Edmonton Oilers vs. Minnesota Wild
NHL Pick: Minnesota -1.5 +148 odds (April 26th 2013)
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This is a 1* free NHL pick on the Minnesota Wild on the “puck line” over the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night.

Congrats to everyone that’s joined me with back-to-back massive 10* “puck-line” winners (Ducks +261 & Blackhawks +190). Those two winners were added to my now red hot 7-2 “puck-line” streak. I feel the intensity in which the Wild will be playing with tonight and the overall ineptitude that this injured Oilers team has been performing at of late definitely justifies in laying the 1.5 goals for the plus-money return. If history is any precedence, then the Wild have to be loving their chances this evening as they’ve taken all three in this series so far this year. The Oilers are 17-22-7 overall and 9-11-3 on the road. They’ve lost two straight, and I’ve been against them each time as Anaheim won 3-1 on Monday, before Chicago got the job done with a 4-1 victory for me on Wednesday. The Oilers were eliminated from playoff contention by the Ducks the night before their second straight loss in the series and come into this contest with four starting forwards on the injured list. The Wild are 25-18-3 overall and 14-7-2 at home. Simply put, this is a do-or-die game for the home side in my estimation. All Minnesota has to do is either win tonight or at Colorado on Saturday to secure a playoff berth. Coming off a momentum building 2-1 win over the defending champions on Tuesday, I fully expect the Wild to come out with a highly concerted effort on both ends of the ice this evening and to take care of business tonight and to not let fate ride on an all deciding effort in the final game of the year. This has been a bad matchup for the Oilers all season and with a lineup that’s been devastated by injury, all signs once again point to an epic beatdown. As mentioned above, you may want to consider a second look at laying the 1.5 goals for the plus-money return in this situation.

Montreal Canadiens vs. Winnipeg Jets
NHL Pick: Winnipeg -106 odds (April 25th 2013)
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In addition to going 4-2 with yesterday’s “premium” plays, I also won my complimentary selection on the Chicago White Sox.

The previous day’s “free” play saw me successfully play against these same Winnipeg Jets. (They lost 5-3 at Washington.)

That was a devastating loss for the Jets as it very likely killed their playoff dreams. (They need to win tonight and hope the Senators and Rangers lose all their remaining games.)

While the playoffs are now an extreme long-shot, the Jets have still been playing very well, particularly at home.

In fact, they’re 5-1 (5-0-1) their last six here at Winnipeg. Meanwhile, the Canadiens have dropped three straight on the road and are just 1-5 their last six overall.

While the Habs would certainly like to “right the ship,” they’ve already made the playoffs. They could easily get caught looking ahead to Saturday’s “Hockey Night in Canada” showdown vs. long-time rival Toronto.

On the other hand, the Jets are playing their final game of the season. They’ve fought so hard in recent weeks, that I don’t expect them to just roll over tonight.

As captain Andrew Ladd noted: “The worst thing you can do is sell yourself short and end up having those teams losing and then shoot yourself in the foot by not putting forth your best effort. We’re all professionals in this room – we’ll show up and work hard and try to win that game against Montreal.”

Its true that the Canadiens have won both this season’s meetings. However, both of those games were played at Montreal. The last meeting in this series, here at Winnipeg, saw the Jets win by a score of 4-0.

With their passionate fans helping to provide them with energy and cheering them on every step of the way, I feel the Jets are worth a look here. Consider Winnipeg

New York Rangers vs. Florida Panthers
NHL Pick: New York Rangers -1.5 +133 odds (April 23rd 2013)
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This is a 1* free NHL pick on the New York Rangers on the “puck-line” over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night (7:30 EST).

These teams have played twice this year: Florida won 3-1 in New York on March 21st, before the Rangers then prevailed 6-1 in front of the home town crowd on April 18th. I believe we’ll see a similar outcome tonight and am therefore recommending a second look at the Rangers on the “puck-line” for the plus-money return. New York is 24-17-4 overall and 9-11-2 on the road. It’s won three straight, most recently a 4-1 victory over New Jersey on Sunday. Florida is 13-26-6 overall and 7-10-5 at home. It’s lost six straight, most recently a 3-0 setback at Boston on Sunday. This is a big game for the visitors. A number of different things have to happen for them to punch their ticket to the post-season, but the one thing they have control over is going out and winning this game tonight. New York is currently sitting in eighth in the Eastern Conference but still has a shot at climbing to as high as fifth. One player you’ll want to track is Rangers’ goaltender Henrik Lundqvist who is 8-2-1 with a 1.79 GAA over his last 11 starts. And that’s bad news for a struggling Panthers team that’s scored a league-low 101 goals (note that Lundqvist has in fact won eight of his last 11 with a tiny 1.27 GAA vs. Florida). To add insult to injury, Florida is expected to be without the services of leading goal scorer Tomas Kopecky, who is day-to-day with an injury (note, if Kopecky does get the call, he’ll be far from 100%). I believe the table is set for an epic lop-sided rout. How about you?

Detroit Red Wings vs. Vancouver Canucks
NHL Pick: Vancouver -154 odds (April 20th 2013)
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I successfully played against the Canucks recently, when they lost at St. Louis. Back on home ice and hungry for a win, I like their chances a lot better tonight.

It’s true that the Wings have long been a thorn in Vancouver’s side and that they’ve had their way with the Canucks this season.

Its also true that the Wings are in “desperation mode,” as they’re in real danger of missing the playoffs. That hasn’t happened in more than two decades.

Being “desperate” hasn’t helped Detroit lately though. The Wings couldn’t even beat lowly Calgary last time out and have now dropped four of their last five.

Needless to say, Vancouver is much better than Calgary.

While the Canucks may not need this game as much as their guests, they know this is a chance to really “put a nail in Detroit’s coffin.” They’re 30-11 (+16.6) the last 41 times that they attempted to avenge a home loss and I expect a highly motivated effort this evening. Consider laying the wood.