Only two games on the ice tonight but we have a pick on both.

Tampa Bay Lightning at Montreal Canadiens

NHL Odds: Canadiens -108 

 

The Montreal Canadiens have three games remaining in their season but they’re already looking forward to spring, golf and catching up on Dancing With The Stars. They’ve lost seven of their last eight games and are likely to be without top goaltender Carey Price on Wednesday, who is rumored to be dealing with a concussion. 

We delved into this matchup in further depth in the full preview, which can be seen in the NHL section, but the crux of it is pretty simple. The Habs are the worst team in the East, they’re spiraling downwards as the season comes to a conclusion, they’re dealing with a backup goaltender, who has lost seven of his last eight starts, and they’re facing a Lightning team that’s won five of seven. 

Also, the Habs have the fewest home wins in the NHL. There’s little reason to go with Montreal in this game, so stick with Tampa Bay. 

NHL Picks: Lightning

  

Detroit Red Wings at St. Louis Blues

NHL Odds: Blues -150 

Both the Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues have spent time at the top of the NHL standings this season but as the playoffs approach, both are in a funk.

The Red Wings barely scraped out a 2-1 shootout win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday, which was only their fourth win in their last 15 games. They’ve been startlingly bad and have dropped from first in the West all the way down to fifth just one point ahead of the sixth-place Chicago Blackhawks. 

Detroit hasn’t been a good road team at all this season but the bigger red flag has been their recent performance at Joe Louis Arena. The same team that set an NHL record for the most consecutive home wins this season with 23 has won just five of their last 10 games in their own confines. Home losses to Washington and Colorado aren’t exactly encouraging. 

Meanwhile, the Blues have also been slumping and they’ve picked the worst time of the season to do it. They’re a surprise team and a young one at that, so home-ice advantage in the Western Conference playoffs and the easiest possible first round matchup would have been crucial to them. Instead, they’ve lost six of nine – including an embarrassing 5-2 home loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday – and have dropped to second. 

This is a tough spot as a bettor as laying -150 with St. Louis isn’t exactly enticing when you consider that they’ve already locked up one of the top two seeds in the West and really don’t have a lot to play for. 

At the same time, the Red Wings have lost seven straight on the road and the Blues now have the best home-ice advantage with a record of 30-5-4 at the Scottrade Center. 

The Blues haven’t lost two straight at home in over a year, so we’re not going to bet against that in this spot. After the slapdash performance against Columbus, Ken Hitchcock put his team through the rigors of a tough practice on Monday. 

It’s likely we see Brian Elliott back in net for the Blues as Jaroslav Halak has lost three straight and likely quelled any debate over who will start in net for the Blues come playoff time. With Jimmy Howard his opposite, under might be worth as all five meetings this season have seen less than six goals. 

We’ll put light plays both on the Blues and the under. 

NHL Picks: Blues & Under