Firstly, apologies for falling behind on these the past few days. Life gets in the way of the fun stuff sometimes. Anyway, there are eight games on the docket tonight. Let’s take a look around the NHL at the top picks, plays and predictions.
| Wild vs Devils ML -152 / +137 O/U 5 |
Red Wings vs Blue Jackets ML -104 / -106 O/U 5 |
| Hurricanes vs Penguins ML +170 / -189 O/U 5 |
Panthers vs Maple Leafs ML -153 / +138 O/U 5 |
| Islanders vs Predators ML +127 / -140 O/U 5 |
Lightning vs Stars ML +100 / -110 O/U 5.5 |
| Sharks vs Coyotes ML -160 / +144 O/U 5.5 |
Rangers vs Kings ML +153 / -170 O/U 5 |
Play of the Day: Devils over Wild.
The New Jersey Devils and Minnesota Wild were not exactly lighting up the scoreboard the last time they met. Back on January 10th, the Devils took a 2-1 game from the Wild wherein there were 35 shots from the two teams combined. Powerplay units were a combined 0-for-3. Cory Schneider earned the win, Darcy Kuemper the loss.
The Devils offense has only gotten worse since that game by trading away Lee Stempniak and losing Mike Cammalleri for what is likely the remainder of the season. Since deadline day the Devils are 3-4, with two of their wins coming in overtime. Excluding the 3-on-3 success, the Devils are averaging 1.86 goals for in their last seven games.
Minnesota has been up and down since their coaching change. That trend is currently straight down. After winning four in a row, the Wild have dropped three of their last four and are back on the outside looking in at the playoffs. Jason Pominville has turned a corner since John Torchetti took over behind the bench, but has been held off the score sheet in his last three games.
The clogging of the neutral zone and lack of general offense on both sides of the ice tonight could work to the Devils’ favor. New Jersey is the home team tonight and will be starting Keith Kinkaid. Kinkaid has been inconsistent his last few starts, but stellar when on. He stopped 53-of-54 shots combined against San Jose and Los Angeles before allowing six goals in his next start against Anaheim. It has been up-and-down for Kinkaid, who is 4-2-0 with two shutouts in his last six starts.
Minnesota will likely be starting Devan Dubnyk, who is 12-12-4 on the road this season with a 2.54 goals against average.
The Wild are also winless in their last eight games against the Metro Division.
Prediction: Minnesota is cold and the Devils are at home, which makes this an intriguing play. Take the Devils to win. Play the under.
The Game to Watch: Lightning vs Stars.
It’s redundant at this point to say that every game matters. The standings in all four divisions are still very much so up for grabs at this point. The only team that has truly locked down a playoff spot is the Washington Capitals, who are cruising to the President’s Trophy.
Both the Atlantic and the Central have big nights ahead that hinge on this game.
Tampa Bay currently sits two points behind the Florida Panthers, who play the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight. Though Florida has the advantage on paper, Toronto has actually been playing some winning hockey lately, taking three of their last four against opponents like the Islanders, Red Wings and yes, the Lightning. So there is a very real chance that the Panthers lose in regulation tonight.
With that in mind, the Bolts are in dire need of two points tonight. They are 1-3-1 in their last five overall. History is on their side, at least. They are 5-1 in their last six against Central Division opponents and the road team is 5-1 in the last six encounters between these two teams.
Their biggest hinderance has been their powerplay, which is goalless in their last 19 attempts. They are in the bottom five of the league percentage-wise, which is remarkable considering their personnel and how effective they were last year, especially in the postseason. What’s worse- Valtteri Filppula and Cedric Paquette are both questionable tonight.
Dallas has deemed it necessary to shake up their lineup in light of their own recent struggles. They are 3-4-3 in their last 10, which fortunately coincides with some streaky play from the Blackhawks (3-6-1, four game losing streak) and the Blues (6-4-0, two game losing streak). Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have been separated. Benn now skates with Cody Eakin and Patrick Eaves on the top line. Seguin has Valeri Nichushkin and Jason Spezza on his line. Eakin has three goals and an assist in four games on the top line. Eaves saw his production skyrocket when with Benn and Seguin earlier this season.
