The Ducks are also neck and neck with St. Louis and Colorado for the No. 1 seed in the West. Anaheim is very good in conference play and also a very good road team.

Hiller had gone 0-5-2 with a 3.25 GAA in Los Angeles before stopping 36 shots in a 3-0 win there Jan. 25. Anaheim also won 2-1 at Staples Center on March 15, its third consecutive victory in the series.

LA has home ice for this division game, but the Kings are 2-5 in their last 7 vs. the Pacific division and 1-4 in their last 5 home games vs. a team with a winning road record.
The Ducks are 21-7 against the Pacific division and 16-6 in their last 22 road games. Los Angeles has offensive problems, 25th in goals scored and on the power play and just struggling right now. We are pounding the Anaheim Duck as our NHL GAME OF THE YEAR!

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I like the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight as a solid choice. This line is way out of whack. Pitt is 9-2 after a loss by 2 goals or more and clearly the more talented team in every aspect. The Penguins are the more talented team in every aspect and this team does a great job after non-efforts. Given their dominance over the Jets and their previous incarnation as the Atlanta Thrashers, Pittsburgh would appear to have a strong chance to keep it simple. The Penguins have won 18 of the last 21 matchups and took a 6-5 win in the only other meeting this season with the now-Western Conference club on Jan. 5th. The Jets are also returning home from a long road trip which included five very physical games against five winning teams out West. 5* NHL GAME OF THE WEEK!

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If the Dallas Stars are going to reach the playoffs, Kari Lehtonen figures to play a major role.

Lehtonen will get the start Monday night when the Stars finish their season series against the visiting Winnipeg Jets.



Dallas is 19-10 at home while Winnpeg is under .500 on the road. The Stars are coming off a 3-1 win over Ottawa on Saturday, and Kari Lehtonen stopped 26-of-27 shots in the victory. Dallas allowed an early goal by Erik Karlsson, but they outplayed and out-shot the Sens 44-27.

Sitting just two points behind Phoenix for the eighth and final playoff spot in the West, the Stars are still in the driver's seat with a game in hand. The Coyotes figure to have a tougher match-up tonight, playing on the road in New York.

Dallas will host the Jets tonight, and it's imperative that they take two points. That shouldn't be a problem if they play with as much grit as they did on Saturday.

The Jets playoff hopes have all but faded away after losing six of their last eight home games. Unfortunately for Winnipeg, their starting goaltender Ondrej Pavelec has missed the last five games with a knee injury and this hurts them.

Backup Al Montoya doesn't come in with a lot of confidence, as he blames himself for the team's most recent loss: "I didn't make the saves I needed to make and at the end of the day that cost us the game," Montoya said.

The Stars threw plenty of rubber at the net in their last game, so Montoya should be tested early and often tonight.
Take the DALLAS STARS here on Monday night to get the big home win!

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The New York Rangers host the Detroit Red Wings. The Red Wings are a bit banged up but showed no signs of issues scoring as they put up seven goals Friday night against the Devils. Henrik Lundqvist will be in goal for the Rangers, going for his 300th career victory. With Detroit coming off a seven-goal explosion in a win over New Jersey I just dont see them scoring much in this early start on Sunday. Look for the Rangers to get the win here on Sunday at MSG. 5* NHL GAME OF THE WEEK

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The Chicago Blackhawks are averging 3.5 goals per game and a very well rounded team.

Chicago is looking to ride its current hot streak into the Olympic break.


Chicago has won its last five road matchups, including postseason, with Phoenix, which dropped to 2-2-0 on a five-game homestand with Tuesday's 3-1 loss to Dallas. The Coyotes (26-20-10) will face the Stars on the road Saturday before the break.

The Blackhawks are hot, have the better goalie here too and a very good road team. I expect them to get this win versus Phoenix tonight rather easily.
PLAY CHICAGO! 5* NHL Game of the Month

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Despite their struggles Montreal is the better team here and well rested as Carolina played last night. The Hurricanes are 7-20 their last 27 when playing on back-to-back nights. Montreal is very good at killing penalties and also very good on their Power Plays and that will be the difference tonight. TAKE MONTREAL BIG HERE!

