The Colorado Avalanche are pushing hard in the NHL’s Central Division right now, riding a four-game winning streak and winning seven of their last ten. They are just three points behind the division-leading St. Louis Blues, and they have two games in hand. St. Louis has lost four in a row, cooling off after a lengthy hot streak. The Pacific Division leaders, the Vancouver Canucks, have also fallen back to earth, losing four in a row after having created some distance between themselves and the rest of the division. Now there are five teams within four points at the top of the division standings. In the Atlantic Division, the Tampa Bay Lightning have won six in a row and eight of ten, moving within five points of Boston atop the standings and holding two games in hand. The Metropolitan Division is also tight, with Pittsburgh just four points back of Washington and holding a game in hand. If your sports betting plans for this week include pro hockey, don’t miss our top two picks. Let’s see how the NHL betting odds will be for this week 20.
Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – February 10th Edition
Monday, February 10
Nashville at Vancouver (10:00 pm ET)
The Nashville Predators continue their Western Canada swing on Monday night. They started out with wins over Winnipeg on Tuesday and Calgary on Thursday, but then they lost to Edmonton on Saturday, falling 3-2 during the Hockey Day in Canada festivities. In that game, the Predators held a lead before Leon Draisaitl contributed a pair of goals to lead the Oilers back for the win. Craig Smith and Nick Bonino tallied for Nashville, who gave up an unfortunate 4-on-3 power play that led to an Edmonton goal.
Next up come the Canucks, who have not won since February 1. They had a dreadful road trip, losing in Carolina, Boston and Minnesota, but then things got even worse when they came home for their Hockey Day in Canada matchup with the Calgary Flames and got run out of their own rink, 6-2. Vancouver scored the first goal just 34 seconds into the game, but then a fight on the ensuing faceoff got the Flames going, and six different Calgary players would light the lamp. Can Vancouver find better play on Monday night?
Final Score Prediction: Vancouver 3, Nashville 2
Tuesday, February 11
Philadelphia at N.Y. Islanders (7:00 pm ET, NBC Sports)
The Philadelphia Flyers have won three out of four, although their games have been feast or famine. Their three wins, over Colorado (the only Avalanche regulation loss in their last ten games), Detroit and Washington have come by a combined score of 16-5. However, they took a home loss against New Jersey on Thursday by a 5-0 margin. The Flyers host the Florida Panthers on Monday before heading up I-95 to take on the Islanders. In that 7-2 win over Washington on Saturday, Sean Couturier had a pair of goals, and Claude Giroux tallied three points. Brian Elliott stopped 25 shots to cool down a solid Capitals team.
So the Flyers will have the Islanders on the second night of a back-to-back, but the Islanders also will have tired legs after facing the Washington Capitals on Monday down in DC. The Isles have split their last four games, sandwiching a loss to Vancouver and a loss in Tampa Bay around wins over Dallas and Los Angeles. That loss to the Lightning came on Saturday in 3-1 fashion, and New York only managed 16 shots on goal in the whole game. Tampa Bay has gone 18-2-1 over their last 21 games, but their defense was the most impressive part of this win. Derick Brassard scored for New York to give them their only offense. Can New York come home after a game in Washington and beat a speedy Philadelphia group? Or will the Flyers make a statement against a playoff contender?
Final Score Prediction: New York 2, Philadelphia 1
