NHL: Blues and Red Wings Headline Monday’s Slate

The Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Blues meet at the Joe Louis Arena with first place in the NHL at stake. Al Dannity breaks down this clash of Central Division rivals and the best of the rest from tonight’s slate.

We’ll have this dance again
Seeing Detroit atop the standings is nothing new. Seeing the Blues stay relevant this late in the season is another matter entirely. Both franchises are in championship form heading into Monday’s meeting. The Blues, 8-1-1 in their last 10, won their first two meetings of the season with Detroit. The Red Wings, 8-2-0 in their last 10, have taken the two games since to square matters at two wins apiece. Goaltending has been at the heart of the Blues’ success this season but they showed they could win in a slugfest on Saturday, beating Buffalo 4-2. A win tonight would snap a 16 game winning streak for Detroit in the Joe Louis Arena. It took a shootout for the Red Wings to maintain that winning run against Columbus but it was enough for Detroit to move closer to the NHL record of 20 straight home wins. NHL betting fans will be eager to see if the Blues can end that run tonight.

Leafs look to take two against Isles
The Islanders and Maple Leafs play the first leg of a home and home tonight in Toronto. With the two outfits meeting again tomorrow night in New York, a sweep would do wonders for the Maple Leafs’ playoff push. They won’t have it easy tonight as the Islanders have won three straight and could go from playoff outsiders to serious contenders with a couple of wins this week. Toronto took the first of this season’s four meetings 5-3 back in December.

Jets need a boost at Canes
Winnipeg has won all three of its meetings with Carolina this season and a win would be just the ticket following a recent dip in form. The Jets are just 3-6-1 in their last 10 games but have outscored the Hurricanes 12-6 in the season series. That said, the Jets are likely to be without leading scorer Evander Kane for tonight’s game.

Senators look to make road statement
Ottawa will host the All Star game this week and four of the Senators’ players have been selected to play. Before the festivities take place the Sens must deal with a tricky road test against the Kings. The two goalies in this match-up should prove decisive as Craig Anderson and Jonathan Quick have both been in exceptional form lately.

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