Previews for NHL games from December 16 – 22
New York Islanders @ Detroit Red Wings
The Islanders-Red Wings game brings the #2 teams in the Atlantic and Metropolitan divisions to the ice on Tuesday.
It’s New York that’s looking slightly hotter, momentum-wise, at the moment. They’ve won three games in a row and 6 out of their last 7. And not against soft teams either. In that stretch, five of those wins have come against division leaders. That includes a huge 6-3 win over Colorado, plus W’s against Tampa Bay and Vegas.
The Isles have a healthy lead in nets too. Their goals-against average is 2.73 to Detroit’s 3.24, or 8th in the NHL vs. the Red Wings’ 21st spot.
The numbers flip on the power play though. The Wings have a decided edge with the man advantage, 22.3% to the Isles’ weak 16.7%. Watch the live betting edge here: If the Islanders can stay out of the box, they have the edge. If the refs are calling a tight game, give the edge, especially in the third period, to Detroit.
Player-wise, Matthew Schaefer is the story again. He leads all rookie defensemen in goals and assists. He offers a big payout as anytime goalscorer too, at +460.
Check out the latest odds at Lucky Rebel.
Colorado Avalanche @ Seattle Kraken
West Coast fans get to see the amazing Avalanche show in person, but it doesn’t usually end well for the hosts.
The Colorado-Seattle game brings the Avs’ continued league-crushing run to Seattle on Tuesday night. It’s the first time the teams have met this year, and Colorado has been steamrolling everyone. The only bright spot for Kraken fans and bettors is that the Avs’ two losses this season have come on the road. So we’re telling you there’s a chance…
The books are putting that chance as slim, of course, with Seattle at +230 on the moneyline. The problem, on top of Colorado’s dominance this season, is that the Kraken are trending in the wrong direction. They’re 1-7-1 in their last nine games. And they hold the league’s worst penalty killing percentage.
The edge here is not in the spread (1.5 as usual) or the moneyline. The O/U of 6.0 is looking like a strong Over play though. Four out of the past five meeting between the teams have gone over, and this version of the Avalanche is the strongest one yet. The Avs have the league’s highest-scoring forward in Nathan MacKinnon and the top-scoring D-man (Cole Makar) as well. Plus, they’re taking more shots than any other team in the NHL.
If you’re looking for a safe play to fill out a parlay, the Avs at -270 could work. The offensive props are looking attractive too, with Seattle not looking like a team that will put up much resistance to Colorado’s scorers.
Los Angeles Kings @ Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning come into the Wednesday night game as the top team in the Atlantic, but they’re also on a two-game skid. That’s part of an overall slump where they’re just 2-6 in their past 8 games. They can’t afford anything close to a losing streak in their ultra-tight division, where the 8th-place team is only 7 points behind them in the standings.
The key to the Kings-Lightning game is one that spells worse news for Tampa. LA is bucking the usual storyline that says West Coast teams struggle with travel fatigue. The Kings are an impressive 10-3-5 on the road (heading into a Tuesday game against the Panthers). At the same time, Tampa isn’t really into their own home cooking – they’re a rough 8-8 on home ice this year. That means 75% of their losses this entire season have come at home.
The only edge that the smart money might like in Tampa’s favor? LA will be facing the Lightning just 24 hours after a tough game against the surging Florida Panthers. The Panthers play a rugged game that could prove tough for LA to recover from, with such a short turnaround.
If you’re a schedule-watcher and think back-to-backs give the fresher team an edge, these teams are close enough talent-wise to give that edge to the Lightning. They’ll be motivated to get their game back on track before the rest of the Atlantic pulls closer.
Carolina Hurricanes @ Florida Panthers
Speaking of the Panthers, they’re hosting the Met-leading Carolina Hurricanes on Friday night.
The ‘Canes are on a tear lately too. They are 7-2 in their last 9 games, including a home-and-home sweep of the Flyers last week. They pulled off most of those wins without elite defenseman Jaccob Slavin too – and he’s back in the lineup now.
The Team USA star should give Carolina even more of a boost against a tough Panthers team.
Slavin’s solid presence opens up the forwards and other d-men to get in on the rush more, so look at the Over closely for this one.
As for Florida, the two-time reigning Stanley Cup winners are still trying to regain their status at the top of the NHL after a rough start to the season. They’ve won 5 out of their last 6 games though and could slow down the Hurricanes. Panthers’ goalie Serge Bobrovsky is a wall again, tied for the NHL lead in wins with 14 and giving up just five goals in the last three games.
Pittsburgh Penguins @ Montreal Canadiens
A classic Saturday night matchup has the Canadiens hosting Sidney Crosby and the Penguins.
Crosby’s name turned up in a lot of trade chatter with Montreal earlier in the season, but that’s died down for two reasons.
A) Pittsburgh is way more competitive than they expected to be, so they’re not interested in giving up anyone who could lead them to the NHL playoffs again. And B) Montreal doesn’t look like they need Sid the Kid either. They were sitting just one point from the top of the Atlantic division to start the week and are getting offense from players like Cole Caufield and Ivan Demidov – enough to have the Habs in the top 10 in the league in goals per game.
Watch for the starting goalies here. Montreal rookie Jacob Fowler made his NHL debut against Pittsburgh just two weeks ago, and he stopped 36 shots to give the Canadiens a 4-2 win. Fowler might be called upon to match that effort on home ice. Meanwhile, Stuart Skinner could be in nets after he was recently traded to the Pens, and he entered the week as the second-worst goalie in the NHL.