The Vancouver Canucks continue to climb the Pacific Division standings, with seven wins in a row. They now trail the Vegas Golden Knights by just four points and hold three games in hand. Vegas has won four in a row and seven of ten in a division that continues to show a lot of turnover at the top. In the Central Division, the St. Louis Blues have cooled off, dropping three in a row and are now five points ahead of Colorado, who has a game in hand. The hottest team in the Central is Dallas, winners of four in a row, including a comeback win over Nashville in Wednesday’s Winter Classic.
In the Atlantic Division, the Boston Bruins have dropped three in a row and six of ten, and their lead over the Toronto Maple Leafs has dwindled to six points as the Leafs have not lost in regulation over their last ten games, turning on the jets after dismissing coach Mike Babcock. Tampa Bay is charging hard as well, with a seven-game winning streak, just seven points behind the B’s with two games in hand.
In the Metropolitan Division, the Washington Capitals scored two goals in the last minute of regulation to tie the game with the San Jose Sharks and then won in overtime on Sunday. They lead the Pittsburgh Penguins by eight points. We have two primo NHL betting picks from this week’s action for you to consider.
Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 6th Edition
It’s the first full week of January! Where have we ranked your favorite NHL team at the start of the new year? ⬆️⬇️https://t.co/Xkr6Ecl62r
— FanSided NHL (@FanSidedNHL) January 6, 2020
Monday, January 6th
Edmonton at Toronto (7:00 pm ET, NBC Sports)
The Edmonton Oilers have split their last four games, losing to Calgary on December 27, 5-1, before storming back to outscore the New York Rangers in a 7-5 barnburner on New Year’s Eve. Two days later, they lost in Buffalo, 3-2, only to rout Boston on the road, 4-1, on Saturday. In that win, the Oil got second-period goals from Darnell Nurse and Gaetan Haas and a third-period tally from Connor McDavid, along with an empty-netter for Leon Draisaitl. Mike Smith got his first win in net since November 23. Boston scored the first goal of the game, but then Edmonton took the game to the Bruins after that.
Next up for the Oilers are the red-hot Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto has beaten Minnesota and Winnipeg on the road, along with the New York Islanders at home, over their last three games by a combined score of 13-4. Their win over the Islanders came on Saturday, in 3-0 fashion. In that game, goalie Michael Hutchinson made 33 saves, getting his first shutout in almost a calendar year. Pierre Engvall, Auston Matthews and Zach Hyman all lit the lamp for Toronto, who are playing solid defense in their own zone and turning opponent mistakes into goals. Can Edmonton stop the Toronto juggernaut right now?
NHL Betting Prediction: Toronto 3, Edmonton 2
Tuesday, January 7th
Boston at Nashville (8:00 pm ET, ESPN+)
Before that 4-1 home loss to Edmonton, Boston had at least taken points out of their prior two losses, falling 3-2 to New Jersey in a shootout and 2-1 to Columbus in overtime. The problems are coming on offense, as the B’s have not scored more than two goals in a game since December 29, a 3-2 win over Buffalo. In that loss to the Oilers, the Bruins got their 31st goal of the season from David Pastrnak, who leads the NHL, and they got 22 saves from Jaroslav Halak. However, the Bruins made way too many errors handling the puck, and the Oilers were obviously able to take advantage.
Boston now heads to Music City to take on the Predators. Nashville finished up a frustrating on Sunday with a 5-4 loss in Anaheim; the Preds won just once on the swing, beating the Los Angeles Kings 4-1 on Saturday. In their loss to the Ducks, the Predators just could not get much going on defense and ended up losing in the fifth round of the shootout. Juuse Saros stopped 43 shots for Nashville, but he could not stop the onslaught all by himself. Craig Smith did get a pair of goals for Nashville, and Rocco Grimaldi and Austin Watson each scored. Can Nashville extend Boston’s frustration?
NHL Betting Prediction: Boston 4, Nashville 2
