Hockey Today
SCOREBOARD
Friday, March 13
Columbus at Chicago (8:30 p.m. EDT). Columbus is sixth in the Western Conference in its bid to earn the first playoff berth in franchise history.
STARS
Thursday
— Henrik Lundqvist, Rangers, stopped 19 shots in New York’s 4-2 victory at Nashville to become the first goalie to reach 30 wins in each of his first four NHL seasons.
— Zach Parise, Devils, scored his 40th goal in New Jersey’s 5-2 victory over Phoenix.
— Olli Jokinen, Flames, had two goals in regulation and added another in the shootout to lift Calgary over Detroit 6-5.
— Alex Ovechkin, Capitals, scored his NHL-leading 48th goal and added an assist as Washington edged Philadelphia 2-1.
SIGHTS SET
Martin Brodeur moved within a victory of tying Patrick Roy’s career NHL record, posting his 550th win with a relatively easy 26-save performance in the New Jersey Devils’ 5-2 victory over Phoenix on Thursday night. Brodeur will get a chance to tie the mark Saturday night when he returns to his hometown of Montreal for a game against the Canadiens.
STOMACH SICKNESS
Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist shook off a stomach ailment that has been bothering him for about 10 days, and forced him to miss one game, and earned his 30th victory of the season Thursday night in New York’s 4-2 road win at Nashville. Lundqvist is the first NHL goalie to have 30 wins in his first four seasons and the only Rangers player to do it in any four consecutive seasons.
SCORING ROOKIE
Kyle Okposo scored at 26 seconds of overtime for the New York Islanders, giving the rookie forward goals in four straight games and lifting his club to a 3-2 win at Montreal.
STREAKS
The New Jersey Devils earned a franchise record ninth straight home victory by beating Phoenix 5-2 on Thursday night. … Alex Ovechkin’s go-ahead goal in the second period of Washington’s 2-1 win over Philadelphia on Thursday night lifted the Capitals to their fifth straight road victory. Washington hadn’t won five straight on the road since Feb. 14-March 6, 2001. … The Columbus Blue Jackets tied a franchise record for wins in a season with their 35th, and ended the Pittsburgh Penguins’ winning streak at seven with a 4-3 shootout victory Thursday night. … Steve Begin and Brendan Morrison scored their first goals for Dallas, and the Stars ended a six-game home losing streak by beating Carolina 3-2.
STATUS
The Edmonton Oilers activated captain Ethan Moreau from the injured list Thursday. Moreau had been sidelined since Feb. 28 when he took a stick in the eye during a 3-2 win over the Minnesota Wild. He received 10 minutes, 42 seconds of ice time in the Oilers’ 4-3 overtime loss to Atlanta on Thursday night.
SCORING SHORT-HANDED
Boston Bruins defenseman Aaron Ward scored his first NHL short-handed goal, and the Eastern Conference leaders earned their fifth victory in 16 games by topping the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on Thursday night.
SCOUTING
Andrew Engelage broke Columbus goalie Steve Mason’s Ontario Hockey League single-season victory record with his 46th, making 23 saves in the Windsor Spitfires’ 5-1 home win over Plymouth on Thursday night. Mason won 45 games for London in 2006-07.
SPEAKING
“He wasn’t happy after the first period. It has been a while since I’ve heard a speech like that. We were playing too timid. Nashville had the 2-1 lead and we thought it was over. He let us know what it is going to be like from now on. He lit into all of us. We were feeling sorry for ourselves and he spotted that right away. He called us out. I thought we responded well.”—Rangers forward Scott Gomez on New York coach John Tortorella’s tirade after the first period Thursday night. The Rangers rallied for a 4-2 road victory.
Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Kristian Huselius potted the deciding goal in the shootout to lift the Blue Jackets past the Penguins 4-3 on Thursday night.
Columbus cashed as -115 home favorites as the game played over the 5.5-goal total listed by oddsmakers.
Kris Versteeg potted the deciding goal in the shootout to lift the Blackhawks over the Hurricanes 3-2 on Wednesday night.
Chicago won as -175 home favorites as the teams played under the 5.5-goal total listed by sportsbooks.
Current streak:
Columbus has won 3 straight games.
Team records:
Columbus: 35-27-6
Chicago: 37-19-9
Columbus most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Detroit are 2-8
After playing Pittsburgh are 2-2-1
After a win are 6-4
Chicago most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Edmonton are 7-3
After playing Carolina are 8-2
After a win are 6-4
A few trends to consider:
Columbus is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Columbus's last 14 games when playing Chicago
Columbus is 2-4 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Chicago
Columbus is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Chicago
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Columbus
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 7 games
The total has gone OVER in 10 of Chicago's last 14 games when playing Columbus
Chicago is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing at home against Columbus
Next up:
Columbus home to Detroit, Sunday, March 15
Chicago home to NY Islanders, Sunday, March 15
Los Angeles Kings vs. Vancouver Canucks
Jarret Stoll scored two goals to lift the Kings past the Canucks 3-2 on Monday night.
