NHL Daily Picks: Heating-up Maple Leafs set to welcome Penguins – CBSSports.com
The Penguins head back to Toronto for a second time this season. (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: Though the Penguins saw their seven-game winning streak end earlier this week, they head into Toronto for a meeting between two of the hotter teams in the Eastern Conference. The Maple Leafs have won six of their past eight and appear to just be warming up.
Considering the last time the Pens hit the ice, it was for a 5-0 drubbing at the hands of the New York Rangers, they probably would like to get that bad taste out of their mouths Friday night. The Maple Leafs won’t be any pushover, though. Especially since they have won four straight on home ice and are getting the scoring necessary to put just about any team on their heels.
This will likely be a different game than the first meeting between these two clubs when Pittsburgh rolled past Toronto by a 5-2 score. The Maple Leafs are surely a different team now than they were then.
The Penguins will have to be aware of Phil Kessel, like all teams are, but especially now since he has been one of the league’s elite producers this season with 21 points in 16 games. The Penguins, of course have some fella named Sidney Crosby, who has 24 points in 16 contests this season.
Seeing Crosby and Kessel go head-to-head should be as fun as the game itself. The Penguins remain a strong possession team, while the Leafs haven’t been even though they are improving from last season’s showing.
This one could come down to goaltending. After Marc-Andre Fleury got torched for five goals by the Rangers, he is likely to get back between the pipes against Toronto. He has had more success than failure this season. The Maple Leafs, meanwhile, have a decision to make. Both Jonathan Bernier and James Reimer have been spectacular this season with an edge going to Reimer. Bernier got the start in the Maple Leafs’ last game, an impressive 6-1 win over the Bruins, so it could be Reimer’s net this go-round.
With two offensively talented teams like these, it should be an exciting night of hockey in Toronto. Pick: Penguins 3, Maple Leafs 2
Metro Division Showdown: Only one point separates the Capitals and Devils in the Metropolitan, so there’s a little added motivation in a game against divisional opponents. The Devils will be starting goalie Cory Schneider for the 17th consecutive game as he continues to be run into the ground in the post-Martin Brodeur era. Neither team has been overly impressive of late, but the Caps are turning things around with a three-game winning streak. Pick: Capitals 4, Devils 2
Rivalry Renewed: It’s still a shame that the Blackhawks and Red Wings are in different conferences now. There have been some great tilts over the years between these former divisional rivals. There are plenty of players on each team that have experienced the rivalry, so there’s going to be some bad blood to go around. Both teams are finding themselves lower in the division standings than they would hope to be even at this early stage, but the Blackhawks are starting to heat up. The Red Wings, meanwhile, are struggling with just one win in their past five. They’ve had several days off, however, and should be refreshed for one of the league’s deeper teams. Pick: Blackhawks 5, Red Wings 3
The rest of Friday’s schedule
Blue Jackets at Flyers, 7 p.m. ET
Islanders at Panthers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Coyotes at Canucks, 10 p.m. ET
Three stars
1. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks: The Blackhawks-Red Wings rivalry seems to bring out the best in Kane and that kind of motivation may come in handy. With just three points in his past eight games, the superskilled forward has been awfully quiet, maybe too quiet. This could be his breakout game.
2. Alex Ovechkin, Washington Capitals: Ovechkin has traditionally done well against the New Jersey Devils, at least whenever Adam Oates — with his “book on shutting down Ovechkin” — wasn’t an assistant there of course. He had a goal in the first meeting between the two clubs and was particularly active in that one. With the Caps streaking, they need their star to help them keep it going.
3. John Tavares, New York Islanders: The Panthers have been pretty solid of late, but Tavares and the Islanders have been better. New York’s captain has done well enough against the Panthers in his career and it’s hard to see the Islanders’ winning streak being halted in South Florida.
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