Happy Leap Day, everyone. Apologies for the lack of content these last few days. There are six games on the schedule for tonight, so let’s take a look at the top picks, plays and predictions.
| Blue Jackets vs Rangers ML +136 / -150 O/U 5.5 |
Flames vs Flyers ML +140 / -155 O/U 5.5 |
| Coyotes vs Penguins ML +197 / -220 O/U 5.5 |
Lightning vs Maple Leafs ML -170 / +153 O/U 5.5 |
| Red Wings vs Stars ML +129 / -143 O/U 5.5 |
Canadiens vs Sharks ML +144 / -160 O/U 5.5 |
Here are today’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Play of the Day: Canadiens over Sharks.
The Montreal Canadiens shook up their lineup a bit by trading away Dale Weise and Thomas Fleishmann to the Chicago Blackhawks. Weise was in the midst of a career year scoring-wise, tallying a personal best 14 goals and 12 assists on the year. He is three points away from tying his career-high.
While Montreal is in turmoil, they still have the opportunity to top a tired team that has been at home just once since February 13th. San Jose is on the tail-end of a back-to-back, coming off a 4-1 victory in Vancouver last night. They are 1-5 in their last six games in the second half of a back-to-back.
The Sharks are one of two teams in line to make the postseason that currently have a losing record on home ice, which is pretty incredible when you really think about it. They are 11-13-1 on home ice, though they have been much better since the turn of the calendar year.
It is unclear who will be starting in net for the Habs tonight. Though Mike Condon has had his issues, he has been much better in his last four starts, going 3-0-1 with only seven goals allowed.
Prediction: The under is 5-0 in their last five encounters. Though Montreal has come out of San Jose empty-handed historically, tonight is as good an opportunity to buck that trend. Take the Habs to win. Play the under.
The Game to Watch: Blue Jackets vs Rangers.
I’ll be doing a more in-depth look at the various trade deadline acquisitions as we come down to the wire today later on. But tonight is the Rangers debut of recently acquired Eric Staal. So, if you’re in the New York market like me, you’ll get to hear Sam Rosen mix up the Staal brothers’ names on a nightly basis now instead of just three times a year.
Eric Staal’s offense has been on a steady decline for the past few years. However, the Hurricanes have been a pretty underwhelming team in that same period, as they have not qualified for the playoffs since 2008-2009. Perhaps making the jump to a playoff team will help in his production. Staal has 10 goals and 23 assists this year.
His presence on the Rangers in the immediate is important. Rick Nash’s absence has meant a major detriment to their special teams play, their back-checking and their net front presence. Staal is a tough forward unafraid of causing havoc in front, but he is also one of the better possession players in the league. Carolina is quietly a very good possession team, and Staal was a major reason for that, boasting a 56.7% Corsi rating at 5v5. Last year it was at 57.2%.
Plugging him into the top six will provide them a boost, but it will also shore up their bottom six once Nash comes back. Plugging Staal into the lineup without having lost a regular lineup player will hopefully force human anchor Tanner Glass out of the lineup and actually give Dominic Moore some actually useful linemates on the fourth line like Viktor Stalberg or even Jesper Fast or Oscar Lindberg.
Columbus is in the midst of the trade rumor mill too, rumored to be shopping Scott Hartnell’s contract. The Rangers are reported to be interested in Brandon Pirri.
Prediction: Staal’s introduction to the Garden will be pretty fun to watch. Play the Rangers to win. Take the over.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Red Wings vs Stars: Dallas is on a backlide, going 1-4-1 in their last six games. They are a very up-and-down team, with the ability to dominate on any given day but still experiencing horrific lapses defensively. Worst of all, even on days where they dominate possession, they often do not get the bounces, as evidenced by their most recent loss to the New York Rangers or any game they have played against the Colorado Avalanche this season.
The Stars have also acquired Kris Russell, for what that’s worth.
Though Dallas has had their struggles, Detroit has been regressing just as much. The Wings are 2-2-2 in their last six games, scoring just 12 goals in that stretch. Henrik Zetterberg has just one goal in his last six games, Datsyuk is pointless in his last four, and rookie sensation Dylan Larkin has just one goal and one assist in his last nine games.
The Wings did come away with a victory to spoil Colorado’s first outdoor game, with Brad Richards tallying the game-winner.
The Red Wings are 6-0 in their last six in Dallas, with the road team sporting a 5-1 record in their last six encounters overall.
Prediction: The over is 4-1 in the Stars’ last five games, and 4-1 in their last five home games. Take the Red Wings to win, and play the over.
Coyotes vs Penguins: The Penguins are starting to get the cavalry back, as Nick Bonino and Evgeni Malkin rejoined the lineup in their 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets. Malkin was held off the scoresheet, but linemate Carl Hagelin scored twice and Phil Kessel had an assist.
The Yotes have dropped five in a row and will be without Mikkel Boedker tonight, who was traded for Alex Tanguay, Conner Bleackly and Kyle Wood. Boedker’s absence will further hurt an already struggling powerplay, which is 1-for-17 in its last five games. Boedker had 18 points on the man advantage.
Prediction: Take the Pens to win. Play the under.
