NHL Preview 4-9-21

Washington Capitals v. Buffalo Sabres

Projected Goalies: Vitek Vanecek v. Dustin Tokarski

Both of these teams played last night and both came away with losses. Washington played poorly against Boston, and save for a few powerplay goals, that game was rather one sided. Buffalo was in a back-and-forth shootout with the Devils who got the last goal and came away with 2 points. In back-to-back games the starting goalie is critical and tonight there is massive advantage in Washington’s favor.

The Bet: Capitals Puckline

Prediction: Capitals 4-1 Sabres

Pittsburgh Penguins v. New Jersey Devils

Projected Goalies: Casey DeSmith v. Mackenzie Blackwood

Both of these teams also played last night and both came away victorious. Pittsburgh won a high scoring game over the Rangers and the Devils game was mentioned above. New Jersey made the tactical decision to start their backup goalie yesterday to save Blackwood for the tougher opponent tonight. DeSmith had played pretty solidly this season before back to back stinkers where he gave up more then 4 goals to Boston and New York. Once again the goalies in any back-to-back game are critical and the advantage here is to the underdog Devils.

The Bet: Devils Moneyline

Prediction: Penguins 2-3 Devils 

New York Rangers v. New York Islanders

Projected Goalies: Alexsandar Georgiev v. Semyon Varlamov

What is up with the schedule makers for the East Division? These two teams also played last night and both had considerably different outcomes. The Rangers were out skated in a loss to Pittsburgh while the Islanders won another shootout over the Flyers. It may sound like a broken record but guess what, backup goalies in back-to-backs matter and here is another game with a clear advantage and in this case it is towards the guys from Long Island and not the uppity Manhattan bros. 

The Bet: Islanders Moneyline

Prediction: Rangers 3-4 Islanders

Minnesota Wild v. St. Louis Blues

Projected Goalies: Kaapo Kähkönen v. Jordan Binnington

The Wild are coming off a commanding 8-3 victory over the red hot Avalanche and will certainly have confidence in this game. Kirill Kaprisov scored two goals and the streaking Kevin Fiala had a hat trick. St. Louis is coming off their own impressive win over serious contenders Vegas in a game where Jordan Binnington and the defense led the way. Typically I would roll with the Wild here but Kahkonen has not played in weeks and a rookie like himself might be a little out of the flow early here and the Blues can capitalize on that.

The Bet: Blues Moneyline

Prediction: Wild 2-4 Blues

Arizona Coyotes v. Vegas Golden Knights

Projected Goalies: Adin Hill v. Robin Lehner

There is massive talent discrepancy in this game and it shows in the odds. Arizona has had great success beating up on the bad teams in the West Division but they have struggled against the likes of Colorado and Vegas. The Golden Knights have not been their usual self recently and a lot of that has to do with the poor play from Marc-Andre Fleury. Tonight he is on the bench and Lehner takes the cage. I am not confident enough in Vegas to take them at those odds but neither team concedes a lot of goals so I like the under here.

The Bet: Under 5.5 Total Goals

Prediction: Coyotes 1-3 Vegas

Colorado Avalanche v. Anaheim Ducks

Projected Goalies: Philip Grubauer v. John Gibson

You want to talk about talent discrepancy then look no further than this game where Colorado is a -350 favorite! Other than the embarrassing loss last time out against Minnesota, the Avalanche have cruised through the past month. Anaheim is a confirmed cellar dweller who is more focused on prospects than points at the moment. The best aspect of their team is their goalie, Gibson, who is a legitimate star. The over/under in this game is high because of the last result for each team but this is going to be a goalie duel and not a shootout.

The Bet: Under 6.5 Total Goals

Prediction: Avalanche 4-1 Ducks

Los Angeles Kings v. San Jose Sharks

Projected Goalies: Calvin Petersen v. Martin Jones

The Kings are a Jekyll and Hyde team that can show up any night and compete but also completely lay an egg the next game and get worked. They aren’t going to make the playoffs and right now their biggest storyline is who gets traded at the deadline. The Sharks are essentially the exact same team as LA only slightly better. They likely will miss the playoffs as well but their coaching staff and management are still hanging on to hope. This game could go any way, literally, it could be a high scoring blowout or a close low scoring rockfight. I am on the Kings simply because I don’t trust Martin Jones.

The Bet: Kings Moneyline

Prediction: Kings 3-2 Sharks

Fancy a Parlay? 

Capitals & Avalanche to Win