NHL Daily Picks: Can the banged up Bruins keep winning? – CBSSports.com
The Bruins look to keep up their winning ways vs. the visiting Devils on Monday night. (USATSI)
Welcome to the NHL Daily Picks, where CBS hockey writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz share their predictions for select games every day.
Game of the night: Losing Zdeno Chara was supposed to be a devastating blow to a Bruins team that was already a little thin on defense following the preseason trade of Johnny Boychuk to the New York Islanders. Since his injury the Bruins have actually won five of six games, with the only loss coming on a night where they blew a two-goal third-period lead. When you consider that center David Krejci isn’t 100 percent right now, their leading scorer is Carl Soderberg and that Patrice Bergeron hasn’t really hit his stride yet offensively, their continued success is even more impressive. And perhaps even more unbelievable. They look to keep their winning ways going Monday night against a Devils team that has won only three of its past 12 games since starting the season 3-0. Pick: Bruins 3, Devils 2
The Mark Giordano show: The Flames are one of the NHL’s surprise teams so far this season. What’s not a surprise is how well defenseman Mark Giordano has been playing. He finally started to receive some league-wide recognitition for his play last season when he took a huge step forward, and he seems to be taking another one this season. He enters play on Monday leading the team in scoring with 18 points, a number that also leads all defensemen and is tied for the fourth-most points in the NHL among all players. After losing their first eight games, the Hurricanes have earned at least a point in each of their past five games, including four wins. Eventually, though, that streak is going to come to an end. Pick: Flames 4, Hurricanes 1
Three Stars
1. Patrice Bergeron, Boston Bruins: The defensive play is always there for Bergeron, but the offensive production has only recently started to show up this season. After recording only four points over the first nine games, he has come back with five over the past six games. Right now he’s getting crushed by an unsustainably low 4.3 percent shooting percentage. The fact he’s averaging more than three shots per game, well above his career average, is a very good sign for a potential breakout and eventually some of those shots are going to start finding the back of the net.
2. T.J. Brodie, Calgary Flames: Giordano gets all of the headlines in Calgary, but his partner is very quietly turning into an outstanding player himself and giving the Flames what might be one of the best defensive pairings in the NHL.
3. Carl Soderberg, Boston Bruins: Yes, Carl Soderberg — Carl Soderberg! — is Boston’s leading scorer entering play Monday, and he has been riding a bit of a hot streak with 10 points in 12 games, including a pair of multi-point games over his past three games.
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