in NHL Free Picks

If you’ve done any New Jersey Devils back on February 20, and they’ve gotten back in contention for first place in the Pacific Division.

And helping the Sharks with that surge has been defenseman Brian Campbell, who the team acquired from the Buffalo Sabres at the NHL’s trade deadline on February 26. Campbell collected an assist in his first game in a San Jose uniform, and he’s picked up eight points in eight games since the deadline – all of which have been San Jose wins.

Campbell had a pair of assists in San Jose’s last game – a 2-1 road win over the Nashville Predators on Tuesday. Joe Pavelski and Milan Michalek tallied for the Sharks in that contest, while Evgeni Nabokov stopped 26 of 27 Nashville shots. Nabokov has won nine starts in a row, and he’s allowed just seven goals over his past four outings.

Nabokov will be looking to help continue the team’s winning streak when they play host to the St. Louis Blues on Friday night. St. Louis is just 1-3-1 over their past five games, and they’ve fallen into 14th place in the Western Conference standings. With the postseason now out of the question, the Blues don’t have much to play for this season.

There are four other games on the NHL’s schedule for Friday night, including Carolina Hurricanes will head north to take on the Sabres; the Canes have yet to lose during March, and they’ve built up a sizeable lead in the Southeast Division standings.

Ten games make up the league’s schedule for Saturday, including the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday and Wednesday, which tightened up the race for the East’s final playoff berth. The Bruins have been struggling as well, posting a 2-3-2 record in March as they try to hold onto an Eastern postseason position.

There will also be matinees in Anaheim.

Sunday sees the Flyers playing another early afternoon contest, this time in Pittsburgh against the rival Penguins. Pittsburgh throttled the Sabres 7-3 on Wednesday night, and they did it without Sidney Crosby (who sat out the same with a sore ankle). Crosby could be back in the lineup on Sunday, as the team will have three off-days before then.

Other afternoon games on Sunday include Atlanta Thrashers at 5:00pm ET on Sunday; Florida is holding onto some slim playoff hopes in the Eastern Conference, while the Thrashers have been badly fading.

The week will then conclude with the Sharks playing host to the Phoenix for Saturday night’s meeting with the Coyotes. Edmonton has played well in the month of March, but they’d need a real hot streak and some help to finish the regular season in a playoff position.

Check the BetUS NHL Betting lines section for all of the latest odds and totals for this weekend.

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