NHL Saturday Three-Game Parlay
by Dave D
The Vancouver Canucks are finally home after their record 14-game road trip. Their one of our picks in the NHL Saturday parlay.
NHL Saturday Three-Game Parlay
NHL Betting Free Picks
Game 1 Preview: Phoenix Coyotes @ Carolina Hurricanes
The Coyotes start a four-game road trip after beating the Canucks 4-3 in a shootout at home on Wednesday. Phoenix isn’t a great team away from the desert, but barring a monumental collapse the Coyotes will be able to play well enough to make the postseason. That right there is enough to reward Dave Tippet with the Jack Adams Award for coach of the year. What he’s done with this team is nothing short of remarkable. He took a broken franchise and turned it into a playoff contender; simply remarkable.
The Hurricanes are coming off a huge win on Thursday, a 4-3 overtime victory over the defending Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins. Carolina has been one of the hottest teams in the league recently, going 13-3-1 in their past 17 games. Their playoff hopes, although still unlikely, are more alive than they have been this entire season. Cam Ward is playing well, Eric Staal and Ray Whitney are carrying the offense and their defense is starting to come along. They’re starting to look a lot like the team that made the Eastern Conference finals last year.
Pick: Carolina Hurricanes
Game 2 Preview: Ottawa Senators @ Vancouver Canucks
The Senators stumbled out of the Olympic Break, losing three straight and falling out of first place in the Northwest division. No worries, though; the team bounced back against Edmonton on Tuesday and show no signs of collapsing and missing the postseason. There are still questions about whether or not Ottawa’s goaltending can win 16 games in the postseason, but since the trade deadline has already passed there is nothing the Sens can do about it. Ottawa fans are just going to have to sit and wait for the postseason.
Finally, after a 40-day absence from GM Place, the Vancouver Canucks are playing at home. The ‘Nucks were forced out of their home because of the Olympics, and spent the last month and a half on an NHL record 14-game road trip. The team went a solid 8-5-1 on the trip, their latest game a 4-3 shootout loss to the Phoenix Coyotes. The fans will be dying to see their home-team again, and the Canucks will no doubt be super-motivated to put on a good show for the home crowd. After their epic road trip, the Canucks deserve a win.
Pick: Vancouver Canucks
Game 3 Preview: St. Louis Blues @ Columbus Blue Jackets
The Blues leapfrogged into 10th place in the Western Conference with a 2-1 shootout win over the Islanders on Thursday. They’ve won six of seven and are starting to mirror their team from last year; that Blues squad went from 14th in the Conference to 6th to make the playoffs. The Blues are once again making a hard run at the postseason, and it doesn’t hurt that they’ve been very successful on the road lately. In their past seven, they sport an impressive 5-2-0 record.
It’s been a frustrating season for the Blue Jackets, picked by many to return to the postseason after a surprising run last year. The Jackets are coming off a 2-1 win over the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday, a win that came without the services of captain Rick Nash. That might have explained the horrid third period the Blue Jackets offense had against Atlanta, as they managed only a single shot in the frame. It’s a testament to how solid Mathieu Garon was in the contest. Nash is questionable for Saturday’s game against St. Louis.
