NHL Hockey Best Bets for March 25, 2016
Only three games on the board for Friday night NHL action. Here’s our take:
WASHINGTON CAPITALS AT NEW JERSEY DEVILS:
‘On paper’ this looks like a mismatch between the best team in the National Hockey League and a team that is highly unlikely to make the postseason. The Devils are still scrapping, however, and have an outside shot to run down a wild card berth. They have eight games remaining and trail Philadelphia for the final wild card spot by six points. For now, that math still works. This is the second of back-to-back games for New Jersey–they’re coming off a very impressive victory at Pittsburgh where they won 3-0 in another excellent performance by rookie goaltender Scott Wedgewood who’ll get the start again tonight. Wedgewood is now 2-0 in his brief NHL career with a 0.50 goals against average, a 0.985 save percentage and a shutout. Not a bad way for a goalie to start his NHL run. He’ll be opposed tonight by the Capitals’ Braden Holtby who is having a monster season (44-9-4, 2.25 goals against, 0.921 save percentage).
This is actually a tough game to handicap. Washington is the best team in the NHL (regular season version at least) and it’s not even close. They lead the second place New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference by 17 points. They’ve got a 12 point lead over the Dallas Stars–the top team in the Western Conference–and are on the verge of locking up the Presidents’ Trophy for the best record in the NHL. They’re 6-2-2 in their last ten games but at some point you’d think they’d shift their focus to the playoffs. This is also a potential lookahead spot for Washington who have a tough game at home against St. Louis tomorrow night. Just don’t see the same level of motivation on the visitor’s side as we do on the home team.
BET NEW JERSEY DEVILS +150 OVER WASHINGTON CAPITALS
NEW YORK ISLANDERS AT TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING:
Just not sold on this Islanders’ team. They’ve been treading water of late with a 4-4-2 record in their last ten games and are in the maelstrom at the bottom of the Eastern Conference playoff standings. They lead the second wild card team (Philadelphia) and the first team out (Detroit) by just two points. Then again, they trail Pittsburgh for third place in the Metropolitan Division by just one point and are still just five back of the second place new York Rangers. It’s not hyperbole to say that the Islanders’ performance over the next week will determine their postseason fate and they could finish as high as second in the Eastern Conference or be out of the playoffs entirely. One problem is that Washington has run away in the division meaning that there are only two ‘guaranteed’ divisional playoff spots with four teams fighting for them.
Tampa Bay has plenty to deal with as well. They’re currently two points back of arch rival Florida and three up on slumping Boston in the Atlantic Division race. This is something of a ‘lookahead’ game for the Bolts since they host Florida here at Amalie Arena tomorrow night. That being said, they’re a smart enough team to know that laying an egg here would take a lot of the urgency out of tomorrow night’s game. Ben Bishop is having a monster season and the Lightning have the second best team defense in the NHL.
BET TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING -150 OVER NEW YORK ISLANDERS
VANCOUVER CANUCKS AT ST. LOUIS BLUES:
I’ll say as little about this mismatch as possible. The Canucks are 3-6-1 in their last ten and tied for the worst record in the Western Conference. The Blues are the hottest team in the NHL at the moment having won 8 of their last 10 and is two points back of Dallas for the best record in the Western Conference. The Blues have a big game on deck tomorrow night at Washington but the Canucks have lost 10 of 13 and look for all the world like a team that just doesn’t care anymore. Vancouver off a tough OT/SO loss at Nashville last night and should go quietly here.
BET ST. LOUIS BLUES -280 OVER VANCOUVER CANUCKS