MAPLE LEAFS (-105) at ISLANDERS (-115), 7 p.m.
Pick: Islanders To Win (-115)
It is the game Isles fans have been waiting for all season: It’s officially F John Tavares night at the Coliseum Thursday evening as the Leafs visit Long Island. Tavares left the Isles in free agency this past summer and fans are heated. Expect a return similar to that of when F Ilya Kovalchuk returned to the Rock to take on the Devils earlier this month. The boos will be heard from Long Island all the way to Times Square.
The Maple Leafs (39-20-4) are on a three-game winning streak and will look to overtake the Bruins in the standings with a win here. Their offense has been on fire as of late, scoring six, five and six goals in the last week. They are buzzing and will be a huge issue for New York at home.
The Islanders (36-19-7) have already proven they don’t need Tavares in their lineup just by looking at their season record so far, but beating him in front of the fans in the Coliseum is just the perfect story that every Isles fan wants to come out of this tilt. We think it’s in the cards.
FLYERS (+150) at COLUMBUS (-170), 7 p.m.
Pick: Blue Jackets To Win (-170)
Last we saw the Blue Jackets (35-24-3) they were getting slammed by the Penguins after acquiring a king’s ransom of players at the trade deadline. This was an upset that shocked us greatly here at Bettors Insider. We think that Columbus rebounds here.
Philly (30-26-7) has won two straight and are 15-4-1 over their last 20. They seem to be handling the loss of F Wayne Simmonds pretty well, which isn’t that surprising seeing that Simmonds and F James Van Riemsdyk play a similar style: front-of-the-net, cleaning-up-the-garbage, hard-helmet type of play
Columbus has more talented forwards (with the exception of F Claude Giroux of course), their defensemen compared to Philly’s are miles better and as far as goaltending goes, Carter Hart is fantastic but he is injured and you simply can’t beat Sergie Bobrovsky. The Jackets, one point out of a playoff spot, need a win. They want it more and they will take it.