Around the NHL: Predictions for December 12th

There are just two games on the docket tonight. Let’s take a look at the top picks, plays and predictions.

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

Coyotes vs Penguins: The Pittsburgh Penguins are carrying a six-game win streak into a three-game homestand, with their first game being against the team tied for lowest point total in the NHL, Arizona. They have to be feeling pretty confident about their chances of making it seven in a row, at least.

Sidney Crosby became the first player to reach 20 goals this season, and did so in incredible fashion with two goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning. His 19th goal came while lying on his belly, diving for a loose puck in the crease, batting it past a diving Andrei Vasilevskiy. Number 20 came on a point-blank shot from the hashmarks on the powerplay. Royal road was wide open.

Something that should not go unnoticed: although Crosby leads the league in goals, he leads the Pens in scoring by just a point. Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel both have 30 points on the season, with Kessel tied for second in the league with 21 assists. Phil the Thrill has nine points in his last five games.

For Arizona, they will be without Max Domi for a while. He is on the injured reserve with an upper-body injury, which is probably from getting his lunch fed to him in a fight against Calgary. So the Yotes, who have had a hard time scoring this season, will be without their second-best points man.

Phil Kessel has more assists than Arizona’s leading scorer Radim Vrbata has points.

Shane Doan is on the precipice of 400 career goals, though he has been stymied in his last four games. He needs just one more.

Mike Smith will be in net for Arizona. His .931 save percentage is impressive, and he has stood on his head these past few weeks, but he is just 1-2-3 in his last six starts because of the Coyotes’ inability to score.

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

Bruins vs Canadiens: At least there’s one game on tap tonight worth watching. The Boston Bruins are trying to stave off dropping their fourth straight game. However, they will need to do what so many teams have tried and failed to do so far this season: steal a victory from Carey Price and the Habs in Montreal.

It’s pretty astounding to think that just five weeks can separate a team from a 10-0 defeat and a 10-1 victory. That’s pretty unheard of in today’s NHL. The Canadiens took it to the Colorado Avalanche at the Bell Centre, with Max Pacioretty tallying four goals and an assist. Tomas Plekanec had four assists.

Thanks to their offensive outburst on Saturday, Montreal has outscored opponents 15-3 on this homestand.

They will probably have a hard time hitting double digits against Tuukka Rask, who is 14-5-2 on the season with a 1.85 goals-against average and a .930 save percentage.

Montreal does have recent history on their side, though. The Habs have taken 10 of the last 12 regular season meetings, including the most recent one on home ice back on November 8th. Paul Byron scored the game-winner with a minute to go in regulation, despite the fact the Bruins outshot Montreal 43-23.

Max Pacioretty talked about how it has been a major boon for him to play on the same line as Alexander Radulov. Pacioretty lamented that Western players have the tendency to turn into “robots.” Western players, he said, have a tendency to be overly concerned about past shifts and turnovers and having fear creep in that may hinder creativity and risk-taking on the ice. He spoke of the importance of playing “dynamic,” which is a concept that has been the subject of many a discussion over the past few years. I am absolutely of the belief that creativity is punished and players have systems beaten into them. Players become dump-and-chase cyborgs, while players who take chances and try to create plays with their own skill are benched for grinders and fighters.

But another discussion for another day.

Prediction: Take Montreal to win. Play the under. This will be a great goaltending duel.