The Dallas Stars’ late pursuit of the last playoff spot in the NHL’s West Division appears to have been in vain, as the team has dropped two overtime games in a row, one to Nashville and the other to Florida. That makes 14 losses, either in overtime or a shootout, for the Stars this season; the only other team in the NHL with more than 10 losses after regulation is Columbus, who is in the West basement. Anton Khudobin has definitely not performed as well in net this season as he did in last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, but failures to convert scoring chances all year long have also played a role (as have injuries to goalie Ben Bishop and captain Tyler Seguin).
As the Stars and the rest of the league play out the string this week, let’s look at your top NHL betting bets on the ice.
NHL News: Top Betting Games for This Week
Wednesday, May 5
Washington at N.Y. Rangers (7:00 pm ET, NBC Sports)
Despite losing two at home to Pittsburgh over the weekend, the Washington Capitals still lead the Penguins in the East Division in the loss column — and they have a game in hand. On Monday, the Caps headed to New York for the first in a two-game set against the Rangers, and they rolled to a 6-3 win that generated controversy. Known Washington goon Tom Wilson was fined $5,000 for a punch to the back of Pavel Buchnevich’s head and then injured Artemi Panarin in a scrum, so even though the Rangers are out of the playoffs, they will have plenty of motivation to skate hard on Wednesday night.
For Washington, Nic Dowd, Conor Sheary, Garnet Hathaway, Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom and Daniel Sprong all scored for the Capitals, and Vitek Vanecek stopped 23 shots to win his 19th game as a rookie. For the Rangers, Mika Zibanejad had a pair of goals, and Kaapo Kakko lit the lamp as well. Igor Shesterkin had 34 saves, but a Boston win knocked the Rangers out. Given the frustration that the fight generated within this young team, though, I see them bringing a lot more energy at home on Wednesday.
Final Prediction:
New York wins, 3-2
Nashville at Columbus (7:00 pm ET)
With a win on Wednesday night, Nashville can seal up the fourth playoff spot in the West Division. They moved closer to that goal with a 1-0 overtime win in Dallas on Saturday and a 4-3 win in Columbus on Monday, also in overtime. In that win, Nashville had built up a 3-0 lead in the third period, but Emil Bemstrom had a hat trick for the Blue Jackets, all in the third period, to bring the hosts all the way back. Roman Josi doused the hopes of the home team, though, scoring 3:24 into overtime.
Juuse Saros had 30 saves for Nashville, while Elvis Merzlikins stopped 34 shots for the Blue Jackets. Filip Forsberg and Ryan Johansen each had a goal and an assist for the Predators, and Josi had his first goal of the game late in the second to make it 3-0. When Bemstrom led the comeback, he had never had more than one goal in a game, and he had not scored any goals so far this season. With the division title on the line Wednesday, Nashville should have more focus down the stretch.
Final Prediction:
Nashville wins, 3-1
Colorado at San Jose (9:30 pm ET)
Colorado and San Jose have played three times since April 30, with the Avalanche winning each time. The last two wins have each come by a goal, including a 5-4 overtime win on Monday. The two teams meet one more time on Wednesday night; in Monday’s tilt, Andre Burakovsky had the game-winner for the Avs, just 41 seconds into the extra frame. Colorado had put up three goals in the third period to come back from a pair of two-goal disadvantages, and then Nazim Kadri tied the game with 3:39 in regulation. Philipp Grubauer had 23 saves in the win; San Jose has now lost 11 of their last 13 and is out of the playoffs. Will they have much motivation on Wednesday night?
Final Prediction:
Colorado wins, 2-1
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