Detroit Red Wings vs. New York Rangers 11/9

Overview

Well, last night's game didn’t go exactly how I wanted it to. Unfortunately, I will probably be hearing about it from my Canadian side of the family soon. I didn’t really feel as though that was a bad game for the Wings, as the Leafs just capitalized on more of their opportunities. Without the empty net, the Leafs scored both goals on the powerplay but didn’t really do anything else too special out there. The Red Wings also had their chances, only going 1 for 3 on the powerplay, but they had way too many chances to score throughout the game. Unfortunately, it was just one of those nights when they just couldn’t buy a goal. No one played badly on the team, but the one glaring issue I noticed was entry passes into the zone and just passes in general. It seemed like every pass a Wings player tried to make would either get deflected or end up in the opposing team’s skates. Overall, it wasn’t a bad game against a solid team, but they had plenty of chances to win it.

Along with the loss, we also struck out once again with our picks. It’s times like these when you feel like a prediction will never happen again, but the key is staying persistent and grinding it out. Kasper had a ton of good looks last night, as did the third line in general. I hope they don’t split that line up, despite the production, because they seem to dominate and control the ice whenever they are in. As well as missing Kasper to notch one, with a loss against the Leafs, there was no way for the other two picks to win as well. Tonight marks the third matchup of the year against the Rangers, so hopefully we can end this dry streak.

Prediction

It seems like every team we play, I have some sort of connection to. My good friend Andrew is a big Rags fan, so a win tonight would be extra special. The first two games against the Rangers didn’t go as planned, so tonight is a good opportunity to end the season series against New York on a high note. We just saw on Thursday that Igor is not bulletproof, and let in 6 goals against the Sabres. As of right now, I’m not sure if Igor or Quick will be in the net, but as a team, they’re a little rattled after that. The key for tonight will be to take advantage of the opportunities that the Rangers give us. We will need production from at least three of the four lines tonight, as well as the defense stepping up for whoever will be in net for the Wings. I like where Detroit is at right now, at 2-1 in November, but the only thing that looks better than 2-1 is 3-1.

Coming into tonight, we are 0 for 2 when betting against the Rangers and 0 for 6 in our last six picks, so we are definitely due for a good one here. As we’ve seen, the Rangers are a very good team and have dominated us in the first two matchups, but I won’t let that intimidate me. They just got blown out by a weaker Sabres team, so there are definitely some cracks showing in November. After a game where the Red Wings couldn’t buy one, I’m expecting some fireworks tonight against New York. The first pick I’m taking is for the Wings to score three or more goals tonight. They are a much better team than last time and were able to almost hit this goal mark in that game, so three shouldn’t be an issue. To wrap up tonight’s picks, I will be looking for the Wings to win this game in regulation. As I said yesterday, the Wings haven’t been in overtime much this season, so I don’t expect them to change that tonight.

Picks

Red Wings 3-Way ML +240 (2u) 

Red Wings Total Goals o2.5 -120 (2u)