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STL is a very good road team and the Rangers are better away from home.
The Blue love playing at MSG and haven't lost in regulation in 16 years.

St. Louis (33-11-5) suffered its most lopsided loss of the season Tuesday at New Jersey, a 7-1 defeat that left coach Ken Hitchcock with nothing positive to say about his slumping club. He said they will come out with fire tonight! The Blues are off an ugly loss and have been one of the league's best road teams at 15-6-3.
Look for STL to get back in the win column tonight with a convincing win over the NY Rangers. 5* NHL GAME OF THE MONTH

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5* NHL GAME OF THE WEEK:
The NY Rangers won their last 2 games at home over Pittsburgh by a 11-2 margin. New York improved to 1-3-1 on its homestand as Benoit Pouliot scored in the seventh round of a shootout in the team's 4-3 triumph over Calgary on Sunday. Henrik Lundqvist, who will get the start tonight, came up big in his first meeting with Pittsburgh by stopping 28 shots in a 5-1 victory on Nov. 6. The Penguins have been riddled with injuries but still managed their fourth straight victory and ninth in 10 outings with a 3-1 decision over Toronto on Monday. We are going with the NY Rangers here at home in a pickem situation to overpower the Penguins tonight.

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Ottawa (10-13-4) has won 12 of the past 14 meetings with Florida (7-15-5), including a 3-2 home win on Nov. 9. Karlsson, though, continues to be a rare bright spot for Ottawa, leading all defensemen with 27 points. He's collected nine over the past nine games, including one Sunday. He has 12 points in 13 career meetings with the Panthers, getting four goals and one assist in six road matchups.
On the flipside the Panthers have dropped four of five while giving up an average of 3.8 goals. Look for the dominance to continue for Ottawa tonight as they should notch another easy win.
5* NHL ICEMAN GAME OF THE WEEK

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New York is treating the Rangers quite a bit better than the road. The Rangers will go for a fourth straight win Monday night when they host the Anaheim Ducks. Since returning from a season-opening nine-game road trip, New York (6-7-0) has won three of four. It has strung together two home wins after beating the New York Islanders on Long Island. The Rangers are in position to reach .500 for the first time since the second game of the year. The turnaround can be traced to an improved power play and the first offensive contributions of the year from some top players. This is also a major revenge game from a 6-0 loss to the Ducks earlier this year on the road.
Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has stopped 56 of 57 shots in the last two, though he doesn't have fond memories of his team's last meeting with the Ducks. He allowed six goals on 37 shots in a 6-0 loss at Anaheim on Oct. 10. You best beleive he'll be ready for this one tonight!Look for the Rangers to be ready and focused tonight and get us the victory.

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Toronto looks to a win a fifth straight meeting with the Oilers as the teams face off Tuesday night in Edmonton.

The Maple Leafs (8-4-0) are tied atop the Eastern Conference, and their play in net deserves plenty of credit. Reimer and Bernier have combined for a .928 save percentage that ranks near the top of the league despite facing 34.9 shots per game, which is among the highest in the NHL.Toronto is averaging more than 1 goal per game than Edm and also allowing 1 goal less per game.

Here are a few trends of note: Maple Leafs are 4-1 in their last 5 vs. Western Conference. Maple Leafs are 6-2 in their last 8 games playing on 2 days rest. The Oilers are 18-44 in their last 62 Tuesday games. Oilers are 2-6 in their last 8 vs. Eastern Conference. Oilers are 2-9 in their last 11 home games. Oilers are 1-5 in their last 6 games playing on 1 days rest.
TAKE THE TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS on Tuesday night as our 5* NHL GAME OF THE WEEK.

