The Toronto Maple Leafs have taken a downward turn in the past week or so, losers of five straight, sinking to fifth place in the Atlantic Division with a 9-9-4 record, now seven points behind Boston (who also has two games in hand). Montreal has taken off as of late, winners of seven of ten, just three points back of the B’s. The New York Islanders are pushing hard in the Metropolitan Division, with a 9-0-1 record in their last ten, now just five points behind Washington and with four games in hand. In the Central Division, the St. Louis Blues lead with a 12-4-5 record — but with just a +1 goal differential, and they have dropped three in a row. Dallas seems to have righted the ship, going 8-1-1 in their last ten and 3-0-1 in a Western Canada swing, and Chicago has reeled off four wins in a row but still sit seven points back. None of the teams in the Pacific Division have won more than five in their last ten except San Jose, winners of six in a row but still eight points back of the Edmonton Oilers. For those NHL betting enthusiasts who include the sport in their wagers, we have two red-hot picks to consider.
Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – November 18th Edition
Not a single Canadian team cracked @DownGoesBrown‘s top five in his weekend power rankings. But does that mean Canadian-based teams are due for failure again this year? @DownGoesBrown shares his thoughts. https://t.co/o30yzpQ4xG
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) November 18, 2019
Monday, November 18th
Anaheim at Washington (7:00 pm ET, ESPN+)
The Anaheim Ducks saw a five-game losing streak come to an end on Saturday as they went to St. Louis and routed the Blues, 4-1. In that game, Derek Grant posted the first hat trick in his NHL career, and Ryan Getzlaf also added a goal. Grant’s career had gone 229 games before he notched three tallies in one game. John Gibson was stellar in goal, posting 37 saves on the night. Anaheim jumped out to a 2-0 lead and then added a goal to make it 3-1 when the Blues answered. Oddly, Anaheim has won four in a row in St. Louis despite their overall struggles the last few seasons.
Next the Ducks travel to Washington to take on the Metropolitan Division leaders. The Capitals have split their last four games, losing to Arizona, beating Philadelphia, falling to Montreal and then topping the Bruins on Saturday, 3-2. In that win over Boston, the Capitals prevailed in a shootout after scoring the tying goal with 59 seconds left in the third period, thanks to a blast from T.J. Oshie. Travis Boyd had the other Washington goal, way back in the first period, and the Capitals had to pull netminder Braden Holtby for an extra skater with 1:25 left on the clock. Holtby came back on to shut down Boston in overtime and stop four of the five Boston shots in the shootout.
NHL Betting Prediction: Washington 4, Anaheim 3
Tuesday, November 19th
Tampa Bay at St. Louis (8:00 pm ET, NBC Sports)
St. Louis saw an 8-0-2 streak against Western Conference opponents come to an end Saturday when they took that 4-1 loss against Anaheim. Vince Dunn scored the lone goal for the Blues in that game, scoring from the top of the right circle just over three minutes into the second period. However, the Blues could not get anything else going on offense, and despite 21 saves from Jordan Binnington, this was an off night. The Blues have a couple of days off before the Lightning come to town.
Tampa Bay has won three out of four, but their most recent game was a 4-3 home loss against the Winnipeg Jets. Steven Stamkos did score his 400th career goal for the Lightning, but Winnipeg got 31 saves out of Connor Hellebuyck, against just 23 for Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning had plenty of chances, but their defense just gave up too many easy shots, an issue that has been a problem for them so far this season. Can they outscore the Blues on the road?
NHL Betting Prediction: Tampa Bay 5, St. Louis 4
