Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – November 19th Edition

It’s already been a fairly active trade market in the NHL and the deadline is still months away. Over the weekend, the Edmonton Oilers traded forward Ryan Strome to the New York Rangers for forward Ryan Spooner. Spooner was acquired from the Bruins in the trade-deadline deal last season that sent Rick Nash to Boston. He showed promise and was signed to a two-year, $8 million deal in July. But he wasn’t a good fit under new coach David Quinn’s system. Here’s a look at two intriguing NHL matchups this week. Check back for NHL odds.

Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – November 19th Edition

“A couple of breakdowns that shouldn’t happen any more at this point in the season” were the #Oilers undoing against Vegas as they drop a 6-3 decision. pic.twitter.com/NtCGemIvgn

— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) 19 de noviembre de 2018

Edmonton Oilers at San Jose Sharks

• When: Tuesday, 10:30 PM ET (NBC Sports Network)

This is your only hockey betting opportunity on Tuesday as the only game on the schedule, which is odd. Could be Mikko Koskinen in net for Edmonton. He allowed three goals on 36 shots in Saturday’s 4-2 loss at Calgary. Koskinen was making his second consecutive start, but this didn’t go as well as Thursday’s 6-2 win against Montreal. He has been impressive with Cam Talbot struggling in the Edmonton crease, posting a 4-2-0 record with a 2.60 goals-against average and .917 save percentage so far this season.

The Oilers are two games into an important eight-game stretch that includes seven Pacific Division opponents, representing a valuable opportunity to gain ground or stay ahead of their nearest rivals in the thick of the standings.

In the loss to Calgary, Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl combined for their 90th goal since the start of the 2016-17 season, which is second most in the NHL during that span. The Oilers captain made it 10 goals and 17 assists in 19 games this season in the loss after recording an assist. Alex Chiasson has seven goals and an assist after scoring a shorthanded marker.

McDavid’s three-point performance against Montreal on Nov. 13 was his eighth multi-point game of the season – tied for most in the NHL this season. It was also his 70th multi-point game since the start of 2016-17, also an NHL-high. Since returning to play on Feb. 2, 2016, after an injury cut short his rookie season, McDavid leads the NHL in scoring by 30 points, with 271 points (93G, 178A), ahead of Sidney Crosby (241 pts) and Nikita Kucherov (233 pts).

The Sharks are off a 4-0 win over St. Louis on Saturday as Erik Karlsson had his first goal as a Shark. The star defenseman sparked a three-goal outburst for San Jose in less than five minutes of the second period, and Aaron Dell earned his fourth career shutout.

Karlsson has taken some time to adjust to his new team after being acquired from Ottawa just before training camp. The two-time Norris Trophy winner came into the game with 11 assists and a minus-9 rating before delivering in a big way against the Blues with a goal and an assist during San Jose’s second-period surge.

It’s the first meeting of the season between the Oilers and Sharks.

Boston Bruins at Detroit Red Wings

• When: Wednesday, 7:30 pm ET (NHL Center Ice)

Boston got some bad news over the weekend in that defenseman Zdeno Chara, a future Hall of Famer, is going to miss 4-6 weeks due to a leg injury. Chara was felled in the first period of Wednesday’s game at Colorado when his knee buckled during a check of ex-teammate Carl Soderberg. The 41-year-old Chara is the sixth Bruins defenseman to go down with an injury.

The Bruins were already without defensive stalwarts Charlie McAvoy (concussion), Kevan Miller (broken hand), John Moore (lower body) and Brandon Carlo (upper body), as well as rookie Urho Vaakanainen, who sustained a concussion last month after being called up to fill in.

If out until Christmas, Chara would miss 19 games. Chara’s last season so shortened: a 63-gamer in 2014-15. Since becoming a regular (2000-01 with the New York Islanders), he has never missed more than 19. Chara (1,441 games in his Hall of Fame career) is No. 29 on the career list. Among active players, only Patrick Marleau, Joe Thornton, and Matt Cullen are ahead.

Should be Tuukka Rask in net. He has a 4-4-1 record with a 2.78 goals-against-average and a .912 save percentage this season.Detroit is 8-2-0 after starting the season 1-7-2. “After our start, everyone was counting us out,” Dylan Larkin said. “Here we are, the last 10 games, we’ve shown not only the league and our fans but ourselves, that we can play with every team on a nightly basis. We’re winning games and we’re having fun and we’re rolling. We need to keep this going.”

However, winger Darren Helm (upper body) is expected to miss some time after he was hurt Saturday afternoon against New Jersey. Coach Jeff Blashill said after the contest that Helm will “be out for a little bit.” He exited early in the first period with an upper-body injury.

Likely to be Jimmy Howard in net. He’s 6-6-2 with a respectable 2.64 goals-against-average and a .922 save percentage.

Expert NHL Betting Picks

Take San Jose and Boston.