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Washington Capitals v. New York Rangers
Projected Goalies: Vitek Vanecek v. Igor Shesterkin
Washington won this same matchup on Sunday by a score of 5-4. The Capitals had a 4-0 lead at one point in the contest before allowing New York back in the game. Blown late game leads has been a worrisome trend for Washington this season and hopefully head coach Peter Laviolette has addressed it since the last game. New York is still in the hunt for the 4th spot in the East Division and they know that every game is crucial now that the second half of the season has begun. The Rangers have been the Capitals foil for most of this season and I strangely expect that to continue tonight.
The Bet: Rangers Moneyline
Prediction: Capitals 3-4 Rangers
Detroit Red Wings v. Florida Panthers
Expected Goalies: Thomas Greiss v. Sergei Bobrovsky
The Red Wings have somehow won 2 games in a row despite being one of the worst teams in the NHL. Detroit rallied off back-to-back wins against the spiralling Blue Jackets this past weekend and will look to continue that trend against an injury riddled Panthers team. Florida received devastating news after their leader and top defenseman, Aaron Ekblad, had surgery on a fractured left leg this weekend, he will miss the remainder of the season. Ekblad was enjoying a career year and was a big part of the Panthers resurgence. Florida will also be without top center iceman Aleksandar Barkov who will miss another game with an undisclosed injury. The Panthers lineup concerns will hurt their ability to score, but I think they will still come through victorious in lieu of their injured leaders.
The Bet: Under 5.5 Total Goals
Prediction: Red Wings 1-3 Panthers
New Jersey Devils v. Boston Bruins
Projected Goalies: Mackenzie Blackwood v. Jaroslav Halak
New Jersey absolutely owns the Bruins this year. Their 1-0 shutout win on Sunday marked their 3rd win in 4 games against Boston this season. The Bruins have yet to score an even strength goal against New Jersey all season. Tonight, Boston will get a big boost as Brad Marchand comes off the Covid-19 list and returns to the lineup. After getting “robbed” of a win on Sunday by video reviews, Boston will come on strong at home to take this one convincingly.
The Bet: Bruins Puckline
Prediction: Devils 1-4 Bruins
Columbus Blue Jackets v. Tampa Bay Lightning
Projected Goalies: Elvis Merzlikins v. Curtis McElhinney
Columbus is in a tailspin as they have lost 4 in a row. The Blue Jackets losing streak is not nearly as bad as their failure to secure a win in two games against the normally listless Red Wings. You have to wonder what must be going on in that locker room with fiery John Tortorella as the coach and the high priced winger Patrik Laine in a major slump. The Lightning are the class of the NHL and just continue to hum along. It looks as if Jon Cooper is going to give goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy the night off and let McElhinney play against his old team. This seems like a cocky move and I think it backfires against a motivated Columbus team.
The Bet: Blue Jackets Moneyline
Prediction: Blues Jackets 3-2 Lightning
Edmonton Oilers v. Montreal Canadiens
Projected Goalies: Mikko Koskinen v. Carey Price
Edmonton needed the overtime period last night to secure the two points against Toronto. The Oilers were rolling before a short Covid-19 pause last week and it is pretty much all due to the play of their star players Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Tonight those two will go up against former elite goalie Carey Price and a Montreal team that hasn’t played in 10 days. Between the tired Oilers and the rusty Canadiens, I think we could be in for a rockfight.
The Bet: Under 6.5 Total Goals
Prediction: Oilers 2-1 Canadiens
Carolina Hurricanes v. Chicago Blackhawks
Projected Goalies: Alex Nedeljkovic v. Kevin Lankinen
Carolina knocked off top dogs Tampa on Saturday in an impressive 4-3 win in which Sebasitan Aho and Martin Necas led the way. These two dynamic young players have been lightning rods for the Hurricanes this season and tonight they face the Blackhawks and their lackluster d-core. Chicago has turned their hot start to the season into an absolute crater. The Blackhawks have lost 8 of their last 10 games and are going to end up nowhere near the playoffs, as many of us predicted in the preseason. I think the Hurricanes sitting at -150 is a criminal level of disrespect and should be hammered at all costs.
The Bet: Hurricanes Moneyline
Prediction: Hurricanes 5-2 Blackhawks
Dallas Stars v. Nashville Predators
Projected Goalies: Anton Khudobin v. Pekka Rinne
The Stars need to wake up and they need to do it in a hurry. Dallas’ season is slowly slipping away and their inability to use the games in hand they had from starting the season late due to Covid-19 is hurting their bottom line. The Stars have lost 4 of 5 and seem to be playing this game where when the offense shows up, the goaltending craps the bed, and when the goaltending shows up, the offense craps the bed. Nashville has been the anti-Chicago this year as they turned an early season crater into a mid season charge. The Predators have won 5 in a row, and look out, might just make the playoffs…huh?! Whether you believe in this Nashville team or not (I don’t) you have to believe in their recent hot streak and you have to ride it over a cold Stars team.
The Bet: Predators Moneyline
Prediction: Stars 2-3 Predators
Fancy a Parlay?
Panthers & Bruins to Win
