Intelligent Hockey: Best bets for Saturday’s NHL action. MORE:
With the first month of the NHL season winding down, a pair of early contenders have pushed their way to the top of the Eastern Conference without a single regulation loss, while a number of teams are in hot pursuit.
Hockey has a less perceptible coaching edge than football, where brilliant tacticians like Bill Belichick are fawned over. But Carolina and its Jack Adams Award-winning coach Rod Brind’Amour are the exception. Carolina overachieves because of its puck support and retrieval ability. The Hurricanes’ defencemen can be aggressive because the forwards cover over the top and fill the middle.
The Sergei Bobrovsky injury is concerning for those hopping on Florida. Bobrovsky has been awesome this season, and Spencer Knight’s numbers so far are mediocre. But 10 straight wins for Carolina? And this time on the road against one of the league’s best teams? I’ll take the Panthers.
Furthermore, the Timothy Liljegren-Rasmus Sandin defensive pairing continues to impress, as the Maple Leafs earned more shot attempts and shots than the Lightning when those two were on the ice, a feat that was not achieved by the first or second pairing. Additionally, goaltender Jack Campbell was spectacular, posting a 2.14 Goals Saved Above Expected and outplaying Andrei Vasilevskiy.
From this perspective, the Bruins will be an important test. Boston will want to grind Toronto down and get in on the forecheck, testing Toronto’s defencemen and forcing battles in front of the net. When the Bruins play keep away, it will be incumbent on the Leafs to stay focused and mark their men. This is alarming because Washington is only surpassed by Carolina and Florida in goals per game at 5-on-5. The Capitals are crafty in how they gin up offence. They can attack teams on the rush by having one of their speedy skaters delay and then attack underneath. At home, Washington will have agency to set the matchups.
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