There are 10 NHL games on the docket tonight. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday.
Let’s take a look at the top picks, plays and predictions.
| Penguins vs Devils ML -161 / +135 O/U 5.5 |
Capitals vs Islanders ML -167 / -130 O/U 5 |
| Senators vs Rangers ML +150 / -170 O/U 5.5 |
Bruins vs Blue Jackets ML +135 / -145 O/U 5 |
| Sabres vs Red Wings ML +115 / -135 O/U 5 |
Wild vs Predators ML +100 / -120 O/U 5 |
| Jets vs Blackhawks ML +140 / -175 O/U 5 |
Flames vs Avalanche ML -139 / +115 O/U 5.5 |
| Stars vs Coyotes ML -145 / +125 O/U 5.5 |
Sharks vs Ducks ML -105 / -115 O/U 5 |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Play of the Day: Devils over Penguins.
I am banking on the “home sweet home” principle coming through here for the New Jersey Devils. Jersey has been slumping hardcore this month, as they are just 1-7-1 in their last nine games.
The Rock has been their lone sanctuary. They are 9-2-2 at the Prudential Center this season, and they are 5-1-1 in their last seven home games against the Penguins.
Pittsburgh beat the Devils quite easily in their last game before the holiday break. It was par for the course for the Pens in the Burgh- Sidney Crosby scored a highlight reel powerplay goal, Evgeni Malkin notched two more points, the Devils mustered just 24 shots on goal and the home team goes home happy.
Given the Penguins are getting right back on the horse with a back-to-back, Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start tonight. Even though he performed well enough to earn the top star last week against the Devs, Fleury is still the man you would rather see as the opponent rather than Matt Murray.
A quick note of congratulations to Mike Sullivan. It is funny for me thinking back to his days as an assistant for the New York Rangers under John Tortorella. He and his whiteboard were a running joke to symbolize the Rangers’ futility on the powerplay. Now he’s a Stanley Cup champion head coach with a three-year contract extension and the respect of the NHL. Hockey is funny.
Prediction: The home team usually holds the advantage in this particular matchup year after year. Take the Devils to even up the season series. Play the over.
The Game to Watch: Sharks vs Ducks.
The Anaheim Ducks are back at the Honda Center for the first time in two weeks. They return home from a six-game road trip, over the span of which they went 2-3-1.
Perhaps fortunes will change for the Ducks this game, since they have won their last four home games. They have taken five of their last six against their teal SoCal rivals as well.
San Jose went into the break red-hot. They have won six of their last seven, with their last victory being a 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers. The Sharks find themselves atop the Pacific Division, protecting a one-point lead over the Oilers and a three-point lead over these Ducks.
Though they were the league’s best road team last season, the Sharks are just .500 as the visiting squad this year with an 8-9-1 record.
To cool the Sharks down, Anaheim will need to combat their lethal scorers with some action of their own. While Brent Burns, Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski have been firing on all cylinders, Anaheim has seen flashes of brilliance from Rickard Rakell this season. Rakell scored 10 goals in 13 games at one point a short while ago, but has been held scoreless in his last three games. A four-game drought would be his longest of the season.
Rakell leads the team with 14 goals. If he can get back on track and return to his dominating form, the Ducks may be able to pull this one out.
Ryan Getzlaf will be looking to start a new point streak tonight as well after seeing a five-game stretch end earlier this month.
Prediction: Take the Ducks to win. Play the over.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Senators vs Rangers: Here are the pros and cons tonight of the line being so heavily in favor of the Rangers tonight.
On the one hand, the Rangers were clearly limping into the break. Their forwards were taking a beating night after night, particularly Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller, and their defense was moving at a snail’s pace. Granted, the Blueshirts have incredibly slow defensemen as it is, but the sheer number of mental and physical lapses was staggeringly embarrassing. The rest probably did a world of good for New York to collect their thoughts, rest up and get a little healthier.
On the other hand, the Senators exposed the Rangers’ systemic failures in their last trip to the Garden just a month ago. The Rangers are not exactly a very creative team. They are formulaic in their breakouts and zone entries and their d-men are inept puck movers. If not for Ryan McDonagh, their blueline would be among the worst in the league at offensive generation.
At least Derek Stepan, Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello have been clicking. The rest of the team? Not so much.
A lot of the credit goes to Ottawa. The Sens are very good at clogging the neutral zone and forcing their opposition to make mistakes. They are not necessarily an electric team, but they have enough talent to where any mistake can and will be pounced on.
Ottawa is on a four-game winning streak. The Rangers have lost five of their last six against teams with winning records.
Henrik Lundqvist has a losing record against the Sens in his career despite a 2.08 goals-against average. Even though it is Raanta getting the start tonight, that stat sums up my pick for tonight.
I cannot wait until someone in the Rangers organization figures out that since both goalies were lit up last week, maybe it’s the defense and not the goaltender causing the problems. But that would be insanity.
Prediction: Take the Sens to win. Play the under. If I had to guess, I’m calling my shot with a 3-1 final.
Bruins vs Blue Jackets: What can stop the Blue Jackets at this point? I would argue that a break is detrimental to their progress. Yes, they still have their 12-game winning streak and yes, they are currently tops in the NHL with 50 points this season. But three-day interruptions like this can cool off a team on fire.
I’m not saying it’s a definite, but think about it. Columbus’ identity is mostly centered around a perceived sense of disrespect from the rest of the league. They ride their energy like a wave. The NHL has now had time to process the Jackets’ surprising run, and now rather than underestimating an underdog, teams will look to gun them down.
One team that has had a lot of success doing that in recent years is Boston.
The Bruins have taken four of the last five meetings overall and six of the last seven in Columbus. They are 3-0-4 in their last seven on the road, which the optimist can take as a seven-game point streak.
Columbus has been letting their opponent dictate the style of play and beating them at their own game. They trounced the Penguins 7-1 in a high-speed offensive matchup. They bested the Canadiens the next night in a 2-1 goaltender duel. Tonight will most likely resemble the latter, as Tuukka Rask and Sergei Bobrovsky go toe-to-toe and shot-for-shot.
Prediction: Call me crazy, but I like the underdog in this matchup here tonight. Take a rejuvenated Bruins to snap the streak tonight. Play the under.
Stars vs Coyotes: Tonight is the night. It has to be the night.
The Dallas Stars will win a second consecutive game tonight.
It has only happened once this season, as has been pointed out many a time on this site. But if they cannot somehow find a way to win a road game against quite literally the 30th-winningest team in the league, I don’t quite know what to say.
Arizona has just 11 wins, the fewest in the NHL. They have lost 23 total, with the only thing preventing them from sinking below the Colorado Avalanche in the standings being their ability to take longer to lose.
Nevertheless, Dallas has the fewest road wins in the West with a putrid 4-9-4 visiting record.
But it’s the Coyotes. And the Stars are technically a playoff contender the way the West is shaping up.
Something has to give.
Prediction: Take the Stars to win. Play the under.
