In his weekly column Pucking the trends Illegal Curve’s Ari Baum-Cohen looks at news from around the NHL and the potential impact on bettors.
Third team’s a charm
Marian Hossa is expected to make his Chicago Blackhawks debut in San Jose Wednesday. He will try to avoid losing in the Stanley Cup final for a third straight season.
Hossa will improve an already potent offense and provide a veteran presence for the youngest team in the league.
“The advantage of this team is it's mostly young guys who are just getting better and stronger in their understanding of the game,” said Hossa.
Len Ziehm of the Chicago Sun-Times, is reporting Hossa will probably start on a line with Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.
Hossa has scored 40 or more goals three times and has averaged at least a point per game in four of his last six seasons.
The Blackhawks have won seven games in a row, scoring 26 goals during that span.
Hurts like hell
After winning nine in a row on the road to open the season, the New Jersey Devils have dropped three straight away from home.
Mark Everson of the New York Post suggests that injuries finally caught up to an over-achieving squad that is missing five regulars from its lineup.
“We're running out of top six forwards and top four defensemen," said Devils forward Jamie Langenbrunner.
The Devils have gone over the total only two times in their last 13 games (2-10-1). Oddsmakers have set the total at 5 for New Jersey’s last two games.
Preddy good
The Preds have won six in a row and are in the middle of a 10-2-0 run that includes wins over San Jose, Chicago, Detroit and New Jersey,
Nashville ranks near the bottom of the league in power-play at 15.4 percent. But as John Glennon of the Tennessean points out, the Preds are 11-0 when scoring a power-play goal.
"I look at special teams as maybe 30 percent of the game's outcome. Most teams only average three or four goals per game, so if you're getting one of them from special teams, that's about 30 percent,” said head Coach Barry Trotz.
Nashville is averaging 2.27 goals per game, so a power-play goal would actually account for 44 percent of its scoring.
Caps collapse?
The Washington Capitals may be first in the Southeast Division at 13-5-6, but, as Corey Masisak of the Washington Times observes, the Capitals have had difficulty holding on to third period leads.
Of Washington’s 11 losses this year, five have come after losing a third period lead.
The Capitals’ most recently lost a two-goal third period lead to the Ottawa Senators on Monday. "This was a collapse by 20 guys, and I don't know how else to sugarcoat it," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said.
On Schedule
Saturday November 28, Chicago Blackhawks at Los Angeles Kings
Chicago played three games in four days during a Western Canadian trip, and now travels south to play three games in four days in California. Saturday’s tilt will be the final game of a six-game road trip.
Thursday November 26, Columbus Blue Jackets at Ottawa Senators
Thursday’s game against Ottawa will be the third road game in four nights for Columbus, and its fifth in eight days. The Senators will also be playing their third game in four nights, but will be playing at Scotiabank Place, where they are 9-3-3.
Saturday November 28th, New York Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins
The Rangers fly south to Florida for back-to-back games against the Panthers and Lightning, then must face the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.