WINFO Issue #29

NHL GAME PICKS AND ANALYSIS
SHARKS GET ANOTHER
SHOT IN BIG
Thursday, March 23rd
Carolina at Montreal
The Habs are in the middle of a nice
homestand, but got tripped up by the
Red Wings a couple of nights ago in
front of the faithful. Admittedly, the
set-up was not ideal for Montreal, as
they were fresh off a pair of wins in a
home-and-home vs. rival Ottawa. It`s
not difficult to see that letdown spot.
However, that doesn`t explain why
their top line has been ice cold the last
couple of weeks (only two goals, both
by Pacioretty, in nine games). Coach
Julien split them up at the end of the
Detroit loss, but expect to see them
back together here.
Carolina have been on a bit of a tear
(for them), but this is still a team with
plenty of weak spots in their lineup.
With the Canadiens coming off that
loss and facing a team they should
feast on if they come to play, and we
trust Julien and the leaders will have
this team ready to go, this sets up as a
good spot to bank a win in regulation
time. The juice to win including OT is
way too high to even go near, but we
will go with Montreal to win in regulation
time, knocking the juice way down.
Take Montreal to win in regulation.
Dallas at Chicago
Clearly the Hawks are the better team
so we won`t go too far into the line
matchups, etc....but let`s just say when
future Hall-of-Famer Marian Hossa is
your third line winger, safe to say you
have a bit more depth than most teams,
and certainly more than the Stars.
Chicago had a rough start in their
last outing, losing on home ice to a
Dalthough they did battle all the way
back, they lost in OT.
Look for a team playing with a lot
more focus and energy from the opening
draw. When you enjoy the kinds
of edges the Hawks do in this one, it
should result in a regulation win.
Take Chicago in regulation time,
wiping away most of the juice.
Friday, March 24th
Tampa Bay at Detroit
The Lightning are still sniffing around
a Wild-Card spot, although when you
lose to teams like the Coyotes, you
make it pretty difficult for backers to
believe you actually care. That said,
we`ll take a shot on them here, but
only if they lost to the Bruins on Thursday
night. It`s not an ideal set-up even
then, but the Bolts should be able to
handle the Red Wings if the setup
comes together for us.
LAST WEEK’S RECORD:
+0.00 UNITS
(we bailed on you, sorry about that)
SEASON RECORD:
+6.44 UNITS
completely depleted Canucks lineup.
Crawford was bad in the crease
and his mates came out looking like
they were thinking it was going to be
stat night for everyone (racking up
some easy points). Not so fast. And
San Jose at Dallas
Revenge is a dish best served lukewarm
(or something like that). Dallas
clipped the Sharks 1-0 earlier this week
right here in Big D. A quick turnaround
and here we are again. We like the
Sharks in this one. The number will be
manageable and the Stars should be
as well. San Jose are struggling a little
right now, but watching their games,
they`re still creating chances and getting
pucks to the net. The results just
haven`t been there. But if they play like
they did the last time these two met,
they should win. They carried the play,
had the better chances and were the
better team, but didn`t get the win.
We like the Sharks
9