Saturday Clash Between Montreal Canadiens And Washington Capitals
On Saturday night, the Washington Capitals will travel to Montreal to take on the Canadiens in a rematch of one of last year’s first round playoff series.
In hockey betting Odds the Capitals have moved down to 25-1 to win the Stanley Cup this season.
Without star player Alex Ovechkin Washington will look to continue its hot streak. The star play will be given seven to ten days rest to help get healed up for the playoffs, Capitals’ coach Bruce Boudreu said earlier today. The coach thought it would be a good time to get some rest for the star player as Ovechkin has apparently been bothered by nagging injuries for a few months.
Because the Capitals has been playing so well, having won nine of their last ten to find themselves in second place in the Eastern Conference they can afford to rest Ovechkin right now.
As Ovechkin is going to be out of the lineup on Saturday Montreal will be quite happy with this. For first place in the Northeast Division the Canadiens are in a heated battle with the Boston Bruins as well as the likely number three seed that will accompany it.
Even though Boston has two games in hand, right now Montreal is only one point out of the division lead. To get as many points as possible each game, the extra two games Boston has on Montreal will put that much more pressure on the Canadiens. While it is missing its best player, Saturday offers a good chance to beat one of the better teams in the league. In sports picks the Washington Capitals are favorites to win this match.
NHL Central division foes Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators meet Saturday
Two Central Division rivals will clash on Saturday night when the Detroit Red Wings travel to Nashville to play the Predators. With the season winding down, many teams are fighting for their playoff lives and Nashville is no exception to this rule.
Currently, Nashville sits only one point out of the eighth and final playoff spot behind Calgary, but does have two games in hand. Nashville was one of the surprise teams early in the season, and even led the Central Division for some time.
However, in the last month or two, the Predators have fallen on hard times and find themselves having to fight for every point they can gain in the standings. This late season matchup with Detroit was viewed a month or so ago as a potential game that could help decide the Central Division race, but now it is just essential to Nashville’s playoff hopes.
Detroit on the other hand continues to roll towards another playoff appearance. While the Red Wings were once comfortably atop the Central Division, the Chicago Blackhawks have closed the gap to just six points thanks in large part to a 7-1-2 record in their last ten games. Detroit has struggled as of late only going 4-4-2 in their last ten, but with two consecutive wins the Red Wings may be back on track.
Saturday’s contest should be a hard hitting, fast skating game, as both teams would love to win and get the two points in the standings.
Philadelphia Flyers visit New York Rangers on Sunday on NBC
The Sunday NHL game of the week features the Philadelphia Flyers traveling to New York to take on the Rangers in a contest between two Atlantic Division rivals.
The Flyers are a top favorite in hockey betting Future Odds to win the Stanley Cup at 5-1.
Philadelphia is currently in first place in the Eastern Conference with a five point lead over Boston, and looks like one of the dominant teams in the league poised to make a run at the Stanley Cup. While the Flyers continue to cruise through the regular season, the Rangers are fighting for their playoff lives on a nightly basis. Currently in seventh place, New York is only one point ahead of Carolina for the eighth playoff spot and just three points ahead of Buffalo who is on the outside of the standings looking in.
The Rangers hope their strong goaltending and defensive play will carry them through the remaining month and a half of the season the same way it has all year long. Each game is extremely important for the Rangers as they cannot afford to miss any opportunity to gain a point or two in the standings.
While Philadelphia has their playoff ticket all but punched, they still have something to play for as the regular season winds down as well. Earning that number one seed in the Eastern Conference will be a big boost for the Flyers as they are 20-8-3 on home ice this year. Also, Philadelphia has a chance to catch Vancouver for the best record in the NHL, which would secure home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Except a hard fought battle between these two teams on Sunday as they both try to get those coveted two points.