Dallas Stars at Washington Capitals
Marc Crawford would have loved if the Olympic break never happened. The Dallas Stars head coach had his team playing some of its best hockey of the season but the Olympics stole his club’s mojo.
Goalie Marty Turco has been the biggest victim. He was 4-2 with a .967 save percentage in his last six starts before the break and in his first two starts back, he’s 0-2 with a .727 save percentage.
Kari Lehtonen, Turco’s backup, was just as bad in his first start in over a year. The former Thrasher netminder allowed six goals on 34 shots and after the game Crawford suggested Lehtonen looked “tired”.
You don’t want to be having any kind of uncertainty between the pipes when you’re facing a squad with Washington’s talent.
Pick: Over
Columbus Blue Jackets at Los Angeles Kings
As if the season wasn’t hard enough already on Columbus fans, the Blue Jackets lost three straight one-goal games to three of the best teams in the NHL. The tough post-Olympic stretch isn’t over either.
Columbus travels to Los Angeles to face a hungry Kings crew. Los Angeles was jostling the Sharks and Blackhawks for the top overall spot in the West in December but now finds itself it a fight just to secure a playoff spot.
“Just because we’re in right now doesn’t mean we’re in,” Kings forward Ryan Smyth told the Los Angeles Times of the playoff race following his team’s second straight defeat. “We’ve got to play to catch the teams ahead of us instead of looking at the teams behind us.”
Expect the Kings to refocus and pile it on against the tough-luck Jackets.
Pick: Kings