NHL Wednesday Betting Recap: Keeping it Tight

Engvall was held without a point in his last four games, with Toronto splitting those four.

It was one of two shorthanded goals for Toronto as Ilya Mikheyev also scored with New Jersey on the power play in the second period.

Damon Severson and Nico Hischier had goals in the second period to give the Devils leads of 1-0 and 2-1. Mitchell Marner tied the game with his 27th goal late in the second period to tie the game. With 21 goals and 27 assists in 30 games, Marner is tied for the third-most points in the NHL since Jan. 1.

The Devils scored once in four power-play opportunities and allowed the two goals against with the man advantage.

Petr Mrazek, recently placed on waivers, went unclaimed and made his first start in 10 days in goal as he made 20 saves to get the win.

Toronto (+1200) has the fifth-best odds to win the Stanley Cup title. Those odds could increase if the Maple Leafs earn home-ice advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

Toronto native Mark Giordano, recently acquired from Seattle, played 15:54 and was second among Maple Leafs defensemen in time on ice on the power play in his debut with his hometown team. Giordano had two blocked shots and was third on the team with three hits.

Tage Thompson continued his impressive breakthrough season with two goals and then scored another in the shootout as the Buffalo Sabres topped the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3. The win by Buffalo carried an NHL betting line payout of +190.

The 24-year-old Thompson came into the game with 18 goals in 145 games, but he has a team-best 27 goals in 60 games and has been a bright spot in another tough season for the Sabres.

Zemgus Girgensons also scored for Buffalo which led by a goal on three separate occasions. Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang had power-play goals and Evgeni Malkin also scored for Pittsburgh.

Thompson gave Buffalo the lead on the first attempt in the shootout. Craig Anderson stopped Bryan Rust and Sidney Crosby, setting up Alex Tuch to win the game.

 

Well, shoot(out)‼️#LetsGoBuffalo | @LabattUSA pic.twitter.com/HJvtWaFjVX

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) March 24, 2022

Buffalo is now 7-3 in March and has won its last three games, all coming in overtime or a shootout.

Canucks KO Avs

The Vancouver Canucks pulled off the shocker of the night with a 3-1 win over the NHL-leading Colorado Avalanche. Those who bet online and predicted the upset got a +235 payout.

Brock Boeser and J.T. Miller scored less than two minutes apart in the third period and Bo Horvat iced the game with his 24th goal with 18 seconds left as Vancouver handed Colorado just its third regulation loss at home.

Jaroslav Halak stopped 32 of 33 shots to pick up his first win since Jan. 31 as he only allowed a Nazem Kadri goal in the third period.

“It’s the best game I’ve been a part of with this team,” Vancouver coach Bruce Boudreau told the media after the game. “We used the word ‘committed’ before the game and every one of them was committed.”

The two-goal win carried a Las Vegas odds payout of +900.

Dylan Strome and Alex DeBrincat scored in the final four minutes to lead the visiting Chicago Blackhawks to a 4-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks.

Patrick Kane had a goal and an assist as Chicago scored twice on the power play to take a one-goal lead into the third period.

Sam Carrick tied the game with his second goal of the game with 6:32 left to play. Carrick hadn’t scored in his last 19 games. Trevor Zegras had his 41st assist, setting an Anaheim franchise record for assists in a season by a rookie.

Kevin Lankinen stopped 27 shots as Chicago snapped a three-game losing streak. It was the eighth straight loss for Anaheim.