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Columbus Sergei Bobrovsky was awesome last season for Columbus, but he hasn

The Rangers are 1-4 and have not played well at all this year. Thanks to the refurbishing taking place at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers have been living out of their suitcases with five straight road games to start the season. And there

The Canadians have now won two straight, and would love to end this four-game all-Canada trip on a high note. Carey Price is a goalie who can get extremely hot at times, and he was at his best in the win at Vancouver. Make no mistake, Price wants that starting gig with the Olympic team and I think he looks upon games against fellow Canadian teams as being huge in terms of making the best impression possible. Price also has a great history over the last few years against this opponent, with a stellar 7-1-1 slate in his last nine starts. The Habs will also have captain Brian Gionta back this evening. Gionta had to go back home over the weekend due to what was reportedly a serious family illness, but his return provides an additional lift to the team. Mostly, this is a play on Price. He was scintillating last game, and he is a goalie that can carry a team when he

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Play the Flyers Wednesday night at home. They look to open the 2013 campaign with a bang and host Toronto, who were in Montreal Tuesday night for their season opener playing late plus traveling across the boarder. Philadelphia is in a bounce back campaign, dealing with injuries last year, especially on the back end, and the Flyers missed the playoffs despite a decent finish. The Flyers are also 4-0 in their last 4 vs. Eastern Conference. The price is right for the Flyers, with home ice and plenty of time to prepare for this game. 5*

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Boston struggled against Toronto's speed in the first round and miraculously won game 7 being down 2 goals with less than a minute to go. They handled Pittsburgh with ease but the Penguins were overrated and had Goal-tend isssues and are defensively flawed. The Hawks are deep at every position and have gotten by without their 2 stars doing much. If Kane and Toews can get going, Boston will have their hands full because the Hawks can roll 4 lines and all 4 lines are fast and can score but are also defensively responsible. Both coaches are solid and home ice and line changes should favor the home teams big time. Chicago has home ice and have been damn near unbeatable at home all year. 5* NHL ICEMAN GAME OF THE WEEK

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NY Rangers coach John Tortorella said his team will be ready tonight at home. One key factor for the Rangers is the play and health of goalie Henrik Lundqvist. When he plays well, the team plays well. Before Sunday, Lundqvist hadn't allowed five goals in 151 consecutive games, dating to a 5-2 loss at Anaheim on March 9, 2011. He also had never yielded more than three goals in any of his 31 previous games against the Bruins, according to the Elias Sports Bureau. Look for the Rangers at home who played very well at MSG all year to get a victory tonight. 5* NHL PLAYOFFS GAME OF THE YEAR!

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The Ottawa Senators have a 7-0 record when leading a series 3-1, The Senators know they can't afford to wait until the last ten minutes to take control as they did in Game 4, where they scored two late goals in regulation before winning in overtime. The Canadiens had been the better team for much of the game and, if not for a few breaks, the Senators could easily be heading to Montreal with the series tied.I expect an emotional letdown here tonight at Montreal thought they had that win on Tuesday night.Montreal is also banged up with injuries. Goaltender Carey Price is listed as day to day with a lower body injury, while Brandon Prust and Ryan White are out with upper body injuries. Captain Brian Gionta, who missed Game 2 and Game 4, will undergo surgery Friday for a torn bicep tendon and is done for the season. TAKE OTTAWA TO FINISH THEM OFF TONIGHT!
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We are picking a horse that hasn't even won a race this year and in fact only has one victory in his entire race career, and that horse is Chad Brown's Normandy Invasion at 14/1 odds.
Normandy Invasion has looked very comfortable on the Churchill track this week, and when you watched his workouts, you again get the feeling that he could have kept going as long as the jockey wanted him too. This is a very large field and I like the huge odds and underdog Normandy Invasion horse #5 in the Kentucky Derby.
Play it to WIN-PLACE-and SHOW.

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The Red Wings attempt to move into playoff position by building on their best offensive performance in a month Wednesday night when they go for a fourth straight home win over the Kings. Detroit (21-16-8) sits ninth in the conference, one point back of Columbus for the eighth and final playoff position and two in front of Dallas. The Red Wings are trying to build some momentum after beating Phoenix 4-0 on Monday, severely denting the Coyotes' chances of reaching the playoffs. It was Detroit's highest scoring output since a 5-1 win at Anaheim on March 22. the Red Wings are on the outside looking in at the 2013 post-season, and if they stay on the outside, it will be the first time in the last 22 years that Detroit sat home for the NHL playoffs. So it's not an overstatement to say that this game is perhaps the most important one the Wings will play in a long time and it will be a playoff atmosphere. They need this win to keep their playoff hopes alive and I like them at home Wednesday night. 5* NHL GAME OF THE YEAR ON THE REDWINGS.

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