DEVILS (+155) at RANGERS (-175), 7 p.m.
Pick: Rangers To Win (-175)
We’ve got the Hudson River Rivalry on tap as the Devils (25-34-9) look to right their ship. If we are starting to sound a little repetitive in our Devils coverage recently, it’s because they have been in a monotonous, repetitive groove. They just can’t get the offense going, even though their goaltending has been the best it’s been in months. They got shut out again Friday by the Capitals, 3-0. They went 0-for-6 on the power play and had ample opportunities to score, but the young kids in the lineup just couldn’t step up to the plate.
The Rangers (28-28-12) are also in a long funk. They haven’t been able to beat any teams as of late either, most recently losing to the Red Wings, who are far worse than they are. D Kevin Shattenkirk will hop back in the lineup -- which is a major help on the backend for them -- and F Vlad Namestnikov will move up to the first line with F Chris Kreider bumping down. This should help diversify the talent on the roster and make them more of an offensive threat. Luckily for them, it appears that the Blue Shirts only need to score one or two goals if they want to win since the Devils have been snake bitten for some time now.
FLYERS (+130) at ISLANDERS (-150), 7 p.m.
Pick: Flyers To Win (+130)
The Flyers (32-27-8), desperately trying to reach the post season, were embarrassed by the Capitals Wednesday (as have been most other teams in the league) and are looking to rebound against the second place Islanders (39-21-7), who are looking to climb back into a first place tie with idle Washington. The loss to the Caps snapped a 4-0-1 mini-run by Philly, dating to the Stadium Series victory over the Penguins. They are sitting seven points out of a playoff spot and time is running out.
The Islanders are in a bit of a different spot. First place would be nice but it’s certain that the postseason is in their future no matter what. They will come out hard and angry, but Philadelphia probably wants this one a little bit more. Look for it to be a nasty, gritty game that goes down to the wire, with the Flyers on top.
PENGUINS (+125) at BLUE JACKETS (-145), 7 p.m.
Pick: Penguins To Win (+125)
The Penguins (36-22-9) are looking to silence the cannons in Columbus with another win over the Blue Jackets (37-27-3) in the conclusion of this home-and-home series. Pittsburgh gave the home crowd a show by shutting out the Jackets, 3-0, in the front end. Sidney Crosby did Sidney Crosby things, the goaltending held up magnificently and the Pens propelled themselves into third place in the Metro Division.
Columbus is in shambles. They made all the moves they could at the trade deadline but to no avail they haven’t been able to get it together. This is a must win for them if they don’t want to be relegated to Wild Card-chasing. They are 4-6 in their last 10 and that simply won’t cut it with the type of star power on their team. They could barely beat the Devils for heck’s sake. And for that reason, Pittsburgh by a dozen.