Picks: Flyers help Bruins by beating Red Wings
Welcome to NHL Picks where CBSSports.com hockey writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz make their predictions for all of the day’s games.
Philadelphia Flyers at Detroit Red Wings, 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN
There may be only one or two other regular-season games played this week that will carry the weight of Wednesday night’s contest between the Flyers and the Red Wings. For both teams, any number of points will be crucial to their playoff hopes. This game could also have a major impact on the Boston Bruins, who are idle Wednesday night.
As it stands right now, the Red Wings are in third place in the Atlantic Division with 91 points with three games. Boston also has 91 points, but Detroit has a one ROW advantage over the B’s for the tiebreaker. The Flyers are also at the 91-point mark currently, which has them in the last wild card spot in the East with four games to play.
Both the Bruins and Red Wings will have a shot at the wild card depending on how Philadelphia’s next four games go. Because of a makeup game scheduled for Sunday, the Flyers will close out the season with a fairly grueling four games in five days. It’s going to be a grind and every one of those games could end up mattering in their playoff hopes. That’s why coming away with a win in Detroit is going to be particularly important. Of the teams closest to them, Detroit is the only team the Flyers can steal points from to keep themselves ahead.
Philadelphia is expected to turn to Steve Mason for his 10th straight start in this crucial game. He is 5-3-1 over the nine games leading into this one. After giving up five to the Penguins in his last start, you have to wonder if fatigue is setting in. The good news, however, is that the Flyers managed to get two days without games to prepare for this crucial stretch, but Mason is going to have to be at his sharpest to help pull the team through.
The Flyers may have a slight mental edge Wednesday as well, as they won each of the first two meetings against Detroit this season. Mason was in net for one of those games, making 34 saves in a 4-3 win. Getting the season sweep is going to be challenging, but also the best way to get a little breathing room ahead of the final trio of games to close out the season.
Meanwhile, the Red Wings will be looking to stay warm. They’ve won six of their last nine games including two straight. It’s helped them get into the position they’re in right now, but the way the schedule set up, they’ve got back-to-back games that could make or break their season.
After taking on the Flyers Wednesday at home, they have to travel to Boston for a contest that could have a Game 7-type feel against the Bruins. A win against the Flyers could turn Thursday into a clinching opportunity, but it will be one step at a time for a Red Wings team shouldering the burden of trying to extend their historic playoff streak to 25 seasons.
Wednesday night’s game also has an element of drama for another reason. Reports surfaced last weekend that Pavel Datsyuk is considering a move back to Russia after this season, leaving one year on his NHL contract. There have been no outright denials issued by any party, which suggests that this is a distinct possibility. If that is the case, given the circumstances of their season right now, this could end up being Datsyuk’s last game in Detroit. The Red Wings close out the season with two road games and if they were to miss the playoffs, this could be the Magic Man’s last ride in Hockeytown. For Red Wings and NHL fans at large, let’s hope he’s back for one more year, but you have to at least consider the possibility that he’s in his final weeks as a NHL player. That just adds another twist to what is already a huge game.
Considering the stakes Wednesday, it’s going to be a pretty tight affair. The two previous games between the two clubs were much of the same. It will be interesting to see how adding a dose of extra pressure to the mix will affect the teams, but if there’s one thing Philadelphia has shown over the last few weeks, it’s resilience. They haven’t lost consecutive games since mid-February and with the way they’ve played over the last two months, that seems unlikely to change. Pick: Flyers 3, Red Wings 2
The rest of Wednesday’s picks
Blue Jackets 3, Maple Leafs 1
Both the Red Wings and Flyers need the two points from Wednesday’s game badly. (USATSI)
