Ice Picks of the Day Take a close look at these four #NHL tilts: 1) Take the #NewYorkIslanders (Moneyline; -145) at home against their inner-city rivals the #NewYorkRangers. Already a top-10 scoring team, the New York Islanders added one of only 15 players to score 20 goals in the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season. Theyll get their first look at new acquisition Thomas Vanek on Tuesday night when they face the rival New York Rangers for the first time this season. Vanek had four goals and five assists in 13 games with Buffalo, where he spent his first eight-plus seasons. He had 20 goals and 21 assists in 38 games in 2012-13 and scored at least 25 in each of his previous seven seasons. The Rangers are the only team in the league to be shut out three times, and theyve scored two goals or fewer in seven of 10 games. Last seasons leading scorer Derek Stepan hasnt scored in 10 games this year, and only two players (Brad Richards and Ryan Callahan) have more than one goal. The Rangers have dominated this rivalry of late, going 7-0-2 in the series since their last regulation loss October 15, 2011. Lundqvist is 9-2-0 with a 1.87 goals-against average in his last 11 starts against the Islanders. The experts are liking the the Islanders, selecting them 73.33% to win. The Cappers RSI is 4-0 in favor of the Islanders. These two triggers make the Islanders and easy pick. 2) Additionally, definitely ride the #AnaheimDucks (Moneyline; -115) in Philly tonight. The Ducks STRUGGLE against quicker, faster teams without size. In Phillys case, this is not the issue. Philly attempts to play an Anaheim type style but they do not nearly do it as well as the Birds. Anaheim is banged up a bit and will play without Jakob Silfverberg, Saku Koivu and might be without center Mathieu Perreault, who sprained his left wrist in Ottawa and did not play against the Blue Jackets. Perreault is third on the team with nine points. The Ducks, though, still have leading scorer Corey Perry. The right wing scored his sixth goal Sunday. Teammate Ryan Getzlaf has scored in each of his last two games, giving him five goals and 12 points. He has two goals and three assists in his last four games against the Flyers (3-7-0). Anaheim also has been banged up between the pipes, where Viktor Fasth hasnt played since suffering a lower-body injury Oct. 16 and has since returned to Anaheim for treatment. Rookie Frederik Andersen, however, has stopped 44 of 48 shots while winning the last two, and the Ducks announced Sunday that they signed him to a two-year extension. Philadelphia team looking to build on its season-best scoring effort in a 5-2 road win over the New York Islanders on Saturday. The Flyers, averaging 1.8 goals, hadnt scored more than twice in any of their first nine games. Vincent Lecavalier provided them with a spark Saturday with his seventh career hat trick. After a franchise-worst 1-7 start, Philadelphia has a chance to win three straight as it faces the Ducks. Steve Mason has been a bright spot during Philadelphias struggles. He stopped 26 of 28 shots versus New York, lowering his goals-against average to 2.15. Mason, however, went 0-1 with a 6.87 GAA in his last two appearances against Anaheim while with Columbus in 2011-12. The Ducks are the experts selection too, being selected 82.35% to win. The Icecappers RSI in this game is 4-1 in the Ducks favor. again, making this game a must selection in Anaheims favor. 3) Take the white hot #TampaBayLightning (Moneyline; -105), who is in New Jersey tonight. The Tampa Bay Lighting have won three in a row, and they arent having to look far down the bench for the offense that has fueled those victories. Top scorers Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis each have three goals in the last three games. Stamkos has 15 points in his last eight games, registering seven during the winning streak, while St. Louis has 14 in his last 10. Stamkos also netted the shootout winner in Sundays 4-3 victory at Florida. Additionally, Tampa has won five of six, which includes victories over Los Angeles, Minnesota and Chicago. Meanwhile, the Devils have been finding a way to win lately, going 2-1-1 in their last four games after opening 0-4-3. First-year Devils winger Jaromir Jagr has six assists in the last four games, with two coming in a come-from-behind 4-3 win at Boston on Saturday. New Jersey (2-5-4) scored all of its goals on the power play against a Bruins team that allowed three power-play goals in its first nine games. It was the Devils fifth straight game with a power-play goal after managing one in their first six. Unfortunately the Horns placed goaltender Cory Schneider and defenseman Bryce Salvador on injured reserve Monday. Schneider didnt travel to Boston due to a lower-body injury, while Salvador has a stress fracture in his foot. The experts are selecting Tampa Bay to win at a clip of 70.59%. Caps RSI is 3-0. No brainer here, take the Bolts. 4) Lastly, despite the experts only selecting them 52.94% to win and Cappers RSI being 2-1 in favor of their opponent ... I just cannot see the #StLouisBlues LOSING on home ice to the Jets, who beat them last Friday night. Take the Blues, at home, (Moneyline; -210) in what I see as a revenge game. The Bluenotes look to build on their latest win while trying to avenge a recent loss to the Jets. St. Louis (6-1-2) totaled 10 goals during a 1-1-2 stretch that preceded a 6-1 victory at Nashville on Saturday. Steen scored twice and T.J. Oshie, Jaden Schwartz and Alex Pietrangelo each had a goal and an assist. Why the Blues? Look no further than this ... Winnipeg has been held to two goals in each game on the trip and is 0 for 25 on the power play over the last eight contests. The Jets, last in the NHL on the power play last season at 13.8 percent, again sit near the bottom at 5 for 49. The franchise has not gone nine straight games without a power-play goal since an 0-for-38 drought that covered 12 contests Feb. 8-March 14, 2002, when the team was the Atlanta Thrashers. Wheeler scored Winnipegs most recent power-play goal during the third period of a 4-1 loss to Dallas on Oct. 11. The Jets are 2 for 20 with the man advantage on the road. Enjoy all eight games this evening and we will talk to you iin a few hours.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 22:20:19 +0000