In the Crease - Week 8
Joe Williams
Coyote Not-So-Ugly
The Arizona Coyotes posted a 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, as Antti Raanta posted the shutout over Jonathan Quick and the visitors. It was the second straight 3-0 shutout win for the Coyotes, as they also extinguished the Calgary Flames behind Darcy Kuemper. The tidy goaltending is needed, as the offense has been struggling lately. Arizona is averaging just 2.73 goals per game, and they're yielding just 2.1 goals per game allowed over the past 10. Needless to say, the 'under' has been a frequent happening for the Coyotes, going 4-0-0 in the past four outings, and 9-3-0 across the past 12 outings.
Looking Ahead
Tuesday, Nov. 19
N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh: These rivals meet in the Steel City, and that's usually bad news for the red-hot Islanders. They're just 12-31 their past 43 trips to Pittsburgh. The last time these two teams hooked up on the Island, the Pens won 4-3 in overtime to snap a 10-game winning streak by the Islanders. The Penguins have been a little bit up and down lately, as they just emasculated the Maple Leafs 6-1, but that comes on the heels of two losses in the New York City Metro area where they scored just three total goals against the Devils and Rangers in two losses. They have been much more prolific at home, averaging 4.3 goals per game across the past four at home. The Isles have lost just once in the past 14 games, that OT setback to the Pens, dating back to Oct. 11 in Carolina.
Edmonton at San Jose: These two teams just met on Nov. 12 at SAP Center in San Jose, and it was the Sharks coming away with a 6-3 victory behind Martin Jones. The Oilers have been playing a lot of end-to-end hockey lately, as their past four games have seen a total of eight goals. The Oilers are averaging 4.8 goals per game, while they're allowing 3.8 goals outing during the four-game span. The key to the success of the Oilers has been their strength on the power play, as they're hitting at a 31.8-percent clip, tops in the NHL. They're also sixth in the NHL, allowing just 2.7 goals per game while ranking third on the penalty kill. None of that worked last time they were in San Jose, however. The Oilers have lost the past five meetings in this series, and they're just 1-4 in the past five trips to the Bay Area. The 'over' has hit in nine of the past 10 meetings in this series, too.
Wednesday, Nov. 20
Washington at N.Y. Rangers: The Capitals invade Madison Square Garden in one of just two games in a late NHL slate. The Capitals have been steady everywhere, but especially on the road. They have rattled off five straight road outings, and they're 4-0 in the past four away games against teams with a losing road record. The Caps have also taken 16 of the past 23 against Metropolitan Division foes. The Caps have dominated the Blueshirts over the past couple of seasons, too, winning 10 of the past 11 meetings, while going 4-1 in the past five trips to MSG. The under is 4-1-1 in the past six battles in Manhattan, too. The Capitals won all four regular-season games, but three of them were decided by one goal, with two of those outings going to overtime and one to a shootout. In the low meeting between Henrik Lundqvist and Braden Holtby last season, the Caps won 4-3 in OT.
Thursday, Nov. 21
Philadelphia at Carolina: Look for me and my son on television, as I'll be attending this game as a dad and fan as the undercard to my game at 11p.m. in Hillsborough, N.C. The Hurricanes will be looking to exact a little revenge on the Flyers, who beat down Carolina by a 4-1 score in the City of Brotherly Love on Nov. 5 as Carter Hart outdueled Petr Mrazek. The Hurricanes and Mrazek played fairly well in the first 40 minutes, but the Fly Guys posted three goals by Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee and Claude Giroux in the third period to pull away. One of their goals came on the power play, too. That's been an area of concern for the Hurricanes, as they're a rather middling 83.3 percent, or 12th in the NHL, on the kill. They're also 15th in the NHL with 3.0 goals per game allowed. Offensively, the Canes are averaging 3.5 goals per game to rank eighth, and they're sixth on the power play, converting at 23.8 percent. The Flyers are 16th on the power play, and seventh on the kill, and they're ninth in goals against with just 2.8 per game allowed.
San Jose at Vegas: The Sharks are hoping that the third time is a charm. They opened the season in a home-and-home against the Golden Knights, and Vegas outscored San Jose by a 9-2 score behind Marc-Andre Fleury for a pair of wins by the Golden Knights. The 'under' connected in both of the outings thanks to San Jose's toothless attack on offense. In recent years this has become one of the better new rivalries in the Western Conference. San Jose hopes that their improved offense of late will help them get a little revenge against Vegas. The Sharks have totaled 27 goals during their six-game winning streak from Nov. 5-16, hitting the 'over' in four of the past five games heading into Tuesday's battle against the Oilers.
Friday, Oct. 22
N.Y. Rangers at Ottawa: The Senators might have played their most complete game of the season in a Nov. 4 victory against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, and don't think the Blueshirts have forgotten about that setback. The memory of a hockey player is lengthy. The Senators were exacting revenge for a 4-1 setback in Canada's capital city against the Rangers back on Oct. 5, and now it's New York's chance for redemption. The road team has won three straight in this series since the Senators won on home ice Nov. 29, 2018 against the Rangers. The 'under' has connected in seven of the past nine meeting in this series dating back to Dec. 27, 2016.
