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NHL Friday Betting Recap: Robertson Shines for Stars

Dallas Stays Hot Behind Robertson’s Hat Trick

Nearly all of the games on the Friday docket in the NHL turned out to be pretty good. There were five games decided by one goal, three games went to overtime, two hat tricks, and a bunch of back-and-forth contests. From the Buffalo Sabres’ nutty win over the Minnesota Wild to the Dallas Stars’ exciting comeback against the Winnipeg Jets, Friday had it all.

Let’s recap all seven games with an eye to the NHL betting lines for each:

Jason Robertson celebrates NHL Friday Betting Recap
Brett Carlsen/Getty Images/AFP

Sabres Stun Wild with Comeback Win

The Minnesota Wild’s slide down the Central Division standings continued on Friday night with a tough 5-4 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. Minnesota scored twice in the first five minutes of the third period to take a 3-2 lead but then gave up three unanswered goals to lose control of the game.

Kirill Kaprizov scored twice and had an assist to lead the Wild, who have now lost five of their last six games. Jeff Skinner scored twice for Buffalo, which has won back-to-back games over Minnesota and Toronto Maple Leafs thanks to a resurgent offensive attack.

The Wild were -210 road favorites but lost, mostly due to Kaapo Kahkonen really struggling in net. Goaltending issues and porous defense have plagued Minnesota during this tough stretch.

Lightning Take Care of Business at Home

No Andrei Vasilevskiy, no problem. The Tampa Bay Lightning used a huge Mikhail Sergachev power-play goal in the third period to sneak by the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 in front of backup goalie Brian Elliott, who was nearly perfect in a rare start.

Sergachev’s fourth goal broke a 1-1 tie and Steven Stamkos’ empty-netter with two seconds left allowed the Lightning to barely cover the puckline as a huge home favorite on the BetUS sportsbook. Nikita Kucherov and Victor Hedman (five combined assists) played a big role in the win.

Alex Nedeljkovic kept Detroit in this game, saving 35 of the 37 shots he faced, but his team couldn’t get him enough support against mighty Tampa Bay, which has now won six of seven.

Shesterkin Shines for Rangers

What Igor Shesterkin continues to do for the New York Rangers on a nightly basis is pretty special. He was incredible in the Rangers’ 3-1 win over the hated New Jersey Devils and the only blemish on his ledger was a Nico Hischier goal scored from right in front of the net with almost no defensive resistance. 

New York took the lead for good in the second period, when Filip Chytil beat Nico Daws to put the Rangers up 2-1. Chris Kreider finished off the scoring with a beautiful one-timer halfway through the final frame.

The under, which is usually automatic in Shesterkin starts, easily hit and the Rangers covered the puckline as -170 home favorites. New York has won two in a row while New Jersey has lost two straight.

Hurricanes Steal One in Overtime

Despite going down 2-0 in the first period against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Carolina Hurricanes kept fighting and managed to force overtime, where Andrei Svechnikov’s power-play goal sent Carolina fans home happy with a 3-2 win. Jake Guentzel and Sidney Crosby scored early on Hurricanes’ backup Antti Raanta but that was basically all Pittsburgh’s offense produced.

Former Penguin Jordan Staal scored one goal apiece in the second and third period to push this one to extra time, where Svechnikov came through shortly after Kris Letang went to the penalty box for slashing. The Hurricanes outshot Pittsburgh 42-24, showing just how thoroughly the Hurricanes dominated the final 45 minutes or so of this game.

Arvidsson Leads Kings to Huge Victory

Take a bow, Viktor Arvidsson. The Los Angeles Kings’ right-winger notched a hat trick — including the game-tying and game-winning goals — to lead the way in a crazy comeback win on the road against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Arvidsson got the scoring started late in the second period but his goal was immediately followed up by a trio of Blue Jackets’ scores within a 46-second span. It seemed like that flurry of goals would sink the Kings but Dustin Brown made it 3-2 early in the third period and, with under four minutes left in regulation, Arvidsson tied things up. A few minutes later, he sprung free on a breakaway and beat Elvis Merzlikins with a gorgeous backhander to seal the win.

The Kings deserved this one because they barraged Merzlikins with 43 shots and because Jonathan Quick played well for 60 of this game’s 61 minutes. Los Angeles won as solid road favorites and it was a much-needed victory to snap the Kings’ two-game skid.

Jets Collapse Late Against Stars

If you were betting online on the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, you saw what looked like a nice come-from-behind win turn into a crushing overtime loss to the Dallas Stars. Winnipeg scored twice in the third period to turn a 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 lead, only to give up a goal to Denis Gurianov with 4:32 left in regulation. Then, just 30 seconds into overtime, Jason Robertson scored his third goal of the day to give Dallas two points.

Winnipeg outshot the Stars and got two goals from Paul Stastny, but it wasn’t enough. The Jets had no answers for Robertson, who has 26 goals this season in just 46 games. He has become a full-fledged star for Dallas.

The Jets were slight home favorites in this one. The under (six goals) was looking pretty good until Gurianov’s goal locked in the over.

Golden Knights’ Depth Shines in Win over Ducks

The Vegas Golden Knights have been scuffling as of late, particularly on offense, and have really needed a big scoring boost to help out Robin Lehner and Laurent Brossoit in net. So, the Golden Knights’ 5-4 victory over the Anaheim Ducks was a sight for sore eyes especially in terms of how Vegas won.

Jonathan Marchessault did score in Vegas’ four-goal second period — in which the Golden Knights scored four times in a nine-minute span — but, for the most part, Vegas’ depth pieces shined. Nicolas Roy scored twice while Ben Hutton and Matthew Amadio each had a goal as well. The Ducks hung around with late-game Trevor Zegras and Troy Terry power-play goals but Brossoit held firm down the stretch.

Vegas held on to win straight-up as -125 road favorites. The over cashed easily.

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