NHL Daily Picks: Flyers look to get back on track against Rangers – CBSSports.com
The Philadelphia Flyers haven’t had much reason to celebrate lately. (USATSI)
Welcome to the NHL Daily Picks, where CBS hockey writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz share their predictions for select games every day.
Both teams are looking to break out of early-season slumps and get back on the right track. The Flyers are especially struggling with losses in five of their past six games and not looking particularly good in the process, having been outscored 23-14 and been shut out two different times. Claude Giroux and Jakub Voracek are doing their best to carry the team offensively right now, but even the best players need some help. Pick: Rangers 3, Flyers 2 (shootout)
Don’t look now but the Blackhawks are starting to get on a roll. They enter Friday’s game against Anaheim with seven wins in their past 10 games as they continue their West Coast road trip. The Ducks, meanwhile, are riding a three-game winning streak into a matchup of two of the best teams in the NHL. Pick: Ducks 4, Blackhawks 3
No team in the NHL is hotter right now than the Islanders. They’re 16-6-0 overall, 10-1-0 in their past 11 games, and have won five in a row heading into Friday. These two teams just met Wednesday night with the Islanders picking up an overtime win thanks to a John Tavares goal, running the Islanders’ record to 7-0 this season in games that are decided in overtime or the shootout. There is probably a little bit of luck on their side when it comes to those games, but this team is for real and looks like a real threat in the Metropolitan Division. That said, this current hot streak is going to eventually end at some point. Pick: Capitals 4, Islanders 2
The Stars are trying to work their way back into the playoff race after a disappointing start to the season — a start that included a seven-game losing streak at one point — and finally seem to be playing close to the level that many expected them to be at this season. One player who hasn’t been a disappointment has been Tyler Seguin, who enters this game with 28 points, good for a tie with Evgeni Malkin for third in the NHL’s scoring race. They’re going to need another big game from him and Jamie Benn if they are going to run their current winning streak to four games. Pick: Stars 3, Wild 1
The rest of Friday’s schedule
Winnipeg Jets at Boston Bruins, 7 p.m. ET
Montreal Canadiens at Buffalo Sabres, 7 p.m. ET
Detroit Red Wings at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. ET
Carolina Hurricanes at Pittsburgh Penguins, 7 p.m. ET
Vancouver Canucks at Columbus Blue Jackets, 7 p.m. ET
Ottawa Senators at Florida Panthers, 7:30 p.m. ET
Edmonton Oilers at St. Louis Blues, 8 p.m. ET
Three stars
1. Max Pacioretty, Montreal Canadiens: Pacioretty continues to be one of the NHL’s most underappreciated goal scorers and is on his way to yet another 30-goal season, something he has done in two of the past three seasons (the lockout-shortened season in 2012-13 is the only exception). He enters play Friday with 10 goals in 23 games and is averaging nearly three-and-a-half shots on goal per game.
2. Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins: Right now Malkin is playing some of his best hockey of the season, which is quite a statement when you consider that he has points in 18 of the Penguins’ 21 games this season. He’s coming off a dominating three-point effort against Toronto on Wednesday night and gets the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night. He is quickly climbing the NHL’s scoring leaderboard.
3. Jori Lehtera, St. Louis Blues: Lehtera is on a point-per-game pace this season and after a relatively slow start where he recorded a point in just two of his first nine games, he has at least one point in 10 of his past 12. A game against the Edmonton Oilers is probably a good way to keep that hot streak going.
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