NHL Predictions – Wednesday, November 27:
It was nice to have just two games on the NHL schedule last night, and for those of us on the West Coast, having the night over at 7 p.m. PT gave us plenty of time to get rested in advance of 15 games tonight. There are some great matchups on the schedule with Vegas at Colorado, and the Rangers and Hurricanes meet for the first time since New York eliminated Carolina in last year’s postseason. I have plays in eight of the 15 games tonight that feature trends that have been highly profitable. Enjoy what should be a great night on the ice. Here are tonight’s NHL predictions.
Minnesota Wild (-125, 6) at Buffalo Sabres
7:00 p.m. ET
The Minnesota Wild are coming off back-to-back losses for just the second time this season. The Wild’s 4-1 loss to Winnipeg on Tuesday was their seventh consecutive defeat at the hands of the Jets, and tonight they face a Sabres team that have won five of the last six and seven of the last nine meetings between the two teams including winning three straight and four of the last five on home ice. The games have been close, as three of the last four and five of the last eight meetings have gone past 60 minutes. Two things in favor of the Wild are that they are 8-1 versus the Eastern Conference and 6-3 as the road betting favorite.
Buffalo comes home after sweeping the three California teams on their West Coast road trip and have now won seven of their last nine games. Three of Buffalo’s previous seven games have gone to overtime. The Sabres will get a boost to their lineup tonight with the return of leading goal scorer, Tage Thompson, who has missed the last five games with a lower-body injury.
NHL Predictions: Minnesota Wild/Buffalo Sabres – Draw (+310) – ¼ unit
Minnesota Wild ML (-135) – 1 unit
St. Louis Blues at New Jersey Devils (-225, 6)
7:00 p.m. ET
The Jim Montgomery era got off on a winning note on Tuesday as the Blues went into MSG on Monday and disposed of the Rangers 5-2. Zachary Bolduc led the way, scoring a pair of goals and had seven of the 44 shots on goal as the Blues outshot the Rangers, 44-29. The 44 shots on goal were a season-high, and the five goals scored was their biggest output in 16 games when they scored five against the Maple Leafs in late October. Blues players expressed their frustration about the offense lacking creativity following a loss to the Islanders in Drew Bannister’s final game behind the bench. “It felt like we were having fun out there. That’s the main part. It felt like we weren’t sitting back, and we played with energy tonight, and we played with the puck, said Blues captain Brayden Schenn. It will be interesting to see if they can get the offense in high gear again tonight against a Devils team that’s given two goals or less in six of their last seven games. That stingy defense explains why New Jersey has not only won three straight, five of six, eight of 10, and 10 of 13. Home favorites (-200+) coming off a win are 20-3 and have scored four or more goals in 21 of the 23 games.
NHL Predictions: New Jersey Devils in Regulation (-140) – 1 unit
Boston Bruins at NY Islanders (-125, 5.5)
7:30 p.m. ET
The firing of Jim Montgomery and the hiring of interim coach Joe Sacco has done nothing to jumpstart the Bruins offense. The B’s have scored three goals in three games, including a 1-0 shutout last night at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks under their new bench boss. Last night was not about the Bruins’ lack of ability to create offense. They were simply “goalied” by the Canucks, Kevin Lankinen, who stopped all 33 shots that came his way.
Goals have come at a premium for the Bruins the entire season. Boston has scored two goals or less in 15 of their 23 games and ranks dead last in offense. With the Bruins being blanked in their previous game, it triggers a few systems plays – goal in the first 10 (Yes), first-period Over 1.5 goals, and full game Over the total. In their three previous games this season coming off being blanked, the Bruins have scored a goal in the first 10 minutes, twice in the first period, and game totals went Over in all three contests. Six of the last seven meetings between the two teams have featured six goals or more.
NHL Predictions: Boston Bruins/NY Islanders goal first 10 – Yes (-130) – 1 unit
Boston Bruins/NY Islanders 1st period Over 1.5 (-110) – 1 unit
Boston Bruins/NY Islanders Over 5.5 (-102) – 1 unit
Boston Bruins/NY Islanders Draw (+300) – ¼ unit
Montreal Canadiens at Columbus Blue Jackets (-150, 6.5)
7:30 p.m. ET
These two teams met 10 days ago in Montreal, with the Canadiens skating away with a 5-1 victory for their sixth straight win over the Jackets. On that night, it was Columbus who was on the second half of a back-to-back. Tonight, Montreal finds itself playing on consecutive days. This is the fifth home game that has the Jackets getting a team on the back end of a back-to-back. Columbus won the previous four games in this scenario. The Habs are 1-1 this season on the second half of back-to-backs. Last season, the Canadiens were 1-12 in this spot.
This will be the Blue Jackets’ first game as a home betting favorite, while Montreal is 2-7 as a road underdog.
