Great news for the Anaheim Ducks as they activated top defenseman Cam Fowler off injured reserve and he played Sunday vs. Edmonton. Fowler had missed 23 games due to facial fractures, which he suffered Nov. 12. Here’s a look at two intriguing NHL matchups this week. Check back for NHL odds.
Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 7th
🎥 Gallant: We just try to win games every night. pic.twitter.com/a2PVagVEm0
— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) 7 de enero de 2019
NY Rangers at Vegas Golden Knights
- When: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET (ESPN+)
- Where: T-Mobile Arena
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
New York lost its third straight Sunday, 5-0 in Arizona. Henrik Lundqvist was chased late in the second period after he surrendered five goals on 32 shots. Alexander Georgiev stopped all eight shots he faced in relief. Lundqvist has been yanked in each of his last two starts. The Rangers have been outscored 18-3 while losing three straight games and have lost six of eight and nine of 12. They were shut out for the third time this season.
The Rangers have given up four power-play goals in the last two games — three in a 6-1 loss at Colorado on Friday night. Rangers center Kevin Hayes, who is second on the team with 34 points, did not play for the second straight game. He suffered what is believed to be mid-body injury when he ran into the boards in a Dec. 14 game against the Coyotes. The Rangers played the eighth game of a stretch in which they are to play 12 games in 23 days in four time zones. They are 2-4-2 thus far.
Vegas won its sixth in a row on Sunday, 3-2 over New Jersey. Malcolm Subban blocked 36 shots in the win. Subban and the Golden Knights spotted the Devils a 2-0 lead before rallying. The Vegas netminder was busy in the third period when he faced 20 shots, but he stopped them all to earn his second straight win.
Max Pacioretty tallied the game-winning goal. Pacioretty capped Vegas’ comeback when he gave the team a 3-2 lead late in the second period. The Golden Knights held on from there. Pacioretty has scored in both games since his return from a lower-body injury and he currently has 12 goals on the year.
Set up in front of the net, Pacioretty redirected Shea Theodore’s shot from the point past goalie Keith Kincaid. After missing seven games because of a lower-body injury, Pacioretty also had the winner Friday night in his return at Anaheim. Vegas is 17-3-3 since Nov. 21.
Vegas won in New York on Dec. 16, 4-3 in OT. Alex Tuch buried a sharp-angled shot just over two minutes into OT. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots. Lundqvist made 37 saves in the loss.
Nashville Predators at Chicago Blackhawks
- When: Wednesday, 8 PM ET (NBC Sports Network)
- Where: United Center
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
Nashville enters the week off a 4-1 win in Montreal on Saturday. Juuse Saros allowed one goal on 28 shots. Saros entered off a shutout victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. The Finnish goaltender was only beat by a Shea Weber wrist shot through traffic that he never saw. Nashville’s backup netminder has allowed three goals over his last four outings, improving his record to 10-5-1 with a 2.71 goals-against-average and a .907 save percentage.
Craig Smith had both goals in the win. Smith started off his night by cleaning up P.K. Subban’s rebound to open the scoring before getting another in the second period. It’s goals in three straight for Smith, with points in his last five. The 29-year-old winger currently sits at 14 goals and 24 points in 43 games this season. Mattias Ekholm and Viktor Arvidsson also scored for the Predators.
These teams played Dec. 18 in Chicago and the Hawks won 2-1. Cam Ward had 30 saves. Defensemen Gustav Forsling and Erik Gustafsson scored for Chicago. Kevin Fiala scored for the Predators. Pekka Rinne had 34 stops. Rinne made his NHL debut and got his first career victory on Dec. 15, 2005, against Chicago.
On Dec. 1 in Nashville, the Hawks lost 5-2. Eli Tolvanen scored his first NHL goal and added an assist to lead Nashville. Smith, Kevin Fiala and Ryan Johansen also each had a goal and an assist, and Austin Watson added an empty-netter for the Predators. Rinne stopped 19 shots. Brandon Saad and Artem Anisimov scored for Chicago. Ward finished with 24 saves.
Expert NHL Betting Picks
Take the Predators and Knights.
