The Buffalo Sabres will be out west tonight to take on the San Jose Sharks. The Sharks are by far the superior team in this matchup but for some reason the Sabres have had success against them. Buffalo is 14-3-1 in their last 18 meetings with San Jose and 5-0 in their last 5 trips to SAP Center. The Sabres are a big underdog tonight so why not take a shot?
Tonight’s pick:
Buffalo Sabres
The Nashville Predators return home tonight from their west coast road trip to face the reeling Winnipeg Jets. The Jets have lost 3 in a row, are 14-15-5-0 on the road and 3-8 in their last 11 games in Nashville. The Predators are a good home team with a record of 19-8-5-2 and I see them notching a home victory tonight.
Tonight’s pick:
Nashville Predators
The Dallas Stars will have their work cut out for them tonight when they take their 9-18-4-0 road record into the SAP Center to face the San Jose Sharks. The Stars are 1-8 in their last 9 against the Western Conference and 3-8 in their last 11 in San Jose. The number in this one is high and the reason for that is San Jose is 21-8-3-1 at home.
Tonight’s pick:
San Jose Sharks
The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to stop the bleeding tonight when they host another original 6 team, the Detroit Red Wings. The Leafs now find themselves 1 point back for the second Wild Card spot after dropping their last 5 games. Toronto is 6-2-2 in the last 10 meetings with Detroit and won the last contest 4-0 on January 25th in Detroit. Frederik Andersen is expected between the pipes tonight for the Leafs and he is 3-0 with a 1.96 GAA against the Red Wings. Toronto has had 3 days off to heal so they should be well rested. I like their chances in this one.
Tonight’s pick:
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Pittsburgh Penguins have been on the road and lost their last 2 games but tonight they return home to PPG Paints Arena to host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Pittsburgh has been ruthless against visiting opponents, with a home record of 25-4-2-1 this season, and are 50-15 in their last 65 home games, and that is not a typo. The Lightning have struggled against the Penguins, going 0-4 in their last 4 meetings, and 3-10 in their last 13 in Pittsburgh. These 2 clubs met on January 8th and the Penguins prevailed 6-2. The Penguins are a little nicked up but they should win tonight.
Tonight’s pick:
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Buffalo Sabres have lost 4 in a row and now trail the Toronto Maple Leafs by 6 points for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. One of Buffalo’s losses was to the Arizona Coyotes on Sunday in Arizona, but tonight they can avenge that loss when they host the Coyotes at Key Bank Center. Arizona has been awful on the road, at 8-19-4-0, and are 3-10 in their last 13 meetings with the Sabres. The Sabres backs are against the wall, they cannot afford to lose this game and they know it. Look for Sabres leading scorer Evander Kane (with 22 goals) and young phenom Jack Eichel to get things turned around tonight.
Tonight’s pick:
Buffalo Sabres
The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost two in a row and it won’t get any easier for them when they open a 3-game West Coast stint in San Jose tonight. The Leafs have struggled miserably against the Sharks, going 1-12 in the last 13 meetings, and 1-5 in their last 6 at SAP Center. The Sharks are expected to have Martin Jones between the pipes and he is 29-15-6, with a GAA of 2.31, and a .915 SV%. Toronto should counter with Frederik Andersen, who is 24-13-12, with a GAA of 2.77, a .914 SV% and he’s 2-6-1 lifetime against San Jose. Toronto did bolster their offense by signing veteran center Brian Boyle but I don’t see that helping them tonight.
Tonight’s pick:
San Jose Sharks