NHL Predictions: Columbus Blue Jackets in Regulation (-115) – 1 unit
Dallas Stars (-255, 6) at Chicago Blackhawks
8:30 p.m. ET
The Stars are coming off a 6-4 loss to Carolina on Monday and will look to avoid back-to-back losses for just the second time this season. Tonight, Dallas faces a Chicago team that they have already beaten twice this season and thirteen of the last 16 meetings. The Stars covered the Puck Line in both wins this season and in 10 of their last 13 wins over Chicago. Seven of the last eight wins over Chicago have come in regulation, and in six of the last eight games, the Blackhawks have been held to two goals or less.
Chicago enters tonight’s game coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Flyers on Saturday and have dropped six of their last eight games and have scored two goals or less in seven of the eight. Expect Petr Mrazek to get the start in goal for the Blackhawks tonight. Mrazek deserved a better fate on Saturday against the Flyers, stopping 34 of 37 shots. He has given up two goals or less in three of his last four starts.
NHL Predictions: Dallas Stars -1.5 goals (+105) – 1 unit
Dallas Stars in regulation (-140) – 2 units
Jason Robertson/Roope Hintz/Wyatt Johnston parlay each over ½ point (+181) – ¼ unit
Tyler Seguin/Matt Duchene/Mason Marchment each over ½ point (+206) – ¼ unit
Vegas Golden Knights at Colorado Avalanche (-165, 6.5)
10:00 p.m. ET
This will be the second meeting this season between these Western Conference rivals. Colorado will be hoping to avenge an 8-4 drubbing by the Golden Knights in the first game of the season for both teams.
After winning their first three games on their road trip, Colorado got run over by the Tampa Bay Lightning by a tune of 8-2 on Monday. This game was over after the opening 20 minutes, with Tampa erupting for five first-period goals. On the bright side, Colorado has won six of their last eight games. Earlier this morning, the Avalanche announced that Jonathan Drouin, who recently returned from injury and scored a pair of goals in his return, is again out week-to-week after playing just two games.
For Vegas, this is the final stop on a five-game road trip. After a loss at Toronto to start the trip, the Golden Knights have won three in a row and have won five of seven overall.
Games going Over the total are a common theme when examining these two teams. Three of the last four meetings have gone Over the total. Vegas is 14-6-2 to the Over this season, and the Avalanche are 14-8 to the Over.
NHL Prediction: Vegas Golden Knights/Colorado Avalanche Over 6.5 (-120) – 1 unit
Anaheim Ducks at Seattle Kraken (-205, 5.5)
10:00 p.m. ET
The Seattle Kraken and Anaheim Ducks are meeting for the third time in three days, and the Kraken is seeking their ninth straight win over the Ducks after defeating Anaheim 3-2 on Monday. Seattle has won all eight games in regulation.
After watching from the press box for three games, Shane Wright returned to the lineup on Monday and had a goal and an assist giving Wright three goals in three games against the Ducks. There are a couple of betting trends that I am focusing on for tonight’s game. Seattle is a (-200+) home favorite coming off a win. NHL favorites in this spot are 20-3 this season, with 18 of the wins coming in regulation. The Ducks have scored two goals or less in their last seven games against the Kraken and two goals or less in 10 consecutive losses overall. Nine of the last 10 Ducks games have seen the first period Over 1.5 goals cash, including Monday’s 3-2 loss to Seattle.
NHL Predictions: Seattle Kraken in regulation (-125) – 1 unit
Seattle Kraken ML (-205) – 1 unit
Anaheim Ducks/Seattle Kraken 1st period over 1.5 (-120) – ½ unit
Shane Wright anytime goal (+400) – ¼ unit
Winnipeg Jets at Los Angeles Kings (-110, 5.5)
10:00 p.m. ET
I wrote about this game earlier today in the VSIN Daily newsletter that the great Bill Adee puts together. Does this man ever sleep? For those who missed it, there are two early NHL trends in this game, and they both point in favor of the Los Angeles Kings. Looking at the odds (-110) for this game and our VSIN NHL Betting Splits page one would believe that oddsmakers are aware of the trends. The Winnipeg Jets are 18-4 and facing a Kings team that has 11 wins in 22 games, yet we have the Sportsbooks calling this a “coin flip” despite the Jets taking in 80% of the bets and the money. As VSIN’s Josh Applebaum likes to say, “We have a fishy line.” I believe he would also refer to betting on the Kings tonight as a “Hazmat” play.
For those of you who have not read today’s VSIN Daily or seen my previous tweets on “X”, trend number one involves teams coming off a win over the Minnesota Wild (Winnipeg) are 1-6 in their next game. I must point out that the one team to win their following game after beating the Wild are these Winnipeg Jets, who beat the San Jose Sharks. Teams coming off a loss to the San Jose Sharks (LA lost to San Jose 7-2 on Monday) are 5-1 in their next game. The Kings are the only team to lose to the Sharks twice this season. They followed up their previous loss to San Jose with a 6-1 win over Vegas.
NHL Predictions: LA Kings ML (-110) – 1 unit
