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NHL
Friday, March 27
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Ice Picks: NHL best bets
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New York Islanders at Detroit Red Wings (-370, 6)
Detroit remained tied with San Jose for the top seed in the West and in the race for the Presidents' Trophy with the Sharks' 3-2 loss at Nashville on Thursday.
Both the Red Wings and Sharks head into Friday's play with eight games remaining, but while San Jose has an even split between home and road contests, Detroit will play six at Joe Louis Arena - where it is 26-5-4 overall and 10-1-2 since February.
After a pair of solid efforts from Ty Conklin, the Red Wings are expected to look to Chris Osgood on Friday. Osgood had seemed to find consistency over the last two weeks but was pulled for Conklin during Monday's 5-3 defeat in Calgary after giving up three goals in the first 25:38.
Osgood, who played with the Islanders from 2001-03, is 6-1-0 with a 1.72 goals-against average in seven lifetime appearances against New York.
Johan Franzen's four goals and eight assists during a six-game point streak have helped the Red Wings win five times in that span. With Henrik Zetterberg's next goal, Detroit would have four players with 30 for the first time since 2001-02.
The Red Wings will face an Islanders defense that's given up 16 goals during a three-game slide. While Detroit could make history, New York (24-41-8) is slipping toward its worst finish since its 52 points in 2000-01 and is 8-26-3 away from home this season.
The Islanders showed the strain of a long season in Wednesday night's 6-2 loss to visiting Minnesota, committing 13 of 23 penalties. After going 160 games without a goal, defenseman Bruno Gervais scored for the third time in 11 games.
The Islanders are making their first trip to Joe Louis since a 2-1 win on Dec. 4, 2005, which broke a five-game skid in Detroit. The teams have not met since Jan. 30, 2007, and the Red Wings have won eight of the last 10 meetings with one tie.
Pick: Over 6
New Jersey Devils at Chicago Blackhawks (-125, 5.5)
Last week, Martin Brodeur beat the Chicago Blackhawks to become the NHL's all-time winningest goaltender. Victories for him and the New Jersey Devils, however, have been hard to come by since that game.
With Brodeur likely in net Friday night, the visiting Devils try to avoid a third consecutive loss while looking to continue their dominance over the Blackhawks.
On March 17, Brodeur made 28 saves in New Jersey's 3-2 home win over Chicago and passed Patrick Roy with his 552nd career victory.
Since then, however, the Devils (47-23-3) - who clinched a playoff spot - have lost three of four, including the last two with Brodeur in goal.
Once focused on catching Eastern Conference-leader Boston, New Jersey is now looking to beat out Washington for second place. With nine games remaining, the Devils are tied for second with the Capitals and five points behind Boston.
The Devils opened this three-game trip with a 4-1 loss at Boston on Sunday and fell 4-2 at Philadelphia the next night. New Jersey is looking to avoid its longest losing stretch since dropping four in a row from Nov. 8-14
Facing Chicago (39-22-11) could help New Jersey get back on track. Though the Blackhawks are fourth in the West and two points ahead of fifth-place Vancouver for first-round home-ice advantage, the Devils have won four in row against them and are 10-0-0 with two ties since losing 2-1 at Chicago on Oct. 10, 1998.
New Jersey is 3-0-0 with a tie at the United Center since that loss and won 3-2 in a shootout on Jan. 15, 2006 in its most recent visit.
Brodeur is 8-2-0 with four ties and a 1.89 goals-against average all-time versus the Blackhawks. He is 8-0-0 with a tie and a 1.52 GAA since the Devils' latest loss to Chicago.
Pick: New Jersey +115
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Friday, March 27
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Ice Picks: NHL best bets
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New York Islanders at Detroit Red Wings (-370, 6)
Detroit remained tied with San Jose for the top seed in the West and in the race for the Presidents' Trophy with the Sharks' 3-2 loss at Nashville on Thursday.
Both the Red Wings and Sharks head into Friday's play with eight games remaining, but while San Jose has an even split between home and road contests, Detroit will play six at Joe Louis Arena - where it is 26-5-4 overall and 10-1-2 since February.
After a pair of solid efforts from Ty Conklin, the Red Wings are expected to look to Chris Osgood on Friday. Osgood had seemed to find consistency over the last two weeks but was pulled for Conklin during Monday's 5-3 defeat in Calgary after giving up three goals in the first 25:38.
Osgood, who played with the Islanders from 2001-03, is 6-1-0 with a 1.72 goals-against average in seven lifetime appearances against New York.
Johan Franzen's four goals and eight assists during a six-game point streak have helped the Red Wings win five times in that span. With Henrik Zetterberg's next goal, Detroit would have four players with 30 for the first time since 2001-02.
The Red Wings will face an Islanders defense that's given up 16 goals during a three-game slide. While Detroit could make history, New York (24-41-8) is slipping toward its worst finish since its 52 points in 2000-01 and is 8-26-3 away from home this season.
The Islanders showed the strain of a long season in Wednesday night's 6-2 loss to visiting Minnesota, committing 13 of 23 penalties. After going 160 games without a goal, defenseman Bruno Gervais scored for the third time in 11 games.
The Islanders are making their first trip to Joe Louis since a 2-1 win on Dec. 4, 2005, which broke a five-game skid in Detroit. The teams have not met since Jan. 30, 2007, and the Red Wings have won eight of the last 10 meetings with one tie.
Pick: Over 6
New Jersey Devils at Chicago Blackhawks (-125, 5.5)
Last week, Martin Brodeur beat the Chicago Blackhawks to become the NHL's all-time winningest goaltender. Victories for him and the New Jersey Devils, however, have been hard to come by since that game.
With Brodeur likely in net Friday night, the visiting Devils try to avoid a third consecutive loss while looking to continue their dominance over the Blackhawks.
On March 17, Brodeur made 28 saves in New Jersey's 3-2 home win over Chicago and passed Patrick Roy with his 552nd career victory.
Since then, however, the Devils (47-23-3) - who clinched a playoff spot - have lost three of four, including the last two with Brodeur in goal.
Once focused on catching Eastern Conference-leader Boston, New Jersey is now looking to beat out Washington for second place. With nine games remaining, the Devils are tied for second with the Capitals and five points behind Boston.
The Devils opened this three-game trip with a 4-1 loss at Boston on Sunday and fell 4-2 at Philadelphia the next night. New Jersey is looking to avoid its longest losing stretch since dropping four in a row from Nov. 8-14
Facing Chicago (39-22-11) could help New Jersey get back on track. Though the Blackhawks are fourth in the West and two points ahead of fifth-place Vancouver for first-round home-ice advantage, the Devils have won four in row against them and are 10-0-0 with two ties since losing 2-1 at Chicago on Oct. 10, 1998.
New Jersey is 3-0-0 with a tie at the United Center since that loss and won 3-2 in a shootout on Jan. 15, 2006 in its most recent visit.
Brodeur is 8-2-0 with four ties and a 1.89 goals-against average all-time versus the Blackhawks. He is 8-0-0 with a tie and a 1.52 GAA since the Devils' latest loss to Chicago.
Pick: New Jersey +115
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