Around the NHL: Predictions for December 31st

There are 11 NHL games on the docket tonight. Let’s take a look at the top picks, plays and predictions.

Play of the Day: Devils over Capitals.
Washington has won seven of the last eight meetings. Their only loss? Two days ago. The Devils ventured into the Verizon Center and stole two points away from the Caps in the skills competition.

P.A. Parenteau scored his team-leading 10th goal of the season. How great of an addition has he been this season considering the circumstances? Remind me again why the Islanders waived him at the start of the season?

Keith Kinkaid made 43 saves, plus two more in the shootout. He will start again tonight. Kinkaid has a .930 save percentage this season but just a 4-3-2 record.

Washington has managed just 11 goals in their last five games. There was speculation that Evgeny Kuznetsov could find a seat in the press box for this game after a turnover led to Parenteau’s goal, but it seems like he will be in the lineup for tonight. It looked as though Kuznetsov was trying to backhand a pass up the boards to his linemate, but he shanked it and it went into the open slot. The fact he was not looking in an attempt to fake the Devils’ forecheckers did not help.

The Capitals are 8-4-4 on the road, while the Devils are 9-3-2 at home. Even if this month has been unkind to New Jersey at the Rock, I still will take a chance on the Devs swiping two points tonight.

I love a home underdog. Even though Washington has owned the Rock in recent years, I see a chance to cash in tonight.

Prediction: Take a chance on the Devils to win tonight. Play the under.

The Game to Watch: Blue Jackets vs Wild.
Tonight, one of these two teams loses.

The Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild put their lengthy win streaks on the line tonight as they go head to head in Minnesota. The Jackets have won 14 in a row; the Wild have won 12.

Here, the Wild seem to have the edge. They are 13-3-0 at the Xcel Energy Center, and have won their last eight on home ice. Mikael Granlund has tallied 15 of his 27 points at home, and Devan Dubnyk has been near unbeatable.

But for what it’s worth, half of the Jackets’ wins on this streak have been on the road. They are 11-2-3 away from home this season. Brandon Saad has notched 10 of his 14 goals away from Ohio.

Sergei Bobrovsky vs Devan Dubnyk will surely be awesome. Both have out-dueled fellow Vezina candidate Carey Price over the course of this winning streak. Dubnyk leads the NHL in save percentage, goals-against average and shutouts, though Bobrovsky leads in wins by a good margin. He is the only goaltender to eclipse the 20-win marker so far this season, though a win by Dubnyk tonight would change that.

A Jackets win would pull them into a tie for second-longest winning streak of all time.

The under is 9-1-1 in the last 11 meetings. It’s the league’s best offense against the league’s stingiest defense. What more could you ask for?

Prediction: Take the Wild to win. Play the over. I say 4-2 the final.

Other Game Notes Around the NHL

Rangers vs Avalanche: The final score did not tell the whole story in the Rangers’ last game against the Arizona Coyotes. Though they came away with a 6-3 victory, two of those goals were scored in the final 30 seconds. The Coyotes manhandled the Rangers in the final frame, which would be hard to tell from the shot total (8-8) or the goal total (3-1 Rangers). Arizona skated harder, got off more high-quality chances and hit several posts.

Honestly, if they were not the Arizona Coyotes, they would have won the hockey game.

So the Blueshirts should enter their game against the league-worst Avalanche with a bit of trepidation. If they are not careful, Colorado does have better finishers than the Yotes do like Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog. They cannot allow the defensive miscues that they had last game.

On the bright side, good for Matt Puempel. Puempel netted his first career hat trick with his brother in attendance for the Rangers’ Siblings Trip. A fun fact: Puempel’s brother came to two games last year. In those two games he scored his only two goals of the season. Now in his first game watching live this year, he nets a hat trick? I would get him tickets every night.

Prediction: Take New York to win. Play the over.

Canadiens vs Penguins: If not for Blue Jackets-Wild tonight, this would be the game to watch. The Penguins look to earn their NHL-best 17th win at home this season against Carey Price and the Montreal Canadiens.

Though the Habs are sitting pretty atop the Atlantic Division standings with 49 points, they have not fared particularly well on the road. They are just 7-6-3 away from the Bell Centre.

Carey Price has been faltering lately as well, as he has won just two of his last six starts. His save percentage over that stretch has been uncharacteristically bad, posting at just .891.

Marc-Andre Fleury will get the start in goal tonight for Pittsburgh as Matt Murray has been deemed week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Flower is 4-0-1 in his last six starts (he was pulled with a no-decision in one game in which he allowed four goals on 16 shots).

He will have a tough task ahead tonight as he looks to stymy one of the hottest players in the NHL, Max Pacioretty. Pacioretty has 15 points in his last 12 games, including a five-point night against the Avalanche back on the 10th.

Alexander Radulov is coming back around after a six-game pointless streak, as he has a goal and an assist in his last two games. Radulov has been bumped down to the second line with Paul Byron and Torrey Mitchell.

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

Sharks vs Kings: Another great matchup tonight. The Sharks have won both encounters with the Kings so far this season, outscoring them 6-2.

Marion Gaborik will be looking to snap out of an eight-game pointless streak for the Kings tonight. Gaborik is still slated on the top line alongside Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown. Brown has been held off the scoresheet in his last three and has not found the back of the net in 11 games.

It is questionable at this point whether Marc-Edouard Vlasic plays tonight for the Sharks. Vlasic took a puck to the face last night in a 2-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers and had to be helped off the ice.

Prediction: Take the Sharks to win tonight. Play the under.