Tuesday's picks: Wings won't slow Lightning
Welcome to the NHL Daily Picks, where CBSSports.com hockey writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz share their predictions for every game, every day.
Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings, 7:30 p.m. ET, NBCSN
Over the course of a long postseason and now months removed from it, it can be difficult to remember the first-round series, but the battle between the Lightning and Red Wings last year provided high drama. Tampa Bay actually faced elimination twice in the series, but managed to win Games 6 and 7 to advance en route to an eventual appearance in the Stanley Cup Final.
Now the two teams are set to meet for the first time since that spectacular showdown in the playoffs. It won’t have the same feel being an early-regular season game, but it should provide plenty of entertainment value. Both teams head into Tuesday night’s contest unbeaten.
The Lightning are 3-0-0 and have looked dominant at times. They’re already averaging over four goals per game, picking up right where they left off as the NHL’s top scoring team last season. Perhaps most remarkably, only two skaters have yet to register a point this season. The Lightning are beating teams with contributions from its entire lineup.
The Red Wings, meanwhile, are off to a 2-0-0 start thanks in large part to their top line of Henrik Zetterberg, Justin Abdelkader and rookie Dylan Larkin. Abdelkader (4-1) and Zetterberg (1-4) have five points apiece, while Larkin has three.
It is unclear as of right now which goaltender will get the nod for Tampa as Ben Bishop played in Monday’s 6-3 win over the Boston Bruins. Kevin Poulin would be the Bolts’ other option. The Red Wings, meanwhile, have rotated goalies through the first two games and it is expected to be Jimmy Howard between the pipes Tuesday. Howard only appeared in one period in last year’s series as he lost the starting gig to Petr Mrazek in the postseason. This could be a big prove-it game for Howard.
Tuesday night’s contest will also feature a pair of head coaches that created very similar paths for themselves to reach the NHL.
Both Detroit’s Jeff Blashill and Tampa Bay’s Jon Cooper won titles in the United States Hockey League before getting the call to bigger jobs. Blashill went first to Western Michigan University before being hired by the Red Wings first as an assistant. Cooper went straight from the USHL to the pros when he was hired to be Tampa’s AHL head coach. Both also won Calder Cups as head coaches at the AHL level. Now they’ll meet at the NHL level for the first time.
They’re representative of the growing number of coaches in the league that never played in the NHL. Both Cooper and Blashill have built sterling reputations in the coaching community because they have won just about everywhere they’ve been. Results will always matter more than background.
As far as Tuesday night’s contest is concerned, the Lightning appear to be rolling right now. Even after playing a day game Monday, there’s no reason to believe they’ll stop scoring. The Red Wings have looked solid to start the season and should give the Lightning all they can handle, but it’s hard to see Tampa slowing down amid this hot start. Pick: Lightning 4, Red Wings 1
The Red Wings and Lightning will square off for the first time since last postseason. (USATSI)
The rest of Tuesday’s schedule
Nashville Predators 3, New Jersey Devils 1
New York Rangers 4, Winnipeg Jets 2
Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Montreal Canadiens 1
Washington Capitals 4, San Jose Sharks 2
Florida Panthers 2, Carolina Hurricanes 1
Dallas Stars 5, Edmonton Oilers 2
St. Louis Blues 3, Calgary Flames 1
Los Angeles Kings 4, Vancouver Canucks 2
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