NHL Sunday Betting Recap: Goalies End Droughts

Hammond stopped Mathew Barzal and Brock Nelson on the Islanders’ final two shootout attempts as Montreal won its second straight after a 10-game losing streak. The win by the underdog Canadiens paid out +240, the most of the eight winners on Sunday.

It was the first NHL start for Hammond since March 28, 2018, and his first win since April 9, 2016, when Hammond led the Ottawa Senators to a 6-1 win over Boston. Hammond finished with 30 saves.

Jeff Petry and Josh Anderson gave Montreal a pair of one-goal leads. Nelson’s 17th goal of the season with 2:57 left in the third period tied the game.

“It is not luck that he is back here,” Montreal interim coach Martin St. Louis said. “Sometimes a lot of guys might give up (but) to see a guy stick with it and get an opportunity 3½ years after his last start in the NHL and play the way he did. (Hammond) gave our team a chance to win, it is much respect to him.”

Jean-Francois Berube won his first NHL game in 1,419 days to lead the Columbus Blue Jackets to a 7-3 win over the visiting Buffalo Sabres.

Berube had 33 saves to record his first NHL victory since a 4-3 win against the St. Louis Blues on April 4, 2018, when he was a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.

“This is why I play hockey, to be here,” Berube told the media after the game. “Lots of emotion tonight. I’ve been through some tough times. I’ve always kept my eyes where I wanted to be.”

Decent day for the grit grinder goalies.#Habs Andrew Hammond 🍔 first #NHL win since April 9, 2016 (2144 days).#CBJ J-F Berube first #NHL win since April 4, 2018 (1419 days).

Both made their first NHL starts in nearly four full years. Both won.

You love to see it. 👏🏻

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) February 21, 2022

Elvis Merzlikins and Joonas Korpisalo are both injured, which is why Berube was pressed into duty.

Patrik Laine extended his point streak to nine games for Columbus while Buffalo’s Tage Thompson scored his fourth goal in the last two days. He has 10 goals and 12 assists in his last 20 games. Columbus scoring at least five goals paid +750 according to the Las Vegas odds.

Speaking of the Sabres, formed Buffalo captain Jack Eichel scored his first goal with the Vegas Golden Knights in a 4-1 win over the San Jose Sharks. Eichel, Max Pacioretty and Chandler Stephenson had a goal and an assist each as Vegas won its 15th road game, the second most among Western Conference teams. Calgary is the only team in the conference with more road wins and the Flames are two points ahead of Vegas in the Pacific Division standings.

It was the 10th straight win for the Golden Knights against San Jose. The win was extra special for Eichel, who played in his third game for Vegas since being cleared to return following neck surgery in November. It was Eichel’s first goal since Jan. 28, 2021, against the New York Rangers.

Goalie Logan Thompson had 35 saves to pick up his first NHL win in just his second career start.

Nick Bonino had the goal for San Jose.

Kevin Fiala scored twice and rookie Matt Boldy continued his hot streak with a goal and an assist as the visiting Minnesota Wild defeated the Edmonton Oilers 7-3.

Tyler Benson had his first career goal for Edmonton in his 30th career game while Connor Dewar recorded his second career goal for Minnesota, which is a point ahead of St. Louis for the second spot in the Central Division standings.

The two top teams in the East continued their winning ways.

The Florida Panthers, who lead the Eastern Conference with 75 points and 35 wins, never trailed in a 5-2 win against the Chicago Blackhawks.

Aleksander Barkov had his third multiple-point game in the last seven contests with a goal and two assists while defenseman Aaron Ekblad scored in his third game in a row for Florida, which leads defending Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay by five points in the Atlantic Division race. Tampa Bay (+650) is ahead of Florida (+750) in the odds to win the Stanley Cup championship.

Patrick Kane had a goal and assisted on the other for Chicago.

The three-goal win by Florida had a moneyline of +400 according to the NHL betting lines.

Sebastian Aho scored what proved to be the winning goal with 5:42 left in the third period to give the visiting Carolina Hurricanes a 4-3 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Carolina moved two points ahead of Pittsburgh and three ahead of the New York Rangers in the Metropolitan Division standings. Carolina has three games in hand on the Penguins and two on the Rangers. The win carried a moneyline of +115 while a power-play goal by Pittsburgh’s Evan Rodrigues with 1:12 left to play certainly caught the attention of those who bet online since it pushed the game over the 6½-goal total.

Bryan Rust had a goal and an assist while Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang added two assists each for Pittsburgh, which has lost five of its last six one-goal games.

The New York Rangers erased an early one-goal deficit on goals by Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin to top the Ottawa Senators 2-1.

It was the second one-goal loss in as many days for Ottawa, which fell in overtime to Boston on Saturday. Tim Stutzle had his 11th goal for Ottawa.

The Arizona Coyotes snapped the Dallas Stars‘ six-game road winning streak with a 3-1 win as Nick Schmaltz and Clayton Keller each had a goal and an assist. Scott Wedgewood had 32 saves in his first game since he helped stop Colorado’s 18-game home winning streak.

The only Stars goal was scored by Roope Hintz off the skate of an Arizona defender. It could be a costly loss for Dallas, which had a chance to move within a point of a playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Dean Kukan had two goals and an assist while Brendan Gaunce added a goal and an assist as Columbus won for the seventh time in the last nine games.