 Monday Night Picks
Vancouver at Washington (-125, 5.5)
Early indicators is that both of these teams will put up goals in bunches. Although this may be a bit tainted by the Nucks whipping up on the goaltender less, err…I mean Calgary Flames both games so far this year. The Nucks are 1/14 on the PP and have a perfect 13-for-13 PKs. I look for both of these numbers to be more evened out by the end of this game. The Caps should be able to slice though through Vancouver’s D with a bit more ease. Just as the Nucks should not have much of a problem with Washington's blue line. Theodore had a much better game against Chicago on Saturday, but take note that he only faced 21 shots so he wasn’t tested that much. There is still a major question mark in goal.
Theodore has owned Vancouver since he started playing with the Avs. He is 9-4 and the OU is 6-7 against them. Luongo is 13-4-3, winning the last 10 games and the OU is 3-14-3 Nice clash of stats here. But putting that all aside and taking the over.
Pick: over 5.5
Montreal at Philadelphia (-115, 5.5)
This series is going to be great this year. The Flyers started the year off by dropping a 4-3 game to the Rangers on Saturday. Considering that the Rangers have started 4-0 for the first time in 25 years there really isn't much shame in that. Last year the Flyers had a huge turnaround in the standings and it had a great deal to do with their physical play and key free agent signings. In the offseason this year they lost a couple guys in the likes of Jim Dowd and R.J. Umberger, but signed Arron Asham and Ossi Vaananen. The blue line is still big and strong. They are not going to score many goals, but when you cross them you will have a few marks on you to remember it by. Look for many penalty kills from this team. They have a huge mark on them because of their play and every little ticky tack thing will be called. Martin Biron will have starting duties once again this year. The backup in Buffalo finally got his chance in Philly and he has made the most of it.
Montreal seems to have all of the pieces to make a Cup run in their 100th year. They have started out by getting points in their first two games. They do have a shot at it with everything falling perfectly into place. This teams third line could be starting on some teams. Starting with the pickups on the offseason, Alex Tanguay dropped off last year to 58 points from 81 the year before. But being on the same line with Plekanec and Kovalev should take care of that little problem. The Habs also picked up a veteran presence in Robert Lang that will keep things on the straight and narrow. He had 54 points for a very middle of the road Hawks team last year. It should be interesting to see him between the Kostitsyn brothers on the second line.
I’m not sure how Koivu will handle being knocked down a line. It will really test his character, but that’s the great thing about this team - if someone starts to falter there is no shortage of players that can step up. With some of the players being knocked around last year, Georges Larque was signed for some protection muscle. That should give the guys a bit more space out there.
Kovalev found his scoring touch again last year, putting up 84 points, the most he has had since the 2000 season when he was with the Pens. I don’t know if I expect that from him again this year, but 30 goals and 40 helpers is not out of the question.
These teams played over in six of nine meetings last year. There were power play goals scored in every game and there should be a couple scored in this one. Look for plenty of penalties and plenty of open ice.
"Want some foil coach?”
Pick: Over 5.5
Raji | 
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