*NHL: Florida Panthers At Winnipeg Jets*
The Winnipeg Jets are back in Manitoba after a gruelling affair against the Anaheim Ducks. Not only was the game in California draining from the sense that the pre-game retirement ceremony for Teemu Selanne lasted over an hour and a half, but it was an extremely physical game, which is often missing in the regular season doldrums, which we are in the middle of. The physicality that the Jets brought can be interpreted in one of two ways: Maybe coach Maurice thought that the boys needed to get some hits going to shake off the cobwebs from the pre-game affairs, or, maybe the Jets are turning a corner now that they are getting key players back from injury. Either way, I think it's going to carry on to tonights game. Ultimately, the Jets were undone in Anaheim due to the bipolar goaltending of Ondrej Pavelec. Thankfully, he is not in goal tonight, as the more consistent rookie Michael Hutchinson will be between the pipes. I quite like what 'Hutch' has done this year and think he will be the number one next year, if they can find a taker for Pavelec's contract (they won't). The Panthers had a good road trip themselves, securing three straight victories on a Western Canadian swing, including an emotional game for goaltender Luongo, in which he beat his former team, the Canucks, 3-1. Beyond that game, I just can't give too much credit to the Panthers in defeating the Oilers and Flames, especially since those games could have gone either way. Still, it's a positive sign for the organization that the Panthers are now winning those games, when they would have lost them last year. In the Panthers last four visits to Winnipeg, they have an 0-3-1 record, losing their last four, and have been outscored 22-6. I really liked what I saw from the Jets in their last game, and I think the return of players such as Bogosian, Enstrom, and Kane will keep them firmly in the playoff picture. **My Pick of The Day is the Winnipeg Jets to win @ 1.79**
*NHL: Colorado Avalanche At Carolina Hurricanes*
The Colorado Avalanche, winners of 5 of their last 7, make the journey to Raleigh to take on one of the league's worst teams in the Carolina Hurricanes. Now, if you take a look at the odds for this game, you will notice something strange. The Hurricanes are favoured pretty heavily. How can that be? Well, I picked the Washington Capitals to beat the Avalanche during Colorado's last game, and I'm going to take the Hurricanes here tonight. The reason being is the same reason that I think the odds are set the way they are. People are going to take the Avalanche, but I think that is a mistake. The Avalanche are obviously the better team, and have better personnel, but in my mind, they are giving up way too many offensive opportunities to succeed. I highlighted their shots against issues in the Capitals preview, but I'm going to do it again quickly here. In the Avalanche's last four games, they have given up 54, 38, 40, and 38 shots against. That is too many shots on net to consistently win games. Now, Carolina are not some offensive juggernaut. They had gone nine successive games scoring two goals or less. That's brutal. However, in their last two outings, they have scored four goals and five goals. The return of Jordan Staal has provided some balance to the team as the opposition now has to account for more than the threat of Eric Staal's line. Carolina is going to be throwing Anton Khudobin in goal tonight, and I just briefly want to discuss his recent games. He has only played three games since December 21st, but he has only given up one goal in each of those games. He's not the starter in Carolina, but he is very capable. I think he will give up one or two here tonight, but I think Carolina gets it done against a Colorado side that is leaking defensively, and played last night. I'm taking the **Carolina Hurricanes to win @ 1.74**
*NHL: Minnesota Wild At Pittsburgh Penguins*
Both the Wild and the Penguins have had trouble finding the back of the net of late. The Wild have only managed to score more than two goals in one of their last 5 games. They have scored in every game, but they have not found the offence needed to turn around their skid of five straight losses. They've had some poor goaltending of late, and I expect that to continue as Niklas Backstrom is expected to carry number one goalie duties since Kuemper is on the IR. Backstrom, once one of the league's elite, has struggled of late. Pittsburgh was one of the league's most injured teams for a stretch there in December, with as many as 12 players missing. Now, however, that list is down to four. They are still missing Hornqvist and Comeau from their top 6, but I am extremely excited to see how the determined and talented David Perron will fair. To me, this game is pretty simple from a totals standpoint. Recent form would lead you to believe it's going to be a low scoring affair, but I just don't see it. The Wild have had terrible goaltending of late, and the Penguins obviously have impressive offensive weapons. The Wild will break out of their scoring slump at some point, and it may as well be tonight with their power play producing at levels far above their seasonal average. I'm going to take **Over 5.5 Goals @ 2.20**
*NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning At Boston Bruins*
The Lightning had a bit of a horror show last night in Philadelphia. Not only did they lose to the lowly Flyers who were playing a journeyman goaltender, but they also lost key players Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson to injury. If you are just a casual NHL fan, you can be forgiven for not knowing who Tyler Johnson is, but the spark plug has arguably been the Lightning's most valuable player. He has posted 46 points in 43 games in his breakout campaign. On the other hand, the Bruins are finally healthy and are now starting to get back into the groove. At different times in the last month, the Bruins were missing their key cogs of Krejci, Lucic, and Chara. Now, with all three back, I expect the Bruins to start racking together some wins. Helpfully, Vezina winning goalie Tukka Rask is displaying some of his stellar past form in posting a 2-0-1 streak with a 1.28 GAA and 0.96 SVP. In a nutshell, that's how I feel about this game. The Bruins are a very good team and finally have had their core together for a few games. They are facing a Lightning squad that had a terrible outing last night, and lost two of their most important players. This is a massive opportunity for the Bruins, and I expect them to take it. **My pick is the Boston Bruins to win @ 1.66**
*NHL: Vancouver Canucks At Nashville Predators*
I really can't try and justify this pick too much, as it would just be me twisting things to fit my narrative. Much like I took the Oilers to upset the Blackhawks recently, this is more of a gut feeling that I'm going with. I think the Canucks are going to beat the Predators tonight. They have not won the games they should, but they have played pretty well against their last two vs the Flames and Panthers, they were just stymied by hot goaltending. The Predators are one of the best teams in the league and have been dominant at home, but they just seem to be having off nights and finding ways to win lately. It's dangerous to rely on, but they have been winning, so more power to them. I just think it catches up to them tonight. I'm going to take the **Vancouver Canucks to win @ 2.37**
The Winnipeg Jets are back in Manitoba after a gruelling affair against the Anaheim Ducks. Not only was the game in California draining from the sense that the pre-game retirement ceremony for Teemu Selanne lasted over an hour and a half, but it was an extremely physical game, which is often missing in the regular season doldrums, which we are in the middle of. The physicality that the Jets brought can be interpreted in one of two ways: Maybe coach Maurice thought that the boys needed to get some hits going to shake off the cobwebs from the pre-game affairs, or, maybe the Jets are turning a corner now that they are getting key players back from injury. Either way, I think it's going to carry on to tonights game. Ultimately, the Jets were undone in Anaheim due to the bipolar goaltending of Ondrej Pavelec. Thankfully, he is not in goal tonight, as the more consistent rookie Michael Hutchinson will be between the pipes. I quite like what 'Hutch' has done this year and think he will be the number one next year, if they can find a taker for Pavelec's contract (they won't). The Panthers had a good road trip themselves, securing three straight victories on a Western Canadian swing, including an emotional game for goaltender Luongo, in which he beat his former team, the Canucks, 3-1. Beyond that game, I just can't give too much credit to the Panthers in defeating the Oilers and Flames, especially since those games could have gone either way. Still, it's a positive sign for the organization that the Panthers are now winning those games, when they would have lost them last year. In the Panthers last four visits to Winnipeg, they have an 0-3-1 record, losing their last four, and have been outscored 22-6. I really liked what I saw from the Jets in their last game, and I think the return of players such as Bogosian, Enstrom, and Kane will keep them firmly in the playoff picture. **My Pick of The Day is the Winnipeg Jets to win @ 1.79**
*NHL: Colorado Avalanche At Carolina Hurricanes*
