The Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers are charging hard in the Atlantic Division, pushing up the table as the Boston Bruins continue to sputter, losers of five of their last ten. The Lightning and Panthers have each won eight of ten, and the Panthers are riding a six-game winning streak. Now the Lightning are just eight points behind Boston, with three games in hand. The hottest team in the Metropolitan Division is the Columbus Blue Jackets, winners of six in a row and eight of ten. Washinton continues to lead the division, four points ahead of Pittsburgh with a game in hand. The Pacific Division continues to be extremely tight, with the Vancouver Canucks leading with 58 points, and four teams tied with 57, right on their heels. In the Central Division, the St. Louis Blues lead with 68 points, with the Colorado Avalanche just six points back. What are the best matchups for your NHL betting this week? Don’t miss our top picks.
Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 20th Edition
In his weekend power rankings, @DownGoesBrown shares his thoughts on what worked during the NHL's All-Star weekend and what still needs fine-tuning.https://t.co/Rxi9cF14ie
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) January 27, 2020
Monday, January 27th
Tampa Bay at Dallas (8:00 pm ET, NBC Sports)
The Lightning come to Dallas having split their last four but also having won eight of ten. Their last four games included losses in New Jersey and Minnesota and wins at home over Los Angeles and in Winnipeg. That win over the Jets came on January 17 and showed the best of what the Lightning have to offer as they rolled to a 7-1 rout on the road. In that game, Anthony Cirelli notched his first career hat trick, and Nikita Kucherov had a pair of goals, as Carter Verhaeghe and Alex Killorn rounded out the goals. Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 30 shots and has won ten in a row. If the Lightning can bring that same spirited execution to Dallas, it could be a long night for a Stars team that remains inconsistent.
Dallas slid into the All-Star break with a real thud, losing to Buffalo at home, 4-1, on January 16, and then following that up two days later with a humiliating 7-0 loss in Minnesota. After that game, Dallas coach Rick Bowness said, “Well, we look like a team that had never played together before” — not the thing you want to hear well past the midpoint of the regular season. The Stars do have former Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop likely to be in net, but given the way they were playing heading into the break, it’s hard to pick them here.
NHL Betting Prediction: Tampa Bay 4, Dallas 2
Tuesday, January 28th
St. Louis at Calgary (9:00 pm ET, RSN)
St. Louis will continue a Western Canada swing in Calgary on Tuesday after facing the Vancouver Canucks on Monday night. The Blues dropped a pair of games heading into the All-Star break, losing at home to Philadelphia, 4-3, on January 15 and then falling in Colorado to the Avalanche, 5-3, three days later. That game saw Blues goalie Jordan Binnington get chased in the second period when the Avalanche scored a pair of goals 22 seconds apart in the second period. The Blues may have had their eyes on the long break instead of the game, but their lack of energy was not impressive in that game. You’ll want to check the Blues-Canucks score from Monday night before you lock in wagers for the Calgary game.
The Flames will have fresher legs than the Blues, and they are looking to shake off the frustration of a 5-2 loss in Ottawa that sent them into the All-Star break. In that loss, the Flames put plenty of shots on net, but Senators goalie Marcus Hogberg stood tall with 40 saves. Calgary only permitted 20 shots, but four of them went in the net (with the fifth coming into an empty net). The Flames were so focused on offensive pressure that they made multiple mistakes on the back end, and the Senators made them pay. Can the Flames tighten up that defense in time for the Blues to arrive?
NHL Betting Prediction: Calgary 5, St. Louis 4
