The Predators managed just 17 shots on goal last night to defeat the Blackhawks 2-0. Crawford allowed 2 goals on 17 shots for a .882 SV% while Pekka Rinne stopped all 29 shots from the Blackhawks.
If any of you kept your eye on the PGA tour standings yesterday you know that Steve’s members were just 1 place away from a $3800 payday as Keegan Bradley finished 2nd place at 38/1 odds. You can sign up for Steve’s picks here.
We have a solid play going for Monday:
LA Kings @ Philadelphia Flyers: FLYERS 1.94
Everything is going right for the Philadelphia Flyers right now. They’ve won five in a row overall, and each of their last four contests at Home. The Philadelphia club has faced some of the fiercest competition in the NHL in their last five games, emerging victorious. This includes two victories over Pittsburgh (one of which a 4-0 shutout), a win over Chicago and a (4-1) win over St.Louis. The Flyers are in a battle with the New York Rangers for the final two spots in the Metropolitan Division. The good news for Philadelphia is that they have a 1 point lead on the 3rd place Rangers, while the Rangers have played two more games than the Flyers have. This means the Flyers have a potential 5 point lead on the Rangers assuming they can win the other two games. The Red Wings hold the first available Wild card spot in the Eastern Division with 80 points so it will be a close race indeed, every game is crucial for the Flyers. The Philadelphia offense is hot, having scored an average of 3.80 goals per game over their last 10 games, while allowing just 2.40 goals against per game. The Flyers have scored 4 goals or more in 7 of their last 8 wins, truly impressive. It’s not surprise the Flyers have been converting on the power play, having gone 24.3% on the man advantage over their last 10 games. This is a significant improvement for the Flyers as they are just 10th overall on the power play (19.9%). The Kings shutout the Panthers 4-0 on Saturday. The Kings rank 11th on the penalty kill overall at 83.3%, however they have gone 89.3% over their last 10 games, however their recent success will be put to the test tonight against of the Flyers. The Flyers have maintained a solid 87.5% penalty kill over their last 10 games and are 8th overall with their 84.5% penalty kill. It’s no secret that the Kings have the best defense in the NHL, allowing just 2.04 goals against per game, and have allowed just 1.70 goals against per game over their last 10 games. The Kings are a defensive team while the Flyers have had a recent surge of scoring (3.80 G/G L10) but have also maintained a decent defense (2.40 GA/G L10). The Los Angeles offense is currently the 4th worst in the NHL scoring just 2.35 goals per game on average. The Kings have won back to back games, however one of them required a shootout where they slid past the Capitals 2-1. The other victory was the previously mentioned 4 goal shutout over Florida on Saturday. The Panthers have the 4th worst defense in the NHL (3.18 GA/G) and 2nd worst offense (2.33 G/G) so the 4-0 blowout isn’t nearly as impressive as the recent victories from the Flyers. Chiacgo, St.Louis, and Pittsburgh are amongst the 5 best offensive teams in the NHL and the Flyers kept all of them to just 6 combined goals in 4 games (played Pittsburgh twice), allowing an average of just 1.50 goals against per game against some of the best offensive teams in the League. The Flyers have proven they have what it takes to succeed. They’ve been scoring plenty of goals while their defense actually begins to improve at the same time. The Kings have a solid defense but their offense just isn’t as powerful as that of the Philadelphia club. We’ll back the Flyers tonight and look for them to win their 6th in a row at the expense of the Kings.
