NHL Playoffs: Predictions for April 16th

Let’s take a look around the NHL playoffs at the top picks, plays and predictions.

Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.

Apologies for not getting these picks in before Rangers-Pens got underway. For the record, I would have picked the Penguins with the under. Getting Evgeni Malkin back for the remainder of the series is killer, but they lose a key punching bag in Dan Girardi. Give and take. No Marc-Andre Fleury for today is a bummer, but I would be very surprised if he were not back in the Pens’ lineup for Game 3 on Tuesday.

(WC2) Flyers vs (#1) Capitals: The Washington Capitals not only secured a series lead on Thursday night, they rattled the Flyers’ confidence. Philadelphia had a tremendously hard time sustaining offensive pressure. They were limited to just 19 shots on goal and had just five offensive zone starts at 5v5 to the Caps’ 17. The Flyers had just eight shots on goal in the final 40 minutes.

What’s worse, the Flyers lost two-way forward Sean Couturier. Couturier will miss at least two weeks of play, meaning the rest of this series and more, if Philadelphia manages to pull off the upset. The loss of #14 dramatically affects the remainder of this series. The Flyers lose 11 goals and 28 assists from their offensive attack, but also lose arguably their best defensive forward.

Braden Holtby continues to dominate the postseason, getting his third career playoff shutout. He owns a 1.86 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in 35 starts. Pardon my french, but damn.

Prediction: Adjusting on the road is going to be very hard for the Flyers. Take the Caps to win Game 2. Play the under.

(WC2) Wild vs (#1) Stars: In my series preview that I published earlier, I used the word “toothless” to describe the Minnesota Wild. And that’s exactly what they looked like in Game 1 without Zach Parise, Thomas Vanek and Erik Haula in their lineup. At no point did it even remotely look like the Wild had any chance of finding the back of the net, let alone overcoming what wound up being a four-goal deficit.

It’s not really any fault of Devan Dubnyk’s. Dubnyk stopped 28 of 31 shots on goal and faught the Stars off for as long as he could. The fault lies more in the Wild’s offensive attack, which managed one (1!) high-danger scoring chance at 5v5 the entire game (per War-on-Ice).

Lindy Ruff has announced that Tyler Seguin is a game-time decision. The Stars were able to skate circles around the Wild even without their star forward. If Seguin comes back for Game 2, when Zach Parise and Thomas Vanek did not even travel with the team? Tonight could be another painful one to watch for Minnesota.

Erik Haula is listed as probable for the Wild tonight.

Prediction: Take Dallas to win. Play the under. In the playoffs, you need both teams to help out to cover the over. Nothing is coming from the Wild tonight.

(#3) Sharks vs (#2) Kings: This is just going to be one of those series that gives fans of both teams cardiac arrest, I just feel it. After falling behind early, the Sharks managed to battle back and take a 2-1 lead. The Kings then scored twice, before San Jose tallied two more times to clinch a 4-3 victory.

Another stat from the series preview I posted earlier today: the Kings have lost Game 1 four times under Darryl Sutter. They are 1-3 in the subsequent Game 2s. Despite that, the Kings are 3-1 in those series, one of those very series being their 2014 battle with San Jose. If the Kings are going to be buried, you need to make sure the grave is deep and the dirt is packed in solid.

The Sharks need this game desperately to make sure they get back to the SAP Center with a series lead. Home ice does not mean much for them, considering they have a losing record at the Shark Tank (18-20-3). They are the only playoff team to have a losing record at home. As the winningest road team in hockey, tonight is a perfect opportunity to take control of their own destiny.

Martin Jones stopped 21 of 24 shots in his first playoff start.

The Kings will be without defenseman Alec Martinez tonight. Marian Gaborik took line rushes at practice and is questionable for a return any day now.

Prediction: Take the Sharks to win. Play the over.