On Tuesday we are taking a leap of faith with the Florida Panthers while picking on the Carolina Hurricanes as our primary strategy for our Pick Six.
Left Wing – Alex Ovechkin – Washington Capitals
Washington hosts the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 p.m. ET and is back in form with five wins in their last seven games. Ovechkin is a top tier Hart Trophy candidate for most valuable player as he is playing his best hockey in years, if not in his entire career. The Great Eight has 49 goals and four goals in his last five games. We say he gets his 50th at the very least tonight.
Center – Nicklas Backstrom – Washington Capitals
Backstrom has been in a goal scoring drought with none in 13 games for the month of March to go with nine assists and a plus-one. Backstrom and Ovechkin were split up by head coach Barry Trotz over the weekend and that may well fuel the underrated Caps center man.
Right Wing – Jaromir Jagr – Florida Panthers
The Panthers are at the Boston Bruins in a do or die Eastern Conference matchup at 7 p.m. ET. A big reason for the inspired play of the Cats is Jagr, who is part of the Panthers interesting mix of vets and youth. Jagr had two goals in a big Sunday win at Ottawa and we call for more against the team that he played for two years ago. Jagr has two goals, three assists and a plus-four in his last five games.
Defenseman – John Carlson – Washington Capitals
Carlson has become a key asset in the Caps resurgent season with 11 goals and 37 assists to go with a plus-10. He has cooled off recently however with just one assist and a plus-one in his last five games. We are picking on the low scoring Hurricanes and call for a breakout night by Carlson.
Defenseman – Aaron Ekblad – Florida Panthers
The 19 year old Phenom has become the Cats top defenseman but has been scoreless in his last five games. He breaks out tonight.
Goalie – Roberto Luongo – Florida Panthers
Tonight’s game at Boston is why Luongo was re-acquired by Florida. Bobby Lou has a .932 save percentage in the month of March.
Sleeper – Dan Boyle – New York Rangers
The Rangers are at the Winnipeg Jets with faceoff time set for 8 p.m. ET. This is a bit of a risk as the Jets play inspired hockey at home and are fighting for their playoff lives with a two point lead over the ninth place Los Angeles Kings. Boyle is a solid shutdown defenseman that has nine goals and 10 assists on the season with a plus-16.
