NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 22nd

Did you know that the top two teams in the NHL in terms of wins on home ice are Vegas and Colorado? If you’d bet on that happening at the beginning of the season, you would need a wheelbarrow to get your cash home. Vegas remains one of the hot teams in the league, winners of six in ten, but the Winnipeg Jets are creeping up on them in the West, just three points back — and Nashville is just a point behind Winnipeg and has three games in hand. Colorado is riding a nine-game winning streak, and Dallas and Calgary have both won seven times in their last ten as well — so the West standings are undergoing some changes. In the East, Boston has won three in a row and is unbeaten in regulation in their last 10. Philadelphia knocked off Washington on Sunday and has won eight of 10. Let’s look at some primo NHL betting picks on the ice for the week ahead.

NHL Betting Picks of the Week – January 22nd

Incredible #VGK win at Carolina 5-1 to take 1st overall in NHL after 46 GP. They’re No. 1 in Power Rankings today. https://t.co/4r2SUfwOA1

— Mike Harrington (@ByMHarrington) January 22, 2018

Tuesday, January 23

Florida at Dallas (8:30pm ET, FSFL / FSSW)

Florida took a tough 4-3 loss in Nashville on Saturday night and now heads to Dallas to take on a team that plays much better at home than on the road — and just put together a dynamite East Coast road trip, punctuated with a 7-1 win in Buffalo. The Panthers need to up their game in all phases — they rank #21 in goals scored, #27 in goals permitted and #25 on the power play, and they currently sit in fourth place in the Atlantic Division. That sort of stagnation won’t do well in Dallas, where the Stars have settled to tenth in scoring but have risen to #8 in goals permitted per game, as the balance between a high-scoring attack and coach Ken Hitchcock’s insistence on defensive discipline seems to be gelling at last. Goalie Ben Bishop seems to be the backstop that the Stars needed, and things are going well in Big D right now. NHL Betting Prediction: Dallas 3, Florida 1

Wednesday, January 24

Los Angeles at Calgary (10:00pm ET, FSWHD)

The Kings have won just three times in their last ten games and have fallen to fourth place in the Pacific Division — tied at 55 points with the Calgary Flames, who are 7-1-2 over their last 10 contests. They lost, 2-1, at Anaheim on Friday night but then delivered a 4-2 win over the New York Rangers on Sunday, a game in which they came back from a 2-0 deficit after the first period. The Kings do play in Vancouver on Tuesday before heading to Calgary, but they are still tops in the league in goals permitted (2.4) and on the penalty kill (86.7%). Their offense has slipped to #19, though, so they need to get more action like they got from Tanner Pearson late in the second period against the Blueshirts, deflecting in a shot to take the lead. Calgary lost at home to Winnipeg in a shootout on Saturday night, 2-1, and they face Buffalo at home on Monday before taking on the Kings. The Flames’ offense is improving but it still #20 in the league, and there is tension in the locker room as legend Jaromir Jagr appears to be nearing the end of his career, having just appeared in 22 of the team’s 44 games. The defense (#10 at 2.7 goals per game) is respectable. But can the Flames find the back of the net against the stingy Kings’ defense? NHL Betting Prediction: Calgary 2, Los Angeles 1 (SO)

Thursday, January 25

N.Y. Islanders at Vegas (10:00pm ET, MSG+)

The New York Islanders remain the #2 offense in hockey, scoring at a clip of 3.4 goals per game. They added seven tallies to their season total on Saturday in a 7-3 shellacking of the Chicago Blackhawks. They continue their road swing on Monday, taking on the Arizona Coyotes in the desert, before heading to Vegas on Thursday night. The problem for the Isles? That defense. It’s dead last in goals permitted (3.6) and #30 on the penalty kill (73.5%). Those numbers will not do well in Sin City, as the Golden Knights score 3.4 goals per game (third overall) but only give up 2.6 (sixth overall). New York will need to find ways to shore up that back line if they want to have a shot. NHL Betting Prediction: Vegas 4, N.Y. Islanders 2