NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Here are tonight’s NHL predictions and best bets.
Montreal Canadiens at Chicago Blackhawks
Montreal Canadiens (-170) at Chicago Blackhawks (+140) – Total 6 (Over, -122)
8 p.m. ET
Both teams come into this one well rested. The Habs have been off since Tuesday when they blew a pair of two-goal leads to San Jose and ultimately lost to the Sharks 4-3 in overtime. The Habs have gone to overtime in four of their past five games, winning three of the four and have just one win this season in regulation. The Blackhawks have been off since Saturday when they were shut out by the Dallas Stars, 4-0. The Hawks are 4-1 to the Over at home and seven of the nine Canadiens games this season have had a combined seven goals or more. Montreal is going to be without captain Nick Suzuki for the next two to four weeks, so that opens the door for Oliver Kapanen to take over as the center on the top line between Cole Caufield and Juraj Slafkovsky.
To my favorite topic, player props. The Canadiens’ Lane Hutson has had at least two shots on goal in each of the Habs’ last eight games, and the Blackhawks’ Frank Nazar has had two shots on goal in three straight games versus Montreal and five of his last seven games overall. Connor Bedard has a point in five consecutive games against the Canadiens and Patrick Kane has 26 points in 30 career games versus Montreal and points in eight of his last 11 head-to-head meetings. I will parlay the two superstars for a point each at plus money. A couple of Montreal goal props. Zac Bolduc has goals in three straight against the Hawks, and Spencer Knight and former Blackhawks forward Kirby Dach have two goals in three games head-to-head against Knight.
One thing to keep in mind is for those who want to jump on Montreal to win tonight. Their next game is the Heritage Classic, an outdoor game, at Winnipeg. This could potentially be a major distraction for the players with things like tickets, travel for family, and the anticipation of playing an outdoor game.
NHL Predictions and Best Bets:
Over 6 (-122) – 1 unit
Hutson/Nazar 2+ shots on goal each (+196) – 1 unit
Bedard/Kane point parlay (+101) – 2 units
Kirby Dach anytime goal (+550) – .15 units
Zac Bolduc anytime goal (+340) – .15 units
Canadiens/Hawks BTTS 2+/Tampa/Colo BTTS 2+ (124) – 1 unit
Tampa Bay Lightning at Colorado Avalanche
Tampa Bay Lightning (+105) at Colorado Avalanche (-130) – Total 6 (Over, -128)
9 p.m. ET
The Lightning have gotten off to a great start (7-2-0), and their .773 winning percentage is only second in the NHL to the Edmonton Oilers (8-1-1, .850 winning percentage). On the other side of the ledger, the Avalanche, who started the season with a pair of victories, have not had consecutive wins since and have dropped three of their past four games. Tampa has won six of the last eight regular season meetings between the two teams and has scored 4+ goals in all six wins, won by 2+ goals in each of the last four wins and five of six.
Mackenzie Blackwood gets the start for the Avalanche tonight and doesn’t have the greatest numbers against Tampa (1-2, 4.80 goals against average). Brayden Point has three goals in four games against Blackwood and points in six of his last eight games against the Avs. Nikita Kucherov has scored points in eight consecutive games against Colorado, and in four of the last five games versus Colorado he has picked up 2+ points. Kucherov is coming off back-to-back multi-point games (Vegas, Vancouver) and in five of his last seven overall.
NHL Best Bets:
Tampa Bay Lightning -1.5 goals (+245) – ½ unit
Tampa Bay Lightning TT over 3.5 (+144) – ½ unit
Kucherov/Brayden Point 1+ pts each (-103) – 2 units
Makar assist/Landeskog point (+235) – ½ unit
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