Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – February 25th

The Boston Bruins have gone 8-0-2 in their last ten games — but have not gained a single point on Tampa Bay, as the Lightning have posted an identical record in their last 10 and now have 98 points, tops in the East and 17 ahead of Boston in the Atlantic Division. Detroit has lost five straight to post the longest losing streak in the East at this writing. In the Western Conference, the Dallas Stars continue as the picture of inconsistency, losing to Carolina twice in a week, both times in shutout fashion, but then ending St. Louis’ 11-game winning streak and beating Chicago. Calgary is the hottest team in the West, winners of five in a row, although San Jose is challenging hard to take over the Pacific lead from the Flames. If you’re planning on some NHL betting this week, take a look at our three picks.

Top NHL Betting Picks of the Week – February 25th

NHL Power Rankings: When Trades Go Really Wrong… Edition https://t.co/nUdU15zzQY pic.twitter.com/CI14MRT53J

— Lost Leafs (@Lost_Leafs) 25 de febrero de 2019

Monday, February 25

Los Angeles at Tampa Bay (7:30pm ET, NBC Sports)

The Kings are falling off the table in the West, losers of seven straight, including a 6-1 embarrassment in Florida on Saturday night. In that game, Florida blew the doors off the game in the second period, tallying three goals. Dustin Brown scored the lone goal for the Kings, giving them a short-lived lead in the first period, but the Panthers tied the game two minutes later and never looked back. Can the Kings do any better against the East leaders? Tampa Bay is headed in the opposite direction of the Kings, winners of eight in a row, including a 2-1 win over Buffalo on Thursday, which means they also have the extra advantage of a long weekend of rest. Nikita Kucherov scored his 30th goal of the season, which gave him 100 points in just 62 games, the first time a player has scored 100 points in 62 games or fewer since the 1996-97 season, when Mario Lemieux did it. The Lightning are scoring in bunches and running teams off their ice — and I see something similar happening to the Kings. NHL Betting Prediction: Tampa Bay 4, Los Angeles 2

Tuesday, February 26

Calgary at N.Y. Islanders (7:00pm ET)

Calgary handled the Islanders last Wednesday at home, 4-2, and started this East Coast swing off well in Ottawa, winning 2-1 on Sunday. Now they head to New York to face the Islanders again on Tuesday. In that win over the Senators, Austin Czarnik scored the game-winning goal with just 40.7 seconds remaining in the third period, as the Flames got 22 saves from David Rittich. New York still leads the Metropolitan despite splitting their last four games. They rebounded from losses in Calgary and Edmonton on Wednesday and Thursday with a 4-0 spanking of the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday to bring that Western Canada swing to a close. In that win over the Canucks, Robin Lehner stopped 36 shots to get his fourth shutout of the year, and the Islanders got goals from Casey Cizikas, Ryan Pulock, Anthony Beauvillier and Cal Clutterbuck. That’s three shutouts for Lehner in his last 19 games and a dozen in his young NHL career. Can the Islanders cool off the Flames, though? NHL Betting Prediction: New York 4, Calgary 3

Dallas at Vegas (10:00pm ET)

The Stars have alternated wins and losses over their last four, as they lost to Nashville, dominated the Blues, were embarrassed by Carolina and edged out the Blackhawks, knocking off Chicago in 4-3 fashion on Sunday. In that win, Dallas had led 3-0 before letting the Blackhawks come back to tie. Jason Spezza scored on a 5-on-3 power play for Dallas to get the winning goal. The Stars also lost forward Mats Zuccarello, newly acquired from the New York Rangers, for at least four weeks with a broken arm. Captain Jamie Benn left the game during the first shift with an upper-body injury and is now day-to-day. Now the inconsistent Stars head to Vegas to take on a Golden Knights team that has dropped three in a row, including a 6-3 setback at home to Winnipeg at home on Friday. In that loss, Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 23 shots but has lost eight of his last 10 starts, permitting 24 goals in his last six games. Pierre Edouard Bellemare, Shea Theodore and Jonathan Marchessault scored for the Golden Knights. With the Stars down Zuccarello and possibly Benn, and with Ben Bishop still less than 100%, it’s hard to see the Stars getting this road win. NHL Betting Prediction: Vegas 3, Dallas 2