Matt's Picks (2 Live)
Utah has some wiggle room in terms of a West wild-card spot, but slumping Seattle has to have two points. The Kraken haven't been quite the home cash cow of late but are still an excellent 23-13 ATS there. Utah is 18-20 ATS away. The Mammoth remain without top-six forward Barrett Hayton (25 points). They lead the season series 2-0, but Karel Vejmelka gave up three in each and those were in Salt Lake City. Also before Seattle made the excellent trade for Toronto's Bobby McMann.
The Jackets probably played above their paygrade much of the season and are fading on a four-game skid outscored 9-1. Elvis is in the building tonight in Raleigh but Merzlikins is their lesser goalie with a 3.34 GAA. A handful of rotation guys are out. Carolina is playing for the East's top seed and healthy. And it just romped 5-2 in Columbus on Tuesday.
Seattle has a single win on this six-game trip that concludes in Edmonton. The Kraken have lost their past six trips to Rogers Place and are just 5-9-2 since the Olympic break. Joey Daccord (should be him -- Kraken taking forever to make it official) has lost three in a row and has a 4.52 GAA this year against the Oilers. For Edmonton, Matt Savoie has stepped up in place of the injured Leon Draisaitl with goals in three consecutive games. Connor Ingram has won back-to-back outings in net.
Hopefully favorites can make one big last push the final two weeks or so of the NHL regular season as underdogs have still been doing well of late. The Isles were small upset home losers Monday, and tonight's starter in net David Rittich had to see action in that 8-3 defeat to Pittsburgh in relief of Ilya Sorokin. Rittich hasn't been great in March with a 4.18 GAA. Overall, he's 3-6-2 away. Buffalo has been off since Saturday and is 10-2-2 in March. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is 3-1-1 with a .937 save percentage in his last five games. The Sabres have beaten Rittich and the Islanders both times this season.
The Leafs, 2-8 in their past 10 roadies, have nothing to play for other than pride and could officially be eliminated from playoff contention Monday depending. Anaheim is battling for the Pacific Division title and a terrific 23-10-2 on home ice. Blueliner and trade acquisition John Carlson has eight assists through his first seven games with the Ducks -- most by a player through their first seven games with Anaheim. The Ducks lead the NHL with 25 comeback wins, so don't fret a possible 1-0 hole.
Second of a back-to-back for both, but I think the goalie setup works in our favor. The Blue Jackets have among the fewest regulation home losses in the league but took a tough one Saturday, twice blowing one-goal leads (that hurt) vs. San Jose. But Columbus used its lesser goalie in Elvis Merzlikins, meaning Jet Greaves today. He has a 1.66 GAA and .929 SV over his past six. Boston presumably will have to use backup Joonas Korpisalo in the second of a B2B. He's 3-5-4 away with a 3.51 GAA.
Was hoping to be 2-0 in the early window and just call it a day, but in a major rarity the Blue Jackets lost a home game in which they scored first. And home is all this is. Calgary as we have said many times is just completely different in the Saddledome, and this concludes a six-game homestand in which the Flames had won all until blowing a late lead Thursday and falling in OT. The Canucks quit weeks ago and are tanking for lottery purposes. Struggling Nikita Tolopilo gets his first start in net in two weeks. His road GAA on the year is 4.03.
The Sharks were a nice story for a while but have fallen off a cliff with six straight losses to all but end any West wild-card hopes. They are four games under .500 away, and this is the end of a trip. Columbus is right in the middle of the East playoff chase and terrific at home with only eight regulation losses. The Jackets have points in 12 straight home games, tying a franchise record. Overall, Columbus is 20-4-4 since Jan. 11 and leads the NHL in points percentage (.786) in that span.
This will go up probably 20-25 cents by Saturday early puck drop as massive disappointment Florida is shutting guys down left and right with the playoffs a pipe dream at this point. The mini-dynasty is finished. The Islanders need every point they can get for an East playoff spot and already have confirmed No. 1 Ilya Sorokin in net for Saturday. The Vezina candidate leads the NHL with seven shutouts and has won his past two, allowing just one goal on 53 total shots.
The Flames would be Stanley Cup contenders if every game were in Calgary whereas on the road they might be the worst team in the league. Just shocking splits. The Flames are unbeaten in the first four of this six-game homestand. Calgary has overcome a deficit in each of their last two games and can record three consecutive comeback wins for the first time since 2024-25. Netminder Devin Cooley has a 1.85 GAA vs. the Ducks this season. Anaheim is 2-0 in the series but won in OT and a shootout.
Hit a bit of a rough patch in hockey this week as a lot of decent-sized road underdogs have been winning. Rarely good for me. But I don't think this will keep going as this is usually the time of year favorites dominate because they are the ones generally pushing for the playoffs. And that's the case here. The Hawks are playing out the string, while the Flyers absolutely, positively have to get the full two points so I'll just stick with the moneyline. Over his last five outings, netminder Dan Vladar has a 1.76 GAA and a .931 save percentage. Philly eyes the sweep courtesy of a 3-1 win in the Windy City on Dec. 23.
Second of a back-to-back on Wednesday for Boston, which will mean a major downgrade in net (barring something very unusual) to Joonas Korpisalo, who has a single win in his past six with a 3.93 GAA and .876 SV. Buffalo returns to NY from a four-game trip with one of the best home marks in the league at 22-9-3 and off since Sunday. The Sabres have won 32 games when scoring first this season, second most in the league. They lost two early-season meetings with Boston but won the most recent home matchup easily.
The Oilers can't start Connor Ingram in net every single game, so they are going with Tristan Jarry tonight and he's the fade reason. The former Penguin gave up seven in his last start on March 12 and has a brutal 4.17 GAA overall since joining the Oilers in trade from Pittsburgh. The Edmonton offense clearly misses Leon Draisaitl having dropped two straight and totaling two goals. The Mammoth haven't won in four tries in this series since moving to Utah, so they are due. Edmonton is 2-for-16 on the power play over the past five, while Utah's PK 15-for-17 over the last five.