Ice Picks of the Day Most experts who make their NHL picks expected the #CalgaryFlames to be a bad team this season but a 3-0-2 shooed those negative clouds. However, the Flames have been a completely different team since that point and it’s hard to back them in any situation right now. The Flames have lost six of their last eight games and have looked more like the team we expected them to be. The biggest issue is goaltending as Joey MacDonald reverted to his former self after a good start and the Flames waived him. Part of that decision was his foolish comments after the team’s latest loss to Detroit when he called out his teammates. Regardless, it leaves the Flames with Karri Ramo in net and he’s been a disaster too. Ramo has a 3.49 GAA and an .888 save percentage. That’s pathetic and the Flames might be better off pulling their goalie and playing with a sixth-skater. The Flames are on the road in Chicago on Sunday and there’s no way you can conceivably bet them right now. That means you can either take the Blackhawks straight up, lay the puck line or take the over. The Icecapper will stick with the OVER (5.5G; -125), as it’s cashed five straight times in Blackhawks’ games. BUT Cap will double time it with the despicably infamous PUCK LINE (-1.5G; +125) too. The #MinnesotaWild are playing really well right now. People who making their sports picks have been waiting to see the Wild put it all together. They have the offense and they have the goaltending, but they’ve been maddeningly inconsistent. Now it’s all working. The Wild have given up 12 goals in their last five games (five in the loss to Chicago) and they’ve scored three or more in three of their last four. Jasom Pominville has been leading the way for the Wild as he has nine goals in 14 games, which puts him among the league leaders. If he can continue to be a reliable source of offense, this is going to be a playoff team. As for the Devils, they are coming off an ugly 1-0 home shutout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers as their goal-scoring problem cropped up again. If you can’t score at home against the Flyers, you’re going to have a tough time scoring anywhere on the road. The Devils are averaging a paltry 1.88 goals per game in their road games, which simply isn’t going to get the job done. The Wild should have an easy time taking care of business. The current catalyst for the Wild has been home-ice advantage. They’ve won five of their last six at home while outscoring their opponents 15-6 in the five wins. On top of that, this is Zach Parise’s first game versus his former team, so you can bet his team will rally around him. The Devils are expected to be without Travis Zajac and Patrik Elias on Sunday as well. I expect the Wild to win this game, take the higher than I like MONEYLINE (-175) and check the box that says Minnesota Wild. * CHI (Puck Line; -1.5G; +125) CONFIDENCE RATING: *5 * CGY/CHI (Over; 5.5G; -125) CONFIDENCE RATING: *6 * MIN (Moneyline; -175) CONFIDENCE RATING: *6
Posted on: Sun, 03 Nov 2013 21:46:57 +0000