There are 10 games on the schedule tonight. Let’s take a look around the NHL at the day’s top picks, plays and predictions.
| Devils vs Blue Jackets ML +105 / -116 O/U 5 |
Wild vs Flyers ML -105 / -105 O/U 5 |
| Hurricanes vs Maple Leafs ML -160 / +144 O/U 5 |
Coyotes vs Panthers ML +144 / -160 O/U 5.5 |
| Predators vs Blackhawks ML +117 / -129 O/U 5 |
Rangers vs Blues ML +113 / -125 O/U 5 |
| Jets vs Stars ML +158 / -175 O/U 5.5 |
Islanders vs Flames ML -133 / +120O/U 5.5 |
| Senators vs Canucks ML -105 / -105 O/U 5.5 |
Oilers vs Kings ML +205 / -230 O/U 5 |
Here are today’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Play of the Day: Coyotes over Panthers.
The Coyotes are in the midst of a very frustrating road trip. They have come within one goal against two of the top teams in the league in Washington and Tampa Bay only to exit empty-handed. They are on a three-game skid thanks to one of the toughest stretches in their schedule.
Their competitive play is extremely encouraging, however. They did manage to beat up on the Dallas Stars last week.
Florida is 3-3-2 in their last eight games overall, and 0-4 in their last four games against the Pacific Division. With their 7-4 win against Buffalo back on the 9th as an outlier, their offense has run cold a bit. Their one constant has been Jaromir Jagr, who has three goals and two assists in his last five games.
Arizona is 4-1 in their last five encounters.
Prediction: Take the Yotes to win at +144. Take the over.
The Game to Watch: Predators vs Blackhawks.
Both the Nashville Predators and the Chicago Blackhawks are comfortably in the playoffs. Nashville sits in the first Wild Card spot, jockeying back and forth with the Colorado Avalanche. While the Minnesota Wild are getting hot, they still sit five points back of the Preds.
Chicago is battling with the Dallas Stars for the Central Division lead. The Divisional lead is crucial given the new playoff format, as the difference could very well be playing the bottom-seeded Wild Card team (Colorado, at the moment) and playing St. Louis for the umpteenth time in the first round. Even St. Louis is only two points behind Chicago to tie for second place in the division. While they are a virtual lock to make it to April, they still need to fight tooth and nail for the sake of home-ice advantage and their opponent.
The Blackhawks were schooled in the outdoor game in Minnesota. They surrendered an early lead and the Wild never looked back, eventually winning 6-1. Perhaps it’s that outdoor games simply do not mean as much to the Blackhawks’ players anymore having been in so many. Perhaps it was running into a team that was heating up under a new head coach. Perhaps it was just a clunker of a game. Whatever the reason, it’s a game they have to put behind them.
Corey Crawford is the confirmed starter for the Hawks. Crow has been unbelievable at home, with an 18-7-2 record, a 1.75 goals-against average and a .943 save percentage. Against Nashville, he is 3-0 this season with a 1.33 goals-against average and a .966 save percentage.
The key to this game is going to be getting the top line for Nashville back on track. Ryan Johansen has just one goal in his last 14 games. They are going up against a cold Chicago penalty kill, which players like Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Mike Ribeiro could easily exploit.
Prediction: Chicago has simply been too tough to score on at home. Take the Hawks to win. Play the under.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Devils vs Blue Jackets: The Devils need all the points they can get, as the second Wild Card spot is still very much so up for grabs. The Penguins currently hold the position with 68 points in 59 games, with the Devils trailing by a point but with two more games played. Carolina has 66 points in 61 games.
New Jersey picked up a huge two points against the Rangers Tuesday, coming away with a 5-2 victory. To their fortune, the Penguins fell to the Bruins 5-1 last night on Wednesday Night Rivalry. It was the first time in a long time that the Devils’ offense truly exploded, grabbing more than three goals for the first time since January 21st. Their powerplay continued their extended success, grabbing their 11th goal in 11 games.
Rookie Sergey Kalinin picked up a Gordie Howe hat trick- a goal, an assist, and a fighting major.
Columbus is 7-2-3 in their last 12 games, picking up their pace of play. They have been going the distance in a lot of their games, taking five of their last nine contests to either overtime or a shootout. They are 2-3 in those games, with both wins coming in the skills competition.
It’s been announced that Mike Cammalleri will not be returning this week.
Columbus is always pesky. Then again, so are the Devils. New Jersey is actually in a pretty tight bind, as they have games tonight and tomorrow before the trade deadline, and they hold one of the more intriguing trade pieces in their hands in Lee Stempniak. Knowing how the Devils organization typically works, they will likely hold on to Stempniak for the remainder of the year and try to resign him, but the question must be asked: is it worth holding on to a 33-year-old vet who is not known for being a top-line player on a younger team just for the chance to play the Capitals in the first round?
Prediction: New Jersey is well aware that they are playing for their lives already. Take the Devils to win at +105. Play the under.
Rangers vs Blues: The Rangers were badly exposed by the Devils. I will be doing a more advanced breakdown of this, but their penalty kill has been nothing short of atrocious, sitting at fourth-worst in the league. They kill penalties at a rate of 77.8%. The last time they dipped below the 80% kill rate was in 2003-2004, when they came in at 29th in the league. Even then, they killed 79.4% of powerplays. It has become pitiful.
Daniel Paille has been waived in favor of Marek Hrivik, who has just under three minutes of perfect penalty kill time under his belt in two games. He grabbed his first NHL assist last game against New Jersey. Hrivik was not on the ice at practice today with flu symptoms. Why is it every time a Rangers’ newbie seems to be playing better, they get the flu? First Emerson Etem back in December, and now Hrivik. Conspiracy!
The St. Louis Blues had their five-game win streak snapped Monday night against San Jose. They finally had a rough defensive game after one of the more impressive stretches of defensive hockey they have had all year.
Prediction: The Rangers are going to have their hands full tonight trying to contain a top-ten powerplay that just got Jaden Schwartz back in their lineup. Take the Blues to win. Play the over.
Wild vs Flyers: Today is a competition to see whose superstar is more expendable: Claude Giroux of the Flyers or Zach Parise of the Wild.
Perhaps “expendable” is a reach. But both players will be sidelined for today’s game with upper-body injuries.
Streaks have come to a grinding stop on both sides. The Minnesota Wild saw their four-game win streak come to an end, falling to the New York Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday. On that same night, Shayne Gostisbehere was finally held pointless for the first time in a long time, bringing his 15-game point streak to a conclusion.
The line is pretty even here at -105 a side. The Flyers will be home for the first time since before Valentine’s Day after an underwhelming five-game road trip, on which they went 2-2-1.
Prediction: Take the Wild to win. Philly has Sean Couturier back in the fold, but being without Giroux is a tough pill to swallow. Play the under.
Jets vs Stars: The Stars have enjoyed beating up on teams with losing records, going 6-1 against such opponents. They grabbed a 5-3 victory over the Jets in Winnipeg on Tuesday. Now they’ll be on home ice looking to repeat the result. It’s a pretty safe bet they do so.
Every game from here on out could be Andrew Ladd’s last as a Jet, as he has been all but assured that he will be moved before the deadline.
Prediction: Take the Stars to win. Play the over.
