NHL Picks: March 14th 2013
New York Rangers vs. Winnipeg Jets
Prediction: NY Rangers -107
CLICK HERE FOR DOC’S SPORTS EXPERT NHL PICKS

Free NHL Prediction from Doc’s Sports. #11 Take New York Rangers over Winnipeg Jets (7:35pm EST, Thursday, March 14) Before the season started, many experts touted the New York Rangers as the team to beat in the NHL this year. Between injuries and continuity issues with new players, the Rangers stumbled out of the gate and weren’t even in the top 8 in the Eastern Conference. But they’re much healthier now and have solved the chemistry problems. New York has won five of its last six games and is now in the 8th spot in the playoff race. While they still have a lot of work to do, the team is more confident that they can be that team everyone imagined before the season started. Their opponent today is the Winnipeg Jets. The Jets are a hard team to figure out, as some nights they look like a playoff-caliber team and other nights they look horrible. They are currently tied with the Rangers, so getting two points tonight would be huge for both teams. The Rangers have won four of the last five meetings and with the way they’re playing now I like them to get the victory tonight.

NHL Hockey Picks: March 8th 2013
Calgary vs. Anaheim
Prediction: Under 5.5 -110 odds
CLICK HERE FOR JESSE SCHULE’S EXPERT NHL PICKS

The Flames are in Anaheim on Friday to take on the Ducks, and their starting goalie Miikka Kirprusoff is back between the pipes, after missing time due to an injury. He looked sharp in his return to the lineup, stopping 32 of 33 shots in a 4-1 win over San Jose on Wednesday.

Kiprusoff will have to be at his best as the Flames will try to get a win in Anaheim, where they have lost 14 in a row.

The Ducks have also been getting great goaltending, from both Jonas Hiller and Victor Fasth. Hiller stopped 18 shots in a 2-0 shutout victory over Phoenix on Wednesday. Hiller is 4-0-0 with a 2.40 GAA in his last four home starts versus Calgary. Fasth is 9-1-1 with a 2.08 GAA this season.

These teams have played low scoring games, going under the total in seven of their last nine meetings in Anaheim.

The Flames have struggled without their veteran goaltender, but they should be a tougher team to beat with Kipper back between the pipes. I expect to see a tight checking, hard fought defensive battle between these two Western Conference rivals, as the Flames will be desperately trying to claw their way back into playoff contention.

Take the UNDER.

NHL Betting Picks: February 17th 2013
Los Angeles Kings vs. Chicago Blackhawks
Pick: Kings +128 odds
CLICK HERE FOR DOC’S SPORTS EXPERT PICKS

FREE PLAY from Doc’s Sports. Take #57 Los Angeles Kings over Chicago Blackhawks (3:35pm EST) When a team is running as hot as the Chicago Blackhawks are, the conventional wisdom is that you don’t want to get in their way at the betting window. However, as we all know, conventional wisdom generally loses in the gambling world and that’s why sportsbooks win year after year. This is a good spot for the Los Angeles Kings, who come in with a meager 5-5-2 record to the start off the 2013 campaign. The Kings have revenge on their minds after getting embarrassed at home by the Blackhawks in the season opener ring ceremony game. It was easily the Kings’ worst performance of the season and they’ve been playing really good hockey of late. Even in the games that Kings have lost recently, they’ve been outshooting and outplaying their opponents. Chicago is without starting goaltender Corey Crawford for this one as he’s nursing an upper body injury. That means backup Ray Emery will get another start, which is good news for the Kings. While Emery has looked good in a few games this season, his career numbers are subpar and that’s more telling of who he actually is. The Blackhawks biggest strength is their offensive firepower as they’re 2nd in the NHL in goals scored. The Kings, however, have been shutting good teams down lately allowing only 2.00 goals per game over their last five. This game means a lot more to the Kings than it does to the Blackhawks and I we get a good underdog price. Take the Kings in this spot.

NHL Picks: February 13th 2013
St. Louis Blues vs. Detroit Red Wings
Prediction: St. Louis +104

Free Play from Doc’s Sports. Take #53 St. Louis Blues (+105) over Detroit Red Wings (7:35pm EST) About two weeks into the NHL season, the St. Louis Blues were playing better hockey than just about anyone. They got off to a 6-1 start and looked like they were ready to take the next step forward as one of the elite teams in the league. But since then it’s been tough sledding as they’ve dropped five straight games, four of which were at home. The biggest problem for the Blues has been on the defensive end where they’ve allowed 26 goals in the last five outings. Part of it has been poor goaltending play, but the defense hasn’t done them any favors either. Tonight they go up against one of their division rivals the Detroit Red Wings, who beat them handily 5-1 in St. Louis just a week ago. The Blues are coming into this game in a desperation type mode. They are treating this game like a must-win as they need to get the wheels turned in the right direction during this shortened season. You just can’t afford prolonged losing streaks during a 48-game schedule, and the Blues know it. Detroit comes into this game pretty fat and happy. They’ve won three straight and just torched St. Louis last week. The Red Wings were also fortunate to win their last game against the Kings as they were thoroughly outplayed despite winning 3-2 on a last second goal. They won’t be playing with nearly as much urgency as the Blues will tonight and I think that will show on the ice. Take St. Louis at a nice underdog price.