NHL Wednesday Betting Preview: McDavid vs. Ovechkin
Oilers-Capitals Features Pair of League Icons
The Wednesday NHL schedule isn’t as jam-packed as Monday and Tuesday were, but it does feature a fascinating inter-conference battle. It’s the Connor McDavid-led Edmonton Oilers, winners of four of their last five games, visiting the Alexander Ovechkin-led Washington Capitals. McDavid and Ovechkin, despite their age difference, are both toward the top of the NHL leaders in points and goals.
With Oilers-Capitals as the marquee game of the final night before the All-Star break, let’s run down the rest of the slate, with an eye to the NHL betting lines:
Seattle Kraken at New York Islanders
It’s been a predictable struggle in as debut season for the Kraken, the cellar-dwellers bottom of the Pacific Division. However, they’ve shown signs of life in the past few weeks. Seattle concludes a four-game Eastern Conference road trip against the Islanders, a game postponed a few nights due to a metropolitan New York-area snowstorm. The Islanders come off a much-needed 4-1 win over the Ottawa Senators, snapping a two-game skid.
Both teams have a ton of ground to cover in the standings. However, the good news for the Isles is they have a lot of games in hand, so a playoff push is definitely doable. They need to keep stacking the wins and they’re big home favorites for tonight. Conversely, there’s solid value on New York’s puck line, which might be the smart bet considering that Seattle enters off a tough 3-2 loss at Boston Tuesday evening.
Edmonton Oilers at Washington Capitals
The Capitals notched a second consecutive impressive win over the Pittsburgh Penguins–on the road, in overtime–Tuesday night, but it was a costly one, Goaltender Vitek Vanecek left early with a head injury after a collision with Kaspari Kapanen. So, Ilya Samsonov, who played well in Vanecek’s stead, probably in the net again here. The previously-mentioned Edmonton run is four wins in its last five.
The BetUS sportsbook is listing the road team as the favorites. It didn’t open that way, so there’s been a lot of Edmonton late movement. Between the rest advantage and Washington’s uncertainty in net, the Oilers to win outright might be the play in this one.
Los Angeles Kings at Detroit Red Wings
The Kings continue to win, remaining in the playoff race despite having pretty low pre-season expectations. Perhaps ending this six-game, Eastern time zone trip with a 4-0-2 record would add to their number of believers. Interestingly, LA has alternated between Jonathan Quick and Calvin Petersen in net for the past 11 games. If that trend continues, we go with Quick Wednesday night. Regardless, both goalies have been solid this season.
Detroit is happy to cast the month of January aside. It struggled, particularly in net. However, Alex Nedeljkovic was stellar in Monday’s 2-1 overtime win over Anaheim and the Red Wings look to maintain the momentum as underdogs at home. The Kings are the more well-rounded team, but Detroit has been good at home, so that might be the value.
A low 5½ goals for the total means the over may be the play with Detroit allowing nearly 3.4 goals per game.
Minnesota Wild at Chicago Blackhawks
Minnesota has lost just twice so far in 2022, appears to be a legitimate Stanley Cup contender with one of the deepest rosters in the league. The Wild have won five games in a row (eight-of-nine), fresh off an impressive New York road sweep of the Rangers and Islanders. There’s a great chance at two more points against a Blackhawk team Minnesota swept in a home-and-home just 10 days ago.
What a sweep weekend! 🧹#mnwild pic.twitter.com/FnAEJn8oFt
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) January 31, 2022
Cam Talbot is in net for Minnesota at the United Center. After a four-game winning streak early last month, the Blackhawks have lost six-of-seven. Outside of an eight-goal outburst against the Red Wings, Chicago’s trouble scoring has been evident. It’s interesting that the Wild aren’t huge road favorites, though, so Minnesota could be worth a puck-line wager if you’re betting online.
Calgary Flames vs Arizona Coyotes
The Coyotes did the unthinkable Tuesday night, beating the Avalanche in Denver. Arizona ended Colorado’s 18-game home winning streak with a 3-2 shootout win, obviously one of the Coyotes’ best performances of the season. The bad news is that there’s a quick turnaround, having to face a Flames’ team that’s won four-of-five while getting unreal goaltending from Jacob Markstrom.
Markstrom has two shutouts in his last three starts, allowing one goal or fewer in four of his last six. As expected, Calgary is a big road favorite. The Flames have the rest advantage and should win going away.