Many of the struggles the Stars have faced recently can be attributed to the fact that they have been without John Klingberg and Patrick Sharp for the past handful of games. Both participated in practice on Wednesday, though it is unclear whether they will be cleared for tonight.
The over has hit in each of the last five games between Tampa and Dallas.
Prediction: Take Dallas to win at -110. Play the over.
Other Game Notes Around the NHL
Sharks vs Coyotes: The Arizona Coyotes have Mike Smith back and healthy. Whether that’s a good thing or a bad thing all depends on how highly you think of Mike Smith.
Personally? It’s not high.
Smith is 11-9-1 with a 2.91 goals against average and a .908 save percentage this year. In his first game back from injury, he did impress with a 44-save shutout against the Edmonton Oilers. Then again, it is the Edmonton Oilers.
Tonight Smith will be taking on the San Jose Sharks who have won four of their last five. Defenseman Brent Burns needs a goal to set the Sharks’ single-season record for both goals (26) and points (64) by a defenseman. Sandis Ozolinsh holds the record, set way back in 1993-1994.
Martin Jones will get the start tonight for the Sharks. He is 3-0-0 with a 0.67 goals against average against the Coyotes. He will be shooting for win number 35.
Prediction: Take the Sharks to win. Play the over.
Panthers vs Maple Leafs: I touched on the very real possibility that the Panthers lose tonight above. Perhaps it would be wise of you to cash in on that very real possibility.
Florida has won three of their last four, but have gone through some tumultuous waters from the end of February into March. Their offense is only now starting to turn things around, thanks to the return of Aleksander Barkov and the continued success of the second line. Vincent Trocheck and Reilly Smith have been very fun to watch with Jiri Hudler joining the fray.
Toronto has not been a pushover this past week. They too have won three of their last four games, against even better opponents than Florida as mentioned above. Connor Carrick and Ben Smith both scored their first goals as Leafs respectively in their latest win against Tampa Bay.
Roberto Luongo will be in net tonight for the Panthers. Lu has allowed 16 goals in his last five starts. In his last start, he allowed three goals in rapid succession late in the third period to blow a 2-0 lead against the New York Islanders. The Panthers had controlled possession all game, but fell apart at the seams.
The Cats are feeling the pressure of having both the Bruins and the Lightning breathing down their necks. It could be enough to put some reasonable doubt into that -153 line in their favor.
Prediction: Take the Maple Leafs to win. Play the over.
Rangers vs Kings: The New York Rangers won a tightly-contested 2-1 game against the Anaheim Ducks last night. It was a night of redemption for Kevin Klein, who after being essentially directly responsible for the first goal of the night, scored twice for the Blueshirts to earn the first multi-goal night of his career.
One pretty incredible note on Klein- he has scored eight goals this season. Four of them are game-winners. That ties his career-high set last year, when four of his nine goals were GWGs. Say what you will about GWG being a flawed stat, but that’s pretty remarkable. Someone who shoots 6% in his career is currently shooting 15.4% this season. Ride that gravy train.
Last night was huge for the Rangers because they were able to earn a win with Antti Raanta in net. Henrik Lundqvist will be between the pipes tonight against Jonathan Quick. Raanta and Jhonas Enroth were the goaltenders in their previous meeting, when the Kings struck in the final minute of play to tie it and again in overtime to win.
Containing the Kings’ top line is going to be very tough for the Rangers tonight. Dan Girardi had a turnover-riddled night. Girardi has not been a positive possession player since February 21st.
“Possession does not tell the whole story,” you say.
“Dan Girardi has been outshot 67-26 at even strength in his last three games and is about to go up against one of the best possession lines in the game,” I say. Tomato tomahto.
Speaking of that line- Milan Lucic, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown used and abused Marc Staal and Kevin Klein the last time they met, outshooting their opponent 15-7. Kopitar netted a hat trick. Lucic had two assists, Brown had one. Brown has since been demoted with Kris Versteeg replacing him. Versteeg has two goals and an assist in two games with the top line.
Prediction: Take the Kings to win. Play the over.
