NHL Highs & Lows: No Slowing Down Unstoppable Bruins
Chicago Going all in to Land Top Draft Pick
The Boston Bruins continue to dominate the NHL news thanks to a 10-game winning streak that extended their lead in the Atlantic Division to 19 points. Things are getting interesting in the other divisions with the New Jersey Devils making a run at the Carolina Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division and Minnesota threatening the Dallas Stars in the Central Division.
The NHL predictions had the Vegas Golden Knights favored to win the Pacific Division and that is how things are shaking out.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are heading in the wrong direction thanks to a five-game losing streak. San Jose has also dropped five games in a row while the Detroit Red Wings are on a six-game skid.
The Boston Bruins have moved from +450 to +375 in the odds to win the Stanley Cup title according to the NHL playoff odds.
Top Five
1. Boston Bruins
The Bruins show no signs of coming back to the pack.
Boston set the NHL record by needing just 61 games to hit the 100-pointmark. The Bruins have scored 105 more goals than they have allowed and that is almost double the goal differential mark of the next closest team.
Boston has won 10 games in a row with David Pastrnak leading the way with six goals and six assists during the streak. Not that the Bruins needed any help, but recent acquisition Dmitry Orlov has three goals and six assists in the five games since the defenseman was acquired from the Washington Capitals.
Put on a show for 🔟 in a row. pic.twitter.com/U3z7uKqcu3
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 4, 2023
Boston is 39-23 against the NHL betting lines and that is second only to Philadelphia this season.
- Championship odds: +375
2. Minnesota Wild
It is hard to lose when you don’t allow any goals.
Only the Philadelphia Flyers and Detroit Red Wings average fewer goals per game over the last two weeks than Minnesota. While Philadelphia and Detroit are a combined 4-8-2, Minnesota is 7-0-1 during that span.
Filip Gustavsson is 4-0-1 with a .955 save percentage and goals-against average of 1.38 in his last five games while Marc-Andre Fleury is 3-0-0 with an 0.98 GAA and .961 save percentage as Minnesota has pulled within three points of first-place Dallas in the Central Division race.
- Championship odds: +2500
3. New Jersey Devils
Dawson Mercer recently had goals in eight straight games, and over the last nine, he has 10 goals and six assists as New Jersey is once again within striking range of the Metropolitan Division lead.
Getting leading scorer Jack Hughes back earlier than anticipated is also a bonus as New Jersey has points in its last five games and 88 points, trailing only Boston and division rival Carolina.
Recent acquisition Timo Meier had a goal in an overtime win over Arizona in his New Jersey debut. He is one reason why the Devils could be picking up steam among those making NHL picks as the playoffs are drawing closer.
- Championship odds: +1400
4. Dallas Stars
Dallas is seeing its lead in the Central Division being threatened by the streaking Minnesota Wild. The Stars seem determined to remain on top of the division as they have outscored their opponents 16-7 over the last three games.
After scoring 11 goals in December, Roope Hintz has slowed down a bit. He is back to producing goals and points in bunches with four goals and two assists in the first three games Dallas has played in March.
Hintz had goals in four straight games before finishing with two assists in a convincing 7-3 win over Colorado on Saturday as Dallas is 4-0-1 over the last five games.
Jake Oettinger continues to backstop the Stars. Dallas recently picked up veteran Matt Murray and he stopped 19 of 21 shots in his first start for Dallas Stars.
- Championship odds: +1600
5. Ottawa Senators
Don’t look now, but the Senators are just three points out of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Senators were in the unusual situation of being buyers at the trade deadline with the acquisition of defenseman Jakob Chychrun.
Ottawa has won five straight games, all by multiple goals. Veterans Claude Giroux (three goals, seven assists) and Derick Brassard (three goals, three assists) and young star Tim Stutzle (five goals, two assists) have led the way for Ottawa. The Senators have outscored their opponents 10-0 in the third period during the winning streak.
- Championship odds: +20000
Tim Stutzle with a shorty for his second of the night. ✌️ pic.twitter.com/2MdePOyJFQ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 5, 2023
Bottom Five
28. Chicago Blackhawks
Can Chicago make it any more obvious that it is going all in to land Connor Bedard with the top pick in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft?
Chicago Blackhawks is without seven of the top nine scorers from last season’s team as the Blackhawks recently traded away Patrick Kane. The Blackhawks have lost four straight games and have the second-fewest points in the NHL.
The 153 goals are eight fewer than any other team in the NHL and that doesn’t figure to change considering how many of the top scorers have headed elsewhere.
- Championship odds: +100000
29. Tampa Bay Lightning
Tampa Bay doesn’t often find itself on this list. However, after offensive stalwarts Steven Stamkos, Brayden Point and Nikita Kucherov were benched for the third period in a loss to Buffalo, Tampa Bay responded with a 6-0 road loss to Carolina. That was the fifth straight loss by the Lightning, who fell five points behind Toronto for the race for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Tampa Bay still has a firm grasp of third place in the division with Ottawa, Buffalo and Florida all 11 points back. However, the Lightning may find themselves on the road when the playoffs get underway.
- Championship odds: +1400
Nikita Kucherov wasn’t too happy after the Hurricanes scored a sixth goal against the Lightning 😬 pic.twitter.com/7kBDJljDUQ
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 5, 2023
30. Detroit Red Wings
Detroit has lost six straight games to tumble into seventh place in the Atlantic Division standings.
Detroit is coming off a 3-1 loss to a dreadful Philadelphia team and that was the second straight game when the Red Wings finished with just one goal.
Other than a four-goal output in an overtime loss to Seattle, Detroit Red Wings has managed just five goals during the losing streak.
- Championship odds: +25000
31. St. Louis Blues
Only a recent matchup with San Jose has allowed St. Louis to find its way back into the win column.
St. Louis, which has shipped away multiple members of the team that won the 2019 Stanley Cup championship, is 1-5-2 over the last eight games to fall 15 points out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.
Four of the top seven scorers on last season’s team are playing elsewhere and that lack of offensive firepower is pretty evident when watching this team play recently.
- Championship odds: +25000
32. San Jose Sharks
San Jose did not trade away dynamic defenseman Erik Karlsson as he assisted on two of the Sharks’ three goals in Saturday’s game against Washington. He is one of the few bright spots offensively for the Sharks.
San Jose allowed eight goals on 30 shots and 14 goals over the last two games as the Sharks have lost five straight games to fall into last place in the Pacific Division.
San Jose has seen 37 of its games finish over the NHL betting odds total and that is second only to the Edmonton Oilers.
- Championship odds: +100000
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