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The St. Louis Blues head to Honda Center on Friday night for a 10:00 PM ET matchup with the Anaheim Ducks, and the pressure is a little different on each side. St. Louis enters at 31-31-12 and is running short on time in the Western Conference wild-card race after dropping the first two games of this trip. Anaheim is 41-29-5, still sitting on top of the Pacific Division, though its cushion has tightened after a rough stretch of late-game letdowns. This one streams on ESPN+, and the early market has treated Anaheim like the rightful home favorite, with the Ducks sitting around -142 and the Blues around +120. The total is 6.5. That feels about right. Anaheim has been excellent

The Philadelphia Flyers head to UBS Arena in Elmont on Friday night for a 7:00 p.m. ET Metropolitan Division game against the New York Islanders. Philadelphia comes in at 37-26-12 and sitting on 86 points, while New York is 42-29-5 with 89 points. It is a real swing game in the East. The Flyers are chasing ground in the wild-card race and also trying to close the gap on the Islanders, who are holding third in the division. NHL Network has the national broadcast, and the market is dealing this with New York as the home favorite and the total sitting at 5.5. There is also a clear schedule angle here. Philadelphia is on the second leg of a back-to-back

The Minnesota Timberwolves head to Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday night for a 7:00 PM tip against the Philadelphia 76ers in a game with real playoff weight on both sides. Minnesota enters 46-30 and sixth in the West, while Philadelphia is 42-34 and tied for sixth in the East. The Wolves are trying to steady themselves after a loss in Detroit on Thursday, and the Sixers are trying to protect ground in a crowded East race after a high-scoring win over Washington. NBCS has the broadcast, and the market has this lined as a tight game with Philadelphia a slight home favorite and the total sitting at 233.5. There is a lot of injury context sitting on top of this

The Pacers head to Spectrum Center on Friday night for a 7:00 p.m. ET tip against the Hornets on FDSI. Indiana is 18-58 and already out of the postseason picture, but the Pacers have at least shown a little life lately with wins over Miami and Chicago. Charlotte is 41-36, sitting eighth in the East, and still has real reason to push because this stretch can shape where it lands in the playoff bracket. That gives this game a slightly tricky feel. Indiana is clearly the weaker team overall, but it just hung 145 points on the Bulls and moved the ball beautifully in that win. Charlotte, meanwhile, is coming off a 127-107 win over Phoenix on Thursday, which means