A great night of hockey across the NHL last night saw us go one for two as the Flyers and Jets created a flurry of offense in a 5-4 Philly overtime win, while the Kings jumped out to an early 3-0 as road underdogs but collapsed late and ended up dropping a 5-4 shootout decision to the visiting Coyotes. A slower night in the NHL tonight sees just 3 games on the slate, and I’m hopping back onto another road dog to come out on top to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
NHL Pick for February 22nd
Washington Capitals @ Ottawa Senators
It would be tough to believe someone if they had told you that the Ottawa Senators would be sitting comfortably in a playoff spot by mid-February, while the highly talented Washington Capitals would be in a 3-way battle to grab the 8th and final playoff spot in the East. It certainly hasnt been the turnaround the Capitals had hoped for when they fired the popular Bruce Boudreau and replaced him with former Capital Dale Hunter early in the season. The Capitals were thumped by the lowly Carolina Hurricanes 5-0 on Monday night, a showing that cannot be repeated if this team has any postseason hopes. That being said, I feel this is a good rebound game for the Caps. Yes they are bad on the road, but Ottawa is no sure thing at home either. The sens are just 15-11-3 at Scotiabank Place this year with a rank of 23rd in the league, compared to their 5th ranked road record of 16-11-5. Craig Anderson is just 4-5-1 in his career against the Capitals, and boats a 2.81 goals against average while doing so. He was hit for four goals last meeting with Washington way back on December the 7th, resulting in a 5-3 Washington victory at Scotiabank place. The Caps have won all three meetings against the Sens so far this season, and are 7-2-1 vs. Ottawa in their last 10 meetings with the Sens. Maybe most important for the Caps during their 3 victories over the Sens this year is the fact they held Ottawa’s star players in check. Jason Spezza, Sergei Gonchar and Daniel Alfredsson had a combined 3 points and a -10 rating over those 3 games, while the entire Senators roster has just 5 players who boast a plus rating this season against Washington. That isn’t great news for a team who has given up a whopping 183 goals on the season, the 4th most in the NHL this year, against an offense that we know can explode at any given time. Mike Green’s return has yet to kickstart this team’s offense from the back end, but look for the blueliner to have an impact in what should be a little more of a back and forth game than usual. The Sens are 1-6 in their last 7 overall vs. Washington, and they are 1-5 in their last 6 games at home. Given this is as close to a must win Washington has had since last year’s playoffs, look for the Caps to come out hard tonight to stay in the Eastern Conference playoff mix.
My Pick – CAPITALS +130 (bet it at www.5dimes.com and get $520 FREE)