New Jersey Devils right wing Kurtis Gabriel celebrates his second period goal against the Montreal Canadiens. (Julio Cortez)
New Jersey Devils right wing Kurtis Gabriel celebrates his second period goal against the Montreal Canadiens. (Julio Cortez)Associated Press

Fire & Fury as Flames face Devils, Lightning to strike Rangers

Flames @ Devils | Lightning @ Rangers

Flames (-170) @ DEVILS (+150), 7:00 p.m.
Pick: Flames (-170)

The Flames (40-16-7) are coming off of a great win against the Islanders at the Coliseum last night and are heading into the latter half of a back-to-back against the Devils (25-30-8). Calgary has won their last 6 games in a row. They are heating up at the perfect time for their playoff run and look like a force to be reckoned with. Last night, F Matthew Tkachuk showed off his immense hockey IQ and skill but scoring a wild between the legs goal on the Islanders. Look for him to stay hot and contribute tonight as well.

New Jersey on the other hand has been playing surprisingly well as of late, especially for a team who is littered with injuries and just cannot seem to stay healthy. They continue to miss their top forward in Taylor Hall and their top defenseman in Sami Vatanen yet they have been piling on the wins. Since G Cory Schneider returned to the lineup as a regular he has gone 4-1-0 in 5 games. Not too shabby for a guy who hasn’t won a regular season game in over 400 calendar days. The Devils are 5-5-0 in their last 10 which is better than normal for them. It’ll be interesting to see the kids play tonight again as they were impactful against the Habs on Monday, hopefully they bring it again. We just don’t think they’ve got what it takes to take down the surging Flames though.

Lightning (-210) @ RANGERS (+180), 7:30 p.m.
Pick: Lightning (-210)

Pick: Lightning to cover the spread -1.5

The Lightning (48-11-4) are infiltrating Madison Square Garden tonight to take on the Rangers (27-26-9). You’d be a fool to bet against the Lightning at this point in the season. F Nikita Kucherov is running away with the Hart Trophy this year. He’s the first player this season to reach 100 points and it’ll be interesting to see how many he can pile up come early April. Tampa Bay has won 9 straight and continue to steamroll every team in their way. It’s a bad night to be a member of the Rangers.

New York shipped out F Kevin Hayes, D Adam McQuaid and F Mats Zuccarello this weekend to solidfy themselves as major sellers for the second year in a row. They’ve committed to the tank and tonight is a perfect excuse for them to lose a game against a far better team. Double down here, this one’s a no brainer.

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