Here are tonight’s top picks, plays and predictions.
| Canadiens vs Blue Jackets ML -121 / +110 O/U 5 |
Jets vs Red Wings ML +152 / -168 O/U 5.5 |
| Coyotes vs Ducks ML +184 / -205 O/U 5.5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Play of the Day: Blue Jackets over Canadiens.
The Montreal Canadiens have to lose in regulation eventually. Tonight might be the night.
The Habs have not lost a game since the second match of the year, in which they lost to the Senators in the skills competition. Al Montoya was their goaltender in that game, and he will patrol the crease tonight as well. Montoya has been very effective this season, but no Carey Price is always going to be a detriment to the Habs’ chances of winning.
Montreal shut out the Vancouver Canucks on home ice on Wednesday despite getting badly outshot. In their last road game, a late powerplay goal by Shea Weber gave the Canadiens a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders.
Columbus is coming off an overtime victory against the Dallas Stars on home ice. With 15 seconds left on the clock, Sam Gagner snapped a shot through traffic that just sneaked its way in far-side. Just 46 seconds into extra time, Seth Jones unloaded a lethal wrist shot top shelf. The Jackets were outshot 38-28, but they managed to hold the Stars’ powerplay scoreless in four opportunities.
The Jackets have played admirably well against a very tough schedule through October. They managed two wins over the Stars, a win over the Blackhawks and Ducks, and managed tight losses against the Kings (overtime) and Sharks.
Columbus having home-ice advantage, their surprisingly high level of play (led by Sergei Bobrovsky) plus no Carey Price could mean that Montreal’s dreams of going 81-0-1 will be dashed tonight. I say why not.
Prediction: Take the Jackets to win. Play the under.
The Game to Watch: Jets vs Red Wings.
Consider this: Winnipeg is just 4-6-1 to start the season, mustering up nine points through 11 games. They are still just a point behind the Stars and Ducks in the standings. Gotta keep an eye on those Wild Card standings 12.5% of the way through the season.
I love matchups featuring young talent. Tonight, Patrik Laine and Dylan Larkin go toe-to-toe. Laine is tied with many players for second in the goals category with six, while Larkin has four goals with an assist to start the year.
Despite it being a one-goal game both times, the Jets dropped a home-and-home matchup against the Washington Capitals Tuesday and Thursday night. Last night’s loss came in overtime, thanks to Alex Ovechkin’s game-winner. The Jets did battle back from down 3-0 in the third period to steal a loser point from the jaws of defeat, which deserves praise. Toby Enstrom and Marko Dano both netted their first goals of the season. Dano is the prized prospect Winnipeg acquired in exchange for Andrew Ladd and the trade deadline last season. Last night was Dano’s first game of the season.
Gustav Nyquist will be key to the Red Wings’ success tonight. Nyquist has been relatively quiet these last few games, finally tallying an assist last night after a few quiet games. Nyquist leads the team with nine points so far, and with Thomas Vanek absent, they need all the help that they can get. Detroit fell in overtime Wednesday night and goals have been coming at a premium since Thomas Vanek went down with an injury back on October 25th.
Prediction: With a slanted line, an opponent with a struggling offense and a goaltender off to a bit of a cold start, take a chance on the Jets tonight. Play the over.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Coyotes vs Ducks: Don’t look now, but the Arizona Coyotes are on a winning streak. The Yotes came back from down 2-1 thanks to a third period goal by Anthony Duclair, who must have heard that I’ve been calling him out on here for a while. The game went into a shootout, where Duclair and Radim Vrbata found the back of the net.
Anaheim was stymied by the return of Matt Murray on Wednesday, coming up short by a score of 5-1. Trade bait Cam Fowler potted his fourth goal of the season, with assists from Sami Vatanen (6) and Ryan Kesler (5). The goal came on the man advantage.
How long can Arizona ride this momentum? Given that they are back on the road and their last road trip produced a pitiful 1-5 return, my guess is not long. Arizona is 1-7 in their last eight on 0 days’ rest.
The over is 4-0 in the last four meetings between these two teams.
Prediction: Take the Ducks to win. Play the over.
