Inside the Chalk

The Anaheim Ducks 5-game road trip has not been going their way. Anaheim has lost the first four by a combined score of 18-8 and now they have to face the New York Rangers at MSG before heading home to So Cal. Good luck. The Ducks will be without some of their key players, Ryan Getzlaf, Jakob Silfverberg, Sam Steel and possibly Rickard Rakell, and the Rangers have had their number. New York has won 4 of the last 5 meetings and they are 6-0 against Anaheim in their last 6 at The Garden. The Rangers are 19-5-3 in Manhattan and are expected to have one of the best guarding the cage, Igor Shesterkin. He is 29-7-3 with a GAA of 2.07 and a .938 SV%. The Rangers will not come cheap tonight but are still worth considering.
TONIGHT’S PICK: NEW YORK RANGERS

The Tampa Bay Lightning’s current road trip is not going well, losing again last night to the Edmonton Oilers, 4-1, but I expect they will get back on track tonight when they visit the Vancouver Canucks. Tampa is playing back-to-back games which is always tough but they will have a well-rested Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes and that is a good thing. Vasilevskiy is 30-11-4 with a GAA of 2.43 and a 0.917 SV%. Tampa won the first meeting this year with Vancouver, 4-2, are 5-1 in the last 6 meetings overall, and 6-1 in their last 7 at Rogers Arena.
TONIGHT’S PICK: TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

The Vegas Golden Knights are having trouble finding the back of the net and have now lost two straight after falling to Buffalo last night, 3-1. Vegas has recorded just two tallies against two of the worst teams in hockey, Philadelphia and Buffalo, and it won’t get any easier tonight when they travel to PPG Paints Arena to face the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh has also lost a couple but they were against elite teams, Florida and Carolina, and both were close, losing to the Panthers, 4-3, and Carolina in OT, 3-2. The Penguins won the first meeting this season, 5-3, in Vegas and are 15-9-5 at home. They will also will be facing a Vegas team that is playing back-to-back games so fatigue could be an issue for the Golden Knights while Pittsburgh is well rested and are 7-1 in their last 8 on two days rest.
TONIGHT’S PICK: PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

When you are fortunate enough to draft a superstar like Jack Eichel the last thing you do is trade him, but that is exactly what the Buffalo Sabres did when they sent him to the Vegas Golden Knights. Tonight Eichel will make his return to Key Bank Center for the first time in a Golden Knight uniform and he will be out to prove to the Sabres that they made a big mistake. Eichel is already paying dividends for Vegas, notching 3 goals and 4 assists, as he has been shaking the rust off over his first 10 games as a Golden Knight. Buffalo showed a glimmer of hope when they won a rare two in a row against Toronto and Minnesota but are right back to doing what they do best and that is lose, dropping their last 2 and 8 of their last 10. Vegas is 16-9-1 on the road, won the last meeting with Buffalo on February 1st, 5-2, and should prevail tonight against the lowly Sabres, who are a pathetic 9-16-4 at home.
TONIGHT’S PICK: VEGAS GOLDEN NIGHTS