I notched another winner with my NHL pick last night between the St. Louis Blues and New York Islanders.
I predicted a defensive battle and therefore a low-scoring game, and that’s exactly what we got as the two teams were tied at one at the end of regulation with the Islanders scoring in overtime to win their ninth game in their last 11 tries.
The victory marks my third straight winner while I’ve also won seven of my last nine picks.
Beginning today, I am going to begin posting my record and units won/loss now that I have a little bit of a track record this season. I also like the fact that it provides full disclosure to those interested in betting my picks.
Season Record: 9-6
Units: +3.30 ($100 bettor has profited $330 to this point)
Let’s mosey on to tonight’s NHL pick featuring a couple of western Canada rivals from Vancouver!
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It’s a good ol’ fashioned rivalry game tonight in Vancouver as the Canucks play host to the Edmonton Oilers.
The Canucks seemed down and out in the Western Conference playoff race not too long ago, but the soft nature of that Wild Card picture has allowed any and all comers to take their crack at getting into the postseason.
Despite losing three of their last four, the Canucks sit just two points back of the second Wild Card spot in the west, currently held by the Minnesota Wild, although the Wild do own a game in hand.
Also sitting two points back of the Wild are the Edmonton Oilers while the two clubs have played the same amount of games. While a win tonight wouldn’t push the Oilers even with the Wild on a winning percentage basis, it would be a delight for Oilers fans to wake up tomorrow theoretically tied for the final playoff spot in the west after what has been a turbulent season in oil country.
That said, the Oilers are coming off one of their most complete games of the season as they got all over the visiting Buffalo Sabres early on Monday night and would eventually win that contest by a 7-2 count.
While the final score is nice, head coach Ken Hitchcock was probably more excited to see how they won the game. Despite scoring seven times, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl were held to “just” three points combined. Instead, Milan Lucic and Zack Kassian combined for four goals while Tobias Rieder and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also tallied multi-point games themselves.
In other words, the Oilers got that secondary scoring they have been begging for all season. We aren’t going to expect Lucic and Kassian to turn into consistent goal scorers, but it would be nice if they could chip in once in a while and they showed that on Monday. If this team can continue to receive secondary scoring, it’s hard to imagine they don’t get into the playoffs.
The Canucks defeated the Florida Panthers by a convincing 5-1 score on Sunday night. They don’t have to apologize for that, but everybody is beating the Panthers these days. The reality is that was just the second time Vancouver has won over their last six games and it was their first regulation win since December 27th, interestingly enough against these Edmonton Oilers.
After a white-hot month of December that helped pull the Canucks back into postseason contention, Vancouver netminder Jacob Markstrom has largely struggled in the New Year. He posted an outstanding .943 Sv% in December, however, a pullback towards earth was warranted and that’s what we have seen this month as evidenced by his .893 Sv% across five outings. Markstrom isn’t the confirmed starter tonight but logic tells me he will indeed get the nod.
The confirmed starter for the Oilers will be Mikko Koskinen who is coming off a fantastic effort against the Sabres. Just two games removed from being shelled for three goals on just eight shots in an ugly loss to the Kings and one game removed from a poor relief effort in San Jose, Koskinen turned aside 41 of 43 Sabres shots in Monday’s blowout win. Her has now allowed two goals or less in two of his last three starts.
I am expecting Canucks’ star rookie Elias Pettersson to miss this one tonight, which has me tilting the offensive advantage to the Oilers given their outburst on Monday. I also believe the Oilers are the better all-around team and I think the goaltending advantage goes to Koskinen in this one.
Edmonton hasn’t had much success in Vancouver of late, dropping three straight at Rogers Arena. However, for the first time in five weeks, I am looking for Edmonton to carry some momentum from Monday into tonight’s matchup now that they can smell a playoff spot. You can’t say enough about Edmonton getting that secondary scoring, and I think that will be the case again tonight.
Sign me up for the Oilers on the moneyline.
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