The Carolina Hurricanes have lost top defenseman Tony DeAngelo for up to a month due to a midsection injury. He has posted nine goals and 40 points to lead the Carolina blueliners in scoring. He joins defenseman Brendan Smith on the shelf, as Smith took a puck to the ear while blocking a shot on Sunday. DeAngelo went out Monday night in a win at Philadelphia. The Hurricanes currently lead the NHL’s Metropolitan Division with 74 points and have a game in hand on the second-place N.Y. Rangers, but now it’s all hands on deck until the pair return. For more NHL Odds on weekend action on the ice, read on.
NHL News: Top Betting Games for the Weekend
Saturday, February 26
N.Y. Rangers at Pittsburgh Penguins (3:00 pm ET, ABC)
The Rangers continue their recent surge, with two wins in a row and victories in five of their last six. They followed up a disappointing home loss to Detroit with a close win in Ottawa and a 4-1 shellacking of Washington on Thursday night. In that win, Alexis Lafreniere and Mika Zibanejad each posted a goal and an assist, and Chris Kreider and Barclay Goodrow each lit the lamp as well, in front of Igor Shesterkin, who stopped 36 shots. Shesterkin stood tall at the start of the third period, stopping T.J. Oshie’s deflection of a shot from the point on the power play and then stoned Evgeny Kuznetsov when he tried to follow in the crease. He also stopped an Oshie slapper 3 ½ minutes into the final frame.
Next up is a trip west to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have been feast or famine in recent weeks. They followed up a six-game winning streak with a four-game skid…then won four straight before dropping three in a row. These last three losses have come by a combined score of 14-5, including a 6-1 home loss to last-place New Jersey on Thursday. The Penguins have not held the lead at any point in these three losses, and at home they have permitted five goals in each of their last five games. Evgeni Malkin scored for the Penguins, but once the Devils made it 5-1 near the halfway point of the game, Tristan Jarry was pulled, although his play was not the problem; turnovers in the defensive zone made life easy for New Jersey. Can the Penguins bounce back?
Final Score Prediction: New York 4, Pittsburgh 3
Colorado Avalanche at Vegas Golden Knights (10:00 pm ET, ESPN+)
The Avalanche continue to roll over the opposition, following up a disappointing 5-1 loss in Boston with a 5-2 spanking of the Red Wings in Detroit on Wednesday. The Avs host Winnipeg on Friday before reading to Vegas for a Saturday night matchup. In the win over Detroit, Colorado needed just 1:12 to score, as Gabriel Landeskog lit the lamp early. He added an empty-netter in the waning seconds, and Tyson Jost, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichuskin also found the goal. Pavel Francouz posted 31 saves on the night. That sort of recovery was huge after the big loss to Boston.
Vegas will get the Avs on the second night of a back-to-back but will also be on a back-to-back themselves after a game in Arizona on Friday night. The Golden Knights had dropped three in a row, getting blanked by Calgary and Colorado and then dropping a 4-3 nailbiter to Los Angeles, but then they bounced back with a 4-1 win in San Jose on Sunday. Jack Eichel scored in his third game after returning from artificial disk replacement surgery in November. He’s a top-line center for Vegas and has a goal and a pair of assists in his three games. An Vegas get revenge for that loss to Colorado last week?
Final Prediction: Colorado 4, Vegas
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