Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – November 26th Edition

How about those Buffalo Sabres? They have now reeled off nine straight wins to sit in second place in the Atlantic Division with 34 points, just one behind Tampa Bay. Washington is another Eastern Conference team that is hot right now, with a five-game winning streak going on and 29 points to sit atop the Metropolitan Division. Out West, Dallas looks headed to another disappointing season in which they miss the playoffs, with goalie Ben Bishop on the shelf as their latest excuse, but with the real problem being a defensive unit that refuses to play consistently. They have won just four of 10 and are seven points out of first in the Central Division. Colorado is the hottest team in the West, riding a four-game winning streak, but Vegas may also be snapping out of their Stanley Cup Final hangover, as they have reeled off three straight wins. We have three NHL betting picks for you to consider.

Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – November 26th Edition

Highlights from my latest NHL Power Rankings: How high can #Sabres climb? Look who’s coming to town Tuesday. And a lot of recent Stanley Cups in the bottom eight. https://t.co/l1ZvNhB9fF

— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) November 24, 2018

Monday, November 26

Columbus at Detroit (7:30pm ET)

The Columbus Blue Jackets have split their last four games, beating Carolina and Toronto — but also losing to Toronto and to the Penguins. The loss to Pittsburgh came on Saturday night as the Blue Jackets surrendered a hat trick to Jake Guentzel. Cam Atkinson and Scott Harrington scored for the Blue Jackets, who had won four of five before splitting these past four. Atkinson has a seven-game goal streak, a career high, and a tie with the all-time franchise lead. Joonas Korpisalo had 32 saves for Columbus. Now the Blue Jackets visit Detroit, a team that has struggled for several years now after decades of dominance. The Red Wings dropped both ends of a back-to-back, losing to Washington on Thursday and then Buffalo on Saturday, losing to the Sabres in a shootout. Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha scored for the Red Wings, and Jimmy Howard posted 33 saves. Andreas Athanasiou was the only Red Wing to score in the shootout. Given the talent differential, it’s hard to argue against Columbus on Monday night. NHL Betting Prediction: Columbus 3, Detroit 1

Tuesday, November 27

Colorado at Nashville (8:00pm ET)

The Colorado have won four in a row and six of ten, including a 3-2 win over Dallas on Saturday in which the Stars built a 2-1 lead and then watched the Avalanche come back to take the win. Before that, they had beaten Anaheim, Los Angeles and Arizona. J.T. Compher and Mikko Rantanen scored in the last 2:42 of regulation to turn that deficit against Dallas into a winning margin. Rantonen leads the league in points (38) and assists (28). Nashville leads the Central Division, although they lost the second half of a home-and-home against the St. Louis Blues, falling 6-2 on Friday. The tone in that loss was established during a pair of fights in the first two minutes of the game, as the Blues brought their aggressive game. Juuse Saros started for the Predators in goal but permitted five goals on 15 shots, and Pekka Rinne had to come on in relief. While I see Colorado giving the Predators a challenge, Nashville should have the defensive salt to win this at home. NHL Betting Prediction: Nashville 3, Colorado 2

Wednesday, November 28

San Jose at Toronto (7:30pm ET)

The San Jose Sharks are in second place in the Pacific Division despite losing, 6-0, to Vegas on Saturday. The Sharks have scored 75 goals this season, sixth best in the NHL. However, they could not solve Marc-Andre Fleury. Sharks goalie Aaron Dell stopped 30 of 36 shots in the loss, as the San Jose defense simply fell apart against Vegas. Things don’t get easier for the Sharks as they head to Toronto to take on a talented, young Maple Leafs team that is sitting in third in the Atlantic Division, with 32 points, three games out of first. The Leafs snapped a two-game skid against Carolina and Columbus by drubbing Philadelphia, 6-0, on Saturday. Andreas Johnson had his first career hat trick in the first 13 minutes of the game, pacing the rout. If the Sharks can’t fix the defensive issues that they had against Vegas, it’s hard to see this going well. NHL Betting Prediction: Toronto 4, San Jose 3