Category: Hockey

The Tampa Bay Lightning will be a big dog today when they open the Eastern Conference first round against the Florida Panthers in Sunrise and that suits me just fine. The Bolts are dangerous. They have the league’s top scorer, Nikita Kucherov, with Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, and the Big Cat, Andrei Vasilevskiy, in net. They can beat these guys and did so in their last meeting, 5-3.
TODAY’S PICK: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

The 42-26-7 Tampa Bay Lightning just keep rolling, and with last night’s impressive 4-1 road victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Bolts are now 9-1-1 over their last 11 and just 4 points behind the Leafs for the third spot in the Atlantic Division. Tonight they will head to Montréal to take on the Montréal Canadiens. The 29-33-12 Habs season is over, but you wouldn’t know it. They have won 4 of their last 5 and are coming off a 5-3 victory over a really good Florida Panthers team. The Canadiens are playing probably their best hockey of the season and will be well rested but the Lightning are by far the better team and should continue to stay hot. Tampa has won all 3 meetings with Montréal this year and with the way Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point, and the league’s points leader Nikita Kucherov are playing, they will be too much for the Habs to handle.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

The best team in hockey, the 50-20-4 New York Rangers, are riding a 5-game winning streak and will return home to MSG tonight to take on the 32-30-11 Pittsburgh Penguins. New York has clinched a playoff spot, but they are far from done. The Rangers still want to accomplish three more things: win the Metropolitan Division, the President’s Trophy, and then the Stanley Cup. The Penguins are mathematically alive in the wild card hunt, but barely, and they know it, and we know that they are not getting in. New York is 20-9-0 at the Garden and have won 4 straight against Pittsburgh including both meetings this year.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK RANGERS

With the regular season winding down, the Tampa Bay Lightning are heating up just at the right time. The 40-25-7 Bolts have won 2 straight, are 8-1-1 over their last 10, and have outscored their opponents 42-26 over that span. Tonight in the Cigar City, Tampa will be hosting the 31-26-15 New York Islanders. New York is still alive in the wild card hunt but barely. The Islanders did win their last outing against a very good Florida Panthers team but they still have just 2 wins in their last 9 tries and are 15-16-5 on the road this season. The Lightning beat the Islanders last month, 4-2, on Long Island. Tampa has won 3 straight at Amalie Arena and is an impressive 22-9-4 on the season at home.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

After going 2-3 on their 5-game road trip, the Buffalo Sabres will be glad to return home tonight to KeyBank Center when they take on the Ottawa Senators. The Sabres have been hot at home, winning their last 3, and after tonight it should be 4. The Senators, who are just 11-20-2 on the road, know their season is over so all they have to play for now is to be a spoiler. On the flip side, Buffalo is still alive in the wild card hunt but cannot afford to lose to teams like Ottawa if they want to get in and they are aware of that. The Sabres have won 2 of the 3 meetings with the Sens this year and will have an arena full of Sabres fans behind them.
TONIGHT’S PICK: BUFFALO SABRES

The St. Louis Blues will be a home dog when they host the Vegas Golden Knights tonight at Enterprise Center. These two teams match up well. The Blues are 38-30-3 on the season and the Golden Knights come in at 38-25-7. The Blues have been on a roll, winning 2 straight, 6 of their last 7, and have played well at home with a record of 21-12-1. They will also have payback on their minds after losing in their last meeting to Vegas in front of their home crowd back in December, 6-3.
TONIGHT’S PICK: ST. LOUIS BLUES

When the Vancouver Canucks take the ice at Rogers Arena, they are always the side to consider and that is where they will be tonight when they host the Calgary Flames. The best in the West Canucks boast a 44-18-8 overall record and are 23-7-4 on their home ice. The Flames, who need lots of prayers and help if they want to make the postseason, enter tonight’s game with an overall record of 33-30-5 and are 15-14-4 when away from the Scotiabank Saddledome. Vancouver is rolling and Calgary is not. The Canucks are 6-1-1 over their last 8 and the Flames have just 2 wins in their last 6 games. The Canucks will be without their #1 goalie, Thatcher Demko, again but no worries, Casey DeSmith has filled in just fine. Vancouver won the last meeting with the Flames in Calgary back in December and I expect they notch another one tonight.
TONIGHT’S PICK: VANCOUVER CANUCKS