Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 21st Edition

The topsy-turvy ways of the Dallas Stars continued this past weekend, as they took a ridiculous loss at home to the Los Angeles Kings, falling 2-1 thanks to sloppy play on both ends, but then skated out to a 3-0 lead over Central Division-leading Winnipeg and then held on for the 4-2 win. That lack of consistency will likely keep Dallas out of the postseason again. One of the more consistent teams of late has been Calgary, winners of eight of ten and currently leading the Pacific Division. In the East, Tampa Bay continues to run away with matters, 16 points clear of Toronto in the Atlantic and 14 points clear of the New York Islanders who, of all teams, lead the Metropolitan and who have won five straight and eight of ten. Who are your winners for the week ahead? Check out our NHL betting predictions.

Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 21st Edition

Hughes, Kakko top NHL CS mid-season rankings. MORE: https://t.co/A9uAKkxWVE pic.twitter.com/luUtmhzfAY

— TSN (@TSN_Sports) January 21, 2019

Tuesday, January 22

San Jose at Washington (7:00pm ET, ESPN+)

The San Jose Sharks will play the second night of a back-to-back in Washington on Tuesday night, after facing the Florida Panthers in Miami on Monday. The Sharks had won seven in a row before taking a pair of 6-3 losses, one in Arizona on Wednesday and the other in Tampa Bay on Saturday. In that loss, Evander Kane had two goals for San Jose, and Marcus Sorenson had the third, but goalie Martin Jones only stopped 20 shots and saw his eight-game winning streak in net come to an end. The Sharks were playing without All-Star blueliner Erik Karlsson, who took part in warmups but was a late scratch. Check his injury updates before locking in a wager on this game. The Washington Capitals have fallen off the table, losers of five in a row, including an 8-5 beating in Chicago on Sunday. Those five goals were two more than the Caps had scored in their last three games combined, but the defense was simply awful. Goaltender Braden Holtby allowed four goals on 11 shots before giving way to Pheonix Copley just a few minutes into the second period. All five goals came from defensemen, and the Washington offense has largely been missing in action from its forward players during this slump. Can the Caps turn it around to knock off the Sharks? NHL Betting Prediction: Washington 4, San Jose 3 New York Islanders at Chicago (8:30pm ET) The Islanders’ five-game winning streak began last Sunday, with a 5-1 smackdown of East-leading Tampa Bay, and continued with wins over St. Louis, New Jersey, Washington and Anaheim, the last coming in 3-0 fashion on Sunday. Cal Clutterbuck put up a pair of goals for the Isles in the first period against Anaheim, and the Ducks were only able to muster 19 shots on net, all of which Robin Lehner turned aside. That made 15 wins in 18 games for the Islanders. Now the Islanders head to take on Chicago on Tuesday. The Blackhawks saw a five-game skid come to an end on Sunday when they hung eight goals on the Washington Capitals in an 8-5 barnburner. Coach Jeremy Colliton reunited Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane on the first scoring line, and Toews responded with a hat trick and two helpers, while Kane put up two goals and three assists. Will that be enough for Chicago against a red-hot New York side? NHL Betting Prediction: New York 5, Chicago 3 Wednesday, January 23 Nashville at Vegas (10:00pm ET, NBC Sports) Nashville has dropped two in a row and four of five but still sit in second place in the Central Division. Those last two losses have come by a combined score of 9-3 against Winnipeg and Florida. They play in Colorado on Monday afternoon before going further west to Las Vegas to play their last game before the All-Star break. In that loss to Florida, Juuse Saros made 26 saves, and Nick Bonino and Austin Watson each put up a goal and an assist, but the Predators just couldn’t keep up with the Panthers’ intensity in the early going. Now the Preds head west to take on the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas had come on strong lately but just split their last four games. Their last outing saw them deliver a 7-3 rout over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson combined for four goals, a major breakout as the Golden Knights’ top scorers had only lit the lamp three times combined in the last 12 games. That made Vegas 16-4-3 at home this season, and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves, taking his 27th win of the season, tops in the NHL. Can Vegas take advantage of a slumping contender on Wednesday? NHL Betting Prediction: Vegas 3, Nashville 2