The NHL All-Star Game is approaching, and the full complement of 44 players has been announced. The league picked the first 32 – one from each team – and those names came out on January 5. Then the league ran fan balloting between January 5 and January 17, and fans could vote with player names as well as hashtags and handles (if they were voting on Twitter). Those 12 names came out today, with three from each division. Auston Matthews (Toronto) and David Pastrnak (Boston) were two of the biggest names from the fan list from the Eastern Conference, and Leon Draisaitl’s addition from Edmonton made sense as he and Connor McDavid are basically inseparable as top scorers for the Oilers. Let’s take a look at Friday night’s NHL betting picks from the rink.
NHL News: Top Betting Picks for the Weekend
Ottawa Senators (+120) at Pittsburgh Penguins (-145) (O/U 6.5) (7:00 pm ET)
Ottawa (20-21-3) is having a hard time lighting the lamp, scoring just 2.95 goals per game. Brady Tkachuk, Drake Batherson and Tim Stuetzle are cooking on the top two lines, combining for 50 goals and 78 assists, but the checking lines have struggled. Mathieu Joseph and Derick Brassard have only combined for eight goals and 20 assists. The defense has taken on water lately, permitting 3.25 goals per contest over the last three games. Goalie Anton Forsberg has not dealt well with the shelling, with a 3.25 GAA over that stretch.
Pittsburgh (22-15-7) is not a team that you want to face when your defense is struggling, as they tally 3.23 goals per game this year. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel have combined for 55 goals and 80 assists working with the top two scoring lines. The worker bee lines have contributed as well. The defense has been an issue, permitting 3.07 goals per game for the season and eight goals in the last two games. Jan Rutta and Marcus Pettersson have combined to block 142 shots, but the rest of the blueliners have lacked will for the most part, hanging goalie Casey DeSmith out to dry (.904 save percentage, 3.21 GAA). Pittsburgh to win.
Colorado Avalanche (-155) at Vancouver Canucks (+125) (O/U 6.5) (10:00 pm ET)
Colorado (23-17-3) has won three in a row, including a 4-1 win in Calgary as the Avalanche started their swing through Western Canada on Wednesday. Mikko Rantanen and Arturi Lehkonen each had a pair of goals, as the Avs raced out to a 3-0 lead after the first period. Nathan MacKinnon had a pair of assists for the fourth game in a row and has a six-game point streak. Alexandar Georgiev made 34 saves and how has a 2.69 GAA and a .916 save percentage. However, he has not done well against Vancouver in his career (0-3-0, .912 save percentage, 3.09 GAA). His backup, Pavel Francouz, has not fared better (0-2-0, 4.56 GAA, .816 save percentage).
Vancouver (18-23-3) had an impressive shootout win over Carolina on Sunday but came home to take a 5-2 beating from Tampa Bay on Wednesday to start a four-game homestand. The Lightning drove the Canucks out of their own rink, posting a 4-0 lead after just 14 minutes of the first period. Vancouver answered to make it 4-2 at the end of the first, but they would get no closer, and now the Canucks have dropped five of six and eight of ten – although they are 3-2-0 in their last five at home. Neither Spencer Martin (11-11-1, 3.89 GAA, .877 save percentage) nor Collin Delia (4-2-0, 3.06 GAA, .902 save percentage) has been all that impressive this year, but they have combined for a 4-2-0 lifetime record against Colorado. Avalanche to win.
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