too many missing pieces for the Isles to do any real damage. Their chance to get back in the playoff hunt was against the Philadelphia Flyers back on March 30th, and they laid an egg. They have won three in a row since then, yes, but how much longer can that continue without Tavares? Or Travis Hamonic? Or Casey Cizikas? Or Shane Prince?
At least they are playing a dejected Hurricanes team tonight. Carolina has lost three in a row. Their home loss to the Dallas Stars Saturday night killed their playoff hopes, and they are still reeling from that. At least they will still have a pretty good draft position.
The Islanders have won five of their last six as the visiting team. Carolina is 0-5 following games in which they allow five goals or more.
Prediction: Take the Islanders to stay alive tonight. But don’t get your hopes up just yet. Play the under.
Blackhawks vs Ducks: A Western Conference Final preview, perhaps? The two division leaders out West collide tonight as the Chicago Blackhawks head to the Honda Center to face the Anaheim Ducks. Though it means relatively little to the playoff picture, other than the Ducks getting closer to clinching the Pacific, this will feature two of the best teams in the NHL.
The season series is split 1-1 with a pair of one-goal games. Anaheim blanked the Blackhawks 1-0 at the start of March, while the Hawks won in California 3-2 back in November.
The visiting team has won the last four regular season meetings.
A word of congratulations to Niklas Hjalmarsson, who is away from the team on this road trip to be with his wife during the birth of his child.
The injury list for the Anaheim Ducks features enough defensemen for an entire starting lineup. Sami Vatanen has been nursing a lower-body injury for two games, but is likely to return tonight. Cam Fowler left last game early with a knee injury and is uncertain for tonight. Hampus Lindholm will miss his third straight game. Korbinian Holzer is away from the team on a “personal matter” in Germany. And of course, Clayton Stoner and Simon Despres have been missing for months.
That’s a lot of defensemen.
Nevertheless, the Ducks have picked up points in their last 12 games. John Gibson picked up his first win since February 19th on Tuesday. Gibson’s goalie mate, Jonathan Bernier, is 10-0-2 in his last 12 starts.
Patrick Eaves has eight goals in nine games. Who would have thought he’d be one of the most effective players moved at the deadline, huh?
Chicago lost in overtime to the Avalanche on Tuesday night. I think that’s the telltale sign that you’re scaling back production to save some for the NHL playoffs.
Prediction: Take the Ducks to win. Play the under.
Oilers vs Sharks: The Sharks have hit rock bottom and bounced, winning two in a row now. But tonight they face off with the red-hot Oilers, who are currently in a dogfight to claim home-ice advantage in the first round. Edmonton and San Jose are tied with 97 points, but the Oilers hold a game in hand.
The season series is tied 2-2, though the Oilers have won the last two.
With a win, Cam Talbot will break Grant Fuhr’s Oilers record of wins in a season. He would collect his 41st of the season. It would be a shame that he would do it away from home, but otherwise it would be a gamble relying solely on the last day of the season on Sunday.
Still, getting it in San Jose against a team that pretty regularly dominates the possession battle will be tough. Too tough for my money.
Prediction: Take the Sharks to win. Play the under.
