NHL: Two to bet, two to stay far away from

Tonight’s matchups include two games we like, and two games we don’t. We’ll start with the two games to steer clear of today and then get into the real meat and potatoes.

Islanders @ CANADIENS 7:30 p.m.
No Pick

The Islanders (42-24-7) are coming off of a tough loss at home to the Bruins where they were outgunned at the Coliseum, letting down their fans on the Island. The Capitals lead over them is growing as they now hold first place in the Metropolitan Division by 3 points. New York has been playing .500 hockey as of late and is really starting to drop off.

The Canadiens are 1 point out of the Wild Card 2 spot in the East. They will be fighting for their lives, but the Islanders won’t go down without a fight. These two squads are pretty evenly matched when it comes to roster strength, talent, and drive to win. There are other tilts tonight that we prefer so we air on the side of caution with this one.

Penguins @ PREDATORS 8:00 p.m.
No Pick

With a win tonight and an Islanders loss, the Penguins (39-24-11) can tie New York in points. Don’t count Pittsburgh out to usurp the number one seed and run away with the division. They’ve lost their last 3 in a row, but the Penguins seem to always turn it on at the right time.

The Predators (42-27-5) on the other hand make this a matchup we want to stay away from. They are on a 3-game winning streak and are 3 points behind the first place Jets. They’ve beaten the best of the best recently in the Sharks, Maple Leafs and the Hurricanes but we aren’t so sure they can send the Penguins packing. Too many variables make this one a tough choice to make. Steer clear.

Bruins @ DEVILS 7:00 p.m.
Picks:
Bruins money line
Bruins to cover the spread -1.5

Now its time for the no brainers of the night, our locks of the night. First, we’ll take you to Newark, NJ where the Devils (27-38-9) have been suffering through an abhorrent nightmare that they call the 2018-19 season. They’ve dropped their last 2 games, have gone 2-7-1 down the stretch and the goaltending hasn’t held up like it was in weeks past. There are a million factors working against the Devils favor. You’d have to be a mad man to take the underdog here.

The Bruins (44-20-9) are a powerhouse. When all is said and done, they might be the only team (aside from maybe the Capitals) that stands a chance against Tampa Bay in the playoffs. F David Pastrnak is back in the lineup adding another lethal weapon to their offensive arsenal. They are 7-3-0 in their last 10 and have won two straight. They most recently shut out the Islanders 5-0. We think they take this one by a landslide.

Flyers @ BLACKHAWKS 8:30 p.m.
Pick: Over 6.5

If there’s one thing that Blackhawks (32-30-10) have done well this season aside from feed F Patrick Kane the puck, is hit the over. They may not always win the game, but boy are they entertaining to watch. Kane now has his second 100-point season and doesn’t show signs of slowing down. There was a stretch of almost a month of where blackhawks overs were hitting on a nightly basis and we think they hit it again tonight.

It’s going to be a long night for whoever is in net for the Flyers (35-30-8) tonight as this bout is destined to be high scoring, likely from both sides. Heck if the Devils can put 8 goals up on the Hawks so can Philadelphia. We like this over way too much to ignore it tonight.