NHL Picks: Wild won't be able to slow down Capitals – CBSSports.com
Welcome to the NHL Daily Picks where hockey writers Adam Gretz and Chris Peters make their picks for all of the day’s games.
Washington Capitals vs. Minnesota Wild, 7 p.m. ET
Whether it was some kind of tactical or strategic change, or just simply the kick in the pants a team tends to get in the games immediately following a coaching change, the Minnesota Wild went on a little bit of a roll as soon as John Torchetti replaced Mike Yeo behind the bench.
They were scoring goals and bunches and win four games in a row, including a huge win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the NHL Stadium Series game. But just as it appeared as if the Wild were going to keep that momentum rolling and climb back into a wild card position in the Western Conference, they lost two in a row, including Thursday’s brutal loss in Philadelphia that ended with Michal Neuvirth making what might be the save of the year to prevent Minnesota from picking up at least a point (and maybe two) in the standings.
They remain four points out of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.
And now they have to come back just 24 hours after that tough game in Philadelphia and take on the best team in the NHL — the Washington Capitals — that also happened to have Thursday night off.
This is not going to be easy.
If there is a positive for the Wild heading into this matchup it’s that Capitals goalie Braden Holtby, one of the Vezina Trophy front runners this season, has kind of been off of his game a little bit in recent weeks, at least compared to where he was earlier in the year when he looked like he might not only run away with the Vezina, but perhaps win the NHL MVP award as well. Over the past couple of weeks he has hit a little bit of a slump and enters play on Friday with a .901 save percentage in the month of February. He has been under .910 since the start of January after being above .930 over the first three months of the season.
But even though he is giving up a few more goals than he was earlier in the year, it really hasn’t slowed the Capitals down in the win column.
Even though they lost their most recent game, a 4-3 decision against the Montreal Canadiens, they are still 27-5-2 over their past 34 games thanks in large part to their offense which is still tops in the league.
Alex Ovechkin looks like he is headed for another goal scoring crown, while Evgeny Kuznetsov remains one of the top-five scorers in the NHL.
With a win on Friday night the Capitals will become just the second team in NHL history to win 45 of their first 60 games, joining only the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings.
They should be able to do that against a Wild team that just played the night before. Pick: Washington Capitals 5, Minnesota Wild 3
The rest of Friday’s picks
Tampa Bay Lightning 3, New Jersey Devils 1
Boston Bruins 4, Carolina Hurricanes 2
Anaheim Ducks 5, Edmonton Oilers 2
San Jose Sharks 3, Buffalo Sabres 2
The Washington Capitals are still the best team in the NHL. (USATSI)
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