No team in the National Hockey League has allowed fewer goals than the New York Islanders, who have permitted just 72. However, only one team currently in a playoff position has scored fewer goals than the 92 the Isles have tallied, and that is the Dallas Stars (90). So defense isn’t a problem for the second-place team in the Metropolitan Division, but they need to up their scoring as we near the midpoint of the 2019-20 regular season.
The hottest teams in the league right now are the Colorado Avalanche, the Calgary Flames and the Washington Capitals, all three with 8-1-1 records over their last ten contests. The teams on the biggest skids right now are the Chicago Blackhawks and the Edmonton Oilers, both on four-game losing streaks. The Blackhawks are rebuilding, so the struggle is expected, but the Oil is expected to contend with their youthful talent. If you plan on NHL betting this week, make sure that you don’t miss our top two picks.
Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – December 16th Edition
The #NHL Weekly Roundup is here. @NickJ56 has you covered with all things hockey from this past week including Stars of the Week and Power Rankings.#hockeytwitter #GoBolts #NYR #GoAvsGo #Flames https://t.co/pmypaWLxPM
— The Scorecrow (@TheScorecrow) December 14, 2019
Monday, December 16th
Colorado at St. Louis (8:00 pm ET, ESPN+)
In the 2016-17 season, Colorado only earned 48 points in the standings as a team. In the post-lockout era in the NHL, that is the only sub-50 point season for any team, according to FiveThirtyEight. That year, according to Hockey-Reference.com’s Simple Rating System, the Avs were 1.32 goals per game worse than the average team that year. At this point in 2019-20, the Avs have an STS of +1.06, an improvement of 2.38 in three seasons. That is the fastest improvement of that scale by any team since Boston over the years between 1967 and 1969. So the Avs are good again — and they’ve won eight of ten.
They visit a Blues team that has ended a three-game skid with wins over Vegas and Chicago on Thursday and Saturday, respectively. In their victory over the Blackhawks, St. Louis found themselves down 3-0 at the end of the second period but then came all the way back to win the game in regulation. Jacob de la Rose completed a sweet backhander to tie the game, before Justin Faulk whammed a shot in off the post with 2:26 left in the third period. This was the first time the Blues had trailed by three goals in the third period but won in regulation in franchise history. So this is a team that never, ever quits. Can they handle the Avalanche at home?
NHL Betting Prediction: St. Louis 4, Colorado 2
Edmonton at Dallas (8:30 pm ET)
The Oil cruise to Dallas in need of a shift in momentum. They have dropped four in a row, losing by a combined score of 19-11 to Buffalo, Carolina, Minnesota and Toronto, falling to the Maple Leafs 4-1 on Saturday. In that setback, Alex Chiasson was the only player to light the lamp for Edmonton, scoring 6:08 into the third period as the Oilers converted on a power play. Mikko Koskinen stopped 28 of the 31 shots he faced (the fourth goal went into an open net), but with the lack of offensive energy and the poor play on defense, Edmonton has a lot to fix as they head south.
They confront a Dallas team that has been hot and cold since the season began. They were the first team in the NHL to post 10 regulation losses, but then they went on a streak of winning seven in a row and 11 of 13. Then came a four-game skid and a two-game winning streak — and then the team fired head coach Jim Montgomery for what general manager Jim Nill described as “a material act of unprofessionalism” that remains shrouded in secrecy. Since that time, the Stars have gone 2-0-1 as the team continues to look for some stability. On Saturday, they routed the Predators in Nashville, a place the Stars rarely win, 4-1, getting 37 saves from Anton Khudobin and goals from four different players, as Dallas rallied from an early 1-0 deficit to get the win. Can the Stars keep the momentum going?
NHL Betting Prediction: Dallas 3, Edmonton 1
