Online Sportsbook Overview
After the first 32 games of the regular season, the New Jersey Devils were dead last in the overall NHL standings. As the playoffs roll around and the online March Madness betting is coming up, the Devils are mounting one of the greatest comebacks in sports history. But the NHL season is winding down and the Devils may be running out of time. Judging by their most recent play, they also may be running out of gas. New Jersey needs to get back on the winning track immediately or watch their playoff hopes slip away.
The Atlanta Thrashers were part of that great battle for the eighth and last Eastern Conference playoff spot. While the Thrashers are still stuck in the middle of the playoff pack, they are one of the teams that is going in the wrong direction. The Thrashers take one step forward with a win, and then take two steps back as they drop both games on a weekend schedule. The fans are staying away in Atlanta and if the Thrashers want to fill their building again, they need to start winning.
New Jersey Devils
The amazing New Jersey Devils had pulled themselves to within seven points of a playoff spot as early as a week ago. But recent developments, including an untimely loss by the Devils, have dropped New Jersey to eight points back. The Devils are 8-2-0 in the last 10 games, but that 10th game was a home loss to the lowly Ottawa Senators and that hurt. As amazing as the Devils have been, they are also running out of time. They only have 16 games left to try and make up those eight points. This game against Atlanta is a good place to start.
Atlanta Thrashers
The Thrashers are in 11th place in the Eastern Conference trailing the eighth-place Buffalo Sabres by five points. But the Thrashers have gone 3-6-1 in the last 10 games. The only thing that has prevented the Thrashers from falling deeper into the standings is the two-game winning streak they are currently riding. But waiting in 12th place is the New Jersey Devils. The Devils trail the Thrashers by only three points, and that is what makes this game so important to both teams. A loss in this game and the Devils fall five back of the Thrashers and could see their chances of a Cinderella playoff spot drifting away.
The Bottom Line
This should be a very good game. The Devils know what is at stake here, and the Thrashers can keep pace with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the battle for eighth place in the Eastern Conference with a win. A loss and the Thrashers will find themselves more concerned with heading off the Devils than catching the Leafs. The advantage in almost every category goes to the Devils in this game. The one thing the Thrashers have going for them is the home ice, but with fans staying away from Atlanta Thrashers games in droves, that takes away Atlanta’s only real edge.
Pick: New Jersey Devils
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