Around the NHL: Predictions for February 5th

There are three NHL games on the docket tonight. Let’s take a look at the top picks, plays and predictions.

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

Play of the Day: Kings over Capitals.
Peter Budaj and Philipp Grubauer will go toe-to-toe today at the Verizon Center. Grubauer, the 25-year-old German goaltender of the Washington Capitals, lost his last start against the New York Islanders. He stopped 26 of 28 shots along the way.

Even with the loss, Grubauer is still 9-3-2 on the season with a 2.13 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.

Grubauer is hardly the marquee goaltender in this matchup, however. Peter Budaj is having a season to remember filling in for Jonathan Quick. He has a 25-14-3 record with a 1.96 goals-against average and a .923 save percentage. He has rebounded from a three-game losing streak by rattling off five wins in a row, mixing in three shutouts (three!) in that span. That means that 60% of his last five starts have been shutouts. That’s incredible.

The Kings have won their last four road games, including a 1-0 overtime game against the Philadelphia Flyers last night. Budaj has not been scored on in 141:30 minutes of ice time.

Los Angeles’ offense, meanwhile, has been lighting it up. Anze Kopitar is on a five-game point streak, tallying two goals and five assists. Marian Gaborik has registered a point in four of his last five games, as has Jeff Carter.

Despite all this, the under is still the wise play in this matchup. The Kings and Capitals are both on the tail-ends of back-to-backs. The under is 4-0-1 in the last five such games for L.A., and has hit in six of the last seven Capitals games against the Pacific Division.

Though the home team has won the last four meetings, Los Angeles is 9-2 in their last 11 against Caps. With Peter Budaj on a roll, I like the Kings to steal one on the road here tonight.

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

The Game to Watch: Oilers vs Canadiens.
This is the free game of the day on NHL.com. Wisely, with there being some sort of big game on today (I think it’s foosball? Did I hear that right? Yeah, that sounds right), three of the six teams playing today are Canadian.

Two goalies with near identical numbers will be squaring off in this matchup, which is pretty incredible when you think about it. Cam Talbot is 26-15-7 with a 2.37/.920 split with four shutouts. Carey Price is 23-12-5 with a 2.35/.922 split with two shutouts. Cam Talbot is having a comparable year with Carey Price.

He will have to get the best of the Canadiens in the Bell Centre today though, which is never an easy task. The Habs are on a bit of a backslide, however, as they are 1-7 in their last eight against teams with a winning record. With Montreal having played last night, it is unconfirmed as of now whether Price will get the start again today or whether they will turn to Al Montoya.

Edmonton has also won four of their last five trips to Montreal.

The Habs were on the losing end of a 3-2 score against the Washington Capitals yesterday. They fortunately did not have to travel between games.

The Oilers, meanwhile, have lost three games in a row, including back-to-back road games against Nashville and Carolina. Since returning from the All-Star break, they have yet to score more than two goals in a game. They need a spark to snap out of this funk.

Perhaps heading into an arena they have traditionally succeeded in will spark them.

Side note: Carey Price’s goalie pants were requested by the NHL to be put in the Hall of Fame. So that’s something.

Prediction: Whether or not the Oilers are facing Price today is a huge difference-maker. Either way, take the Oilers to win today. Play the under.

Other Game Notes Around the NHL

Flames vs Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist is 4-1-0 over his last six appearances with a 1.84 goals-against average in that stretch. His one outlier was a no-decision against the Blue Jackets in which he allowed three goals and was yanked early. His play has been markedly better and the Rangers need it.

New York has lost five of their last six home games. They have had the propensity to get off to some horrid starts, which ends up costing them as they have to play catch-up. With their next four games to be played at Madison Square Garden, they need a turnaround, and it starts from the net out. Their offense has been fine. Their blueline has been atrocious. Lundqvist has been disappointing, but his turnaround has been encouraging.

The Blueshirts will have to stymy an offense that has been putting goals on the board lately in the Calgary Flames. They have put up three, five and four goals respectively in their last three games. Their most recent win was in overtime in Newark as Mikael Backlund lifted the Flames over the Devils.

Is a Flames-Devils game considered the Battle of Hell?

T.J. Brodie is a big reason why the Flames have been hot (get it?), as he had a four-point night against New Jersey. Brodie has three goals and 19 assists on the season. Between him, Dougie Hamilton and Mark Giordano, it will be on the Rangers to limit puck movement at the blueline in this game.

The Blueshirts have won the last four meetings in Manhattan and four of the last five overall.

Prediction: Take the Rangers to win. Play the over.

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