PREMIUM
Rogers' Wednesday WIPEOUT >> SIZZLING 18-8 L26 NHL Sides!
(NHL) Columbus vs. Pittsburgh,
Money Line: -152.00 Pittsburgh (Home)
Result: Win
Money Line: -152.00 Pittsburgh (Home)
Result: Win
The set-up: The two-time defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves on the wrong side of the playoff picture after losing five of seven to drop into seventh place (18-16-3, 39 points) in the highly-competitive Metropolitan Division. The NHl returns from its Christmas break and the Penguins hope to fight their way back into playoff contention, beginning with a home game Wednesday against the rival Columbus Blue Jackets (beat them right here on Dec. 21). The Blue Jackets are 22-13-2 (46 points) and currently tied for second-place in the Metropolitan Division.
Columbus: The Blue Jackets have cooled off a bit with losses in four of seven and will be forced to cope with the expected four-to-six weeks absences of last season's all-everything RW Cam Atkinson (broken foot) and center Alexander Wennberg (back). "We just have to deal with it," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "It's going to be a great test for our depth, and a great opportunity for some other guys to play more significant roles right now, and we'll just have to deal with it." Columbus has some recent improvement with its power play but the team still ranks 31st with the man advantage, converting only 12.1 percent. Defenseman Seth Jones carries a four-game power-play point streak (two goals, two assists) into Wednesday's contest.
Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin scored a goal in his third straight game against Columbus in the Dec. 21 win (3-2 in a shootout) to increase his point total to 11 (five goals, six assists) in 10 games in December. However, Pittsburgh followed that win by getting blanked 4-0 by Anaheim prior to the Christmas break (Dec. 230. Malkin and captain Sidney Crosby found themselves venting frustration late in the second period of the first meeting with Columbus, as the former was given five minutes for fighting captain Nick Foligno while the latter received an uncharacteristic roughing double minor versus Jones. Ignited by the physical play, the Penguins scored twice in the third period and Malkin tallied in the shootout as the Penguins rallied to win.
The pick: "It's disappointing. We were hoping we'd get some traction from (a 3-2 shootout win over the Blue Jackets on Thursday), but it didn't work out that way," Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said. However, the Penguins will have an opportunity to make up ground with seven of their next 14 games against Metropolitan Division rivals. Columbus makes a quick return to Pittsburgh in this one and I expect a similar result. Make the Pens an 8* play.
Columbus: The Blue Jackets have cooled off a bit with losses in four of seven and will be forced to cope with the expected four-to-six weeks absences of last season's all-everything RW Cam Atkinson (broken foot) and center Alexander Wennberg (back). "We just have to deal with it," general manager Jarmo Kekalainen said. "It's going to be a great test for our depth, and a great opportunity for some other guys to play more significant roles right now, and we'll just have to deal with it." Columbus has some recent improvement with its power play but the team still ranks 31st with the man advantage, converting only 12.1 percent. Defenseman Seth Jones carries a four-game power-play point streak (two goals, two assists) into Wednesday's contest.
Pittsburgh: Evgeni Malkin scored a goal in his third straight game against Columbus in the Dec. 21 win (3-2 in a shootout) to increase his point total to 11 (five goals, six assists) in 10 games in December. However, Pittsburgh followed that win by getting blanked 4-0 by Anaheim prior to the Christmas break (Dec. 230. Malkin and captain Sidney Crosby found themselves venting frustration late in the second period of the first meeting with Columbus, as the former was given five minutes for fighting captain Nick Foligno while the latter received an uncharacteristic roughing double minor versus Jones. Ignited by the physical play, the Penguins scored twice in the third period and Malkin tallied in the shootout as the Penguins rallied to win.
The pick: "It's disappointing. We were hoping we'd get some traction from (a 3-2 shootout win over the Blue Jackets on Thursday), but it didn't work out that way," Pittsburgh head coach Mike Sullivan said. However, the Penguins will have an opportunity to make up ground with seven of their next 14 games against Metropolitan Division rivals. Columbus makes a quick return to Pittsburgh in this one and I expect a similar result. Make the Pens an 8* play.
