Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 15th

We’re getting close to the midpoint of the long National Hockey League regular season, and we see that the Tampa Bay Lightning are still sitting atop the Eastern Conference, six points ahead of Washington (and with a game in hand). Boston is chasing them in the Atlantic, though, winning 8 of their last 10 and taking points in the other two. The Pittsburgh Penguins seem to be waking up too, with six wins in their last 10 and a four-game winning streak going. They are just eight points behind Washington in the Metropolitan. In the Western Conference, Winnipeg has cooled off a bit with a two-game slide but still leads the Central Division, just two points behind Vegas in the West standings. Calgary has won seven in a row to shoot up to second in the Pacific, sliding ahead of the Kings, who have dropped three straight. Take a look at our NHL betting picks for you on the rink this week.

Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 15th

NHL Power Rankings: Golden Knights still riding high, Flames scorching hot https://t.co/6KP5IPZFiu pic.twitter.com/en9nnUKjOV

— theScore NHL (@theScoreNHL) January 15, 2018

Tuesday, January 16

Vegas at Nashville (8:00pm ET, AT&TSN / FSSM)

The top team in the West takes on the defending Western Conference champion when Vegas visits Nashville (who are now second place in the Central Division behind Winnipeg). Vegas continues to score at a high clip, third overall with a 3.4 goals per game average. They took a home overtime loss against the struggling Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night, losing 3-2. Their defense has struggled somewhat as of late, slipping to tenth overall and permitting 2.7 goals per game, and their power play has stagnated, slipping to 21st in the league with a 17.5 percent conversion rate. Also, they give up power play goals almost 20 percent of the time. They need to shore up their special teams if they want to get back to their hot play from earlier in the season. Nashville comes in with a week of rest, having last played against Edmonton on Tuesday, January 9. They held the Oilers to a single goal in a 2-1 win. The Predators score 3.0 goals per game (ninth overall), but they have lost their leading scorer, Filip Forsberg, for 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury. They may need to pursue a trade to keep that offense going. They rock the power play right now, scoring 24.4 percent of the time (third overall). Their defense is solid, permitting just 2.6 goals per game (fourth overall). But can they contain the Golden Knights? NHL Betting Prediction: Nashville 3, Vegas 2

Thursday, January 18

Pittsburgh at Los Angeles (10:00pm ET, NBC Sports)

Pittsburgh’s offense has struggled overall this season, posting just 2.9 goals per game (16th overall), but they had all the offense they needed and more in a 5-2 home thrashing of the NEw York Rangers on Sunday. No one does a better job on the power play than the Pens, as they score 26.5 percent of the time. Their defense (22nd overall) has been their Achilles heel in their slow start to the season, and losing goalie Matt Murray for personal reasons — and for an indefinite period of time — means that they may need to make a trade to get ready for the postseason rush. They visit the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night — a night after facing the Ducks in Anaheim. Those Kings took a 4-2 beating fro the Ducks on Saturday night and have seen their offense slip to 15th overall (2.9 goals per game). Their defense is tops in the NHL (2.4 goals permitted per game), as is their penalty kill (87.0%). However, against a high-flying team like Pittsburgh, they will need to find the back of the net more than usual to pick up the win. With Murray out, though, that will be an easier task. NHL Betting Prediction: Los Angeles 4, Pittsburgh 2