NHL Wednesday Betting Preview: Competitive West
Big Games Between Western Conference Contenders
NHL Betting Lines
There are six games on the NHL docket on Wednesday night and nine of the 12 teams in action are in the Western Conference. So, it’s going to be a late-night of hockey.
The Edmonton Oilers have a great chance for a bounceback win after a bad loss on Tuesday and plenty of eyes will be on them to see how they respond. But, the two most intriguing games on the schedule are a pair of divisional matchups with the Nashville Predators visiting the Dallas Stars and Vegas Golden Knights taking on the Calgary Flames. Those teams are in the bunched-up top halves of the Central and Pacific Division, which makes these games even more important.
Let’s run through the slate with an eye to the NHL betting lines:
Detroit Red Wings vs Philadelphia Flyers
The Red Wings are catching the Flyers on a relative hot streak (for Philadelphia’s standards) as the Flyers have won two in a row since snapping a season-high 13-game winless skid. Detroit has been up-and-down lately, losing five of seven before the All-Star break.
Still, it’s a little surprising to see Philadelphia even as a slight home favorite on the BetUS sportsbook. The Flyers are missing a lot of key players and have had two double-digit losing streaks already this season, and back-to-back wins over the Los Angeles Kings and Winnipeg Jets doesn’t change that. Detroit has tons of young talent and even though the Red Wings are scuffling a bit, there’s good value in taking them here against a really bad Philadelphia team.
Nashville Predators vs Dallas Stars
Nashville just keeps finding ways to win. The Predators have won four of five and are doing so behind truly elite-level goaltending from Juuse Saros, who will try to shut down Dallas which has won five of its last seven games. The Stars are 15-6-1 at home this season and are firmly in the thick of the Central Division playoff race despite allowing more goals than they’ve scored.
Interestingly, the Stars are favored against the Predators but it’s close to a pick’em line. The over/under is a little low at 5½ goals, which is another betting opportunity.
Chicago Blackhawks vs Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton’s positive momentum got blunted a bit by the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, as the Oilers were blanked 4-0 in a lackluster home loss. With starting goalie Mikko Koskinen out due to COVID protocols, Mike Smith got the start, and he struggled in his first action in over a month. The Oilers will look to rediscover their winning ways against the Blackhawks, who have lost seven of eight and are finding goals really hard to come by as of late.
If you’re betting online, take Edmonton on the puckline here. The Oilers have the rest disadvantage and likely will start third-stringer Stuart Skinner in net but they’ll play much better tonight than they did on Tuesday. The Blackhawks are the perfect get-right team for the Oilers, especially at home.
Vegas Golden Knights vs Calgary Flames
Vegas, as mentioned above, crushed the Oilers in really impressive fashion on Tuesday night for their third-straight win. Even though the Golden Knights aren’t at full-strength — and with Jack Eichel waiting in the wings — they still manage to put together good performances nearly every time they step out on the ice.
It won’t be easy to sweep this back-to-back, though, because the Flames have won six of eight and are getting great goaltending from Jacob Markstrom as of late. Calgary has the rest advantage, but Vegas will be able to start No. 1 Robin Lehner between the pipes after Laurent Brossoit played yesterday.
Calgary is solid home favorites for this one at a really fair number, so the Flames might be the move here.
Arizona Coyotes vs Seattle Kraken
Fresh off a four-game road trip and the first shutout in franchise history, the Kraken try to keep the good times rolling as they host the lowly Coyotes. Seattle has been much better in recent weeks, going 5-4-0 in a stretch capped by a 3-0 win over the New York Islanders right before the All-Star break.
Arizona, conversely, has been struggling just as much lately as the Coyotes have been all season. They’ve lost seven of eight and continue to routinely get blown out by multiple goals. The Coyotes are the lowest-scoring team in the NHL and allow the second-most goals per game, neither of which is good on its own but is downright disastrous when combined.
Seattle is a big home favorite, as you’d expect. Look for the Kraken to make it two victories in a row.
New York Islanders vs Vancouver Canucks
It’s February and the Islanders haven’t hit the halfway point of their season yet — due to COVID postponements — but it’s crunch time for New York with how far back Barry Trotz’ team is in the standings. Their recent skid of three losses in four games is concerning, and New York has to do well on this four-game trip to get back in the mix.
Vancouver has been playing below-.500 hockey for the past few weeks, so the Islanders have a good chance to start their post-break schedule on a high note. Neither team is particularly strong offensively, which could make this a pretty low-scoring game. Also, the Canucks will be without top defenseman Quinn Hughes, who is on the COVID list right now.
New York is a slight road favorite — likely due to Hughes’ absence — and is a good bet at that number. The goal total is low too and the under is plus-money, which is intriguing with these two teams playing.