Joe Williams
Coyote Not-So-Ugly
The Arizona Coyotes posted a 3-0 victory over the Los Angeles Kings on Monday night, as Antti Raanta posted the shutout over Jonathan Quick and the visitors. It was the second straight 3-0 shutout win for the Coyotes, as they also extinguished the Calgary Flames behind Darcy Kuemper. The tidy goaltending is needed, as the offense has been struggling lately. Arizona is averaging just 2.73 goals per game, and they're yielding just 2.1 goals per game allowed over the past 10. Needless to say, the 'under' has been a frequent happening for the Coyotes, going 4-0-0 in the past four outings, and 9-3-0 across the past 12 outings.
Looking Ahead
Tuesday, Nov. 19
N.Y. Islanders at Pittsburgh: These rivals meet in the Steel City, and that's usually bad news for the red-hot Islanders. They're just 12-31 their past 43 trips to Pittsburgh. The last time these two teams hooked up on the Island, the Pens won 4-3 in overtime to snap a 10-game winning streak by the Islanders. The Penguins have been a little bit up and down lately, as they just emasculated the Maple Leafs 6-1, but that comes on the heels of two losses in the New York City Metro area where they scored just three total goals against the Devils and Rangers in two losses. They have been much more prolific at home, averaging 4.3 goals per game across the past four at home. The Isles have lost just once in the past 14 games, that OT setback to the Pens, dating back to Oct. 11 in Carolina.
Edmonton at San Jose: These two teams just met on Nov. 12 at SAP Center in San Jose, and it was the Sharks coming away with a 6-3 victory behind Martin Jones. The Oilers have been playing a lot of end-to-end hockey lately, as their past four games have seen a total of eight goals. The Oilers are averaging 4.8 goals per game, while they're allowing 3.8 goals outing during the four-game span. The key to the success of the Oilers has been their strength on the power play, as they're hitting at a 31.8-percent clip, tops in the NHL. They're also sixth in the NHL, allowing just 2.7 goals per game while ranking third on the penalty kill. None of that worked last time they were in San Jose, however. The Oilers have lost the past five meetings in this series, and they're just 1-4 in the past five trips to the Bay Area. The 'over' has hit in nine of the past 10 meetings in this series, too.
Wednesday, Nov. 20
Washington at N.Y. Rangers: The Capitals invade Madison Square Garden in one of just two games in a late NHL slate. The Capitals have been steady everywhere, but especially on the road. They have rattled off five straight road outings, and they're 4-0 in the past four away games against teams with a losing road record. The Caps have also taken 16 of the past 23 against Metropolitan Division foes. The Caps have dominated the Blueshirts over the past couple of seasons, too, winning 10 of the past 11 meetings, while going 4-1 in the past five trips to MSG. The under is 4-1-1 in the past six battles in Manhattan, too. The Capitals won all four regular-season games, but three of them were decided by one goal, with two of those outings going to overtime and one to a shootout. In the low meeting between Henrik Lundqvist and Braden Holtby last season, the Caps won 4-3 in OT.
Thursday, Nov. 21
Philadelphia at Carolina: Look for me and my son on television, as I'll be attending this game as a dad and fan as the undercard to my game at 11p.m. in Hillsborough, N.C. The Hurricanes will be looking to exact a little revenge on the Flyers, who beat down Carolina by a 4-1 score in the City of Brotherly Love on Nov. 5 as Carter Hart outdueled Petr Mrazek. The Hurricanes and Mrazek played fairly well in the first 40 minutes, but the Fly Guys posted three goals by Travis Konecny, Joel Farabee and Claude Giroux in the third period to pull away. One of their goals came on the power play, too. That's been an area of concern for the Hurricanes, as they're a rather middling 83.3 percent, or 12th in the NHL, on the kill. They're also 15th in the NHL with 3.0 goals per game allowed. Offensively, the Canes are averaging 3.5 goals per game to rank eighth, and they're sixth on the power play, converting at 23.8 percent. The Flyers are 16th on the power play, and seventh on the kill, and they're ninth in goals against with just 2.8 per game allowed.
San Jose at Vegas: The Sharks are hoping that the third time is a charm. They opened the season in a home-and-home against the Golden Knights, and Vegas outscored San Jose by a 9-2 score behind Marc-Andre Fleury for a pair of wins by the Golden Knights. The 'under' connected in both of the outings thanks to San Jose's toothless attack on offense. In recent years this has become one of the better new rivalries in the Western Conference. San Jose hopes that their improved offense of late will help them get a little revenge against Vegas. The Sharks have totaled 27 goals during their six-game winning streak from Nov. 5-16, hitting the 'over' in four of the past five games heading into Tuesday's battle against the Oilers.
Friday, Oct. 22
N.Y. Rangers at Ottawa: The Senators might have played their most complete game of the season in a Nov. 4 victory against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, and don't think the Blueshirts have forgotten about that setback. The memory of a hockey player is lengthy. The Senators were exacting revenge for a 4-1 setback in Canada's capital city against the Rangers back on Oct. 5, and now it's New York's chance for redemption. The road team has won three straight in this series since the Senators won on home ice Nov. 29, 2018 against the Rangers. The 'under' has connected in seven of the past nine meeting in this series dating back to Dec. 27, 2016.
