The Devils are playing their backup goalie in Edmonton. ...

Which New Jersey shows up tonight at Rogers Place? ...

The Buffalo Sabres host Ottawa after losing three straight games...

Yet another incredibly frustrating hockey day. The Kings blew home leads of 2-0 in the third and 3-2 with about 30 seconds left and lost to these Blackhawks in a shootout. As a fan, that was great. As a bettor, not great. This is a horribly bad spot for Chicago now, though, in the second of a B2B with backup Arvid Soderblom in net and the end of a five-game trip out West. Anaheim is vastly improved this year and it's only the team's fourth home game (2-1) and first since Oct. 22. We also get to see the top two picks from the 2023 draft face off in Connor Bedard and Leo Carlsson.

We have been pushing like crazy on -1 plays of late, so let's try for an outright win in the battle of NYC. The Islanders are really, really short-handed with defensemen Mike Reilly, Alexander Romanov and Adam Pelech all out as well as top-six forwards Anthony Duclair and Mathew Barzal. The Rangers lead the league in GAA at 2.20 and are fourth in scoring at 3.90 goals per game. The Blueshirts' ’ 91.2 penalty kill percentage ranks tied for first in the NHL. The team has a perfect PK in seven of 10 games this year, including their last four. It has won three straight at home in the series.

The 4-3 win for the Islanders on Friday in Buffalo was important for a couple of reasons, as 1) it snapped a 3-game skid, and 2) it proved the Isles could score goals after being held to a combined one in losses to the Ducks and Blue Jackets. Too soon to rejoice, perhaps, as Patrick Roy has been doing lots of line juggling. and now proceeds minus top gun Matthew Barzal, who has landed on the IR, a scary prospect for a team that has been blanked four times in eleven games. The Rangers have lost a bit of momentum the past week, but note their 39 goals in ten games, compared to 26 in eleven games by the Isles. Play Rangers on Puck Line

Said I would only bet another NHL game today if there was some important player news -- and Knights leading scorer Mark Stone will play after being in doubt earlier today. He's third in the league with 19 points. Utah netminder Connor Ingram is struggling with a 3.54 GAA and .880 SV overall, and on the road those numbers are 4.16 and .856. Vegas is 7-0 at home. Adin Hill has four of those wins with a 2.75 GAA on hone ice.

As they say, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas, which is all good with the Golden Knights, who are a spotless 7-0-0 at T-Mobile Arena this season, outscoring foes 39-16 in the process. Back at T-Mobile tonight, would expect extra focus after the poorest effort of the season on Wednesday in LA against the Kings, who avenged an early 6-1 loss at T-Mobile. With Mark Stone (19 points) and Jack Eichel (16 points) leading a balanced scoring assault, VGK has plenty of firepower in bounce-back mode. Utah is off of a 5-1 win over the Flames, but the Hockey Club had lost six of seven prior, and the offense recently endured a four-game stretch with just 4 goals. Play VGK on Puck Line

Gonna try something new a la NBA and take one NHL game -- barring some kind of player news that makes another a must-wager -- and bet the max available. Too unpredictable of a sport right now to play multiple games, I think. And I will be diverting some effort to NCAA hoops. This certainly isn't a lock (doesn't exist in hockey) but the most reasonable sure thing on the board. I'm a Blackhawks fan and I don't understand why Coach Luke Richardson doesn't give No. 1 netminder Petr Mrazek a night off. This will be Mrazek's sixth straight start and he's 1-4 in the past five and allowed at least three goals in four. It's also nearing the end of a long trip.

The Florida Panthers defeated the Dallas Stars 6-4 despite getting out-shot 35-28 in the first of back-to-back games in Finland. I like the Stars in this quick turnaround rematch. The teams will use their backup goalies, where I believe Dallas has an edge.

Here we go again in Finland as the Stars and Panthers do it again at Nokia Arena after Florida won a breathless 6-4 encounter on Friday. Though as we sometimes see in these international back-to-backs, it's hard to get a sweep. Panther Aleksander Barkov netted four points in his hometown of Tampere on Friday as the Panthers were up 2-0 before the Stars knew what hit them. On Saturday, however, it's a battle of backup goalies, and slight edge to the Stars with Casey DeSmith (don't the Penguins wish they still had him!), who has fashioned a 1.69 GAA and .936 saves in three appearances. Florida follows up Sergei Bobrovsky with Spencer Knight (3.03 GAA). Play Stars on Money Line (at Tampere, Finland)

Columbus has been an ATM for us this week as the team continues to overachieve. That said, I probably don't play this if the Jets have reigning Vezina winner Connor Hellebuyck in net, but it's backup Eric Comrie. That's like going from a Ferrari to a Pinto. Filet Mignon to Spam (practically barf every time I see that silly Spam Musubi commercial; if you are having Spam parties, seek professional help). You get the drift. Which means Comrie will pitch a shutout now. Counterpart Elvis Merzlikins has allowed just one goal on 58 shots during a two-game winning streak.

It Ottawa had any goaltending, it would be a playoff team this season as the Sens are really strong at forward and on the blueline, but their team GAA is 3.44, while the Rangers are fourth in scoring and are terrific in net whether it's Igor Shesterkin or Jonathan Quick on Friday. Ottawa is 1-3 on the road and has lost six of the past nine in this series.

We're keeping an eye on the Blue Jackets, now two wins in a row after the 2-0 blanking of the Isles on Wednesday. Elvis Merzlikins got the shutout, and he's due back in the nets tonight. Thru nine games, Columbus also sits on a very impressive +10 goal differential, and the Jackets have been getting contributions from all of their lines. Vet C Sean Monahan has proved a valuable addition, and gets to face his old Winnipeg team tonight. We can't say much bad about the Jets, but they're resting Connor Hellebuyck (7-1-0 with a 2.12 GAA) in goal tonight and going with backup Eric Comrie, who has won his two starts but also has a so-so 3.00 GAA. Play Blue Jackets on Money Line

Obviously defending Cup champion Florida is excellent, but the Stars are 7-2, have a much better goals differential than the Panthers and are starting No. 1 Jake Oettinger in net. He's fourth in the league in GAA (1.84) and third in SV (.938). Yet Dallas is getting +1? Gladly accept. Note that this is in Finland or no way the Stars as the home team get the +1 -- but they are "home" for today and at least get the last line change. Both teams have multiple Finnish players.