Hope y’all had a safe Halloween. There are 12 games on the docket tonight after a night off from hockey. Here are the top picks, plays and predictions.
| Blues vs Rangers ML +120 / -133 O/U 5.5 |
Stars vs Blue Jackets ML -103 / -107 O/U 5.5 |
| Oilers vs Maple Leafs ML +104 / -115 O/U 5.5 |
Hurricanes vs Senators ML +119 / -131 O/U 5.5 |
| Bruins vs Panthers ML +124 / -137 O/U 5 |
Lightning vs Islanders ML -114 / +103 O/U 5.5 |
| Sabres vs Wild ML +158 / -175 O/U 5 |
Capitals vs Jets ML -150 / +136 O/U 5 |
| Flames vs Blackhawks ML +140 / -155 O/U 5.5 |
Predators vs Avalanche ML -108 / -102 O/U 5.5 |
| Sharks vs Coyotes ML -163 / +147 O/U 5.5 |
Ducks vs Kings ML +111 / -123 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Play of the Day: The under in Sabres vs Wild.
The Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres met last Thursday in Buffalo, where Devan Dubnyk earned his second shutout of the season. Dubnyk has now recorded three consecutive shutouts against the Bruins, Sabres and Stars. He has stopped 94 shots in that three-game stretch. His save percentage has skyrocketed to .952, while his goals-against average is 1.43. This roll he is on is a franchise record.
Ryan Suter has been leading the charge in at both ends of the ice for the Wild. Suter is on a three-game point streak, and has a team-leading 10 points thus far. Newcomer Eric Staal has been a pleasant surprise as well, notching four goals and three assists. Staal was a bargain-bin player this summer after a horrible tenure with the New York Rangers, and he is rewarding Minnesota’s faith. He is only 32, despite being in the league for what feels like forever.
Dubnyk has been a beast. The Sabres have had the under hit in each of their last three games. This game has all the makings of a stone-cold under play.
The Wild are undefeated on home ice this season, a perfect 4-0. Counting the preseason, they’re 6-0, if you want to pad the stats. The Sabres are just 2-1-2 on the road.
Prediction: Credit Bruce Boudreau for turning this Wild team around. Take Minnesota to win. Play the under.
The Game to Watch: Oilers vs Maple Leafs.
McDavid vs Matthews is going to be a game to watch for the foreseeable future. It’s going to be the new Ovechkin vs Crosby in no time. Connor McDavid is the current high scorer in the NHL, tied with Claude Giroux with 12 points thus far after one month of play. Auston Matthews is very close, wrapping up October with 10 points. Teammate William Nylander has 11.
Matthews has been held off the scoresheet in his last three games. He has scored two goals in the eight games following his four-goal explosion on opening night. Clearly he is a bust and should be dropped immediately from your fantasy team (note: don’t actually do this, you lemmings).
McDavid, meanwhile, saw a four-game point streak come to an end in a 2-0 home loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Edmonton is winless in their last four trips to Toronto. Given how hot the Oilers have been, that luck could very well change. The Maple Leafs are returning home after a rough road trip to Montreal and the Barclays Center this weekend, in which they were outscored 7-2. They have been outscored 16-8 in their last four games.
The under is 6-0 in the Oilers’ last six. This will likely be a tight game. Bet on one of the young guns being the difference maker.
Prediction: Take the Maple Leafs to win tonight. Play the under.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Blues vs Rangers: Previously, on Blues-Rangers- the New York Rangers held the Blues shotless in the third period. Despite this, the Blues still managed to slip away with a 3-2 victory.
St. Louis has struggled to score this past week. They have managed just three goals in their last three games against Calgary, Detroit and Los Angeles respectively. Actually, save their trouncing of the Flames by a 6-4 score, they have averaged exactly 1 goal per game in their five other games. That is not good.
Ryan McDonagh is currently on a seven-game point streak for the Rangers, with eight assists to his name. He was a +2 in the offensive eruption that occurred at Madison Square Garden Sunday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Fourth-liner Michael Grabner netted a hat trick, his first as a New York Ranger. The speedy winger was a +4 in the Tampa Bay game, flying all over the ice. He has been a welcome replacement on the fourth line for Viktor Stalberg, and a vast improvement over human-anchor Tanner Glass. Grabner has five goals on the year.
It’s tough to summarize who’s hot on the Rangers simply because so many players are. Jimmy Vesey has five goals. J.T. Miller leads the team with nine points. Rick Nash, with seven points, continues to be Broadway’s finest two-way player.
Prediction: Take the Rangers to win. Play the under.
Stars vs Blue Jackets: Speaking of struggling offenses, the Dallas Stars have been having a rough go of it lately. They are 1-4 in their last five, and they have not exactly been lighting the lamp at the clip they did last season. Columbus shut out the Stars in their last meeting earlier this year. The Jackets have caught a lot of teams off guard, largely in part because of the stellar play of Sergei Bobrovsky. The finest cop on the force has been impenetrable. He is 3-3-1, having started all seven of Columbus’ games so far. He has 2.02 goals-against average and a .940 save percentage.
There’s a reason the line is slanted in Columbus’ favor. Pounce on the opportunity. They are 4-1 in their last five against the Central.
Prediction: Take the Jackets to win. Play the under.
Flames vs Blackhawks: Take the over all day on this game. Calgary is finally managing to limit their scoring chances, but are still susceptible to high-scoring back-and-forth shootouts. Coupled with the fact that Chicago has been bleeding goals at an uncharacteristic rate, with a disappointing penalty kill thus far, this game has all the makings of an eight or nine goal game.
Prediction: Take the Hawks to win. Play the over.
