Welcome to the NHL Daily Picks, where CBS hockey writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz share their predictions for select games every day.
Boston Bruins at Minnesota Wild, 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN
Coming into the season, there were very few concerns about the Wild and Bruins making the playoffs, but stumbles throughout the season and some awful luck with injuries has left both teams looking for answers as they approach the end of the 2014 portion of the season. Boston is one point out of the last wild card spot in the east, while Minnesota is three points back from the same position in the West as the Central Division leaders begin to pull away. Both of these teams are in need of a spark and Wednesday night’s game could present a good opportunity for either.
The Bruins have lost three straight, but both Wild goalies Niklas Backstrom and Darcy Kuemper were sick during last night's game against Chicago (not the mumps, though), meaning the team may have to turn to AHL journeyman John Curry under the national spotlight. It’s going to be a strange game just because both of these teams are starting to get into the desperate stages where they’re trying to recover from a disappointing start to the year before it’s too late. Pick: Bruins 3, Wild 2
Ottawa Senators at New Jersey Devils, 7 p.m. ET
Another game between a pair of floundering teams, the Senators are still trying to find their legs under new head coach Dave Cameron, while the Devils are playing through swirling speculation that their own coach Peter DeBoer could get the axe. Both of these teams will go into the game expecting to beat the other. This might be one of those games that if the Devils lose, it will look like another step towards the door for DeBoer. This is also the start of a four-game homestand for the Devils, so getting off on the right foot will be huge. They’re going to have to find a way to slow down Bobby Ryan, who has six points over his last five games and appears to be heating up. Pick: Devils 2, Senators 1
Dallas Stars at Vancouver Canucks, 10 p.m. ET
After having lost four straight, the Canucks have considerably cooled. Head coach Willie Desjardins is already starting to tweak some of his systems to try and break the streak and get the best players activated more. The Stars, meanwhile, have been one of the most porous teams in the league, but feel they have started to find their groove defensively. Tyler Seguin remains one of the game’s most electrifying players and leads the league in scoring with 23 goals and 38 points. Pick: Canucks 4, Stars 3
Three Stars
1. Daniel Sedin, Vancouver Canucks: With the Canucks tweaking their system a bit to try to stoke the offense, look for the Sedins to be particularly effective against a youthful defensive group from Dallas. They seem to know how to exploit even the most experienced players, so Daniel could be the beneficiary of his combined creativity with brother Henrik.
2. Jaromir Jagr, New Jersey Devils: One of DeBoer’s most outspoken allies has been Jagr. If he wants to keep his coach around, The Legend will have to be a key player against the Sens. He scored the game-winner in overtime against Ottawa in the other meeting between the two sides.
3. Tyler Seguin, Dallas Stars: No one has been able to stop Seguin lately and even though I picked against the Stars in the game, it’s hard not to expect Seguin to continue producing. He has five goals over his last four games, scoring at least once in each game and is on pace for 65 goals this season. Mercy.
