Top NHL Betting Games of the Week (Dec 5-11)

The hottest team in the NHL entering this week might surprise you: it’s the Philadelphia Flyers, who weren’t even considered locks to make the playoffs this year after squeaking in last year. They put a five-game streak on the line Tuesday. Here are some interesting NHL betting matchups this week.

Top NHL Betting Games of the Week (Dec 5-11)

Let’s take a look at the week ahead in this week’s Cats & Coffee! & ☕️ » https://t.co/HJrIuV5r22 pic.twitter.com/0SFIz3cJwB

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) December 5, 2016

Florida Panthers at Philadelphia Flyers, Tuesday

On Sunday, Philly won at Nashville 4-2. Wayne Simmonds had two goals for the Flyers (14-10- 3). Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov blocked a shot from Predators forward Mike Ribeiro at 18:46 of the third period to preserve a 3-2 lead. Ribeiro got the puck below the right faceoff circle and caught Mason out of position. Provorov got in front of the shot and deflected it away from the net. Flyers forward Matt Read left the game in the first period with an upper-body injury and did not return. Steve Mason kept the Flyers rolling with 30 saves. Mason allowed two goals on 32 shots to earn his ninth win of the year. The 28-year- old is now 9-8- 3 with a 2.76 goals against average and .904 save percentage. Mason has won four straight. Defenseman Radko Gudas is expected to return to action on Tuesday after missing a couple of games with the flu. Gudas sat out Saturday and Sunday. He has a goal and seven points in 19 games with 21 penalty minutes, 50 blocked shots and 82 hits. Florida lost at home to Philly 3-1 on Tuesday and will be playing the second of a back-to- back here after visiting Boston on Monday. The Panthers announced Sunday that Jonathan Marchessault is day-to- day after suffering a lower body injury Saturday night — Paul Thompson was recalled from the minors.

Colorado Avalanche at Boston Bruins, Thursday

The Avs are last in the Central Division and likely to stay there a while after losing Erik Johnson for 6-8 weeks due to injury. The defenseman and No. 1 overall pick in the 2006 draft sustained a broken fibula in their 3-0 loss to the Dallas Stars at Pepsi Center on Saturday. Johnson was injured in the second period, and it’s a damaging blow for the Avalanche, who lost all five games (0-4- 1) of their homestand and have the fewest points (19) in the NHL. Johnson, who has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists), was averaging 22:21 of ice time and leads Colorado in assists and blocked shots (59). He and Tyson Barrie are tied for the Avalanche scoring lead among defensemen. Coach Jared Bednar has been using Johnson and Fedor Tyutin as his top pair, and Tyutin didn’t play Saturday because of a lower-body injury. Meanwhile, Bruins winger Matt Beleskey suffered a hip injury in Saturday’s game vs. Buffalo and is likely to miss a few. He took a clean hip check from Sabre defenseman Taylor Fedun and left the game with seconds left in the first period. Beleskey will be re-evaluated Monday.

NY Rangers at Chicago Blackhawks, Friday

Great matchup of Original Six teams and a potential Stanley Cup Finals preview as the Hawks lead the Western Conference in points and the Rangers are second in the East in points. Will Chicago have star and captain Jonathan Toews? He sat out his sixth straight game on Sunday night, a 2-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets, with an upper-body injury that coach Joel Quenneville said is “not getting better.” Quenneville said Toews skated briefly Sunday morning, but the coach plans to “keep him off the ice for a few days and get a better assessment in the middle of the week or so.” Quenneville said he didn’t believe Toews’d injury was something the 28-year- old center has experienced before. Toews has four goals and eight assists in 21 games and is Chicago’s best faceoff man. In addition, Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford is expected to miss up to three weeks after undergoing an emergency appendectomy on Saturday. Before Saturday, he had started in 20 of the Blackhawks’ 25 games, going 12-6- 2 with a 2.27 goals-against average, .927 save percentage and two shutouts. He ranked second among NHL goalies in wins.