Los Angeles won as +120 home underdogs as the game played under the 5.5-goal total listed by oddsmakers.
Pavol Demitra recorded two helpers for Vancouver in its 4-3 overtime loss to Anaheim on Wednesday night.
Anaheim won as +110 home underdogs as the game played over the 5.5-goal total listed by sportsbooks.
Current streak:
Los Angeles has won 3 straight games.
Vancouver has lost 2 straight games.
Team records:
Los Angeles: 29-28-9
Vancouver: 34-23-9
Los Angeles most recently:
When playing on Friday are 4-6
Before playing Dallas are 5-5
After playing Vancouver are 3-7
After a win are 6-4
Vancouver most recently:
When playing on Friday are 2-8
Before playing San Jose are 6-4
After playing Anaheim are 2-8
After a loss are 3-7
A few trends to consider:
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Los Angeles's last 5 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Los Angeles is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Los Angeles is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing Vancouver
Vancouver is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games at home
The total has gone OVER in 4 of Vancouver's last 5 games when playing at home against Los Angeles
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Vancouver's last 8 games
Vancouver is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games
Next up:
Los Angeles at San Jose, Saturday, March 14
Vancouver home to Colorado, Sunday, March 15
COLUMBUS vs. CHICAGO
Columbus is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games
Columbus is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games when playing Chicago
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Chicago's last 7 games
Chicago is 5-1 SU in its last 6 games when playing Columbus
LOS ANGELES vs. VANCOUVER
Los Angeles is 1-5 SU in its last 6 games on the road
Los Angeles is 4-2 SU in its last 6 games when playing on the road against Vancouver
Vancouver is 12-4 SU in its last 16 games
The total has gone UNDER in 6 of Vancouver's last 8 games
COLUMBUS (35-27-0-6, 76 pts.) at CHICAGO (37-20-0-8, 82 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 10-8 (+0.5 Units) against the spread versus COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 10-8-0 straight up against COLUMBUS over the last 3 seasons
12 of 18 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=+5.8 Units)
LOS ANGELES (29-28-0-9, 67 pts.) at VANCOUVER (34-23-0-9, 77 pts.)
Top Trends for this game.
LOS ANGELES is 39-33 ATS (+80.9 Units) in road games after playing 3 consecutive home games since 1996.
VANCOUVER is 15-19 ATS (-7.4 Units) in a home game where where the total is 5.5 over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 31-39 ATS (-28.5 Units) second half of the season over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 3-7 ATS (-7.7 Units) in home games on Friday nights over the last 2 seasons.
VANCOUVER is 6-13 ATS (-8.9 Units) after allowing 4 goals or more this season.
VANCOUVER is 14-18 ATS (-6.5 Units) when playing against a team with a losing record this season.
Head-to-Head Series History
LOS ANGELES is 5-5 (+3.4 Units) against the spread versus VANCOUVER over the last 3 seasons
VANCOUVER is 5-5-0 straight up against LOS ANGELES over the last 3 seasons
5 of 10 games in this series have gone OVER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Over=-0.7 Units, Under=-0.8 Units)
NHL Hockey Picks
by Ron Raymond
Columbus vs. Chicago
Tough spot for the Blue Jackets, as they are coming off a shootout win last night over the Penguins, travelled overnight to the Windy city and must now face a well rested Hawks team. Plus, this is a big division game and the Jackets haven't done well on the road vs. division teams, as they are 1-6 SU this season. As of this write up, there's no line on this game, but once the bookmaker releases the line, let?s go with a Law of Average play on the Hawks. Furthermore, according to my online sources, it appears Wade Dubielewicz is favored to get the nod between the pipes. Dubie is a solid back up goalie, but the team in front of him might collapse in the later part of the game.
Prediction: Chicago 4 Columbus 3
LA Kings vs. Vancouver
The Canuck are having a good month of March and are currently 7-3 SU in their last 10 games and when you look at their last 2 loses, they've been by 1 goal. Vancouver is in the game right up to the end of late and that?s all you can ask for when betting on a team, just give you a shot till the last whistle. However, to lay down -230 is not my way of betting, so maybe parlay it with the Hawks OVER. When LOS ANGELES team played as Road team as a Underdog - Vs Non Division Opponent - Coming off vs. Northwest division opponent - Coming off a 1 goal win; the Kings are 1-9-2 SU in this situation since 1998.
Prediction: Vancouver 4 LA Kings 2