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Tampa Bay Lightning (24-36-18—66 pts) @ New York Islanders (25-43-9—59 pts)
In a battle of two of the basement teams in the league, one of them will get a win. These two teams have a combined 49 wins on the season, which is two wins behind the league's best in the San Jose Sharks.
If I were a betting man, I would avoid this game but I'll do my best to give you a few statistics before you punch your ticket.
The Islanders have been playing tough at home lately, but seem to have the win slip away in the third period. The same can be said of the Lightning, who have a league-most 18 overtime loses.
Steven Stamkos, the No. 1 pick in last year's draft, has been living up to his name. He is now up to 21 goals after only having four goals half-way through the season. They will need him to keep up his frantic scoring pace as captain Vincent Lecavalier is out for the remainder of the season.
In the end, I think the Lightning can out-score the Islanders even though this is the second of back-to-back road games. Lightning win.
Pittsburgh Penguins (42-27-8—92 pts) @ Carolina Hurricanes (43-28-7—93 pts)
This is a spectacular match-up and would make a great series in the playoffs. The 'Canes have won seven straight to put themselves in the mix of obtaining home-ice in the first round of the playoffs. They are 11-1-2 in their last 14.
Meanwhile, Pittsburgh is just one point behind the Hurricanes in a tight race. They too have been very hot lately, going 13-1-2 in their last 16. Crosby, Malkin, and company are all scoring, and the team defense has also been stellar.
The Hurricanes seven game winning steak is in jeopardy tonight against the Pens. If they win tonight, it will be the most impressive victory of their streak and a huge confidence boost heading into the playoffs. I say the streak lives on. Hurricanes win.
Columbus Blue Jackets (40-29-8—88 pts) @ Nashville Predators (38-32-8—84 pts)
A recent two-game slide has knocked the Predators temporarily out of the playoffs. With so many teams in the mix for the final spot, the standings in the Western Conference change daily.
Columbus is looking for their first playoff berth in their eight year existence, and could get that much closer with a victory tonight.
Nashville has more to play for and need a victory and desperation pays. My upset pick of the week says Predators win.
St. Louis Blues (38-31-9—85 pts) @ Dallas Stars (34-34-10—78 pts)
The Dallas Stars are basically out of the playoffs. Even if they win-out the rest of the season, they finish with 86 points, which is one point up on current eighth seed. But leap-frogging four teams is very unlikely.
Injuries have harnessed the Stars this season after having a "magical" run last season to the Conference Finals. Zubov, Morrow, and Richards especially have missed lots of time. Defensive troubles have also plagued the Stars, having the sixth worst goals against in the league.
I'm starting to sound like a broken record, but St. Louis is one of the contenders for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Currently in eighth and with three of their final four games being against non-playoff teams, they control their own destiny. Blues win.
Vancouver Canucks (42-25-10—94 pts) @ Edmonton Oilers (36-33-9—81 pts)
Vancouver clinched a playoff spot with a point in their shootout loss to the Ducks earlier this week, but are still in contention for either the division or the fourth seed. They have a favorable schedule down the stretch, so both of those possibilities are in reach.
Who would have thought that a six-game homestand would be a bad thing this late in the season?
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