Friday picks: Rangers' streak in trouble vs. LA
Welcome to the NHL picks where hockey writers Adam Gretz and Chris Peters make their picks for all of the days games.
Los Angeles Kings vs. New York Rangers, 7 p.m. ET
The New York Rangers enter Friday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings with wins in seven of their past nine games, including a four-game winning streak. The most impressive thing about that winning streak is the fact they have had to do most of it without the services of Rick Nash, one of their leading scorers, and Ryan McDonagh, their top defenseman. Not only are they still winning games, they are also shutting teams down with only five goals against during the winning streak, including a shutout against Pittsburgh on Wednesday night.
A lot of that credit has to go to Henrik Lundqvist for returning to form after a mid-season slump (and considering how much he has carried the Rangers at times this year, it also caused the whole team to slump with him), as well as guys like Keith Yandle for stepping up in McDonagh’s absence on the blue line.
That streak has allowed them to hold on to their second place spot in the Metropolitan Division, while their win over Pittsburgh on Wednesday gave them some extra cushion.
They get another big challenge on Friday night when the Los Angeles Kings go into Madison Square Garden for a rematch of the 2014 Stanley Cup Final and continue their current seven-game east coast road trip. It started in Boston on Tuesday night with a 9-2 thumping of the Bruins, and continued on Thursday with a 5-2 loss to the Islanders where they faced an early 3-0 deficit with backup goalie Jhonas Enroth in net.
Even though the Kings have been giving up a few more goals in recent weeks than they normally do, this is still one of the best and toughest defensive teams in the NHL, and Friday’s game against a Rangers team that is often times inclined to pack it in around its own net this could be a very tight, defensive slugfest.
Even with their loss on Thursday and the fact they are playing the second part of a back-to-back against a team that was off the night before and riding a four-game winning streak, the Kings should still be in a position to rebound against a Rangers team that is still pretty banged up with Nash and McDonagh still likely out of the lineup.
The Rangers have received some great contributions from their depth players with two of their top players sidelined, but eventually that catches up to you. And it just might against one of the top teams in the Western Conference on Friday. The Kings aren’t going to keep giving up goals the way they have over the past two weeks, and the Rangers style of play just might play right into the type of game the Kings want to play. Pick: Los Angeles Kings 3, New York Rangers 1
The rest of Friday’s picks
Montreal Canadiens 3, Buffalo Sabres 2
Pittsburgh Penguins 4, Carolina Hurricanes 2
Colorado Avalanche 5, Detroit Red Wings 3
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Nashville Predators 1
St. Louis Blues 3, Florida Panthers 2
Arizona Coyotes 3, Calgary Flames 1
The Los Angeles Kings will snap the New York Rangers’ winning streak on Friday night. (USATSI)
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