Columbus Blue Jackets vs. Los Angeles Kings
Free NHL Pick: Los Angeles (March 8th 2010 – Nick Parsons)
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The Kings are hoping to make it to the “promised land” (Playoffs) this season, but have dropped two in a row; for a number of different reasons I believe LA on the “puck line” is the prudent wager in this circumstance: Columbus (25-19-11) has lost two of its last three visits to visits to LA and is 0-2-2 since winning three in a row; the Blue Jackets lost 6-2 in the last matchup on Oct 25th. Columbus is coming off a disheartening 2-1 loss to the Sharks on Saturday, which was the beginning of a tough three-game California road-swing. Keep in mind that Columbus is just 1-4 its last five overall and a disturbing 4-19 its last 23 on the road. On the other side of the ice: Los Angeles’ Jonathan Quick made 21 saves Saturday but lost for the second straight start. He has beaten Columbus two straight times and is 2-1-0 with a 2.00 goals-against average versus the Blue Jackets this season. Los Angeles remains on a long-term 11-4 overall run; 5-2 at in front of the home town faithful.

Bottom line: The Kings have no mercy on “lesser opponents” as evident by their 18-7 (+6.2 units) mark against teams with a “losing record”. LA is also 12-6 (+3.7 units) after allowing 4 goals or more in its previous contest (lost 4-2 to the Habs on Sat.); which means of course that after a “sub-par” performance, this team responds with a much more concerted effort on both ends of the ice. I believe this is a very bad spot for Columbus as it catches a hungry home team in the middle game of a challenging road trip; lay the 1 1/2 here.

Philadelphia Flyers vs. Buffalo Sabres
Free NHL Pick: Over 5.5 (March 5th 2010 – Jimmy the Moose)
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The Philadelphia Flyers have played over the total in their last 3 games. The total combined score in all of their last 3 games was at least 8. The over is 17-8 in the Flyers last 25 games vs. a team from the Northeast Division. Philadelphia failed to get a goalie at the trade deadling so look for Leighton to carry the load between the pipes and he’s yet to prove he’s a legitimate number one goalie. Tonight’s game will be Buffalo’s 3rd game in 4 nights and in the last 5 times they have been in this situation the over is 4-1. The over is 5-2-2 in the Sabres last 9 home games vs. a team with a losing road record. The over is 5-2 in the Flyers last 7 trips to Buffalo. In the last 21 meetings between the clubs the over is 15-5-1. Play the over.