NHL four-fold: Perfect picks to fill your midweek coupon
Pittsburgh's star forward should lead them past Edmonton, while the Habs are poised to defeat their fiercest rivals...
Pittsburgh Penguins to beat Edmonton Oilers –
Sidney Crosby versus Connor McDavid. The face of NHL versus the future of the NHL. Pittsburgh Penguins versus Edmonton Oilers. This will be thrilling.
The Oilers are an exciting young team with potential to be a real challenger in the Western Conference. But they aren’t on the same level with the Penguins just yet.
Since Crosby’s return to line-up, the Pens have won five out of six and are averaging four goals per game. The captain is leading by example and has racked up 10 points.
The reigning Stanley Cup champions have four players who have scored 10 or more points while the Oilers have just one in McDavid.
The phenomenal Matt Murray will likely start in goal for the Pens. Murray has won both of his two starts this season and has conceded just one goal in those games.
Pittsburgh are a step ahead of the Oilers in every area of the game, and Crosby should lead them to victory in this one.
Montreal Canadiens to beat Boston Bruins –
Montreal versus Boston – arguably the greatest rivalry in hockey.
This match-up that always guarantees beautiful and mesmerizing but also gruesome moments, and on Tuesday night, they go head-to-head once again.
The Habs are still unbeaten on their home ice so the Bruins will really have to elevate their game to challenge at Bell Centre.
And Montreal will be the fresher team Tuesday, considering this will be the Bruins' third game in four days.
On top of that, Boston will face a prolific Canadiens’ first line - featuring Alex Galchenyuk, Brendan Gallagher and Alexander Radulov - who have put up 29 points altogether.
The fatigued Bruins likely won’t have enough gas to compete with them for all 60 minutes.
New Jersey Devils to beat Carolina Hurricanes –
The Devils have been really impressive defensively this season.
They have conceded only 2.27 goals per game – the seventh-fewest in the NHL, and have only conceded four goals on one occasion.
On Sunday, the New Jersey beat the Hurricanes in Carolina 4-1, thanks in part to a 33-save performance by back-up goalie Keith Kinkaid had a great game.
With a reliable No. 1 goalie in Cory Schneider and an in-form replacement should they need him, the Devils' goaltending situation is strong.
Carolina is still the worst team in the Eastern Conference and they might be stuck at the bottom for a long time.
The Hurricanes are a young team that hasn’t found their own style to win games just yet.
Philadelphia Flyers to beat Detroit Red Wings –
The Flyers are a team that plays a straightforward north-south game.
And that style clearly works for them offensively. They have scored 3.46 goals per game and averaged 33.2 shots - ranking in the top three in both of those categories.
Their power play is also clicking with an impressive success rate of 27.4 per cent.
But they are vulnerable at the defensive end, conceding 3.69 goals per game - the second worst rate in the league.
They might improve in that area, though, if goaltender Michal Neuvirth starts performing consistently.
The Red Wings are currently on a five-game losing streak, and are the league's worst puck-possession team with an SAT of 46.21 per cent.
These teams already have faced each other once this season, with the Flyers winning 4-3 after a shootout. The same result would be no surprise this time around.