Carolina Hurricanes @ Montreal Canadiens
The NHL playoff intensity will be turned up high for this one, as the Hurricanes and Canadiens meet Tuesday night in Montreal before they clash again this weekend in Carolina.
That’s a potential big point swing for both clubs in the race for the Eastern Conference title, so Tuesday’s game will set the tone.
Carolina has the edge at -135 on the moneyline, but Montreal is a threat any time they hit the ice. The Canadiens lead the NHL in comeback wins this season, so be sure to keep an eye on some favorable odds if you’re live betting the NHL and the Habs are down by just a goal in the third.
For anytime goalscorers on the ‘Canes, beyond Sebastian Aho, look at Nikolaj Ehlers. He’s had two multiple-point games in his last three and is +225 to score at least one on Tuesday night.
The Canadiens are in a strange spot. They’re putting their best team in years on the ice every night, and are sitting 3rd in the Atlantic, just 4 points out of second. They could also miss the playoffs entirely with a three- or four-game skid, with the 9th-place team in the East just 2 points back. That’s how tight the Atlantic is.
That means they’re playing for their playoff lives night in and night out, including a 7-3 drubbing of the Islanders in their last game. So even though the Hurricanes are ahead of them in the standings, it’s tough to see a blowout here. Plus Montreal took down Carolina in their previous meeting, a 7-5 barn-burner on New Year’s Day.
That 12-goal game could be a preview for two teams that can score in buckets. We’re not calling another double-digit total, but that O/U of 6.5 looks like an Over play here.
Ottawa Senators @ Detroit Red Wings
Expect playoff-style hockey from both these teams too, all the way until mid-April, starting with Tuesday night’s game.
Only 1 point separates the two teams, and both of them are in a logjam with six other Eastern Conference teams sitting anywhere from the #3 through #10 spots.
Ottawa comes into the game on the second leg of a back-to-back, which could hurt them. On the other hand, that was about as relaxed a game as you could expect from the first leg – they beat the Rangers 2-1 in a Monday night game where they held NY to just 9 shots. Not a typo.
The Senators are coming in as the hotter team, going 8-2 in their last 10 and 14-3-2 in their last 19. The not-so-hot Wings are just 4-4-2 recently, down bad since the injury to Dylan Larkin. But they could get a huge boost as their captain could be in the lineup for this one, as crucial as it gets for both teams’ playoff hopes. Larkin was reported to have had a good practice on Monday, so you can imagine he’ll see some action for the Senators-Red Wings Tuesday night tilt.
For goalscorers, Ottawa’s Tim Stutzle leads the team across the board in goals and assists. He’s a healthy +225 to bag a goal on Tuesday night, a solid payout for a team’s top scorer. On the Detroit side, oddsmakers are so confident in Larkin’s return that they’re pricing him at +180. Patrick Kane is a sleeper play at +260, with his long experience in playoff-like conditions.
Mark this one as even odds, even if Detroit surprisingly has the moneyline edge at -125, and make your pick based on which momentum play looks more promising. Motivation and a spark from Larkin’s return? Go with the Wings. A locked-in team coming in off a 33-9 shot advantage just one night before? The Sens are your pick.
Minnesota Wild @ Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning-Wild game on Tuesday night should offer up another dose of playoff-style hockey. Tampa is running away with the Atlantic crown, but they haven’t clinched yet and they’ll be looking to secure that #1 seed asap to give their veteran squad some rest in the final weeks of the regular season. Minnesota is actually one point better than TB this season, but they’re sitting in 3rd in the Central Division behind the Avs and Stars.
Minnesota plays the Lighting tight and they’re a matchup problem. The last 10 H2H have the Wild with a 6-4 edge, including a 5-1 beatdown of Tampa just 3 weeks ago.
Keep an eye on the Wild’s trade deadline pick-up of forward Bobby Brink. He picked up points on both goals in Minnesota’s tough 2-1 OT win over Dallas this past weekend, and with the Lightning D focused on players like Kaprizov and Tarasenko, Brink could get some great looks. That means a +475 payout if he bags a goal tonight.
Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov is playing some next-level hockey right now too. He’s now #1 in the NHL in scoring and has a ridiculous 13 points in his last 4 games. His +128 anytime goalscorer odds are decent, but the +212 number for an increasingly healthy Brayden Point looks like it has more upside.
Boston Bruins @ Buffalo Sabres
The Bruins visit the Sabres on Wednesday night with both teams riding great form and several key players on hot streaks. Boston comes in hot after a 4–2 comeback win in Detroit last weekend, winning 3 of their last 4 heading into the week. David Pastrnak is always the B’s most lethal player carrying an eight-game point streak into the week with 12 points over that stretch.
Buffalo is on 12-2 heater in its last 14 games and they’re still in the hunt to catch Carolina for first place in the East.
If you’re looking for desperation, you know the Bruins are the hungrier team on this one. Every L puts them in danger of playing golf in April. They’ll be coming into this one after a Maple Leafs game the night before, though, while Buffalo has had three days’ rest.
We think Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and the Sabres’ balanced attack are too hot at the moment, no matter how badly Boston needs this one.
Dallas Stars @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Sidney Crosby returned to the team last week and helped them take down the Avalanche as the Penguins kept riding their top status in the Metropolitan Division. Getting Evgeni Malkin back from suspension helped too. Somehow, Pittsburgh stitched together enough wins despite those big holes and they’re still in the top 10 in various NHL Power Rankings.
The Pens’ captain had a goal and an assist in a 6-5 OT loss to Carolina last week and he’s getting back into elite form with every game since the injury. Anthony Mantha is a solid choice for value when it comes to anytime goalscorers too. Mantha flies under the radar but he’s closing in on 30 goals on the year. Ditto for Erik Karlsson, who’s picked up 3 Norris trophies and knows his way around a playoff atmosphere.
The Stars? Still on fire as they have been since early winter. Dallas joined the Avalanche as the only two teams to clinch a playoff spot already. Does that mean that Dallas will sit back and coast? Negative. The Pens will need all hands on deck on Saturday night as the Stars want to secure that top spot in the Western Conference. They started the week just 5 points back of Colorado.
This one could come down to the battle in nets. And we like Dallas’ Jake Oettinger. He’s coming off a recent 6-0-1 streak with a tiny 1.80 GAA after the Olympic break. He’s got the Stars sitting 2nd in goals allowed this season, compared to Pittsburgh’s 12th spot.