NHL Playoffs: Predictions for April 14th

Let’s take a look around the NHL playoffs at the top picks, plays and predictions.

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

(WC2) Flyers vs (#1) Capitals: It’s going to be very hard for the Washington Capitals to turn it back on tonight. The Caps very clearly were coasting to the finish line, dropping four of their last five games of the regular season. Their uninspired play wound up costing Braden Holtby the single-season wins record.

The Flyers managed to finish their season with a flourish, beating the Penguins and Islanders in their final two games to leapfrog over the Boston Bruins into the second Wild Card spot.

The way in which the Flyers managed to make the postseason may help them be a very pesky team tonight against the Washington Capitals. It may take a game for the Caps to get adjusted to the pace of the playoffs. After all, the last time the Washington Capitals won the President’s Trophy, they were shown the door in the first round by Jaroslav Halak and the Montreal Canadiens.

Claude Giroux notched four points in four games against the Capitals this season. Philly is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings.

As much as the big-name goal scorers will likely get attention in this series, the goaltending battle is going to be incredible. Braden Holtby and his 48 wins going up against Steve Mason, one of the best 5v5 goaltenders in the league? It should be fascinating to watch.

Another note for tonight: this will be the first game the Flyers play after the passing of the franchise’s owner Ed Snider. Snider was beloved by the Philadelphia players, and several have gone on record as saying they will be playing “with heavy hearts.” When a player loses someone close to them, it is easy for teammates to rally around them like Martin St. Louis two years ago. I wonder if rallying around the family of your team’s owner is similar.

T.J. Oshie left Wednesday’s practice early as a precautionary measure, but he will be in the lineup tonight.

Prediction: This has the potential to be a long series. Take Philadelphia to make a statement tonight at +193. Play the under.

(WC1) Islanders vs (#1) Panthers: The Islanders are scrambling to get everyone back into the lineup and healthy after several of their players went down in the final week of the regular season. Travis Hamonic has been listed as a game-time decision after it was looking like he would miss the remainder of the season. Calvin de Haan will be back in the lineup. Brian Strait is questionable. Anders Lee and Mikhail Grabovski are both out indefinitely.

In light of Jaroslav Halak still being sidelined, Thomas Greiss will get the start tonight for the Islanders. Greiss has allowed 10 goals in three career starts against the Florida Panthers. He has won four of his last five starts overall.

Home-ice advantage is key to hold on to for the Florida Panthers, who are 25-11-4 in Sunrise this year.

This will also be the first leg of a back-to-back, which is odd for the playoffs. It brutalizes the dinged-up Islanders, who if they do not jump out to a series lead tonight, could find themselves in a 2-0 hole before they even have time to contemplate what happened.

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

(WC2) Wild vs (#1) Stars: Dallas head coach Lindy Ruff announced that Tyler Seguin would not be in the lineup tonight. The absence of the young sniper from the Stars’ lineup hardly compensates for the massive losses that the Minnesota Wild lineup. Zach Parise re-aggravated a back injury and has been ruled out indefinitely. Erik Haula and Thomas Vanek have also been listed as unavailable for the series opener.

Just to clarify, that’s 128 points missing from the Wild’s lineup, including the first-, fourth-, and sixth-best goal scorers. Yikes.

Devan Dubnyk allowed eight goals in three starts against the Dallas Stars this season. He went 1-1-1. On the other end, Jamie Benn notched nine points in five games of the season series.

Long rest is a killer for the Minnesota Wild. They are 0-8 in their last eight games with three or more days of rest, and enter the playoffs on a five-game losing streak already.

Dallas, meanwhile, is red-hot. They have won six of their last seven, as well as their last six home games. The Stars won the season series 4-1 against the Wild.

Prediction: The Wild are toothless. Take the Stars to win. Play the under.

(#3) Sharks vs (#2) Kings: This series, along with Blues-Blackhawks which already has an overtime thriller under its belt, will be one of the most entertaining series to watch this entire postseason. The last time these two teams met was in 2014. The Sharks jumped out to a 3-0, and the Kings scratched and clawed their way back to a series win en route to a second Stanley Cup. It is a meeting of the best road team in hockey against one of the best home teams in hockey.

San Jose is hoping to get Marc-Edouard Vlasic back from a sprained MCL tonight. He looks probable. Matt Nieto is also coming back from a fractured knuckle. On the Kings’ side, Alec Martinez should be returning from an undisclosed injury that sidelined him for Los Angeles’ last four regular season games. Marian Gaborik practiced on Wednesday, though he looks unlikely for tonight’s game. If Gaborik were to come back at some point in this series, that would be a major boost.

The last encounter between these two teams was a 5-2 home victory for the Sharks. The road team had won the previous four meetings this season.

Prediction: Without Vlasic at 100%, this will be a very tough win for the Sharks. But it’s not out of question. Coin toss, but take the Kings to win. Play the under.