The up-and-down season of the Dallas Stars continues; on Sunday, they visited the Arizona Coyotes and found themselves down 2-0 going to the third period — and then they put four goals in the Arizona net to complete a comeback win. Dallas has won six of ten, including two in a row, and are now in third place in the Central Division, ten points behind the St. Louis Blues — who are the hottest team in the league, riding an eight-game winning streak. Vancouver is heating up in the Pacific Division, winners of five straight and now just two points behind Vegas in the standings, with two games in hand. In the Atlantic Division, Boston may have snapped out of their funk, winners of three in a row, which may be just in time, as Toronto has won eight of ten, catching fire after terminating coach Mike Babcock. The Bruins lead the Maple Leafs by ten points. In the Metropolitan Division, Pittsburgh is making a move, winners of eight of their last ten, nine points behind Washington and with two games in hand. Are you betting on pro hockey this week? Don’t miss our NHL betting picks.
Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – December 30th Edition
Power Rankings: Things are pretty good in St. Louis right nowhttps://t.co/GZPSOCOOqp
— SI NHL (@SI_NHL) December 27, 2019
Monday, December 30th
Ottawa at Pittsburgh (7:00 pm ET)
The Ottawa Senators have split their last four games, alternating wins over Nashville and Buffalo with losses to Philadelphia and New Jersey. Their loss to the Devils came in 4-3 fashion in overtime on Sunday. Eighteen-year-old Jack Hughes scored the overtime winners just 54 seconds into the extra frame, which was a disappointing finish for the Senators after they tied things up at the 15:02 point of the third period. Nick Paul and Artem Anisimov also scored for Ottawa, who got 30 saves from Craig Anderson. Can the Senators finish against a Pittsburgh team that has a much better offense than the Devils?
The only loss that Pittsburgh has suffered since December 10 came last Saturday, when they lost in Vancouver, 4-1. They have rebounded nicely with a pair of home-and-home wins over the Nashville, winning in Tennessee on Friday, 5-2, and then coming home to win, 6-4 the next day. In both of those games, Pittsburgh opened with three goals in the first period; in Saturday’s win, the Penguins’ defense buckled as Nashville came back to tie the game. It was not until Jake Guentzel scored on the power play with 1:03 remaining for the Penguins to take the lead for good. Guentzel’s tally was the Penguins’ third power play goal on the night, which indicates that Ottawa must avoid silly penalties if they want to stay close.
NHL Betting Prediction: Pittsburgh 4, Ottawa 2
Tuesday, December 31st
Toronto at Minnesota (6:00 pm ET, RSN)
The Maple Leafs saw a six-game winning streak come to an end on Saturday, as the New York Rangers came north of the border and took a 5-4 win. Defense has been quite optional the last three games, as Toronto has surrendered a total of 15 goals. They beat Carolina, 8-6, and then won in New Jersey, 5-4, before losing to the Blueshirts. In that loss to New York, Tony DeAngelo put the puck in the net 51 seconds into overtime. Auston Matthews had a pair of goals for the Leafs, and William Nylander and Pierre Engvall also found the back of the net. Defenseman Jake Muzzin is out for an extended time with a broken foot, but the Leafs stormed back from a 4-2 deficit to start the third period and at least ended up taking the point. This makes new Toronto coach Sheldon Keefe 12-4-1 since taking over for Babcock.
The Minnesota Wild have split their last four games, and it has been feast or famine. They lost to Winnipeg, 6-0, last Saturday, before blanking Calgary, 3-0, and going to Colorado and winning a 6-4 barnburner. Then they came home to lose to the Islanders, 3-1, on Sunday. In that loss to New York, the Wild went into the third period up 1-0, but the Islanders got a pair of goals early in the final frame and held on for the win. Devan Dubnyk had 25 saves for the Wild, but it was not enough. Minnesota is 10-3-3 at home this season; can they hold off a hot Toronto team?
NHL Betting Prediction: Toronto 4, Minnesota 3
