NHL: Devils & Rangers Saturday afternoon, Penguins in late night
Flyers (16-22-6) +100 @ Devils -120 (16-20-7) 1 pm
Pick: Devils money line
The Flyers visit the Rock this afternoon to play a Devils team who hasn’t won a game all week. New Jersey has been struggling to score goals as of late with F Blake Colemen being the only consistent contributor. We think that changes today. The only team in their division struggling as much as the Devils are is the Flyers so look for them to capitalize on this matchup.
The Devils usually play harder against the Broad Street Bullies, the rivalry games get their blood boiling more than normal. The first line with Nico and Palms has been pretty quiet recently so look for them to try and make the difference today as well. We think that’ll be enough for New Jersey to get back into the winning column, it hasn’t taken much for most teams against the Flyers this year anyway.
Rangers (17-19-7) +160 @ Islanders -190 (24-14-4) 1 pm
Pick: Rangers money line
The Rangers and the Islanders get a rematch today that I’m sure the Rangers sorely want. Last time they met (Thursday), the Rags outplayed the Islanders in the Third but couldn’t get the job done. G Henrik Lundqvist let in a few goals that I’m sure he definitely wants back. We think that will help drive them to victory today over the Islanders.
The Islanders are 8-2-0 in their last 10 and have been playing some of their best hockey of the season in that stretch (minus Thursday’s game which they blatantly stole), while the Rangers are on a 5-game losing streak. We think that streak gets snapped today. One New York team is out for blood and is looking for payback. We think the Rangers get what their looking for today.
Penguins -140 @ Kings +120 10:35 pm
Pick: penguins to cover the spread -1.5 +180
The Penguins had a monster comeback last night against Anaheim. They were down 3 in the first period but managed to come back and put up 7 goals against the Ducks, extending their losing streak to 10 games. Normally we’d advise to stay away from a team going into the later half of a back to back but the Penguins just can’t seem to be stopped lately. That coupled with the fact that the Kings are a hot mess makes this a great matchup for Pittsburgh.
It’ll be interesting to see F Carl Hagelin of LA and F Tanner Pearson of Pittsburgh play their old teams after being traded earlier this season. They will be looking to put the hurt on their old teammates. We think Hagelin finds the back of the net at some point in this one to put the Kings on the board but ultimately, the Penguins should have no problems taking it to the Kings tonight. We like them a lot here, and by a lot.