There are two non-Wednesday Night Rivalry games on tonight. Wings-Leafs. Habs-Kings. Let’s take a look at our NHL Daily Predictions.
| Red Wings vs Maple Leafs ML +160 / -200 O/U Off |
| Canadiens vs Kings ML +125 / -154 O/U Off |
Here are tonight’s starting goaltenders, courtesy of LeftWingLock.
Red Wings vs Maple Leafs: The Detroit Red Wings put up a spirited fight on Monday night but came up just short against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They have now lost their last six regular season contests against the Bolts and 10 of their last 11.
They allowed two first period goals within two minutes of each other, but regrouped in the second frame. Justin Abdelkader got the Red Wings on the board with his second goal of the season 150 seconds into the action. It was a back and forth period featuring 23 total shots (12 for Detroit).
Before the period’s end, Detroit’s leading scorer Mike Green earned his first goal of the season. The Wings broke into the zone on a 2-on-1, fed the trailing Green for a shot, and he collected his own rebound to bury the second shot.
Mike Green ties it. That's his 9th point this season. pic.twitter.com/efyMoVWAmR
— Kyle M. (@KyleWIIM) October 17, 2017
Though the Wings got a few good chances in the third, an early goal by Nikita Kucherov proved to be the difference in the game.
The killer- Detroit went 0-for-6 on the powerplay.
Detroit is now 4-2-0 on the season.
Toronto currently is tied with Tampa Bay for the best record in the Eastern conference at 5-1-0. Frederik Andersen pitched a shutout in Washington last night as the Leafs earned a 2-0 win over the Capitals.
Connor Brown netted the game-winning goal in the third period, with Nazem Kadri potting an empty netter. Morgan Reilly picked up his fourth and fifth assists of the season.
Auston Matthews failed to register a point, ending his five-game point streak. He leads the Maple Leafs with five goals and eight points. Matthews has the aura of a man on a mission to dominate every game and lift the city of Toronto to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and beyond.
It’s always said that winning in Canada is incredibly hard given the fan expectation and media attention. And of the Canadian teams, Toronto probably has it worst of all. Former Maple Leaf head coach Ron Wilson once said winning in Toronto was “impossible.”
Matthews can change that. And his head coach Mike Babcock is as prepared as a man can be for the challenge.
Curtis McElhinney will likely get his first start of the season tonight for Toronto. Petr Mrazek is the probable starter for the Red Wings.
Toronto swept the four-game season series from the Red Wings last year. All four meetings came in the 2017 calendar year, their first being the Centennial Classic outdoor game in Toronto.
Whereas Chicago flourishes in the Wednesday spotlight, the Red Wings usually shrink. They are 0-4 in their last four Wednesday game. This one is not nationally televised in the States, but it is still a division rivalry.
Prediction: Take the Maple Leafs to win. Play the over.
Canadiens vs Kings: The Montreal Canadiens are one of several teams expected to contend for a playoff spot that have gotten off to a stutter-step start. Carey Price is 1-4-1 with an .885 save percentage and 3.56 goals-against average thus far. The team has lost five games in a row.
Last night the Habs could not get enough going against the equally rough-starting San Jose Sharks. The Sharks put four past Carey Price and tacked on an empty netter for a final score of 5-2.
On the bright side, Jonathan Drouin had a goal and an assist to give him five points on the year. Shea Weber scored his first of the year, and 19-year-old defenseman Victor Mete grabbed his first NHL point by assisting on the goal.
Even though the Canadiens have yet to use their backup goaltender this season, the team is struggling to keep the puck out of the net and they are completing a Californian back-to-back, Carey Price is still listed as the projected starter by LeftWingLock. Yikes.
Of all the different cities and teams that could experience a coaching change this season, Montreal is not one of them. At least, not yet. Peter DeBoer of the San Jose Sharks is actually the odds-on favorite to be fired first at 7/2. Julien only just took over the Canadiens late last season and has not had much of a chance to make an impression in Montreal (this go around, that is).
In other words, the only way out of this slump is to turn their play around. No obligatory firing to spark something.
Los Angeles has gotten off to a hot start, going 4-0-1 to begin the season. The Canadiens are the fourth Eastern Conference team they have played, and the Kings begin a six-game road trip out east after tonight. Eastern Conference foes are usually no match for L.A., as they have won six of their last seven draws.
They are the last remaining NHL team to have not lost in regulation.
Anze Kopitar leads the team with eight points. Behind him is Dustin Brown, on a four-game point streak in which he has seven points. The two are currently on the Kings’ top line with 23-year-old rookie Alex Iafallo, who has one assist through five games.
The infamous “That 70s Line” is back together in L.A., as Tanner Pearson, Tyler Toffoli and Jeff Carter round out the second line. The three have combined for three goals and nine points thus far.
The one thing that the Los Angeles Kings cannot do is fall victim to the trap game. Montreal is on a skid and is going to play angry, at least at the start of the game. If the Kings score first and knock the wind out of them, they should be able to pick up an easy victory.
But if they take their opponent lightly and are lackadaisical to start things off, we could see Montreal set the tone and maybe end their losing streak.
That said, the line is awfully kind to Montreal in that they are not heavy underdogs, so betting on Los Angeles won’t break the bank. Of the NHL Daily Predictions for the day, the Kings are the team with the most favorable matchup.
Prediction: Take the Kings to win. Play the under.
