The Colorado Avalanche and the St. Louis Blues are two of the hottest teams in the National Hockey League this week. The Blues have won seven games in a row and lead the Central Division with 88 points. The Avalanche have won six in a row and are just three points back of the Blues, holding two games in hand. In the Pacific Division, Vegas now leads Edmonton by four points, but the Oilers hold two games in hand. Only four points separate the Oilers from the fifth-place Arizona Coyotes, so every game remains vital in that tight race. In the Atlantic Division, the Boston Bruins have started inching away from the Tampa Bay Lightning again, expanding their lead to seven points (with the Lightning holding a game in hand). In the Metropolitan Division, the big news is the rise of the Philadelphia Flyers, who have won six in a row and eight of ten to move past the Pittsburgh Penguins, losers of six in a row and seven of ten, into second place, just three points behind the Washington Capitals. If you are thinking about including the NHL in your sports betting this week, don’t miss our top two picks.
NHL: Top Betting Picks of the Week 23
Monday, March 2
Colorado at Detroit (7:30 pm ET)
The Colorado Avalanche have not lost since February 17, when the Tampa Bay Lightning came to town and took a 4-3 win. Since then, they have beaten the Islanders, Ducks, Kings, Sabres, Hurricanes and the Predators, with the last five wins all coming by a single goal. They beat Nashville, 3-2, on Saturday night down in Music City. In that win, Erik Johnson had a goal and an assist, and Gabriel Landeskog and Martin Kaut scored the other goals for the Avalanche. Pavel Francouz stopped 30 shots, winning his sixth start in a row, a career best. Landeskog had the first goal of the game and now has goals in two of his last three games and a four-game point streak.
The Detroit Red Wings last won a game on February 18, a 4-3 home victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Since then, they have lost to the Islanders, Flames, Wild, and the Senators. They fell in Ottawa, 4-3, on Saturday, in a shootout. Jonathan Bernier had 36 saves for Detroit, who got goals from Frans Nielsen, Dylan Larkin and Sam Gagner, but the Red Wings could not get much going on defense. Things were better than they were in a 7-1 loss to Minnesota on Thursday, but this is a Red Wings team struggling on both ends.
NHL Betting Final Score Prediction: Colorado 4, Detroit 2
Tuesday, March 3
Boston at Tampa Bay (7:30 pm ET, NBC Sports)
The Boston Bruins have turned things around after losing to Vancouver and Calgary by a combined score of 14-5 last week. On Thursday, Boston beat Dallas at home, 4-3, and then they went to New York on Saturday at the start of a road swing and blanked the Islanders, 4-0. In that win, Charlie McAvoy had a goal and two assists, and Tuukka Rask stopped 25 shots. David Pastrnak scored his 47th goal of the season, still tops in the NHL.
Next up for the Atlantic Division leaders is a trip to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning, who ended a four-game losing streak on Saturday, beating Calgary, 4-3. The Lightning got two power play goals, one from Tyler Johnson and the other from Ondrej Palat, and a short-handed goal from Yanni Gourde. Alex Killorn rounded out the scoring at even strength. Andrei Vasilevskiy only faced 21 shots and stopped 18 of them to secure the win. This win came just after the news that Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos will mess the rest of the regular season, at least, for core muscle surgery. Can the Lightning keep things going with Boston coming to town?
NHL Betting Final Score Prediction: Tampa Bay 4, Boston 3
