Key NHL games ahead of the Olympic break.
Buffalo Sabres @ Tampa Bay Lightning
The Sabres-Lightning game on Tuesday night is what NHL betting is all about.
The two hottest teams in the NHL, offensive fireworks on both sides, and elite goaltending to try and shut it all down. Perfect recipe for escaping the January grind. But how do you play the NHL odds on this one?
Tampa is coming off an epic Stadium Series game in Florida, taking the Bruins down 6-5 after being down by four goals. To be fair, they’re taking down everyone lately. They’ve replaced Colorado as the most fearsome team in the league, going 17-1-1 in their last 19 games.
The Sabres though? Almost an equal match. They’re 21-4-1 in their last 25.
This game is a possible Eastern Conference Finals preview, and it’s the first of 4 games between the teams this season, so each one will be a mini-playoff matchup.
The usual suspects like Nikita Kucherov and Tage Thompson lead the pack for anytime goalscorers, but there’s value throughout both teams’ lineups. Sabres’ D-man Rasmus Dahlin is a week removed from picking up a hat trick against Toronto, and he’s a tempting +475 for this one as the Lightning will have their focus on the Sabres’ forwards.
Check out the latest odds at Lucky Rebel.
Pittsburgh Penguins @ New York Islanders
Sid the Kid is playing for Team Canada once again at the Winter Olympics, while the kid who’s less than half his age will try to send a message to the organizing committee that he should be on the plane with the Pens’ legend.
The Isles’ Matthew Schaefer is the leading candidate for the Calder Trophy this season, but for some reason the teenager is not headed to Italy with Crosby. Instead, he gets a chance to showcase his skills in the Penguins-Islanders Tuesday night battle.
Schaef will be put to the test. It’s the Pens who have the hotter current form coming into this game. They’re 2nd in the Metropolitan Division, thanks to a 6-1 record in their last seven. In 4 of those 6 wins they’ve picked up 6 goals, so you might like the Over with the current total sitting at just 6.0. The Islanders are right on their heels in 3rd spot in the Met, just two points back of Pittsburgh, so this game has serious points at stake.
Take a look at the alternative spread plays for tight matchups like this. The Penguins are +178 to cover the -0.5 alternative spread for the first period. This is a regression play – it assumes Pittsburgh will come out firing after having just 16 shots against Ottawa last night, a loss that snapped a six-game win streak. Crosby, Malkin & Co. will come out hot. They know they can’t slip up before the break and won’t want to lose any ground to a divisional foe.
Toronto Maple Leafs @ Edmonton Oilers
The biggest team in Canada – and the most valuable in the NHL – is going to face a rough climb if they want to even sniff the NHL playoffs.
It doesn’t help that Toronto is in the Atlantic Division, the toughest one in hockey by a mile. And it won’t help them in the Maple Leafs-Oilers game on Tuesday night.
It’s rare to see NHL totals at 7.0, but that’s where we’re at with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl and the rest of the Oilers playing at home against a vulnerable Leafs unit that’s playing its second leg of a back-to-back in Alberta. But the NHL betting sites know that Toronto has plenty of players that can still put the puck in the net, and they’ve also factored in the Oil’s weak goaltending and defensive play. Minnesota just poured in 7 last weekend on them.
Edmonton handed Toronto a 6-3 L when the teams last played in December. And while the Leafs are on a mini two-game win streak, they’ll likely have Anthony Stolarz in net for this one. Stolarz has a 3.67 GAA and an angry McDavid coming his way.
Boston Bruins @ Florida Panthers
The Bruins have been on both sides of some dramatic games in recent months. They hammered the Rangers 10-2 a month ago. But they just caved in front of a national audience with that Stadium Series loss to Tampa last weekend.
The Panthers, meanwhile, are still trying to find their way past injuries in a brutal Atlantic Division. And they’ll need to find it fast. Even though they’re still four games above .500, they started the week sitting in 8th in the division, out of a playoff spot currently.
This one depends on how much you think current form matters vs. regression and team pride. Florida has lost 4 straight, including three at home. They’re also looking ahead to a game the next night against the Tampa juggernaut, the last game before their Olympic break starts, so they know they’ll need to grab points against a more beatable Boston crew. All the intangibles are making Florida the pick here.
For anytime goalscorers, Bruins’ center Morgan Geekie is looking sharp. Geekie’s sitting tied for 3rd in the NHL goals scored, and he has six in his last five games.
Montreal Canadiens @ Winnipeg Jets
The Canadiens are coming off a week where they sent a message to the NHL’s big boys that they’ve arrived. They took down Vegas, Colorado, and Buffalo last week, and lost in OT to the red-hot Minnesota Wild on Monday.
Will all that point to a letdown against the weaker Jets? It’s the last game before the break for the Habs, so you have to wonder if they’re looking ahead to the beach or Italy (for Suzuki, Slafkovsky, Texier and Kapanen that is) with a softer team waiting for them.
We don’t think so. The Atlantic is too tight to take even one night off.
What could stand in their way of course is Connor Hellebuyck. The Jets’ goalie and former NHL MVP can steal any game, and he’s the reason Winnipeg has allowed just 2.4 goals in their last 10. The Canadiens have played more free-wheeling hockey, letting in 3.3 over that same 10-game stretch. Plus, they’re likely to start Sam Montembeault after Jakub Dobes has just played four straight. Monty is 9-8-2 on the year with a 3.46 GAA – prime stats for some Winnipeg snipers like Kyle Connor.
Anytime goalscorers on the Winnipeg side include Mark Scheifele as a solid play. He’s been a high-profile snub for the Canadian Olympic team, although he can still sub in as a late injury replacement. And snub motivation doesn’t get any bigger for the Canadiens’ Cole Caufield, who’s been on a heater since getting passed over by Team USA. The NHL’s #3 scorer (along with Geekie) has 11 goals in his past 10, and he’s eager to keep his name in the mix right up until the puck drops in Italy next week.