The Colorado Avalanche, winners of 5 of their last 7, make the journey to Raleigh to take on one of the league's worst teams in the Carolina Hurricanes. Now, if you take a look at the odds for this game, you will notice something strange. The Hurricanes are favoured pretty heavily. How can that be? Well, I picked the Washington Capitals to beat the Avalanche during Colorado's last game, and I'm going to take the Hurricanes here tonight. The reason being is the same reason that I think the odds are set the way they are. People are going to take the Avalanche, but I think that is a mistake. The Avalanche are obviously the better team, and have better personnel, but in my mind, they are giving up way too many offensive opportunities to succeed. I highlighted their shots against issues in the Capitals preview, but I'm going to do it again quickly here. In the Avalanche's last four games, they have given up 54, 38, 40, and 38 shots against. That is too many shots on net to consistently win games. Now, Carolina are not some offensive juggernaut. They had gone nine successive games scoring two goals or less. That's brutal. However, in their last two outings, they have scored four goals and five goals. The return of Jordan Staal has provided some balance to the team as the opposition now has to account for more than the threat of Eric Staal's line. Carolina is going to be throwing Anton Khudobin in goal tonight, and I just briefly want to discuss his recent games. He has only played three games since December 21st, but he has only given up one goal in each of those games. He's not the starter in Carolina, but he is very capable. I think he will give up one or two here tonight, but I think Carolina gets it done against a Colorado side that is leaking defensively, and played last night. I'm taking the **Carolina Hurricanes to win @ 1.74**
*NHL: Minnesota Wild At Pittsburgh Penguins*
Both the Wild and the Penguins have had trouble finding the back of the net of late. The Wild have only managed to score more than two goals in one of their last 5 games. They have scored in every game, but they have not found the offence needed to turn around their skid of five straight losses. They've had some poor goaltending of late, and I expect that to continue as Niklas Backstrom is expected to carry number one goalie duties since Kuemper is on the IR. Backstrom, once one of the league's elite, has struggled of late. Pittsburgh was one of the league's most injured teams for a stretch there in December, with as many as 12 players missing. Now, however, that list is down to four. They are still missing Hornqvist and Comeau from their top 6, but I am extremely excited to see how the determined and talented David Perron will fair. To me, this game is pretty simple from a totals standpoint. Recent form would lead you to believe it's going to be a low scoring affair, but I just don't see it. The Wild have had terrible goaltending of late, and the Penguins obviously have impressive offensive weapons. The Wild will break out of their scoring slump at some point, and it may as well be tonight with their power play producing at levels far above their seasonal average. I'm going to take **Over 5.5 Goals @ 2.20**
*NHL: Tampa Bay Lightning At Boston Bruins*
The Lightning had a bit of a horror show last night in Philadelphia. Not only did they lose to the lowly Flyers who were playing a journeyman goaltender, but they also lost key players Victor Hedman and Tyler Johnson to injury. If you are just a casual NHL fan, you can be forgiven for not knowing who Tyler Johnson is, but the spark plug has arguably been the Lightning's most valuable player. He has posted 46 points in 43 games in his breakout campaign. On the other hand, the Bruins are finally healthy and are now starting to get back into the groove. At different times in the last month, the Bruins were missing their key cogs of Krejci, Lucic, and Chara. Now, with all three back, I expect the Bruins to start racking together some wins. Helpfully, Vezina winning goalie Tukka Rask is displaying some of his stellar past form in posting a 2-0-1 streak with a 1.28 GAA and 0.96 SVP. In a nutshell, that's how I feel about this game. The Bruins are a very good team and finally have had their core together for a few games. They are facing a Lightning squad that had a terrible outing last night, and lost two of their most important players. This is a massive opportunity for the Bruins, and I expect them to take it. **My pick is the Boston Bruins to win @ 1.66**
*NHL: Vancouver Canucks At Nashville Predators*
I really can't try and justify this pick too much, as it would just be me twisting things to fit my narrative. Much like I took the Oilers to upset the Blackhawks recently, this is more of a gut feeling that I'm going with. I think the Canucks are going to beat the Predators tonight. They have not won the games they should, but they have played pretty well against their last two vs the Flames and Panthers, they were just stymied by hot goaltending. The Predators are one of the best teams in the league and have been dominant at home, but they just seem to be having off nights and finding ways to win lately. It's dangerous to rely on, but they have been winning, so more power to them. I just think it catches up to them tonight. I'm going to take the **Vancouver Canucks to win @ 2.37**
