There are four NHL games on the docket. Let’s take a look at the top picks, plays and predictions.
| Flyers vs Capitals ML +190 / -230 O/U 5 |
Devils vs Canucks ML +105 / -130 O/U 5 |
| Wild vs Blackhawks ML +110 / -130 O/U 5 |
Blues vs Ducks ML +128 / -155 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
The Game to Watch: Wild vs Blackhawks.
The Minnesota Wild avoided what would have been their worst loss of the season last night, barely defeating the Dallas Stars 5-4.
The Wild leapt out to a very early lead, putting three goals past Antti Niemi on three shots. Niemi was shown the door after just four minutes of play. Enter Kari Lehtonen. Lehtonen allows a goal of his own just eight minutes later.
With seconds remaining in the first period, the Stars show a glimmer of life. Antoine Roussel buried a shot past Darcy Kuemper off a pretty feed from Radek Faksa. Then, early in the second, Jiri Hudler scored his second of the season. Slowly but surely, the Stars climbed back into the game, eventually tying it with under nine minutes to go in regulation.
But in what has become typical Stars this season, Dallas allowed the game-winner with 6:45 to go in the game. Jason Zucker lifted the stick of Jordie Benn and picked his pocket, leaving the puck for Mikael Granlund. Granlund waited for Zucker to circle back toward the net and wired a pass in close. Zucker tipped it past Lehtonen, stunning the Stars.
Zucker earned top star honors after the game, with a goal and an assist.
Expect Devan Dubnyk in net tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks. Minnesota swept the five-game season series last year, kinda-sorta-not-really avenging their getting swept by Chicago the season prior in the NHL playoffs.
This will be the first meeting of the season between these two teams. Though they are tied in points, Minnesota has four games in hand. Tonight is a chance to really pull away from the Hawks and begin their run at a Central Division title.
Artem Anisimov has been battling an illness and is questionable to make it into the lineup for the game.
The Blackhawks’ four-game winning streak came to a screeching halt Friday night, as they were run out of the Verizon Center to the tune of a 6-0 score. The Hawks played a disciplined game, not giving the Capitals any powerplay time, but they mustered just 24 shots on goal. The game was over by the time the first buzzer sounded with Washington up 3-0.
Prediction: Chicago will be hungry not only to bounce back after their bad loss Friday, but to avenge their poor performance last season against this division opponent. However, since as of now Anisimov is uncertain for tonight’s game, I’m going with the Wild to win. Play the over.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Flyers vs Capitals: The Philadelphia Flyers are floundering hard. They will be back in action this afternoon, which may be for the best. Now they hardly have any time to analyze the nightmares they surely had about Brad Marchand. The Bruins forward tallied two goals and three assists last night, registering his second five-point night of the season. His first came on opening night against the Blue Jackets.
The Flyers, for some reason, felt it was a great idea to scratch Shayne Gostisbehere yesterday against the Bruins. Granted, Ghost has not had a perfect season, but at the end of the day, his being on the ice gives you the best chance to win. Plain and simple. If the argument is that his defensive play has lacked, someone should point out that maybe, just maybe, letting up six goals without him proves maybe it was not all his fault.
It should be noted that both times Ghostbear has been scratched this season, the Flyers got lit up.
The Flyers are now 3-7-3 since their winning streak ended. They have lost their last seven road games, and they are the visitors tonight against one of the hottest teams in the NHL.
Washington has won eight games in a row, catapulting themselves into second place in the Metro. With a win tonight, they could pass the Blue Jackets and take sole possession of first in the league.
At home, the Caps have been near-unbeatable lately. They ended the Jackets’ streak with a decisive 5-0 victory. They jumped down the throats of the Penguins to beat them 5-2. Then on Friday, they smacked down the Blackhawks 6-0.
It’s been a good few weeks.
Nicklas Backstrom is on a five-game point streak, amassing 10 points over that span. Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie both have six points each in their last three games.
Prediction: Take the Capitals to win. Play the over.
Devils vs Canucks: The New Jersey Devils have won their last four games against the Vancouver Canucks. However, they will be entering into this matchup even more shorthanded than usual, as Andy Greene and Vernon Fiddler are likely out tonight.
New Jersey is desperately trying to stay above water, but the flood levels are rising. Carolina is streaking, Ottawa and Florida are keeping pace, and Philadelphia has a built-in cushion saving them from their own woes.
Cory Schneider will get the start, still trying to fully work out all the kinks in his season. While he has been good of late, most Devil fans know there is another gear that he can kick into. And yes, with a blueline as shoddy as the one he has in front of him right now, that’s very hard. No Andy Greene in the lineup makes a big difference. But Schneider can steal a game any given night. Keith Kinkaid put on a strong performance Friday night against the Flames, but this is Cory’s show.
Vancouver has lost three in a row, two of them coming in extra time. They have picked up points in eight of their last nine games. They are just two points behind the Nashville Predators for the second Wild Card spot in the Western Conference, just as a friendly reminder as to how messed up the West is this year.
I’m not going to pretend that the Vancouver Canucks are a tremendous team, but they have the third-most home wins in the West (15-6-2). Against a bad road team missing their best defenseman, that counts for something.
Prediction: Take the Canucks to win. Play the under.
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