Saturday's best NHL bets
New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers (+115, 5)
The Devils went down to Georgia and snatched away one of the premier players in the league.
Ilya Kovalchuk made his New Jersey debut Friday night versus Toronto, registering two assists, and he and his coach couldn?t have been more excited heading into the game.
"He is a guy that can change a game, a player that can make other players score," coach Jacques Lemaire said before the game.
"This is the first time in my career I got a chance to play for a first-class organization, the team who won three Stanley Cups,? Kavulchuk said.
The Rangers are another team that was in the trade market recently, but their acquisition of Olli Jokinen hasn?t pulled them out of a recent slump.
Jokinen has scored two points (1 goal) since joining New York, but the team has lost two straight, seven of its last eight and sits outside of the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
The Devs have won two straight versus the Rangers and two of the last three in New Jersey.
Pick: Devils
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets (N/A)
Fire your coach. The oldest trick in the book worked for Columbus?for at least one game.
Ken Hitchcock was relieved of his duties Wednesday and the Blue Jackets responded with a 2-1 home win over the Stars for their new coach Claude Noel.
"We looked like a different team," said captain Rick Nash. "[It was] a totally different vibe out there tonight. It was nice."
While the mood has lightened in the Columbus locker room, the scoring deficiencies still remain.
The Jackets have scored two or fewer goals in 18 of their last 27 games and are posting a 1.8 gpg average over their last four.
The Sabres have had trouble netting the puck as well in recent games. In the team?s last seven outings, Buffalo is posting a 2.4 gpg average.
Five or fewer goals have been scored in six of the last 10 games between these two teams.
Pick: Under
New Jersey Devils at New York Rangers (+115, 5)
The Devils went down to Georgia and snatched away one of the premier players in the league.
Ilya Kovalchuk made his New Jersey debut Friday night versus Toronto, registering two assists, and he and his coach couldn?t have been more excited heading into the game.
"He is a guy that can change a game, a player that can make other players score," coach Jacques Lemaire said before the game.
"This is the first time in my career I got a chance to play for a first-class organization, the team who won three Stanley Cups,? Kavulchuk said.
The Rangers are another team that was in the trade market recently, but their acquisition of Olli Jokinen hasn?t pulled them out of a recent slump.
Jokinen has scored two points (1 goal) since joining New York, but the team has lost two straight, seven of its last eight and sits outside of the Eastern Conference playoff standings.
The Devs have won two straight versus the Rangers and two of the last three in New Jersey.
Pick: Devils
Buffalo Sabres at Columbus Blue Jackets (N/A)
Fire your coach. The oldest trick in the book worked for Columbus?for at least one game.
Ken Hitchcock was relieved of his duties Wednesday and the Blue Jackets responded with a 2-1 home win over the Stars for their new coach Claude Noel.
"We looked like a different team," said captain Rick Nash. "[It was] a totally different vibe out there tonight. It was nice."
While the mood has lightened in the Columbus locker room, the scoring deficiencies still remain.
The Jackets have scored two or fewer goals in 18 of their last 27 games and are posting a 1.8 gpg average over their last four.
The Sabres have had trouble netting the puck as well in recent games. In the team?s last seven outings, Buffalo is posting a 2.4 gpg average.
Five or fewer goals have been scored in six of the last 10 games between these two teams.
Pick: Under
