On Thursday night, the NHL will feature an intriguing matchup between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Minnesota Wild. The Wild currently sit in second place in the Central Division, and if the standings hold, they would play third-place St. Louis with home ice advantage in the first round. Pittsburgh has been going back and forth between second and third place in the Metropolitan Division, alternating with the New York Rangers. These teams met in Pittsburgh on November 6, when the Wild won 5-4 in a shootout; on the night, the two teams combined for 79 shots on net. Can they muster that much firepower on Thursday? We will see. If you’re going to include in your weekend NHL betting, we have a pair of games for you to check out.
NHL News: Top Betting Games of the Weekend
Friday, April 1
St. Louis Blues at Edmonton Oilers (9:00 pm ET, ESPN+)
The Blues had a tough weekend last week, losing at home to Philadelphia and Carolina at home by a combined 12-4 score. They bounced back with a home-and-home against Vancouver, winning the two games on Monday and Wednesday by a combined score of 8-3. In the second game, the Blues won, 4-3, as four different Blues scored (Ryan O’Reilly, Nick Leddy, Robert Thomas and Nathan Walker) with David Perron dishing out a pair of assists. Ville Husso stopped 22 shots to get his 18th win of the season.
The back end of that series was on the road, so the Blues continue their trip in Edmonton. The Oilers have won two in a row since a 9-5 beating at the hands of the Calgary Flames on Saturday. This week, the Oil bounced back to beat Arizona, 6-1, and Los Angeles, 4-3, with the win over the Kings coming in shootout fashion on Wednesday. In that game, Leon Draisatl, Connor McDavid and Cody Ceci all scored in regulation for Edmonton, and Mikko Koskinen stopped 38 shots, as Edmonton now has an eight-game home winning streak. Can the Oilers continue this run against the Blues?
Final Score Prediction: Edmonton 4, St. Louis 2
Saturday, April 2
Pittsburgh Penguins at Colorado Avalanche (3:00 pm ET, ABC / ESPN+)
It’s feast or famine for the Pittsburgh Penguins these days. On Sunday, they annihilated Detroit, 11-2, but that was their only win in the last three games, as they have recent losses to Buffalo and the New York Rangers (twice). Their most recent game was a 3-2 home loss to the Rangers on Tuesday night. In the setback, Jake Guentzel was on the doorstep in the waning seconds, hoping to tie the game, but New York’s Igor Shesterkin got the save. Sidney Crosby scored his 25th tally of the season, and Brian Boyle scored his ninth. Tristan Jarry made 23 saves, but the story ended with another loss to the Rangers.
The Penguins’ next test is a trip west, first to Minnesota on Thursday, and then on to Colorado on Saturday. The Avalanche face San Jose at home on Thursday before welcoming the Penguins. Colorado has split its last four games, alternating losses to Vancouver and Minnesota with wins over Philadelphia and Calgary. On Tuesday, the Avs doubled up the Flames, 2-1, up in Western Canada. Valeri Nichuskin had both goals for Colorado, both coming on the power play, and Darcy Kuemper stonewalled the Flames, stopping 44 shots. The Colorado power play has scored 15 times in 36 chances over the team’s last 12 games, converting at a 41.7% clip. I see the Penguins struggling with altitude in their second game on this road trip, and the Avalanche taking advantage.
Final Score Prediction: Colorado 5, Pittsburgh 2
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