The two hottest teams in the National Hockey League right now are the Colorado Avalanche and the Toronto Maple Leafs, who have each gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games. Colorado leads the NHL in goal differential, with a +52 mark on the season, and they are one of only three teams (along with Vegas and the New York Islanders) who have permitted fewer than 100 goals so far this season. The league only has about one-fourth of its regular season remaining, as each of the four divisions will send four teams to the playoffs after having spent the season playing only within their divisions to minimize travel and the resulting spread of COVID-19.
Let’s take a look at three matchups for you to consider adding to your NHL betting list for the week.
NHL News: Must-Bet Games This Week
Tuesday, April 13
Tampa Bay at Nashville (8:00 pm ET, ESPN+)
Tampa Bay ended an uncharacteristic two-game skid by beating Columbus, 6-4, in the second game of their mini-series and then blanking Nashville, 3-0, in the first game of their pair in Music City. In that win over the Predators, Andrei Vasilveskiy stopped all 36 shots that he faced for his fourth shutout this season and his 25th overall. That makes six wins in seven meetings for the Lightning this season.
Nashville got the opener off to a rousing start, sending 18 shots at Vasilevskiy in the first period alone, including a pair of close-range shots from Rocco Grimaldi with just over six minutes left in the first frame. He had three stops during a power play late in the first period. Pekka Rinne stopped 31 shots for Nashville, but the Preds just could not break through. They have already lost all three home games with the Lightning this season.
Final Score Prediction:
Tampa Bay 2, Nashville 1
Florida at Dallas (8:30 pm ET, ESPN+)
The Panthers have dropped three straight games, losing two in Carolina before taking a 4-1 beating on Saturday afternoon in Dallas. In that game, Aleksander Barkov had a power-play goal with 1.5 seconds left in the second period for the Panthers’ lone goal. Sergei Bobrovsky only saw 20 shots but could just stop 16 of them in what was an outlier for him. In his career, Bobrovsky’s record against Dallas is now 15-2-1.
Dallas got a pair of goals in the first two minutes of the game, one from rookie Jason Robertson and the other from Joel L’Esperance, and goalie Anton Khudobin had 20 stops. This makes four wins in six games for Dallas, who could be finally emerging from that long hangover that has befuddled fans of the defending Western Conference champions all season long. They entered the game seven points out of a Central Division playoff berth and still have a lot of work to do.
Final Score Prediction:
Florida 3, Dallas 2
Wednesday, April 14
Colorado at St. Louis (7:30 pm ET, NBC Sports)
Colorado got scorched, 8-3, in Minnesota last Wednesday but have only allowed three goals in three game since then, beating Anaheim twice on the road and then coming home to double up Arizona, 4-2, on Monday night. MIkko Rantanen had a pair of goals, and Brandon Saad and Nathan MacKinnon chipped in goals as well. Philipp Grubauer stopped 35 shots for his 25th win, a career high.
The Blues have scored 15 combined goals in a three-game winning streak that includes a win over Vegas and two wins over Minnesota, both at home. Their Monday game in Minnesota was postponed after local unrest after a police shooting near Minneapolis, so the Blues head back home to face Colorado on three days’ rest, almost unheard of in this compact NHL season. That last win over the Wild came in overtime, as Ryan O’Reilly had the game-winner with two seconds left in the extra frame.
Final Score Prediction:
Colorado 3, St. Louis 2
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