NHL Picks: Several Trap Games on Tonight's Schedule
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The NHL blesses us with a dozen games this Thursday night. It is the middle of the week, so usually, Tuesdays and Thursdays are busier times.
Many sports are going on, and again thanks for enjoying the ride with us at gambling.com to get ready for your NHL betting.
This will have some considerable fire, so let’s crank this up to 11.
New Jersey Devils at New York Islanders
The problem with tonight’s large slate is that it may feature too many traps. Even this game on Long Island between the Devils and Islanders might be one too. However, since the start of the 2018-19 season, New Jersey has won outright just four times in 18 games versus the New York Islanders. Last season, the Devils won the opening matchup then dropped the next three games.
Now, the next thing is who starts in goal for New Jersey or who should? New York is starting Ilya Sorokin. New Jersey is countering with Mackenzie Blackwood. Blackwood stopped 18 of 20 shots in the Devils’ 4-2 win over Anaheim on Tuesday. However, a fortunate bounce off an Adam Henrique shot may have saved a lot more than the win for New Jersey.
Could the Islanders do what they normally do versus New Jersey? That answer is yes. New York did not bludegon the Devils like in previous years. However, they outworked New Jersey and seemed to always come up with a timely goal. Note that the final three meetings were decided by goal margins of 2, 1, and 1.
The Islanders will be well-rested after easy wins over the Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks. They outscored the two teams by a total of 12-3. New Jersey figures to be a step up in competition and rivalry games always mean a little extra. Jack Hughes versus Mathew Barzal is worth the price of admission alone here.
Expect the game to be a good deal of fun. This meeting is on ESPN+, so a few different eyes may get a look at this one. The Islanders’ moneyline is a bit sketchy at -150 but Islanders to win in regulation is +105. There are some other options to including sneaking in a Brock Nelson goal or Anders Lee goal into an Islanders parlay.
Nashville Predators at Columbus Blue Jackets
The Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets play each other on Thursday night. Most remember these two teams for the Ryan Johansen-Seth Jones trade several years back. The reality is both squads have had their “playoff moments”. That being said, this game feels a bit off. Columbus comes in with Johnny Gaudreau but no Patrik Laine. Laine is still maybe a couple of weeks away from returning from injury. Columbus also comes off a 4-3 overtime win where they rallied for three unanswered goals versus the Vancouver Canucks. Yes, the Canucks did it again.
Nashville was on the other end of the spectrum as it blew a two-goal lead at home to Los Angeles as the Kings rallied to win 4-3 on Tuesday night. This was in spite of a night where Filip Forsberg scored again on Tuesday and Nashville looked poised to win. At 2-2-1, the memories of the Global Series sweep of San Jose faded quickly.
The concern with Nashville is it is allowing more goals again. This occurred last year and took almost the entire season for the Predators to right themselves defensively. Currently, they yield 3.2 goals per game. Columbus is not much better. Actually, the Blue Jackets are allowing 4.25 goals per game and are giving up far too many scoring chances.
Nashville’s penalty kill has been porous at times while Columbus is 0-for-10 on the season. There seems to be a weird feeling about this where goals could come in bunches.
Los Angeles Kings at Pittsburgh Penguins
As the short, short edition rages on, the Los Angeles Kings travel to Pittsburgh to face the Penguins on Thursday night. It is a chance to play against former King, Jeff Carter. Also, Jonathan Quick appears to be the projected starter versus Tristan Jarry.
Both teams are quite entertaining. Pittsburgh has shown the ability to put up four or more goals with ease at times. Meanwhile, Los Angeles is the only team in the league to score four goals a game and allow four goals a contest. This is not a boring team. The Penguins are a bit more stout defensively (2.33 goals per game) but can be drawn into a high-pace contest without hesitation.
The top sixes have tons of firepower but the depth could steal the show too. Gabriel Vilardi is off to a flying start for Los Angeles with four goals and seven points in five contests. The Kings will be without Alex Iafallo who was placed on Injured Reserve on Tuesday. However, Los Angeles does have four players with two or more goals including Adrian Kempe (4).
With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Jake Guentzel on the Penguins’ side, goals are a pretty safe bet in Pittsburgh tonight.
Some Picks And More To Chew On
- Los Angeles and Pittsburgh Over 6.5 goals at -125
- New York Islanders in regulation at +105
- Columbus Blue Jackets Moneyline at +125
- Parlay - Johnny Gaudreau anytime goal, Columbus +1.5, Over 5.5 goals at +350
- Parlay - Alexis Lafreniere anytime goal, Rangers Moneyline at +280
Good luck, and once again, thanks for reading! We will have a few more plays on social media as conditions warrant.
All odds today come from BetMGM.
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