Eight games are on deck for the NHL this Friday night barring any COVID postponements, of course. Speaking of, that’s the theme we’ve got going for our NHL betting picks as several teams will be missing key players.
Maybe it’s a little bit cheap and maybe the hockey gods will strike down one of the teams with some bad luck (knock on wood) of its own. But it’s time to fade teams that have been affected by this ongoing pandemic and thankfully, BetUS sportsbook has all the NHL lines we need.
Predators prey on Absentee Stars
The debuting Stars get a feisty Predators team that is coming off a hard-fought loss against the Hurricanes. The Preds are led by red-hot goaltender Juuse Saros who is posting a 95.9 save percent with a 1.50 goals against average.
Nashville is still sharpening its defense and rank around the league average in terms of 5-on-5 play although their expected goals against of 6.2 is way above the 3.5 league average. They can’t be entirely reliant on Saros to bail them out for sloppy play.
But as sloppy as Nashville can get, the Stars may be even rustier as they haven’t had much time to practice due to the COVID lockdowns. The Preds have had three games to work out their wrinkles and that should be the difference in this matchup.
Pick: Nashville Predators to win (-110)
Sabres edge short-handed Capitals
Continuing with the COVID-theme, add the Sabres as a beneficiary as they will take on the Capitals without several of their best Russian players including Alex Ovechkin and C Evgeny Kuznetsov.
Buffalo has lost to Washington twice now, but showed glimpses of how combustible their offense can be in a 6-1 drubbing of the Flyers. Washington will still be dangerous and are the tougher and more physical of the two, plus they have an edge in goalie with Vitek Vanecek who held the Sabres to one goal last time.
But the absence of two of Washington’s key facilitators on offense puts them at a big disadvantage. Buffalo should finally get over the Capital-sized hump in a hard-fought win led by the one-two scoring punch of C Jack Eichel and LW Taylor Hall.
Pick: Buffalo Sabres to win (-130)
Avalanche Bury the Ducks
Another day, another parlay where we fade the Ducks. It’s almost unfair for Anaheim as they have been consistently one of the best franchises in the NHL, but this roster has as much firepower as a school bus of kids with nerf guns.
Going toe-to-toe with the NHL’s best offense won’t bode well for Anaheim. The Avs are already looking good scoring an average of four goals per game (4th in the NHL) and scoring on 47 percent of their power plays (1st).
The Ducks, to their credit, have done well with one man down with a 90.9 percent penalty kill (6th) and have one of the best in net in John Gibson. But Colorado isn’t too shabby on defense either and this may be a low-scoring affair, but it’s one Colorado will win.
Pick: Colorado to win (-220)
Fading COVID Parlay
Nashville to win (-110), Buffalo to win (-130), and Colorado to win (-220) at +391
Going with these NHL picks, the one team not affected by the pandemic will be the biggest favorite. The Avalanche are a Stanley Cup favorite for a reason: they can score at will and are backstopped by solid netminding and a stable defense. That and the Ducks continue to be a bountiful fade resource.
As for the COVID-affected games, the Predators should handle the incoming Stars who have barely had time to get their bearings with their facilities locked down. Buffalo will complete the parlay by finally beating the Caps who will be without Ovi among their Russian players.
You don’t have to follow this parlay to a T although the nearly 4-1 payout is a nice incentive. If you’re weary on a team, you can flip and switch to the puck line for the other team at a lower return. BetUS sportsbook gives you choices and is consistently a top book per sportsbook reviews.
