In the Crease - Wee...
 
Notifications
Clear all

In the Crease - Week 5

1 Posts
1 Users
0 Reactions
746 Views
(@blade)
Posts: 318493
Illustrious Member
Topic starter
 

In the Crease - Week 5
By Joe Williams
VegasInsider.com

Winging It

The Detroit Red Wings might want to apply to the National Hockey League to move back to the Western Conference. They topped the Arizona Coyotes 5-3 on Tuesday, their second win this season against the 'Yotes, while picking up three of their four victories this season against Western Conference sides. Their only win against an Eastern club was Oct. 28 in Florida, a 3-2 shootout victory. They'll be back in action Thursday in Ottawa, so perhaps they'll pick up another win against an Eastern team then. The Wings are 4-1 in the past five meetings with the Senators, and 9-3 in their past 12 trips to Canada's capital city.

Pretty Fly Offense

The Philadelphia Flyers have been producing pretty solid offensive results so far this season. They're currently on a streak of five straight games with at least two goals, averaging 3.0 goals per game during the span. The 'over' is an impressive 3-0-1 across their past four outings, too. Philly has been blanked twice this season, but they're still averaging an impressive 3.42 goals per contest to rank eighth in the NHL. They're also allowing 2.92 goals per game, so the 'over' has been sure to follow most nights.

Looking Ahead

Wednesday, November 1

The Oilers aspire to be where the Penguins are, but they'll need to figure out how to beat the elite teams first. Edmonton has struggled against everyone lately, going 1-4 in their past five at home while winning just two of their previous nine overall. In addition, they're just 3-13 across the past 16 games against Metropolitan Division clubs and 0-5 in their past five tries against Eastern Conference teams. They'll face a well rested Penguins team that hasn't played in a couple of days. The Pens are 5-0 over their past five when getting at least two days of rest. Pittsburgh has won six of the past seven overall in this series, while taking five of their past seven skates in Edmonton.

Nashville and San Jose have a budding rivalry going, as the two teams are Stanley Cup contenders from the Western Conference and their paths have crossed in the playoffs recently, too. Neither has had a lot of success lately, however. The Predators have won just twice over their past nine on the road, and they're 2-5 in their past seven against winning teams. The Sharks have followed up their past eight wins with victories in the next game just two times. They're 1-5 in the past six tries against Western Conference clubs, and 0-5 in the past five against Central Division foes. SAP Center is a house of horros for Nashville, as they're just 8-24 in their past 32 trips to San Jose.

Thursday, November 2

After an unsustainable 8-1-0 start, the expansion Golden Knights are starting to fall back to Earth. They lost against the Islanders on the road, and they lost to the Rangers. Now, they'll set their sights on the Bruins in Beantown for the first time ever. These teams have already met once, with Vegas coming out on top by a 3-1 score back on Oct. 15. However, that was behind Malcolm Subban. He is injured, and it's been Oscar Dansk and Maxime Lagace holding down the fort. Lagace has taken the loss in the first two games of the road trip while Vegas has been outscored 12-7 during the span.

The Rangers and Lightning are going in complete opposite directions during the early going, although New York did pick up a win last time out against the Knights. The Rangers have dropped their past six on the road, they're 1-9 over the past 10 against teams with a winning record and they're just 1-6 across the past seven when working on one day of rest. They're also 0-5 in their past five tries against Eastern Conference foes. Tampa has won eight of the past nine at home, they're 5-1 in their past six against Metro teams and they have won 22 of the past 30 dating back to last season. And, for what it's worth, they're 6-0 in their past six games on a Thursday.

Friday, November 3

The Predators and Ducks is just one of two games on a light Friday in the NHL. This is a rematch of the 2017 Western Conference Finals won by the PRedators in seven games. In fact, each of the past two seasons the Preds have topped the Ducks in seven games in a playoff series. It should be a dandy. The Ducks won both games on home ice, winning 6-1 on Oct. 26, 2016, and 4-3 in a shootout on March 7, 2017. The Preds won their only regular season meeting on their home ice. In fact, the home team has won each of the past seven regular season meetings in this series.

Saturday, November 4

The Capitals and Bruins skate in Beantown. The Caps have swept each of the past three season series against the Bruins, winning nine straight overall, and four in a row in Boston. Washington has been a little shaky on the road this season, alternating wins and losses in each of their first eight road outings this season. The Bruins, meanwhile, have handled themselves well at home, going 3-1-2, with their only home loss in regulation coming against the Avalanche back on Oct. 9. In a scheduling quirk, the Bruins played just two Eastern Conference in the first month of the season, going 0-0-1-1.

The Ducks and Sharks renew acquaintances Saturday night, and these two Golden State rivals do not care much for each other. All five regular season meetings in 2016-17 were decided by one goal, with Anaheim winning three games in regulation, and San Jose winning the other two meetings both in overtime. In fact, each of the past eight meetings in this series has been decided by one goal, so you can expect another tight checking game in San Jose on Saturday night.

 
Posted : November 1, 2017 11:16 am
Share: