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NHL Pick – Sid the Kid vs. Martin the Man

Bookmark and Share by Dave Bond

The NHL schedule makers must have been in a weird mood when they made up Pittsburgh’s March schedule. The Pens will visit Martin Brodeur and the New Jersey Devils for the second time in less than a week on Wednesday night as part of a light schedule in the NHL.

Pittsburgh Penguins (41-23-5) @ New Jersey Devils (41-24-3)
7:00 PM ET, Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Prudential Center, East Rutherford, New Jersey
On: XM Satellite Radio Channel 204

  • The New Jersey Devils rank 22nd on offense, and average 2.6 goals per game. The Devils are 18.3% on the power play and have 42 power play goals.
  • The Pittsburgh Penguins rank 5th on offense, and average 3.0 goals per game. The Penguins are 17.3% on the power play and have 47 power play goals.
  • The Devils average 3.0 goals per game at home, and give up 2.2 goals against on defense.
  • The Penguins average 2.7 goals per game on the road, and give up 3.0 goals against on defense.

Pittsburgh Penguins: +120

Revenge will be on the minds of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday. They play their second game in New Jersey in less than a week, with the first game resulting in a 3-1 loss. Still, the Pens have gained points in nine of their last ten games, going 6-1-3 over that span. Thursday’s game will be the fourth game of a five-game road trip.

Pittsburgh has vaulted into second place in the Eastern Conference with their strong play recently. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin has been much better in the second half of the season. Malkin is banged up and is questionable to play in Wednesday’s game however. The real surprise on this team is the play of Pascal Dupuis who might be the hottest Pens player over the last week or so. Pittsburgh needs to hold off the charging Devils to maintain their second place standing in the Eastern Conference and likely will egt their revenge on Wednesday night.

New Jersey Devils: -140

The New Jersey Devils have won three of their last four games heading into Wednesday’s match with the Pens. They currently sit in fourth place in the Eastern Conference only two points behind Pittsburgh for second. They maintain the distinction of being the most difficult team to score on in the NHL and boast a league best 2.4 goals against average.

Ilya Kovalchuk is finally starting to feel at home in Jersey and his play could prove to be contagious for the rest of the team. The Devils cannot keep relying on Martin Brodeur for wins – they need to find some offense somewhere. New Jersey keeps riding their defensive style to the top tier of NHL teams. Defense wins championships but it won’t win you every game.

The Pittsburgh Penguins need a win over the Devils to gain a little confidence over a team that they might face in the playoffs in just a few weeks time. New Jersey has owned Pittsburgh over the last 54 meetings, boasting a record of 37-17 over that span. I like the Pens to reverse the trend on Wednesday and earn a split with the Devils in their second game this week.

NHL Pick: Pittsburgh Penguins +120

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