* Results *
Special kudos go out to Jaroma Iginla for his three point performance tonight that led to his 1000th career point. I've always like Iginla for his play and it's terrible that the Flames probably won't be playing in the playoffs this year. Competitors like Iginla belong there. After handing out the kudos, I'll have to roast my Philadelphia Flyers. Terrible play tonight which now has put their hold of the Eastern Conference lead into question. The Devils beat the Flyers 4-2 Friday night behind a Patrik Elias hat trick. The goals Philadelphia let in looked to be as a result of lazy play in their own zone. They did have some pretty goals and were able to get on the board, but that doesn't excuse the loss. They need to find consistency with four games remaining on their schedule. New Jersey kept up their hard nose effort and received a win as a result of their play. Not as surprised as I thought I would be. In Columbus, the Blue Jackets gave another great team a run for the money as they lost in a shootout to the Blackhawks. Columbus deserves a lot of credit for earning a point the last two nights even if it doesn't really matter at this point. Chicago took care of business as they should, though I'm surprised the game went to overtime. In St. Louis, my bold pick of the Blues to beat the Flames nearly came to fruition until Jarome Iginla pulled the Flames out of dumpster. Amazing play by Iginla tonight to earn his 1000th career point. Much like Columbus, I have to give the Blues a lot of credit for playing tough hockey on good teams. St. Louis was officially eliminated from the playoffs as a result. Finally, the terrible Avalanche pulled off a huge win by beating the Coyotes in a shootout. Colorado actually held a decent lead until they let Phoenix back in the game. I ended at 1-3 for the night which is far from great but I'm shrugging the bad night off easily. Let's take a look at the scores for Friday.
4/1/2011 - Friday
Flyers at Devils : Pick - Flyers : Result -- 4-2 Devils : Wrong : 207-158
Blackhawks at Blue Jackets : Pick - Blackhawks : Result -- 4-3 Blackhawks : Correct (SO/W) : 208-158
Flames at Blues : Pick - Blues : Result -- 3-2 Flames : Wrong : 208-159
Avalanche at Coyotes : Pick - Coyotes : Result -- 4-3 Avalanche (SO/L) : Wrong : 208-160
-Results Format-
Game : Pick : Result : Pick Result (OT or SO W or L based on my pick) : My Season Record
OT/W or OT/L - My pick won or lost in OT.
SO/W or SO/L - My pick won or lost in a shootout.
=Dumbest Pick of the Night=
Flyers at Devils : It's insane to pick the same team to "get out of their rut" night in and night out. I've been doing that every night thinking the Flyers would pull out of this funk. The fact that I expected them to crawl out of New Jersey with a win is a bit stupid considering their struggles. New Jersey, despite looking terrible for most of the season, isn't the same terrible team anymore. Until the Flyers get their crap together, it might be wise for me to stay away from picking them.
=Hardest Pick of the Night=
Flyers at Devils : I'd put nothing here but this wasn't an easy pick either. I'm not saying that the easy pick was New Jersey by saying my picking Philadelphia was dumb. That's more of a jab on my reasoning. Do I go with the Devils who are cooling off a bit but who are still playing tough hockey? I went, instead, with the Flyers who have been absolutely inconsistent. Playing well enough to win one night and awful enough to lose the next. It was a matter of which team was going to show up with their better act. New Jersey was it tonight with a 4-2 win.
=Easiest Pick of the Night=
None. I only won game and I won't call the Blackhawks and Blue Jackets an easy game.
=Shoulda, Coulda, Didn't Game of the Night=
Avalanche at Coyotes : I hate picking on the Avalanche, but the Coyotes are better than this loss. They were down and came back which should have had the team motivated to pull this one off. Colorado pulls off a huge upset instead. Though the Coyotes are in pretty good shape playoff wise, this one could have helped immensely in the standings. The Coyotes should have won this game.
* Picks *
Eleven games on the schedule for Saturday. Plenty of important ones. The Capitals can take over the Eastern Conference lead if they beat the Sabres. The Penguins have an opportunity to make a run at Philadelphia's hold on the Atlantic Division with a win at Florida. In Los Angeles, the Dallas Stars must win if they plan on making the playoffs. The fact that it's against a Pacific Division foe plays in a lot. I see the Red Wings getting things straight after getting a terrible 10-3 beating against St. Louis the other night. Nashville is playing well, but I think Detroit will be motivated. I see the Canucks adding to their NHL best record with a win against Edmonton. Finally, I think the Sharks end the Ducks streak of good play. Here are my picks for Saturday.
4/2/2011 - Saturday
Thrashers at Bruins ==> Bruins
Lightning at Wild ==> Lightning
Red Wings at Predators ==> Red Wings
Stars at Kings ==> Stars
Canadiens at Devils ==> Devils
Hurricanes at Islanders ==> Hurricanes
Maple Leafs at Senators ==> Maple Leafs
Sabres at Capitals ==> Capitals
Penguins at Panthers ==> Penguins
Oilers at Canucks ==> Canucks
Ducks at Sharks ==> Sharks
Night!
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