Tuesday’s Games and Picks

For in depth look into the NHL teams records and preview of tonight’s games please go back to the “Home Page” on Hockey God, at the bottom lower left hand side:

Click on “Scoreboard” and review every game by clicking in the individual games being played on Tuesday.

Tonight’s Picks

CHI @ NJD: Take DEVILS

NYR @ MTL: Take RANGERS

BUF @ OTT: Take SENS

ATL @ PIT: Take PENGUINS

TOR @ TBL: Take LIGHTNING

WSH @ FLA: Take PANTHERS

PHI @ DET: Take RED WINGS

COL @ MIN: Take WILD

DAL @ VAN: Take CANUCKS

SJS @ PHX: Take SHARKS

STL @ EDM: Take OILERS

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RANGERS & PENS PURSUIT OF PLAYOFFS

Just in the Nik of time did the Rangers finally land a top player they could rely on to carry the load in the top six.

6″6 Nik Antropov leads the Rangers in goals (24) & points (51) scoring 3 goals in 6 games since landing on Broadway.

SLY SLATS ?

Ranger General Manager Glen Sather takes enough heat already with moves he makes or doesn’t make in New York. But calling a spade a spade Sather really stood up this time and brought in the right players at the right time to mix with the new demanding mother f-er coach John Tortorella who is (5-3-1) since taking over from Tom Renney.

Rangers also brought in charismatic defenseman Derek Morris from the lowly Coyotes who fell out of favour with the way they were doing things in the desert. But Morris has blossomed back into the very reliable capable defenseman he was when he entered the NHL.

Antropov has been the top 6 forward Rangers were missing all year that is for-sure but the real missing piece for the Blue shirts was Sean Avery.

Yes I said it, Sean Avery who with all his baggage has proven once again that when he sticks to hockey he is a force with the Rangers like he was last season.

Avery the terrible- Avery who has been nothing short of well Avery. He has been a pain in the other teams ass ( ask Flyers coach Stevens) he has scored ( 4 since joining NYR)  and he has hit-drove the net and over all been a good teammate making an impact with his presence felt every game.

The Rangers are back in business in the East since a strong start and weak middle which cost the coach his job, they are now again a playoff bound contending team.

Sather knew the right buttons to push, the right coach they needed, the right players to send away and bring back, or Sather is getting lucky that it’s all working. Either way the Rangers with a win tonight in Montreal can go ahead of the Habs and further distance themselves from the pack.

The Rangers and Habs enter tonight’s game tied with 80 points - two ahead of ninth-place Florida and two behind No. 5 Pittsburgh.

PENS NEW LINE CARRIES THE LOAD

Thanks to the much needed change in coaching by General Manager Ray Shero the Pens have went on a torrid pace bringing them back from the playoff dead just mere weeks ago to 5th in the conference just 2 points from 4th place Philly.

Dan Bylsma was named interim head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 15, 2009. Time to take off the interim label, the Pens have get this - gone (8-0-2) in their last 10 games. Are you shitten me that’s a serious turn around for the Pens who were in real danger of going to the Cup finals only a year ago only to fall flat on their asses.

The other massive move GM Shero made was trading very good defenseman Ryan Whitney to the Anaheim Ducks for top 6 forward Chris Kunitz ( 21-25).

In Kunitz the Pens got a Stanley Cup winner that has top 6 stats but also and probably more important has the ability to grind out the puck in corners there by being an ideal mucking scoring forward.

Then Shero landed the veteran from the Islanders their captain Billy Guerin (18-26) who may be an asswhole off the ice going back to his owners lock-out decisions against the PA, but he can certainly play. Guerin has been a great fit with the captain of the Pens Sidney Crosby and newcomer Kunitz on a new line for the Pens.

The line of: Kunitz-Crosby (27-63) - Guerin has combined for a deadly 8 goals-17 assists giving the Pens top line instant chemistry that’s only going to get better with time together.

It’s hard to imagine a team with those stats on their top line and you haven’t even mentioned the teams & NHL’s leading scorer Evgeni Malkin who has scored 30 times adding 67 helpers.

The Pens perhaps because Crosby is happier now having some solid wingers to work with making him play much better or just maybe it’s the new up tempo approach to the game the new coach has brought into Pittsburgh.

Either way the Pens are right there with the Rangers going from an after thought playoff team on the bubble to I would bet an Eastern conference playoff contender.

Two teams in similar situations way under achieving with some missing pieces who both fired their coaches and who both added some top 6 scoring help and now they are making their GM’s look very good.

The Eastern Conference race is going to come down to the last few games- check back with Hockey God Wednesday for an in depth look at the Panthers down the stretch.

For Hockey God I’m Dave Frost

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