Good news for the struggling Chicago Blackhawks on Monday as second-line center Artem Anisimov will return from an upper-body injury. He has been out since Dec. 28. The Hawks need all the help they can get as they are sitting last in the Central Division. Here’s a look at two interesting NHL games this week. Check back for the latest NHL betting odds on gameday at MyBookie.
Calgary’s bye week came at a lousy time as the Flames were on a season-high seven-game winning streak but then lost their first out of the bye, 2-1 in a shootout Saturday at home vs. Winnipeg. Mike Smith saw his personal six-game winning streak end as he is now 20-13-4 with a 2.42 goals against average and .925 save percentage.
Edmonton is 2-0 vs. Calgary this year. The Oilers opened the season with a 3-0 home win over the Flames. McDavid, last year’s Hart Trophy winner, had a hat trick. Cam Talbot made 26 saves. That was Smith’s Calgary debut. On Dec. 2 in Calgary, the Oilers won 7-5. Jesse Puljujarvi had two goals in the first period, and Patrick Jujhar Khaira, Mark Letestu, Milan Lucic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for Edmonton, which led 6-1 after Maroon’s goal 1:29 into the third. Sam Bennett scored twice, and Micheal Ferland and Johnny Gaudreau once each to pull the Flames to 6-5 with 7:40 remaining but they could never get all the way back.
Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 22nd Edition
NHL Power Rankings: Scalding Flames surge, Penguins also on the move – https://t.co/TBFERtMpzs pic.twitter.com/7OZLzrnNNq
— DiZiSports (@dizisports) January 22, 2018
Boston Bruins vs. New Jersey Devils
When: Tuesday, 7 PM ET (TSN) Not to long ago, it looked like a forgone conclusion that the Tampa Bay Lightning would win the Atlantic Division. However, they are in a bit of a funk and the Boston Bruins are surging, going 7-0-3 in their past 10 games and are now just three points back of the Bolts in the division. Boston’s last three wins are all by three goals – it won 4-1 in Montreal on Saturday. David Pastrnak scored twice and set up another goal. He was the game’s No. 1 star. Torey Krug had a goal and two assists and Riley Nash added an empty-netter for Boston, which is 12-0-4 in its past 16 games. Boston ranks No. 3 in team Corsi for percentage, second in even-strength goals for percentage, ninth in power play percentage and eighth on the penalty kill. Forwards Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand, ages 32 and 29, respectively, are having perhaps their best seasons in 2017-18. Bergeron has 19 goals and 19 assists in 39 games. His 57.9 percent Corsi for percentage ranks third in the NHL among forwards. When Bergeron has been on the ice this season, the B’s have taken 161 more shots than their opponents and outscored them 30-9. Marchand is leading the team with 46 points. He ranks fifth in even-strength scoring rate, with 3.39 points per 60 minutes.How’s the Schedule for the Devils this Week?
This will be the second of a back-to-back for New Jersey as it hosted Detroit on Monday. No. 1 goaltender Cory Schneider has missed the last two games while recovering from a nasty stomach virus, but he was likely to return on Monday. Not clear, though, if the Devils will play him both ends of a back-to-back. If not, it will be Keith Appleby. Usual backup Keith Kinkaid was put on injured reserve over the weekend. He left Saturday’s game vs. the Flyers with a groin injury. Boston is 1-0 vs. New Jersey this season, winning 3-2 in a shootout on Nov. 22. Charlie McAvoy scored the winner in the 11th road of the shootout. The goal was McAvoy’s first ever in the shootout at the NHL level. Anton Khudobin had 40 saves but it should be No. 1 Tuukka Rask in net for this one. Jesper Bratt and Brian Gibbons scored for the Devils, and Schneider made 27 saves.Edmonton Oilers vs. Calgary Flames
When: Thursday, 9 PM ET (RSNW) This is Edmonton’s final game before its bye week. The Oilers will be short-handed as the club will be without third-leading scorer Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for five to six weeks after the center suffered cracked ribs against Vegas. Nugent-Hopkins has 16 goals and 15 assists this season. “You can make an argument who our key go-to guy has been this year, obviously Connor [McDavid is] having a pretty good year individually, and some others, but I would throw Nuge right up there. He’s been trustworthy in every situation, given us valuable minutes, improved his game,” Coach Todd McLellan said. Nugent-Hopkins, a career 43% faceoff man, has his draws up to 49.2% this season. McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, who have spent the year on and off the same line, will now run the team’s top two lines as Draisaitl takes over for Nugent-Hopkins. McDavid said Nugent-Hopkins’s best asset is his versatility, which will be difficult to replace: “He battles hard every night — penalty killer, power play guy, good on draws — he’s reliable all over the ice and we’ll definitely miss him.”What Has Happened with the Flames?
Calgary’s bye week came at a lousy time as the Flames were on a season-high seven-game winning streak but then lost their first out of the bye, 2-1 in a shootout Saturday at home vs. Winnipeg. Mike Smith saw his personal six-game winning streak end as he is now 20-13-4 with a 2.42 goals against average and .925 save percentage.
Edmonton is 2-0 vs. Calgary this year. The Oilers opened the season with a 3-0 home win over the Flames. McDavid, last year’s Hart Trophy winner, had a hat trick. Cam Talbot made 26 saves. That was Smith’s Calgary debut. On Dec. 2 in Calgary, the Oilers won 7-5. Jesse Puljujarvi had two goals in the first period, and Patrick Jujhar Khaira, Mark Letestu, Milan Lucic and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also scored for Edmonton, which led 6-1 after Maroon’s goal 1:29 into the third. Sam Bennett scored twice, and Micheal Ferland and Johnny Gaudreau once each to pull the Flames to 6-5 with 7:40 remaining but they could never get all the way back.
