Home-ice edge in Colorado, and this week's NHL odds and best bets
Monty Andrews
We're into the final week of March, which means that the conference playoff races have never been hotter. And that makes for some great betting options ? particularly on an early-week schedule that includes Alex Ovechkin looking to reach the 40-goal plateau for his career against the Carolina Hurricanes. Here are the top matchups, tips and trends to monitor heading into a new week of NHL action.
Goin' for 40
The Winnipeg Jets and Tampa Bay Lightning already know what it's like to watch Washington Capitals legend Alex Ovechkin score 40 times against them ? and Tuesday, the Carolina Hurricanes might join that list as Ovechkin and the Caps play host. Ovechkin has scored 39 goals in 75 career games against the Hurricanes, behind only the Jets (47) and Lightning (45). And you have to think Ovechkin is due for a breakout, having scored just two goals over his last nine games ? both coming in a win over the Lightning. Ovie has three goals and an assist in two meetings with Carolina this season.
Now That's Home-Ice Advantage: The Sequel
The road team has never won a meaningful game in the history of the Colorado Avalanche-Vegas Golden Knights rivalry ? and no, the sample size isn't very big, but that home-team dominance shouldn't be ignored as the teams do battle Wednesday night at Pepsi Center in Denver.
The home side has won all five regular-season encounters between the Western Conference foes ? and not only that, the road team has been outscored by a ridiculous 18-3 margin in those games. Strangely enough, the four pre-season games the teams have played over the past two years have all been won by the road team.
Goalie Profile: Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak, Boston Bruins
Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock once said, "It takes two to make a thing go right." If the "thing" is a top-three spot in the overall NHL standings, then Rask and Halak have executed those song lyrics to perfection. The dynamic duo have helped lead Boston to four consecutive victories while making it one of only three teams to have reached the 100-point plateau for the season.
The Bruins have surrendered just five goals over the course of their winning streak, with Halak and Rask each tending net twice in that span. Their sensational seasons have helped Boston to the third-best goals-against average in the league (2.48).
Injury Update: F Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
It has been that kind of season for the Anaheim Ducks, who are preparing to be without their star center for Tuesday's contest against the host Vancouver Canucks. Getzlaf, who has already missed 11 games this season, was a late scratch from Anaheim's 4-3 loss to the host Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night with an upper-body injury, and is considered questionable for Tuesday. Getzlaf was on a tear with eight points over his previous seven games ? and the Ducks were beneficiaries of his hot stretch, going 4-3-0 SU in that span. Getzlaf has 47 points in 65 games on the season.
Hat Trick Trends
The Under continues to be the superior option from a totals perspective as the league winds down its regular-season schedule, with 33 out of 50 games coming in below the total over the previous seven days. That bumps the 30-day under success rate to a whopping 56.3 percent as teams shore up their defenses for the playoff push.
As for straight-up trends, the road underdog has been a better-than-average play over the previous week, prevailing at nearly a 43 percent clip (15-20 SU). Road teams in general won better than 49 percent of the time in the past week, compared to a 46.3-percent win rate for all of 2018-19.
The race to be the break-even team of the season is heating up, with five teams at less than one unit gained or lost so far. Vancouver (+0.23 units won), Washington (+0.68) and Montreal (+0.69) are the closest to break-even on the positive side of the ledger, while Toronto (-0.53) and Columbus (-0.75) are the closest on the negative side.
Monty Andrews
We're into the final week of March, which means that the conference playoff races have never been hotter. And that makes for some great betting options ? particularly on an early-week schedule that includes Alex Ovechkin looking to reach the 40-goal plateau for his career against the Carolina Hurricanes. Here are the top matchups, tips and trends to monitor heading into a new week of NHL action.
Goin' for 40
The Winnipeg Jets and Tampa Bay Lightning already know what it's like to watch Washington Capitals legend Alex Ovechkin score 40 times against them ? and Tuesday, the Carolina Hurricanes might join that list as Ovechkin and the Caps play host. Ovechkin has scored 39 goals in 75 career games against the Hurricanes, behind only the Jets (47) and Lightning (45). And you have to think Ovechkin is due for a breakout, having scored just two goals over his last nine games ? both coming in a win over the Lightning. Ovie has three goals and an assist in two meetings with Carolina this season.
Now That's Home-Ice Advantage: The Sequel
The road team has never won a meaningful game in the history of the Colorado Avalanche-Vegas Golden Knights rivalry ? and no, the sample size isn't very big, but that home-team dominance shouldn't be ignored as the teams do battle Wednesday night at Pepsi Center in Denver.
The home side has won all five regular-season encounters between the Western Conference foes ? and not only that, the road team has been outscored by a ridiculous 18-3 margin in those games. Strangely enough, the four pre-season games the teams have played over the past two years have all been won by the road team.
Goalie Profile: Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak, Boston Bruins
Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock once said, "It takes two to make a thing go right." If the "thing" is a top-three spot in the overall NHL standings, then Rask and Halak have executed those song lyrics to perfection. The dynamic duo have helped lead Boston to four consecutive victories while making it one of only three teams to have reached the 100-point plateau for the season.
The Bruins have surrendered just five goals over the course of their winning streak, with Halak and Rask each tending net twice in that span. Their sensational seasons have helped Boston to the third-best goals-against average in the league (2.48).
Injury Update: F Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim Ducks
It has been that kind of season for the Anaheim Ducks, who are preparing to be without their star center for Tuesday's contest against the host Vancouver Canucks. Getzlaf, who has already missed 11 games this season, was a late scratch from Anaheim's 4-3 loss to the host Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night with an upper-body injury, and is considered questionable for Tuesday. Getzlaf was on a tear with eight points over his previous seven games ? and the Ducks were beneficiaries of his hot stretch, going 4-3-0 SU in that span. Getzlaf has 47 points in 65 games on the season.
Hat Trick Trends
The Under continues to be the superior option from a totals perspective as the league winds down its regular-season schedule, with 33 out of 50 games coming in below the total over the previous seven days. That bumps the 30-day under success rate to a whopping 56.3 percent as teams shore up their defenses for the playoff push.
As for straight-up trends, the road underdog has been a better-than-average play over the previous week, prevailing at nearly a 43 percent clip (15-20 SU). Road teams in general won better than 49 percent of the time in the past week, compared to a 46.3-percent win rate for all of 2018-19.
The race to be the break-even team of the season is heating up, with five teams at less than one unit gained or lost so far. Vancouver (+0.23 units won), Washington (+0.68) and Montreal (+0.69) are the closest to break-even on the positive side of the ledger, while Toronto (-0.53) and Columbus (-0.75) are the closest on the negative side.
