NHL Who’s Hot, Who’s Not: Draisaitl Boosts Cup Odds of Oilers
The Vancouver Canucks and the Winnipeg Jets continue to set the pace in the Western Conference while the Boston Bruins have opened up some breathing room in the Eastern Conference race.
Boston’s David Pastrnak, a top option in the NHL MVP odds, has been a key for the Bruins while Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebucyk has been making regular appearances on the “Who’s Hot” list this season.
The Edmonton Oilers have won 12 games in a row as all five teams from Canada would be in the playoffs if the postseason began right now. The New York Islanders, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, and St. Louis Blues have all lost three games in a row.
When looking at the NHL odds and predictions, the Colorado Avalanche (+800), Boston Bruins (+900), New York Rangers (+1000) and the Edmonton Oilers (+1000) lead the way in the odds of winning the Stanley Cup.
Keep reading for information on the hottest forwards, defensemen, and goalies, as well as players recently struggling, to help with your NHL spread picks.
Who’s Hot
Forwards
- Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton Oilers: Draisaitl had a role in all four goals in a win over Seattle as the Oilers’ winning streak moved to 12 games.
His goal and three assists in the 4-2 win gave him three goals and four assists in the last three games.
- Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs: Matthews scored three times and assisted on the other goal as Toronto snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-3 win over Calgary to move back into third place in the Atlantic Division standings.
Auston Matthews has his 11th career hat trick, marking the fourth most in @MapleLeafs history and second most (tied) by a U.S.-born player in @NHL history.
#NHLStats: https://t.co/blnjizKVCa pic.twitter.com/jLO9mAOeGF— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 19, 2024
Matthews has four goals and two assists in the last two games.
- David Pastrnak, Boston Bruins: Pastrnak had his first hat trick of the season to lead Boston over visiting Colorado in a matchup of the two teams that went into the game listed by our sportsbook with the best odds of winning the Stanley Cup.
Defensemen
- Samuel Girard, Colorado Avalanche: Girard gets overshadowed by fellow Colorado defensemen Cale Makar and Devon Toews, but it is hard to overlook his five assists and a plus/minus rating of +4 over his last four games.
- Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning: Hedman has scored at a point-per-game pace just once in his previous 14 seasons with the Lightning. However, he has 44 in 43 games this season.
- In his last two games, Hedman has a goal and four assists with a +4 defensive rating as Tampa Bay extended its winning streak to four games.
- Artem Zub, Ottawa Senators: With 46 points and 125 penalty minutes in 181 NHL games coming into this season Zub is not somebody who makes a “Who’s Hot” list too frequently.
Zub had two assists in a 6-2 win over Montreal to give him five assists and a +4 defensive rating over the last three games for the Senators.
Goaltenders
- Samuel Ersson, Philadelphia Flyers: Ersson has allowed three goals as he has won his last three games while stopping 66 of 69 shots for the red-hot Flyers.
- Connor Hellebuyck, Winnipeg Jets: Hellebuyck is no stranger to this list for the Central Division-leading Jets.
- Hellebuyck is 5-1 with a 1.52 goals-against average in his last six games as he has stopped 172 of 181 shots.
- Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Buffalo Sabres: Luukkonen has won five of his last six starts. In five January games, he is 4-1 with a 1.01 goals-against average and a save percentage of .964.
He has shutouts in each of his last two games and in the game that he lost, Luukkonen stopped 22 of 23 shots.
Who’s Not
Forwards
- Alex Iafallo, Winnipeg Jets: Although the Jets keep on winning, Iafallo has no goals on 10 shots and no assists in the last seven games.
- Mason McTavish, Anaheim Ducks: The No. 3 pick in the 2021 NHL Draft got off to an impressive start this season. However, he has no points in his last four games and is -4 during that stretch.
- John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs: Not only has Tavares failed to register a point as Toronto lost four of its last five games, he is -9 during that stretch.
Defensemen
- Jakob Chychrun, Ottawa Senators: Chychrun has no goals and one assist with a plus/minus rating of -10 in his last eight games as the Senators have tumbled to the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings.
- Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks: Jones has no goals and no assists over his last three games. He also has a -4 plus/minus rating during that stretch. After scoring 12 goals in 72 games a season ago, Jones has no goals in 30 games this season.
- Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers: The Rangers captain has no goals and one assist with a -7 defensive rating over his last seven games. The Rangers are 2-4-1 during that stretch with 28 goals allowed.
Goaltenders
- Joonas Korpisalo, Ottawa Senators: Korpisalo has a save percentage of .864 over his last six games for the Senators.
- Igor Shesterkin, New York Rangers: In the last three games that he lost, Shesterkin has allowed 13 goals on 69 shots. He has a save percentage of .869 in seven games played in January.
- Cam Talbot, Los Angeles Kings: Talbot is 0-4-2 in his last six games for the slumping Kings. He has a 3.84 goals-against average in that stretch of games.
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Questions Of The Day
Who is the leading scorer in the NHL right now?
Nikita Kucherov’s 75 points are the most in the NHL while Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon has 72 points.
Which teams have the best odds to win the Stanley Cup?
The Colorado Avalanche and Boston Bruins, who split two recent games, have the best championship odds.
